JPH10141598A - Gas supply unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a gas supply unit which can attain further miniaturization by arranging a port to which a gas auxiliary equipment is connected on a gas equipment block. SOLUTION: In a gas supply unit, a manually operated valve 101, a regulator 102, a filter 1, a mass-flow controller 105 and an outlet opening/closing valve 106 composing a gas equipment block are connected to piping blocks 109, 111, 112, 119, 120, 123 respectively provided with gas flow passages. The piping blocks 109, 111, 112, 119, 120, 123, 124 are connected to each other. A pressure gauge 20 as a gas auxiliary equipment is connected to the filter 1 in the equipment block, and composes a part of a gas supply line for supplying various kinds of corrosive gas.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a gas supply unit used in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus or the like, and more particularly to a gas supply unit in which a port to which gas auxiliary equipment can be connected is provided in a gas equipment block.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, several kinds of corrosive gases have been used in the manufacturing process of semiconductors and the like. The present invention is applied to a part of a gas supply line for supplying such several kinds of corrosive gases. Humans have developed a gas supply unit described in Japanese Patent Application No. 8-180383. Here, an example of such a gas supply unit is shown in FIG. 5 and will be briefly described. For a detailed description, refer to Japanese Patent Application No. 8-180.
No. 383 is omitted here.

The gas supply unit shown in FIG. 5 is a gas equipment block which is a manual valve 101, a regulator 102, an inlet open / close valve 104, a purge valve 107, a filter 108, a mass flow controller 105, an outlet open / close valve 106, and gas auxiliary equipment. A pressure gauge 103 is connected to a piping block 111, 112, 113, 11 in which a gas flow path is formed.
6, 117, 118, and 119, and further, piping blocks 109, 111, 112, 113, 116, 1
17, 118, and 119 are connected to each other to form a part of a gas supply line that supplies several types of corrosive gases.

In such a gas supply unit, gas equipment and piping constituting a gas supply line are modularized into a gas equipment block and a piping block, respectively.
1, the regulator 102 and the like and the piping blocks 111 and 11
Since no connecting parts are required between the two or the like, the size of the gas supply unit itself can be reduced, and the gas supply line can be shortened. Further, a manual valve 101, a regulator 102, etc., which are gas appliance blocks, a piping block 111,
Since the bolt 114 is used for the connection such as 112,
Maintenance and the like of the gas supply unit itself can be easily performed.

[0005]

However, in the gas supply unit shown in FIG. 5, the pressure gauge 103 and the like as the gas auxiliary equipment are replaced with the manual valve 101 and the gas equipment block.
It could not be connected to the regulator 102, the filter 108, etc., and had to be connected to the piping block 113, etc., provided with a port to which the pressure gauge 103, which is a gas auxiliary device, could be connected.

[0006] On the other hand, some gas appliances connected when the gas supply line is constituted by ordinary piping can directly connect a gas gauge, a pressure switch, etc., which are gas auxiliary devices. Looking at the gas supply unit of No. 5, the pressure gauge 103 and the like as gas auxiliary equipment are changed to the manual valve 101 and the regulator 10 as the gas equipment block.
2. If the gas supply unit can be connected to the filter 108 or the like, the size of the gas supply unit itself can be further reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a gas supply unit which is further reduced in size by providing a gas equipment block with a port to which gas auxiliary equipment can be connected.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a gas supply unit having a gas equipment block, a gas auxiliary equipment, and a piping block. Or, the gas auxiliary unit is connected to the piping block or the piping block is connected to each other, and is a gas supply unit constituting a part of a gas supply line, and a port to which the gas auxiliary device is connected. The gas equipment block is provided.

A gas supply unit according to a second aspect is the gas supply unit according to the first aspect, wherein the gas equipment block provided with the port removes impurities from the supply gas. Features. A gas supply unit according to a third aspect is the gas supply unit according to the second aspect, wherein the gas equipment block provided with the port is connected even in a reverse direction rotated by 180 degrees with respect to the piping block. It is characterized by being performed.

A gas supply unit according to a fourth aspect is the gas supply unit according to the second aspect, wherein the gas auxiliary device connected to the port is a pressure gauge. A gas supply unit according to a fifth aspect is the gas supply unit according to the second aspect, wherein the gas auxiliary device connected to the port is a pressure switch.

The gas supply unit of the present invention having such a configuration includes a gas equipment block in which gas equipment such as a valve, a regulator, a filter, and a mass flow controller are modularized, a piping block in which piping is modularized, It has a gas auxiliary device such as a pressure gauge and a pressure switch, and forms a part of a gas supply line by connecting the gas device block or the gas auxiliary device to the piping block or connecting the piping blocks to each other. be able to.

At this time, since the port to which the gas auxiliary equipment is connected is provided in the gas equipment block, the number of piping blocks to which the gas auxiliary equipment is connected can be reduced, and the gas supply unit itself can be reduced. Further miniaturization can be realized. In particular, when the gas equipment block provided with the port to which the gas auxiliary equipment is connected is a filter for removing impurities of the supply gas, the gas auxiliary equipment connected to the port of the gas equipment block as such a filter is a pressure gauge. In the case of a pressure switch or a pressure switch, the gas supply line can be managed and controlled based on the pressure value of a filter which is a gas equipment block that occupies most of the pressure loss in the gas supply line.

Further, since the gas equipment block as a filter can be connected in the reverse direction rotated by 180 degrees with respect to the piping block, the connection position of the gas auxiliary equipment connected to the port of the gas equipment block as the filter can be changed. The elements of the filter can be selectively changed upstream or downstream of the gas flow.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view showing a gas supply unit of the present embodiment. In the gas supply unit of FIG. 1, the gas equipment block and the piping block described in the section of the prior art are also connected, so the numbers used in FIG. The detailed description will be omitted.

The gas supply unit shown in FIG. 1 includes a manual valve 101, a regulator 102, a filter 1, a mass flow controller 105, and an outlet opening / closing valve 10 which are gas equipment blocks.
6 is a piping block 1 in which gas flow paths are respectively formed.
09, 111, 112, 119, 120, 123, and further, piping blocks 109, 111, 112,
119, 120, 123, and 124 are connected to each other, and a pressure gauge 20 as a gas auxiliary device is connected to a filter 1 as a gas device block, so that a gas supply line for supplying several types of corrosive gases is provided. Unit.

Here, the filter 1 as a gas equipment block to which a pressure gauge 20 as a gas auxiliary equipment is connected will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4. FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the filter 1 as a gas appliance block taken along a line AA in FIG. FIG. 3 is a top view of the filter 1 which is a gas device block to which a pressure gauge 20 which is a gas auxiliary device is connected. FIG. 4 is a side view of the filter 1 which is a gas device block to which a pressure gauge 20 which is a gas auxiliary device is connected.

The filter 1, which is a gas appliance block, includes a filter element 2, a housing 3, a base 4, and the like. The filter element 2 has a hollow cylindrical shape, and removes impurities from the supply gas regardless of the direction of gas flow. The housing 3 accommodates the filter element 2 and has a port 5 at the upper part thereof to which a pressure gauge 20 as a gas auxiliary device can be connected. The pressure gauge 20, which is a gas auxiliary device connected to the port 5, can measure the pressure of the filter 1, which is a gas device block, through a through hole 8 formed in the housing 3.

The base 4 has an inlet hole 6 and an outlet hole 7.
The inlet hole 6 communicates with the outside of the filter element 2, and the outlet hole 7 communicates with the inside of the filter element 2. Since the openings of the inlet hole 6 and the outlet hole 7 are provided symmetrically with respect to the base 4, the piping block 1
09 and 120 can also be connected in the opposite direction rotated 180 degrees. Further, a bolt hole (not shown) is formed, and the piping block 1 is
09, 120, etc. Further, since the housing 3 and the base 4 are fixed, the filter element 2 cannot be replaced. The base 12 of the mass flow controller 105 which is a gas appliance block
Bolt holes (not shown) are formed in the same manner for 1 and 122, and can be connected to the piping blocks 120 and 123 and the like via the bolt 9.

In the filter 1 which is a gas equipment block of the gas supply unit shown in FIG. 1, the filter 108 which is a gas equipment block of the conventional gas supply unit is used.
Unlike FIG. 5, the piping block 10 is
9, 120, etc., the filter 1 which is a gas equipment block can be easily replaced.

As described above in detail, the gas supply unit according to the present embodiment includes the manual valve 101, the outlet opening / closing valve 1
06, a gas equipment block in which the gas equipment of the regulator 102, the filter 1, and the mass flow controller 105 are each made into a module block, and a piping block 109, 111, 112, and 11 in which the piping is made into a module block.
9, 120, 123, 124 and a gas auxiliary device of the pressure gauge 20, and a manual valve 1 which is a gas device block
01, outlet on-off valve 106, regulator 102, filter 1, and mass flow controller 105 to piping block 1.
11, 112, 119, and the piping block 10
9, 111, 112, 119, 120, 123, 124
Are connected to each other to form a part of a gas supply line.

At this time, a pressure gauge 20 as a gas auxiliary device is used.
Is provided in the filter 1 which is a gas equipment block, so that the pressure gauge 20 which is a gas auxiliary equipment is provided.
Since the conventional piping block 113 (see FIG. 5) to which the gas supply unit is connected can be eliminated, the size of the gas supply unit itself can be further reduced. In particular, the gas equipment block provided with the port 5 to which the pressure gauge 20 as the gas auxiliary equipment is connected is the filter 1 for removing impurities of the supply gas, and is connected to the port 5 of the gas equipment block as the filter 1. Gas auxiliary equipment is a pressure gauge 20
Therefore, the gas supply line can be managed based on the pressure value of the filter 1, which is a gas equipment block that occupies most of the pressure loss in the gas supply line.

Further, since the gas equipment block as the filter 1 can be connected in the reverse direction rotated by 180 degrees with respect to the piping blocks 109 and 120, the gas auxiliary block connected to the port 5 of the gas equipment block as the filter 1 can be connected. The connection position of the pressure gauge 20 as the device can be selectively changed to the upstream side or the downstream side of the gas flow with respect to the element 2 of the filter 1.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various changes can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, in the gas supply unit according to the present embodiment, the pressure gauge 20 as the gas auxiliary device is connected to the port 5 of the gas device block as the filter 1, and the pressure switch 20 as the gas auxiliary device is connected to the port 5. Is connected, the gas supply line can be controlled by the pressure value of the filter 1, which is a gas equipment block that occupies most of the pressure loss in the gas supply line.

[0024]

According to the gas supply unit of the present invention, since the port to which the gas auxiliary equipment is connected is provided in the gas equipment block, the number of piping blocks to which the gas auxiliary equipment is connected can be reduced. Thus, the size of the gas supply unit itself can be further reduced. In particular, when the gas equipment block provided with the port to which the gas auxiliary equipment is connected is a filter for removing impurities of the supply gas, the gas auxiliary equipment connected to the port of the gas equipment block as such a filter is a pressure gauge. In the case of a pressure switch or a pressure switch, the gas supply line can be managed and controlled based on the pressure value of a filter which is a gas equipment block that occupies most of the pressure loss in the gas supply line.

Further, since the gas equipment block as the filter can be connected in the reverse direction rotated by 180 degrees with respect to the piping block, the connection position of the gas auxiliary equipment connected to the port of the gas equipment block as the filter can be changed. The elements of the filter can be selectively changed upstream or downstream of the gas flow.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a gas supply unit of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a filter connected in the gas supply unit of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a top view showing a filter connected in the gas supply unit of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a filter connected in the gas supply unit of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing a conventional gas supply unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Filter (gas equipment block) 5 port 20 Pressure gauge (gas auxiliary equipment block) 101 Manual valve (gas equipment block) 102 Regulator (gas equipment block) 104 Inlet open / close valve (gas equipment block) 105 Mass flow controller (gas equipment block) 106 Outlet open / close valve (gas equipment block) 107 Purge valve (gas equipment block) 109,111,112,117,119,120,1,1
23, 124 Piping block

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A gas equipment block, a gas auxiliary equipment,
A gas supply unit comprising a piping block, wherein the gas equipment block or the gas auxiliary device is connected to the piping block or the piping block is connected to each other to form a part of a gas supply line; A gas supply unit, wherein a port to which a gas auxiliary device is connected is provided in the gas device block. 2. The gas supply unit according to claim 1, wherein the gas equipment block provided with the port removes impurities from the supply gas. 3. The gas supply unit according to claim 2, wherein the gas equipment block provided with the port is connected to the piping block in a reverse direction rotated by 180 degrees with respect to the piping block. unit. 4. The gas supply unit according to claim 2, wherein the gas auxiliary device connected to the port is a pressure gauge. 5. The gas supply unit according to claim 2, wherein the gas auxiliary device connected to the port is a pressure switch.