JPS6128080Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an improvement of a vacuum device, and particularly to a vacuum device that can shorten the stop time of a diffusion pump and facilitate the replacement of a working fluid.

2. Description of the Related Art As the development and manufacture of various semiconductor devices, integrated circuits, special electronic components, etc. become more popular, it is well known that a large number of evaporation and sputtering equipment, electronic component exhaust equipment, etc. are used in such industrial fields.

In such various vacuum apparatuses, generally, diffusion pumps are widely used to obtain a high vacuum state because they have a simple structure, are durable, and have sufficient exhaust capacity for all kinds of gases. The configuration of a basic vacuum device using the above-mentioned diffusion pump is as follows.
To explain with reference to FIG. 1, the diffusion pump 1 includes a pump outer cylinder 2, a boiler chamber 3 containing a working fluid 4, a chimney 5 having a spout 6 inside the outer cylinder 2, and a heater 7. , 8 water cooling pipes are attached, and the working fluid 4 is heated and evaporated by the heater 7 through the bottom plate of the boiler chamber 3, and the evaporation airflow is ejected from the spout 6 of the chimney 5. , the gas flows back toward the lower part of the outer cylinder 2 surrounding the spout 6 at high speed, thereby discharging the gas in the container (not shown) connected to the intake opening 9 of the outer cylinder 2. The exhaust gas is further exhausted by an auxiliary pump 11 from an exhaust pipe 10 provided on the back pressure side of the pump outer cylinder 2.

By the way, in the diffusion pump having the above structure, diffusion pump oil made of silicone oil or the like is generally used as the working fluid, but because the diffusion pump oil has viscosity and poor heat conduction, it may not work, for example. It is well known that when the equipment is stopped by turning off the heater power of the diffusion pump, it takes an abnormally long time for the heated working fluid in the boiler room to cool down to a temperature at which it no longer evaporates. However, it had the disadvantage of being difficult to use.

Furthermore, conventionally, each time the working fluid in the diffusion pump is replaced, it is necessary to perform the troublesome work of removing the diffusion pump from the vacuum apparatus, which is a major hindrance in terms of maintenance of the diffusion pump.

The present invention was devised in view of the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks and obstacles, and its purpose is to provide a new vacuum device that shortens the stop operation time of the diffusion pump and makes it possible to easily replace the working fluid in the diffusion pump. It is something to do. In order to achieve such an object, the present invention provides a connection in which, in a diffusion-type vacuum device that evaporates and refluxes a working fluid and exhausts the air, an on-off valve that communicates with the boiler chamber is provided on a side wall that is lower than the level of the working fluid. The hydraulic fluid reservoir is connected via a pipe so that it can be turned upside down, and when the device is stopped, the hydraulic fluid can be inflowed and stored with the reservoir placed in the lower storage position. That is. The present invention also proposes a configuration in which the reservoir is detachably connected to the connecting pipe to facilitate replacement of the hydraulic fluid.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram partially showing a section of the vacuum apparatus according to the present invention, and the same parts as in FIG. 1 are given the same reference numerals.

In other words, 1 is a diffusion pump, which includes a pump outer cylinder 2 containing a chimney 5 having a spout 6 and a working fluid 4.
The boiler room 3 is equipped with a heater 7 and a water cooling pipe 8.

Next, in the diffusion pump 1, an A on-off valve 21 is provided on a side wall of the boiler chamber 3 which houses the working fluid 4 and is located at a lower level than the working fluid level and communicates with the boiler room 3.
A hydraulic fluid reservoir made of stainless steel or the like, which is a feature of the present invention, is installed between the connecting pipe 22 equipped with a auxiliary pump 11 and the connecting pipe 24 branched from the discharge pipe 10 connected to the auxiliary pump 11 and equipped with a B on-off valve 23. Airtight connector 2 that allows 25 to be turned upside down and detached.
6 and 27, for example, they are connected in an inverted state as shown in the figure.

Then, when operating such a vacuum device,
Close the D leak valve 29 (at this time, close the A on-off valve 2
1 is closed) drives the auxiliary pump 11.
Then, with the C on-off valve 28 and the B on-off valve 23 open, the diffusion pump 1 is operated to discharge the gas in the container (not shown). In addition, when stopping the operation of the diffusion pump 1, first turn off the power to the heater 7, and then connect the hydraulic fluid reservoir 25 to the gas-tight connectors 26 and 27 as indicated by the chain line in the figure.
As shown at 5', it is placed 180 degrees inverted in the lower storage position. When the A on-off valve 21 is then opened, the working fluid 4 in the boiler room 3 can flow into the reservoir 25 and be stored therein. Therefore, the temperature of the boiler room 3 is rapidly lowered and there is no possibility that the vapor of the working fluid 4 remaining in the boiler room 3 will flow back to the high vacuum side in a short time.
1. Close the B on-off valve 23 and the C on-off valve 28 in sequence, stop the operation of the auxiliary pump 30, and
By performing the normal operation of opening the leak valve 29, it is possible to stop the operation of the vacuum apparatus in an extremely short time.

On the other hand, when operating the device from this state,
First, the hydraulic fluid reservoir 25 is connected to the airtight connectors 26 and 2.
Flip 180 degrees with 7 as the axis and arrange it upside down, D
The leak valve 29 is closed and the auxiliary pump 11 is driven. After C and B open the on-off valves 28 and 23, the A on-off valve 21 is opened and the working fluid 4 in the reservoir 25 flows into the boiler room 3, and then A
The on-off valve 21 may be closed and the diffusion pump 1 may be operated.

Further, a working fluid 4 used in the diffusion pump 1
When replenishing or replacing the hydraulic fluid 4, for example, the hydraulic fluid 4 is stored in the reservoir 25 because the hydraulic fluid reservoir 25 is removably attached by airtight connectors 26 and 27, 21, 23
By removing the reservoir 25 while the is closed,
The working fluid 4 can be easily replenished and replaced without introducing air into the vacuum system of the device.

If a liquid level monitoring window is provided on a part of the side wall of the reservoir 25 using heat-resistant glass or the like, it will be possible to observe the liquid amount and quality, which will be convenient.

As is clear from the above explanation, in the vacuum device of the present invention, the working fluid of the diffusion pump can flow into the working fluid reservoir and be stored therein. It becomes possible to significantly shorten the time required to stop the auxiliary pump. In addition, the hydraulic fluid reservoir has a structure that allows it to be easily attached and removed from the equipment, making it easy to replace the hydraulic fluid, making it suitable for use in vacuum equipment such as vacuum evaporation equipment, sputtering equipment, and other vacuum exhaust equipment. It is extremely practical and has excellent effects.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a conventional vacuum device, and FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating the structure of an embodiment of the vacuum device according to the present invention. 1 is a diffusion pump, 2 is a pump outer cylinder, 3 is a boiler room, 4 is a working fluid, 5 is a chimney, 6 is a spout, 7 is a heater, 8 is a water cooling pipe, 9 is an intake opening, 10
is a discharge pipe, 11 is an auxiliary pump, 21 is an A on-off valve,
22 is a connecting pipe, 23 is a B on-off valve, 24 is a connecting pipe,
25 is a hydraulic fluid storage chamber, 26 and 27 are airtight connectors, 28 is a C on-off valve, and 29 is a D leak valve.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] 1. In a diffusion type vacuum device that evaporates and refluxes a working fluid and exhausts the air, a side wall of a boiler room that houses and heats the working fluid, which is located at a lower level than the working fluid level,
A hydraulic fluid reservoir is connected to the boiler room through a connection pipe equipped with an on-off valve that communicates with the boiler room so that it can be turned upside down, and when the equipment is stopped, the hydraulic fluid is placed in the lower storage position. A vacuum device characterized in that it is capable of inflowing and storing. 2. The vacuum device according to claim 1, wherein the reservoir is detachably connected to a connecting pipe.