JPH1038119A - Manifold - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To cut off air supply to a flow passage changeover valve which is still mounted on a manifold based by communicating at a first position of a valve chamber a passage communicated with an intake passage with a passage communicated with an intake port for fluid changeover, and cutting off them at a second position by means of a cut off valve. SOLUTION: An intake flow passage P, and exhaust flow passages R1, R2 are arranged penetratingly a rectangular parallelopiped manifold base 2. A first communication passage 11 is arranged for communicating the intake flow passage P with an inlet of a cutoff valve 8, while a second communication passage 12 is arranged for communicating an outlet of the valve 8 with an intake port of a solenoid valve 7. When a manual shaft 3 is at a first position, pressure fluid to be supplied to the intake flow passage P of the manifold base 2 flows through the communication passage 10, and is fed to the intake port of the solenoid valve 1. When the manual shaft 3 is at a second position, the pressure fluid to be supplied to the passage P of the manifold base 2 flows through the first communication passage 11, and is fed to the inlet flow passage 9 of the valve 8.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a fluid pressure device, and more particularly, to a manifold constituted by a plurality of flow passage switching valves.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, hydraulic equipment has been inexpensive,
It is used in various industries because it enables labor saving and automation. In addition, if air is used as a working fluid, it has recently been used in semiconductor production lines in order to keep the environment clean. In addition, in order to save piping and reduce the size, a multiple number of flow path switching valves are integrated and used as a manifold. The manifold is connected to a fluid pressure operated device or the like to control the movement of the fluid pressure operated device or the like. Since the shorter the connection line between the manifold and the fluid pressure operated device can be controlled with higher accuracy, most of the manifolds are installed near the fluid pressure operated device.

[0003] From the viewpoint of maintainability, it is required that the flow path switching valve constituting the manifold can be replaced, and that leakage of piping and inspection and replacement of fluid pressure operated equipment can be performed without closing the main valve of the supply source of the pressure fluid. Have been. That is, in order to perform such an operation, it is necessary to shut off the supply of the pressurized fluid to the flow path switching valve. Therefore, a shut-off valve is attached to the manifold base to shut off the supply of the pressure fluid to the flow path switching valve.

FIG. 6 shows a conventional manifold. FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the manifold. In the manifold shown in FIG. 6, a check valve is built in a communication path between the manifold base 32 and the air supply port of each flow path switching valve, and this check valve functions as a shutoff valve. When the flow path switching valve 33 is not mounted on the manifold base 32, the check valve is actuated by the force of the spring 31.
, And the communication passage is closed. When the flow path switching valve 33 is mounted on the manifold base 32, the projection 34 provided on the flow path switching valve 33 pushes the valve body 30 downward to open the communication path. A pressure fluid is supplied. When the flow path switching valve 33 is removed from the manifold base 32, the valve 30
Is urged upward by the force of the spring to close the communication passage and shut off the pressurized fluid.

[0005]

However, the conventional manifold has the following problems. That is,
Since the supply of the pressure fluid is shut off by removing the flow path switching valve 33 from the manifold base 32, the flow path switching valve 33 remains attached to the manifold base 32.
It is not possible to shut off the supply of pressure fluid. Therefore,
To check for leaks in the connection piping,
Since the flow path switching valve 33 has to be removed from the manifold base 32, there is a problem that maintenance is very poor. Also, depending on the installation location of the manifold, the flow path switching valve 33 may not be able to be removed from the manifold base 32. In this case, it is not possible to check for leaks in the piping, which is very undesirable in terms of maintainability.

Further, when the fluid switching valve 33 is attached to the manifold base 32 or when the fluid switching valve 33 is removed, the check valve is opened halfway, so that pressure fluid leaks. Since a constant pressure is applied to the pressurized fluid, leakage of the pressurized fluid is problematic in terms of safety, and when a clean environment is required, for example, in the semiconductor manufacturing process or the food industry, etc. In addition, there is also a problem that the leaked pressure fluid has a great adverse effect on a product (for example, a defective product is formed).

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and shuts off air supply to an arbitrary flow path switching valve while the flow path switching valve is attached to the manifold base. It is an object of the present invention to provide a manifold that can be used.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a manifold having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped in which a common air supply passage and an exhaust passage are formed. A manifold connected to the manifold base adjacent to and in parallel with the manifold base and having two or more flow path switching valves respectively communicating with the air supply flow path and the exhaust flow path; A first communication path, a second communication path communicating with an air supply port of the fluid switching valve, a valve chamber communicating the first communication path with the second communication path, and slidably held in the valve chamber. And a shutoff valve including a manual shaft that communicates the first communication passage and the second communication passage at a first position and shuts off the first communication passage and the second communication passage at a second position. It is characterized by the following.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a manifold according to the first aspect, wherein the shut-off valve is unitized so as to be detachable from the manifold base. Features.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the manifold according to the first or second aspect, wherein the supply port communicates with the second communication passage and opens to the outside. It is characterized by having.

[0011] According to the manifold described in claim 4, in order to solve the above problem, claims 1 to 3 are provided.
In any one of the manifolds described in (1), a lock mechanism capable of holding the manual shaft at the second position is provided.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, in the manifold according to the fourth aspect, the lock mechanism has grooves in the axial direction and the circumferential direction of the manual shaft. It is characterized by having.

Here, the shape of the groove formed in the manual shaft is generally L-shaped, T-shaped, or H-shaped. However, it is not limited to the above shape,
Other shapes can be applied.

According to the manifold having the above configuration,
The supply of the pressure fluid to any flow path switching valve can be cut off without closing the main valve of the pressure fluid supply source and without removing the flow path switching valve from the manifold base. Therefore, when the supply of the pressure fluid to the flow path switching valve is shut off while the main valve is open as in the conventional example, the pressure fluid does not leak at the time of the shutoff, so that safety or product quality is greatly improved. . In addition, the supply of the pressure fluid is shut off while the flow path switching valve is attached, and the leakage of the piping can be checked, so that the maintainability is improved.

[0015] Further, since the shut-off valve is made into a unit, when the shut-off valve fails, only the failed shut-off valve needs to be replaced. Further, by mounting an external supply port communicating with the second communication passage, a pressure fluid different from the pressure fluid supplied to the manifold base can be supplied to an arbitrary flow path switching valve. Therefore, a wide variety of usage methods are possible. In addition, by attaching the lock mechanism to the manual shaft, the state in which the supply of the pressure fluid is shut off can be maintained, so that maintenance and repair work can be performed efficiently. further,
Since the lock mechanism has a groove in the manual shaft and has a simple structure in which the position is locked by engagement of the groove and the parallel pin, it is hardly broken without increasing the manufacturing cost.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a manifold according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, taking concrete embodiments. 1 and 2 show a manifold according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a sectional view of the manifold (at the time of air supply), and FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the manifold (at the time of air supply cutoff). In FIG. 1, the manifold base 2 is
It has a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and has an air supply passage P and an exhaust passage R in the longitudinal direction.
1, R2 penetrates through the inside of the manifold base 2. Further, output flow paths A and B communicating with two output ports provided in a 5-port solenoid valve 7 serving as a flow path switching valve in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction include an air supply flow path P and an exhaust flow path R.
1 and R2, it is formed on the side surface of the manifold base 2 and an opening is provided with an instant joint 6. With an instant fitting (one-touch type fitting), the connecting tube is locked by inserting the connecting tube, etc., and the lock of the connecting tube, etc. is released by pushing the release ring provided on the instant fitting, and the connecting tube, etc. It is a pipe joint from which a can be extracted. Further, a first communication path 11 for communicating the air supply passage P with the inlet of the shutoff valve 8 and a second communication path 12 for communicating the outlet of the shutoff valve 8 with the air supply port of the solenoid valve 7 are formed. .

In this embodiment, the shut-off valve is not incorporated in the manifold base, and a separate unitized shut-off valve 8 is attached to the manifold base 2.
Of course, it is also possible to incorporate the shut-off valve in the manifold base. When the shut-off valve is made into a unit, when the shut-off valve fails, only the failed shut-off valve needs to be replaced, so that the maintainability (in particular, economic efficiency) is excellent.

The structure of the shutoff valve 8 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the shut-off valve 8 includes a shut-off valve main body 4 and a manual shaft 3. A valve chamber 19 into which the inlet channel 9, the outlet channel 10, and the manual shaft 3 can be fitted and slid is formed in the shut-off valve body 4. The inlet passage 9 and the outlet passage 10 are essentially part of the first communication passage 11 and the second communication passage 12, but are not formed in the manifold base 2; 11 and the inlet passage 9 and the second communication passage 1
The only difference between the second embodiment and the outlet channel 10 is shown.

Further, a plug 13 is mounted on the outlet channel 10. The plug 13 has the function of a check valve, and is normally in a closed state. When the plug 13 is connected to the plug 13, the plug 13 is opened, and the connection pipe and the outlet channel 10 communicate with each other. Therefore, the pressurized fluid can be supplied from the plug 13 to each solenoid valve. Therefore, if the air supply is shut off in the shutoff valve 8, different types of fluids and fluids having different pressures are separately supplied to the respective solenoid valves, separately from the pressure fluid supplied to the supply passage P of the manifold base 2. Can be supplied. By using the plug 13, the manifold can be used in a wide variety of applications.

The manual shaft 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the manual shaft 3, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the same. The manual shaft 3 has a rod shape, and an operation knob 14 is formed at an end of the manual shaft 3 that is not fitted into the shutoff valve body 4. The knob 14 has a larger diameter than a portion to be fitted into the shut-off valve body 4. On the other hand, a small-diameter portion 15 having a smaller diameter than other portions is formed on the side opposite to the knob 14.
Depending on the position of the small diameter portion 15, the inlet flow path 9 and the outlet flow path 10 are communicated or blocked. At both ends of the small-diameter portion 15, grooves are provided for mounting O-rings for keeping the airtight so that the pressure fluid does not leak. Further, inside the manual shaft 3, as shown in FIG.
When the manual shaft 3 is moved to the second position, an evacuation flow path 16 is formed to allow the pressurized fluid remaining in the valve chamber 19 to escape.

An L-shaped groove 17 is formed near the center of the manual shaft 3, as shown in FIG. This groove 1
The parallel pin 5 mounted on the shut-off valve body 4 is engaged with 7. When the manual shaft 3 slides, the parallel pin 5 is engaged with the axial groove of the L-shaped groove 13. Therefore, when the manual shaft 3 slides, the groove serves as a guide and the manual shaft 3 does not rotate. And the manual shaft 3 is
When the manual shaft 3 is in the position, the parallel pin 5 is engaged with the circumferential groove of the L-shaped groove 17 by rotating the manual shaft 3, and the manual shaft 3 is locked in the second position. To release the lock, turn the manual shaft 3 in the opposite direction to when it is locked. When the lock is released, the parallel pin 5 again engages with the axial groove of the L-shaped groove 17 and is returned to the first position by the return spring 18. The rotation of the manual shaft 3 during sliding is prevented by the axial groove of the L-shaped groove 17 and the parallel pin 5, and the manual shaft 3 is locked by the circumferential groove and the parallel pin 5.

Since the manual shaft 3 has a lock mechanism, the air supply cutoff state (second position) can be maintained, so that maintenance and repair work such as replacement of the flow path switching valve and checking for leaks in the piping can be performed efficiently. it can.

The shut-off valve 8 composed of the above-mentioned parts is shown in FIG.
As shown in (1), each of the solenoid valves 1 is attached to the side surface of the manifold base 2 by bolts. The lower part of the solenoid portion to which the shutoff valve 8 is attached is a place which has conventionally been a dead space. Since the shutoff valve 8 is attached to this place, the dimensions of the manifold 1 do not become so large. In addition, manifold base 2
The seal of the shut-off valve 8 is performed by attaching a seal gasket to the mounting surface.

Next, the flow path until the pressure fluid supplied to the supply flow path P of the manifold base 2 is supplied to the solenoid valve 1 will be described. First, the case where the manual shaft 3 is at the first position (open state) will be described. This is the state shown in FIG. The pressure fluid supplied to the supply flow path P of the manifold base 2 flows through the first communication path 11 and is supplied to the inlet flow path 9 of the shutoff valve 8. Since the manual shaft 3 is not pressed, it is at the position shown in FIG. 1 by the force of the spring 18, and the inlet channel 9 and the outlet channel 10 communicate with each other through the small-diameter portion 15 formed on the manual shaft 3. ing. Therefore, the pressure fluid flows from the inlet channel 9 to the outlet channel 10 through the small diameter portion 15. Then, the pressure fluid flows from the outlet flow path 10 through the second communication passage 10 in the manifold 2 and is supplied to the air supply port of the solenoid valve 1.

Next, the case where the manual shaft 3 is at the second position (interrupted state) will be described. This is the state shown in FIG. As described above, the pressure fluid supplied to the supply passage P of the manifold base 2 flows through the first communication passage 11 and is supplied to the inlet passage 9 of the shutoff valve 8. Since the manual shaft 3 is pressed, it is at the position shown in FIG. 2, and the inlet channel 9 and the outlet channel 10 are not in communication. Therefore, the pressure fluid remains in the inlet channel 9. That is, the pressure fluid is not supplied to the solenoid valve 1.

In this state, when a connecting pipe is connected to the plug 13 to supply another type of pressure fluid, the outlet flow path 1
Then, the air is supplied to the air supply port of the solenoid valve 1 through the second communication passage 12. Therefore, the air supply passage P of the manifold base 2
Pressure fluid different from the pressure fluid supplied to the solenoid valve can be supplied to any solenoid valve. Accordingly, one manifold can supply various types of pressure fluids as needed, so that one manifold can be used for various applications. For example, if pilot air is supplied from the outside, a combination of low vacuum and pneumatic pressure can be performed in one manifold. Further, in FIG. 1 or FIG. 2, the plug 13 is mounted on the upper surface of the manual shaft main body 4, but it is also possible to mount the plug 13 on the side surface from which the manual shaft 4 protrudes.

As described above, according to the manifold of the present embodiment, without closing the source valve of the supply source of the pressure fluid, without removing the flow path switching valve from the manifold base, the manifold can be connected to an arbitrary flow path switching valve. Can be shut off. Therefore, when the supply of the pressure fluid to the flow path switching valve is shut off while the main valve is open as in the conventional example, the pressure fluid does not leak at the time of the shutoff, so that safety or product quality is greatly improved. . In addition, the supply of the pressure fluid is shut off while the flow path switching valve is attached, and the leakage of the piping can be checked, so that the maintainability is improved.

Further, since the shut-off valve is made into a unit, when the shut-off valve fails, only the failed shut-off valve needs to be replaced, so that the maintainability (in particular, economic efficiency) is excellent. Further, by mounting an external supply port communicating with the second communication passage, a pressure fluid different from the pressure fluid supplied to the manifold base can be supplied to an arbitrary flow path switching valve. Therefore, a wide variety of usage methods are possible. In addition, by attaching the lock mechanism to the manual shaft, the state in which the supply of the pressure fluid is shut off can be maintained, so that maintenance and repair work can be performed efficiently. further,
Since the lock mechanism has a groove in the manual shaft and has a simple structure in which the position is locked by engagement of the groove and the parallel pin, it is hardly broken without increasing the manufacturing cost.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various applications are possible. That is, for example, in the present embodiment,
Although the shut-off valve is attached to the manifold base, the shut-off valve can be incorporated in the manifold.
Further, although the flow path switching valve constituting the manifold of the present embodiment is a five-port valve, it is needless to say that a three-port valve or a two-port valve can be applied.

[0030]

According to the manifold of the present invention, a substantially rectangular parallelepiped manifold base having a common air supply flow path and a common exhaust flow path formed therein, and attached to the manifold base adjacent to and in parallel with each other, In a manifold having two or more flow path switching valves each communicating with the air supply flow path and the exhaust flow path, a first communication path communicating with the air supply flow path and a supply port of the fluid switching valve are communicated. A second communication passage, a valve chamber communicating the first communication passage and the second communication passage, and slidably held in the valve chamber; and a first communication passage between the first communication passage and the second communication passage at a first position. A manifold that communicates with the passage and has a manual shaft that shuts off the first communication passage and the second communication passage at the second position, without closing the main valve of the supply source of the pressurized fluid; Without removing the flow switching valve from the base It is possible to cut off the supply of pressure fluid to the meaning of the flow path switching valve. Therefore, when the supply of the pressure fluid to the flow path switching valve is shut off while the main valve is open as in the conventional example, the pressure fluid does not leak at the time of the shutoff, so that safety or product quality is greatly improved. . In addition, the supply of the pressure fluid is shut off while the flow path switching valve is attached, and the leakage of the piping can be checked, so that the maintainability is improved.

Further, since the shut-off valve is made into a unit, when the shut-off valve fails, only the failed shut-off valve needs to be replaced, so that the maintainability (in particular, economic efficiency) is excellent. Further, by mounting an external supply port communicating with the second communication passage, a pressure fluid different from the pressure fluid supplied to the manifold base can be supplied to an arbitrary flow path switching valve. Therefore, a wide variety of usage methods are possible. In addition, by attaching the lock mechanism to the manual shaft, the state in which the supply of the pressure fluid is shut off can be maintained, so that maintenance and repair work can be performed efficiently. further,
Since the lock mechanism has a groove in the manual shaft and has a simple structure in which the position is locked by engagement of the groove and the parallel pin, it is hardly broken without increasing the manufacturing cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a manifold (at the time of air supply) according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a manifold (at the time of air supply cutoff) according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a manual shaft which is a component of the manifold according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view (cross-sectional view taken along line AA shown in FIG. 3) of a manual shaft which is a component of the manifold according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the manifold of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a conventional manifold.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Manifold 2 Manifold base 3 Manual shaft 4 Shut-off valve main body 5 Parallel pin 8 Shut-off valve 11, (9) 1st communication path (inlet flow path) 12, (10) 2nd communication path (outlet flow path) 13 Plug 19 valve Room

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A substantially rectangular parallelepiped manifold base in which a common air supply flow path and a common exhaust flow path are formed, and mounted adjacently and in parallel to the manifold base, the air supply flow path and the exhaust flow A manifold having two or more flow path switching valves each communicating with a passage; a first communication path communicating with the air supply flow path; a second communication path communicating with an air supply port of the fluid switching valve; A valve chamber communicating the first communication path and the second communication path, slidably held in the valve chamber;
A manifold having a shutoff valve that communicates a communication path with the second communication path and has a manual shaft that shuts off the first communication path and the second communication path at a second position. 2. The manifold according to claim 1, wherein the shutoff valve is unitized so as to be detachable from the manifold base. 3. The manifold according to claim 1, wherein the manifold has a supply port that communicates with the second communication passage and opens to the outside. 4. The manifold according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a lock mechanism capable of holding the manual shaft at the second position. 5. The manifold according to claim 4, wherein the lock mechanism has grooves in an axial direction and a circumferential direction of the manual shaft.