JPH06114737A - Fine particle supplier - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the collecting efficiency, measuring reliability and maintainability by providing a plurality of cyclones for separating fine particles, collected, discharged with air from a work chamber, in series by multistep in the upper side of a fine particle reserve chamber, in a fine particle supplier for applying etching work to a surface of a glass substrate or the like. CONSTITUTION:A cyclone 70, constituted by connecting in series the first/second cyclones 70A, 70B, is arranged in the upper side of a reserve chamber 56. Of the cyclones, the first cyclone 70A is connected to an exhauster 57 and the bottom part of a work chamber 55 through a fine particle collecting hose 69, and also connecting the first/second cyclones 70A, 70B by a connecting hose 78. Further, the second cyclone 70B is connected to a filter 72 of the exhauster 57 through a discharge pipe 71. By this constitution, a fine particle discharged from the work chamber 55 is fed to the cyclone 70 by air from the exhauster 57, separated and collected in the reservoir 56.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a powder for etching or coating (so-called deposition) by injecting powdery fine particles onto a workpiece such as a glass substrate or a semiconductor substrate. The present invention relates to a supply device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in the manufacture of semiconductor integrated circuits, printed wiring circuits, and various functional elements such as magnetic heads, various fine processes have been required, and sophisticated etching techniques and thin film forming techniques have been required. ing.

Under these circumstances, researches on processing techniques have been advanced in various fields. For example, as an etching technique for processing the surface of a semiconductor wafer using a resist mask, argon ions are electrically accelerated to be processed surface. Etching method (IBE), which collides with a substrate and etches it by physical destruction, or reactive ions which collide active gas ions, such as fluorine and chlorine, with the surface to be processed in the same manner and perform physical and chemical actions. Etching method (R
IE) and the like have been developed.

On the other hand, as a thin film forming technique, a sputtering method in which ions of an inert gas are accelerated and collided with a target in a vacuum, and the target is knocked out and deposited on a substrate to form a thin film, or a sputtering method is used. A material to be filmed, for example, ceramic powder, is melted by heat of plasma or burner in the air or under reduced pressure, and is sprayed to form a thin film, or a gas is reacted by using heat of plasma or the like. Known is a vapor phase growth method (CVD) in which a reaction product is deposited on a substrate to form a film.

However, the above-mentioned etching method is
Both of them have slow processing speed and high equipment price.
It has problems such as complicated maintenance and maintenance. Further, regarding the thin film forming technique, the conventional method is insufficient in terms of processing speed and the like, and there is a large restriction on the substrate at the time of film formation, and thus drastic improvement is desired.

Therefore, a so-called sandblasting method, in which powder is mixed with compressed air and jetted, has been attracting attention as a processing method replacing the above-mentioned etching method and thin film forming technology, and various proposals have been made.

FIG. 3 is an overall configuration diagram showing an example of a conventional powder supply device. The powder supply device shown in FIG.
An air compressor 1 that supplies compressed air when roughly classified,
A mixing chamber 2 for containing a powder 14 to be mixed with the compressed air sent from the air compressor 1, and a processing chamber 3 for processing a surface of a workpiece by injecting a fixed amount of the powder 14 together with the compressed air. , A reserve chamber 4 for temporarily storing the powder 14 in the processing chamber 3 in order to feed the powder 14 to the mixing chamber 2, and the processing chamber 3
5 for sucking and collecting the powder 14 from the air to the reserve chamber 4
And a powder recovery chamber 6 for storing the powder 14.

More specifically, the air supply pipe 7 drawn out from the air compressor 1 by providing an opening / closing valve 46 on the way is branched into a first supply pipe 8 and a second supply pipe 9, each of which is a mixing chamber. Connected to 2. Further, the first supply pipe 8 is provided with a rough adjusting section valve 11 including an adjusting valve 10 for adjusting the pressure of the compressed air supplied to the mixing chamber 2 and an electric air valve, and the second supply pipe 9 is provided with A fine adjustment valve 13 including an adjustment valve 12 and an electric air valve for adjusting the pressure air supplied together with the powder in the mixing chamber 2 to the processing chamber 3 is provided.

The mixing chamber 2 is composed of a cylindrical container, in which a powder 14 made of fine particles is contained. Further, the bottom of the mixing chamber 2 has a conical shape, and a disk-shaped filter 15 made of cermet (a porous material having innumerable fine holes formed by cutting out metal powder) or the like is provided on the bottom, and an air compressor is provided. 1 first supply pipe 8 is a filter 1
5 is connected to the back side. Therefore, the compressed air supplied to the first supply pipe 8 is introduced into the mixing chamber 2 through the filter 15, and the opening 2 a at the upper part of the mixing chamber 2 is introduced.
Exhausted from.

A bimorph oscillator 16 is provided on the slope around the filter 15. The bimorph oscillator 16 is composed of a pair of upper and lower piezoelectric elements and electrodes, the free end of which is arranged in an annular shape so as to face the information of the filter 15, and the base end of the bimorph vibrator 16 is on the conical slope of the mixing chamber 2. It is fixed.

The bimorph vibrator 16 can vibrate its free end in the vertical direction by applying a predetermined AC voltage, for example, and mechanically disperses the powder 14 while stirring with the compressed air from the filter 15. An air vibrator effect of mixing can be imparted.

Further, in the center of the filter 15, a delivery pipe 17 penetrating the bottom of the mixing chamber 2 and an air outlet 18 around the delivery pipe 17 are opened at one end into the mixing chamber 2. The powder 14 that is agitated and dispersed by the compressed air in the mixing chamber 2 is delivered from the delivery pipe 17.

Further, at the lower end of the delivery pipe 17,
The tip portion 9a of the second supply pipe 9 is arranged, and the powder 14 is sucked into the delivery pipe 17 by the negative pressure generated by the air flow of the compressed air supplied from the second supply pipe 9 and compressed. It is sent out mixed with air.
A dust collector 19 is supported by the container of the mixing chamber 2 on the upper portion of the above-mentioned delivery pipe 17 and air outlet 18 by means not shown. Also, the delivery pipe 1
A delivery pipe 20 is connected to 7 and extends to the processing chamber 3, and a nozzle 21 is provided at the tip thereof.

The mixing chamber 2 configured as described above is mounted on the electronic balance 22 and measures the total weight of the mixing chamber 2 including the powder 14. That is, the electronic balance 22 is a fixed amount of the powder 1 from the nozzle 21 sent from the mixing chamber 2.
The purpose of the present invention is to monitor that the total weight of the mixing chamber 2 can be reduced constantly, that is, the amount of decrease in the total weight of the mixing chamber 2 measured by the electronic balance 22 is controlled by the control unit 23. The control unit 23 controls the amount of pressurized air in the first supply pipe 8 and the second supply pipe 9 or the voltage value to the bimorph oscillator 16 based on this decrease amount.

On the other hand, in the processing chamber 3, a nozzle 21 provided at the tip of the delivery pipe 20 from the mixing chamber 2 is arranged,
The workpiece 24 is supported by a means (not shown) opposite to this. In addition, the table 2 is provided below the processing chamber 3.
5 scraper 26 that rotates on this scraper 26
A screw 2 which is rotated by a driving device (not shown)
7 are provided. That is, the powder 14 sprayed from the nozzle 21 onto the workpiece 24 and dropped on the table 25.
Are scraped by a scraper 26 and dropped under a table 25, where a screw 27 is used to cut the processing chamber 3
Accumulated at the bottom of the.

The powder recovery hose 28 connected to the bottom of the processing chamber 3 is connected to the second cyclone 39 of the powder recovery chamber 6, and a filter 28A is arranged in the middle of the powder recovery hose 28. It is set up.

Inside the reserve chamber 4, a screw conveyor 30 is arranged in a horizontal state in which it is rotated by the rotational force of a motor (not shown). In addition, a bellows 32 is provided in the feeding path 31a vertically provided at the end of the reserve chamber 4.
The feed passage 31b is connected via the, and the lower end of the feed passage 31b is connected to the upper portion of the mixing chamber 2. Further, the feeding path 31b is provided with an openable / closable triangular valve 33b controlled by the control unit 23 described above. In addition, the powder 1 is stored in the reserve chamber 4 on the lower surface side of the reserve chamber 4.
A load cell 38 is provided which closes the second opening / closing valve 43 by detecting when a fixed amount of 4 is stored.

The exhaust fan 5 collects the powder 14 accumulated on the bottom of the processing chamber 3 into the reserve chamber 4. The exhaust fan 5 includes a first suction hose 40 and a second suction hose 40.
Is connected to the suction hose 41 in a branched manner. Of these, the first suction hose 40 is connected to the second cyclone 39, and a first opening / closing valve 42 is provided in the middle of the first suction hose 40. On the other hand, the second suction hose 41 is connected to the first cyclone 29, and the second opening / closing valve 43 is provided in the middle of the second suction hose 41.

A powder recovery hose 44 is connected between the bottom of the powder recovery chamber 6 and the first cyclone 29, and a third opening / closing valve 45 is provided in the middle of the powder recovery hose 44. It is provided.

The powder recovery chamber 6 is heated by the heater 35 while stirring the powder 14 in the storage chamber 6 by the agitator 34 driven by the motor 34a, thereby keeping the powder 14 in a dry state.

Next, the operation of this sandblasting machine will be described. First, a series of operations of the mixing chamber 2, the processing chamber 3, the reserve chamber 4, the blower 5 and the powder recovery chamber 6 and the triangular valve 3
The opening / closing operation of 3b is controlled by the control unit 23.

When the workpiece 24 is processed by spraying the powder 14 in the processing chamber 3, the triangular valve 33b is closed and the opening / closing valve 46, the adjusting valve 10, the rough adjusting portion valve 11, and the adjusting valve 12 are provided. The fine control valve 23 is opened, and compressed air is sent from the air compressor 1 through the air supply pipe 7 to the first supply pipe 8 and the second supply pipe 9. Then, the air passing through the first supply pipe 8 is sent into the mixing chamber 2 through the air outlet 18, and further passes through the inside of the sending pipe 17 and the air coming through the second supplying pipe 9 to the sending pipe 20. They are combined and sent to the processing room 3 side. Further, when being fed into the delivery pipe 17, the powder 14 in the mixing chamber 2 is blown together, and this is sprayed from the nozzle 21 toward the workpiece 24 in the processing chamber 3 for processing.

The powder 14 deposited on the bottom of the processing chamber 3
Is collected by the first opening / closing valve 4 of the first suction hose 40.
2 is opened, and the exhaust fan 5 is driven in a state in which the second opening / closing valve 43 of the second suction hose 41 is closed. Then, the powder 14 in the processing chamber 3 is sucked into the powder recovery hose 28 and guided to the second cyclone 39 by the air exhaust action of the air exhaust device 5. Here, the exhaust air is exhausted from the air exhaust device 5 to the outside through the first suction hose 40, and the powder 1
Only 4 passes through the second cyclone 39 and is recovered in the powder recovery chamber 6. Further, although the powder 14 sucked into the powder recovery hose 28 is accompanied by the moist air in the processing chamber 3,
It is separated from the moist air by the cyclone 39, and is housed in the powder recovery chamber 6 in a dried state by the stirring device 34 and the heater 35.

On the other hand, when there is a command to replenish the powder 14 into the mixing chamber 2, the first opening / closing valve 4 of the first suction hose 40
2 is closed, the second open / close valve 43 of the second suction valve 41 and the third suction valve 45 of the powder recovery hose 44 are opened, and the triangular valve 33b is further opened. The dry air is pressure-fed from the supply port 44a of 44. As a result, the powder 14 in the powder recovery chamber 6 is supplied to the second cyclone 29 in the reserve chamber 4 through the powder recovery hose 44 together with the dry air. On the other hand, the dry air is exhausted to the outside through the second suction hose 41, and only the powder 14 is stored in the reserve chamber 4 from the second cyclone 29. Then, the powder 14 in the reserve chamber 4 passes through the feed passage 31 a, the bellows 32, and the feed passage 31 b by the screw conveyor 30 and is mixed into the mixing chamber 2
Is supplied in.

[0025]

However, the above-mentioned conventional sandblasting apparatus has the following problems. (1) The powder 14 collected from the processing chamber 3 passes through the cyclone 39 and is collected in the powder collecting chamber 6. Further, in order to send the powder 14 to the reserve chamber 4, the powder 14 further passes through a cyclone 29. That is, since the cyclones 39 and 29 are passed twice before being sent from the processing chamber 3 to the reserve chamber 4, the recovery rate of the powder 14 is poor. (2) Bellows 32 between the reserve chamber 4 and the mixing chamber 2
Since the bellows 32 are mechanically directly connected to each other, when the bellows 32 vibrates due to the influence of disturbance or the like, the bellows 32 is directly transmitted to the mixing chamber 2 and the electronic balance 22 fluctuates by about 0.3 to 0.8 g to measure. It becomes unstable, and the controllability of the injection amount deteriorates, resulting in lack of reliability. (3) Overall structure is complicated, and maintainability and reliability are poor.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to efficiently collect the powder from the processing chamber and to eliminate the influence of the negative pressure by the exhaust fan on the mixing chamber. It is an object of the present invention to provide a powder supply device capable of performing reliable and stable measurement by an electronic balance, simplifying the structure, and improving the maintainability and the like.

[0027]

In order to achieve the above object, a powder supply apparatus according to the present invention comprises an air compressor for supplying compressed air, and a powder mixed with compressed air delivered from the air compressor. And a reserve chamber for containing powder to be supplied to the mixing chamber, and a predetermined amount of the powder in the mixing chamber together with the compressed air by injecting from the nozzle. It consists of a processing chamber for processing the surface of the work piece, and a powder recovery path for suctioning and recovering powder from the processing chamber via a cyclone by the exhaust action of an exhaust fan and feeding it to the reserve chamber. Then, a plurality of the cyclones are provided in series in a multi-stage manner on the upper side of the reserve chamber. Further, among the plurality of cyclones, a powder recovery valve is provided on the bottom surface of the other cyclones except for the first-stage cyclone that first receives the powder sucked from the processing chamber. It is also possible to adopt a structure for efficiently collecting the air without deteriorating the function of exhausting air. Further, the structure can be simplified by providing a structure in which the processing chamber and the reserve chamber are directly connected to each other through the powder recovery path and the cyclone. Further, a structure provided between the reserve chamber and the mixing chamber so as to be mechanically separable, so that the mechanical coupling between the reserve chamber and the mixing chamber is separated as necessary,
It is also possible to eliminate a bad influence on the electronic scale added from the mixing chamber side.

[0028]

According to this structure, the cyclone is made into a series multi-stage type, and the exhaust air mixed with the powder to be collected is passed through a plurality of cyclones at the same time, so that the powder is sequentially collected at each stage. Therefore, the efficiency of powder recovery can be improved.

Further, among the plurality of cyclones, except for the first-stage cyclone that first receives the powder sucked from the processing chamber, a powder recovery valve is provided on the bottom surface of the other cyclones. When collecting powder, it is possible to collect efficiently without reducing the exhaust air effect, and when the powder is properly collected in the cyclone equipped with a powder collection valve, open the powder collection valve and open the collected powder. The body can be dropped into the reserve room and collected.

Further, in the case where the processing chamber and the reserve chamber are directly connected to each other through the powder recovery path and the cyclone, the powder recovery chamber provided between the reserve chamber and the processing chamber in the conventional device is provided. The structure of the device itself can be simplified by eliminating the above.

Further, in the case of a structure in which the reserve chamber and the mixing chamber can be mechanically separated from each other, for example, when the reserve chamber and the mixing chamber are mechanically separated at the time of processing, an electronic signal is output from the mixing chamber side. Since it is possible to eliminate a bad influence such as a disturbance applied to the balance, it is possible to accurately control the injection amount of the powder in the processing chamber.

[0032]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic overall configuration diagram of a powder supply device shown as an embodiment of the present invention. The powder supply device shown in FIG. 1 is roughly classified into an air compressor 51 for supplying compressed air, and a mixing chamber 53 for accommodating powder 52 mixed with the compressed air sent from the air compressor 51.
And a processing chamber 55 for processing a surface of a workpiece 54 by injecting a fixed amount of powder 52 together with compressed air, and the powder 52 in the processing chamber 55 is once housed for feeding to the mixing chamber 53. It is composed of a reserve chamber 56 and a blower 57 for sucking and collecting the powder 52 from the processing chamber 55 to the reserve chamber 56.

More specifically, the air compressor 5
The air supply pipe 58 pulled out from No. 1 is
It is branched into a supply pipe 59 and a second supply pipe 60. In addition, the first supply pipe 59 has an adjusting valve 61 for adjusting the pressure of the compressed air supplied to the mixing chamber 53.
In addition to the above, the second supply pipe 60 is provided with an adjusting valve 62 for adjusting the pressure air directly supplied from the air compressor 51 to the processing chamber 55.
1, 62 and the air compressor 51 are controlled by a control unit 63, respectively.

The mixing chamber 53 is composed of a cylindrical container, in which the powder 52 made of fine particles is contained, and is arranged on the electronic balance 66 via a support frame 86. Furthermore, the bottom of the mixing chamber 53 has a conical shape, and the other end of the first supply pipe 59 drawn from the air compressor 51 is connected to the bottom. Therefore, the compressed air supplied to the first supply pipe 59 is introduced into the mixing chamber 53 from the bottom surface side and is exhausted from the opening 53 a in the upper part of the mixing chamber 53.

The opening 53a of the mixing chamber 53 is connected to the middle of the second supply pipe 60 via the delivery pipe 64. Then, the powder 52 is sucked into the delivery pipe 64 by the negative pressure generated by the air flow of the compressed air supplied from the second supply pipe 60 and the air flow of the compressed air supplied from the first supply pipe 59. ,
The powder 52 is mixed with compressed air and mixed with the second supply pipe 6.
It is ready to be sent to 0. The tip of the second supply pipe 60 extends into the processing chamber 55, and a nozzle 65 is provided at the tip thereof.

The electronic balance 66 measures the total weight of the mixing chamber 53 mounted on the electronic balance 66 including the powder 52. That is, the electronic scale 66 is used in the mixing chamber 5
The purpose is to monitor that a certain amount of powder 52 is jetted from the nozzle 65 sent from No. 3, that is, the total weight in the mixing chamber 53 can be constantly reduced, and the mixing measured by the electronic balance 66 is performed. The amount of decrease in the total weight of the chamber 53 is input to the control unit 63, the adjusting valves 61 and 62 are controlled based on the amount of decrease, and the amount of compressed air in the first supply pipe 59 and the second supply pipe 60, etc. Are controlled by the control unit 63.

On the other hand, the processing chamber 55 is provided with a nozzle 65 provided at the tip portion of the second supply pipe 60 from the mixing chamber 53, and the workpiece 54 is supported by a means (not shown) so as to face the nozzle 65. Has been done. Further, a scraper 68 that rotates on the table 67 and a screw 89 that rotates together with this scraper 68 by a drive device (not shown) are disposed below the processing chamber 55. That is, the powder 52 sprayed from the nozzle 65 onto the workpiece 54 and dropped on the table 67 is scraped by the scraper 68 and dropped below the table 67, where it is accumulated at the bottom of the processing chamber 55 by the screw 89. It

The exhaust fan 57 collects the powder 52 accumulated at the bottom of the processing chamber 55 into the reserve chamber 56. On the discharge side of the blower 57, a powder recovery hose 6 having a tip connected to a cyclone 70 for powder recovery.
The other end side of 9 is connected, and the bottom of the processing chamber 55 is connected in the middle of the powder recovery hose 69.
On the other hand, on the suction side of the blower 57, one end side is the cyclone 7
The other end of the discharge pipe 71 connected to the discharge side of 0 is connected. In addition, a filter 72 for filtering the air taken in from the exhaust pipe 71 side is provided in the exhaust fan 57.

In the reserve chamber 56, the screw conveyor 73 is arranged in a horizontal state in which the screw conveyor 73 is rotated by the rotational force of the motor 74. Further, the feed passage 75 vertically provided at the end of the reserve chamber 56 can freely move in the vertical direction with the feed passage 76 vertically provided at the upper portion of the mixing chamber 53,
In addition, they are mechanically connected / disconnected so that they can be connected / disconnected so that disturbances such as vibration of the reserve chamber 56 side are not transmitted to the mixing chamber 53 side by disconnecting, and the accuracy of weighing of the electronic scale 66 is improved. I am trying to improve. Further, in the feeding paths 75 and 76, an openable / closable triangular valve 82 controlled by the above-mentioned control unit 63 is provided.
a and 82b are provided. In addition, the reserve room 56
A load cell 77 is provided on the lower side of the storage chamber 56 to detect when a certain amount of the powder 52 is stored in the reserve chamber 56, and the reserve chamber 56 is moved downward while the workpiece 54 is being processed. Support from the reserve chamber 56 and the mixing chamber 53
Cylinder 8 that disconnects the mechanical connection between them and prevents vibrations and the like on the reserve chamber 56 side from being transmitted to the mixing chamber 53 side
3 is provided.

Cyclone 7 provided in the reserve chamber 56
0 is the first cyclone 70A and the second cyclone 70A
It consists of two cyclones B. this house,
A powder recovery hose 69 is connected to the first cyclone 70A, and a connection hose 78 is connected between the first cyclone 70A and the second cyclone 70B.
Further, a discharge pipe 71 is connected to the second cyclone 70B. Therefore, the first cyclone 70A and the second cyclone 70B are arranged in series between the powder recovery hose 69 and the discharge pipe 71.

Further, below the second cyclone 70B, a box portion 7 is formed by partitioning a part of the reserve chamber 56.
9, and a powder recovery valve 81 whose opening and closing is controlled by an electromagnetic drive device 80 is provided below the box portion 79. The opening amount of the powder recovery valve 81 is the amount of the powder 52 in the box portion 79 when the powder recovery valve 81 is opened.
To ensure that the
It is in a state of tilting by 0 degree or more. Further, the powder recovery valve 81 may be provided directly on the bottom surface of the second cyclone 70B instead of being provided on the box portion 79.

Next, the operation of this powder supply device will be described. First, the mixing chamber 53, the processing chamber 55, the reserve chamber 56,
The control unit 63 controls a series of operations of the blower 57 and opening / closing operations of the triangular valves 82a and 82b.

Then, when the workpiece 54 is processed by spraying the powder 52 in the processing chamber 55, the triangular valve 82a,
82b is closed, the reserve chamber 56 is lifted by the cylinder 83, and the mechanical connection between the reserve chamber 56 and the mixing chamber 53, that is, the connection between the feed passage 75 and the feed passage 76 is cut off to the reserve chamber 56 side. Vibration of the mixing chamber 53
The electronic balance 66 is directly transmitted to the side and does not affect the electronic balance 66. Further, the adjusting valves 61 and 62 are further opened, and compressed air is sent from the air compressor 51 to the first supply pipe 59 and the second supply pipe 60. Then, the air passing through the first supply pipe 59 is sent into the mixing chamber 53 from the bottom surface side, is further combined with the air coming through the sending pipe 64 and the second supply pipe 60, and is combined into the processing chamber. It is sent to the 55 side. When the powder 5 in the mixing chamber 53 is fed into the delivery pipe 64,
2 are blown together, and this is the nozzle 6 in the processing chamber 55.
5 is jetted toward the workpiece 54 to be processed.

The powder 5 deposited on the bottom of the processing chamber 55
For the collection of 2, the air blower 57 is driven. Then, the blower 5
The powder 52 in the processing chamber 55 is sucked into the powder recovery hose 69 and guided to the cyclone 70 by the exhaust air action of 7. At this time, the powder recovery valve 81 provided corresponding to the bottom surface of the second cyclone 70B is closed by the electromagnetic drive device 80, and the triangular valves 82a and 82b are also closed and guided to the cyclone 70. The air flows to the discharge pipe 71 through the first cyclone 70A and the second cyclone 70B, and is discharged to the outside from the blower 57. When the air passes through the first cyclone 70A and the second cyclone 70B, the powder 52 contained in the air is absorbed by the first cyclone 70A and passes through the first cyclone 70A. The powder 52 is collected by the second cyclone 70B when passing through the second cyclone 70B.

Here, in the structure of the present embodiment, the reason why the powder recovery valve 81 is provided below the second cyclone 70B will be described with reference to FIG. 2. FIG. In the case where the valve 81 is provided, the same figure (b) is the case where the powder recovery valve is not provided. That is, when the powder recovery valve is not provided as shown in FIG. 7B, the air flowing from the powder recovery hose 69 becomes the flows indicated by arrows 85a and 85b, and the flow of the arrow 85b is created. As a result, the effect of providing the second cyclone 70B cannot be obtained. On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
In the case where No. 1 is provided, the air flowing from the powder recovery hose 69 becomes the flow indicated by arrows 85A and 85B,
The second cyclone 70B also effectively acts as a cyclone. Then, the powder recovery valve 81 is opened when the powder 52 is recovered on the side of the second cyclone 70B and accumulated in an appropriate amount, and the powder 52 in the box portion 79 is dropped into the reserve chamber 56 by this opening. .

According to the following experiments (1) and (2), the following results were obtained for the recovery rate of the powder 52 in the cyclone 70. (1) The recovery rate is about 86 when using # 4000 (powder particle size is about 3μ) SiC and using only one cyclone having the inner diameter dimension D of 85.1 mm (first cyclone 70A). In the case where the second cyclone 70B having the same inner diameter dimension is further provided as in the present embodiment at a rate of 0.3%, it is possible to recover up to 97.4% in the portion of the second cyclone 70B. (2) A cyclone having the same # 4000 (powder particle size of about 3 μ) and an inner diameter D of 97.6 mm is used.
When only one (the first cyclone 70A) is used, the recovery rate is about 93%, and in the case where the second cyclone 70B having the same inner diameter dimension is further provided as in this embodiment, the second cyclone 70B is used. It was possible to recover up to 99% in the part. Therefore, although it depends on the inner diameter of the cyclone 70, the second cyclone 70B is provided depending on whether the first cyclone 70A is provided or the first and second cyclones 70B are provided. It can be collected more efficiently.

When receiving a command to supply the powder 52 to the mixing chamber 53 from the reserve chamber 56, the air blower 57 is stopped and the reserve chamber 56 is lowered by the cylinder 83 to mix with the reserve chamber 56. The chamber 53, that is, the feed passage 75 and the feed passage 76 are mechanically connected, and the triangular valves 82a and 82b are opened. At the same time, the motor 74 is rotationally driven. Then, the screw conveyor 73 is rotated by the drive of the motor 74,
By the rotation of the screw conveyor 73, the powder 52 is sequentially sent out and supplied to the feed pipe 75 side.

In the above embodiment, the structure in which only one second cyclone 70B is provided in series with the first cyclone 70A is disclosed, but a plurality of second cyclones 70B may be provided in multiple stages. It is a thing.

[0049]

As described above, according to the powder supply apparatus of the present invention, the cyclone is made into a multi-stage serial type, and the exhaust air mixed with the powder to be recovered is passed through the plurality of cyclones at the same time. Since the powder is sequentially collected at each step, the powder collection efficiency can be improved.

Further, among the plurality of cyclones, except for the first-stage cyclone that first receives the powder sucked from the processing chamber, a powder recovery valve is provided on the bottom surface of the other cyclones. When collecting powder, it is possible to collect efficiently without reducing the exhaust air effect, and when the powder is properly collected in the cyclone equipped with a powder collection valve, open the powder collection valve and open the collected powder. The body can be dropped into the reserve chamber and collected, and the collection efficiency can be further improved.

Further, in the case where the processing chamber and the reserve chamber are directly connected to each other through the powder recovery passage and the cyclone, the powder recovery chamber provided between the reserve chamber and the processing chamber in the conventional apparatus is used. Can be eliminated to simplify the structure of the device itself, which can reduce cost and improve reliability.

Further, in the case where the reserve chamber and the mixing chamber are mechanically separated from each other, if the reserve chamber and the mixing chamber are mechanically separated during processing, for example, an electronic signal is output from the mixing chamber side. Since it is possible to eliminate a bad influence such as a disturbance applied to the balance, it is possible to accurately control the injection amount of the powder in the processing chamber.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic overall configuration diagram of a powder supply device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an operation explanatory diagram of a cyclone in the apparatus of this embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic overall configuration diagram of a conventional powder supply device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 51 Air Compressor 52 Powder 53 Mixing Room 54 Workpiece 55 Processing Room 56 Reserve Room 57 Air Discharger 65 Nozzle 70A First Cyclone 70B Second Cyclone

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] March 18, 1993

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0009

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

The mixing chamber 2 is composed of a cylindrical container, in which a powder 14 made of fine particles is contained. Further, the bottom of the mixing chamber 2 has a conical shape, and a disk-shaped filter 15 made of cermet (a porous material having innumerable fine pores formed by sintering metal powder) or the like is provided on the bottom surface, and the air compressor is provided. 1 first supply pipe 8 is a filter 1
5 is connected to the back side. Therefore, the compressed air supplied to the first supply pipe 8 is introduced into the mixing chamber 2 through the filter 15, and the opening 2 a at the upper part of the mixing chamber 2 is introduced.
Exhausted from.

[Procedure Amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0010

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

A bimorph oscillator 16 is provided on the slope around the filter 15. The bimorph oscillator 16 is composed of a pair of upper and lower piezoelectric elements and electrodes, and is arranged in an annular shape so that its free end faces above the filter 15, and the base end portion is on the conical slope of the mixing chamber 2. It is fixed.

[Procedure 3]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] 0015

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

On the other hand, in the processing chamber 3, a nozzle 21 provided at the tip of the delivery pipe 20 from the mixing chamber 2 is arranged,
The workpiece 24 is supported by a means (not shown) opposite to this. In addition, the table 2 is provided below the processing chamber 3.
Scraper 26 that reciprocates on 5 and this scraper 26
A screw 2 which is rotated by a driving device (not shown)
7 are provided. That is, the powder 14 sprayed from the nozzle 21 onto the workpiece 24 and dropped on the table 25.
Are scraped by a scraper 26 and dropped under a table 25, where a screw 27 is used to cut the processing chamber 3
Accumulated at the bottom of the.

[Procedure amendment 4]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] 0022

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

When the workpiece 24 is processed by spraying the powder 14 in the processing chamber 3, the triangular valve 33b is closed and the opening / closing valve 46, the adjusting valve 10, the rough adjusting portion valve 11, and the adjusting valve 12 are provided. The fine control valve 13 is opened, and the compressed air is sent from the air compressor 1 through the air supply pipe 7 to the first supply pipe 8 and the second supply pipe 9. Then, the air passing through the first supply pipe 8 is sent into the mixing chamber 2 through the air outlet 18, and further passes through the inside of the sending pipe 17 and the air coming through the second supplying pipe 9 to the sending pipe 20. They are combined and sent to the processing room 3 side. Further, when being fed into the delivery pipe 17, the powder 14 in the mixing chamber 2 is blown together, and this is sprayed from the nozzle 21 toward the workpiece 24 in the processing chamber 3 for processing.

[Procedure Amendment 5]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] 0024

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

On the other hand, when there is a command to replenish the powder 14 into the mixing chamber 2, the first opening / closing valve 4 of the first suction hose 40
2 is closed, the second open / close valve 43 of the second suction valve 41 and the third suction valve 45 of the powder recovery hose 44 are opened, and the triangular valve 33b is closed , and the powder recovery hose is closed. The dry air is pressure-fed from the supply port 44a of 44. As a result, the powder 14 in the powder recovery chamber 6 is supplied to the second cyclone 29 in the reserve chamber 4 through the powder recovery hose 44 together with the dry air. On the other hand, the dry air is exhausted to the outside through the second suction hose 41, and only the powder 14 is stored in the reserve chamber 4 from the second cyclone 29. Then, the powder 14 in the reserve chamber 4 stops the exhaust fan 5 and opens the triangular valve 33b.
After that, the screw conveyor 30 feeds the feed path 31
It is supplied into the mixing chamber 2 through a, the bellows 32, and the feeding path 31b.

[Procedure correction 6]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] 0037

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

On the other hand, the processing chamber 55 is provided with a nozzle 65 provided at the tip portion of the second supply pipe 60 from the mixing chamber 53, and the workpiece 54 is supported by a means (not shown) so as to face the nozzle 65. Has been done. Further, a scraper 68 that reciprocates on the table 67 and a screw 89 that rotates together with the scraper 68 by a drive device (not shown) are disposed below the processing chamber 55. That is, the powder 52 sprayed from the nozzle 65 onto the workpiece 54 and dropped on the table 67 is scraped by the scraper 68 and dropped below the table 67, where it is accumulated at the bottom of the processing chamber 55 by the screw 89. It

[Procedure Amendment 7]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0041

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

Further, below the second cyclone 70B, a box portion 7 is formed by partitioning a part of the reserve chamber 56.
9, and a powder recovery valve 81 whose opening and closing is controlled by an electromagnetic drive device 80 is provided below the box portion 79. In addition, the side wall surface of the box is the powder recovery valve 8
In order to ensure that the powder 52 in the box part 79 can be dropped when opening 1, it is necessary to set it at about 10 degrees or more.
It has a wide downward taper . Further, the powder recovery valve 81 may be provided directly on the bottom surface of the second cyclone 70B instead of being provided on the box portion 79.

[Procedure Amendment 8]

[Document name to be corrected] Drawing

[Name of item to be corrected] Figure 1

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[Figure 1]

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An air compressor that supplies compressed air, a mixing chamber that contains powder that is mixed with the compressed air that is sent from the air compressor and that is placed on an electronic scale, and that supplies to the mixing chamber. A reserve chamber for containing powder, a processing chamber for processing a surface of a workpiece by injecting a fixed amount of the powder together with the compressed air from a nozzle, and an air blower for discharging powder from the processing chamber. In the powder supply device, which comprises a powder recovery passage for sucking and collecting through the cyclone by the exhaust air effect and feeding the powder to the reserve chamber, a plurality of the cyclones are provided in a series multistage manner on the upper side of the reserve chamber. A powder supply device characterized by the above. 2. A powder recovery valve is provided on the bottom surface of the other cyclones except for the first-stage cyclone that first receives the powder sucked from the processing chamber among the plurality of cyclones. The powder supply device according to claim 1. 3. The powder supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing chamber and the reserve chamber are directly connected to the powder recovery passage via the cyclone. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the reserve chamber and the mixing chamber are mechanically separable from each other.
The powder supply device described in 1.