JPS632114Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Field of industrial application] The invention relates to an air gun, and more specifically,
In the manufacturing process of semiconductors such as ICs, it is used to remove dust and dust that adheres not only to materials such as wafers, but also to carriers that store wafers and cases that store manufactured semiconductors. The present invention relates particularly to the nozzle structure at the tip of the air gun.

[Conventional technology]

As is well known, in the manufacturing process of semiconductors such as ICs,
Dust and dirt are your enemy, so you must always take care to keep it clean.

For example, in the process of molding integrated circuits on the surface of a wafer, in order to remove dust and other particles that adhere to the surface of the wafer, etc.
An air gun that can be held and used in the hand is usually used.

This air gun has conventionally had a structure as shown in FIG. To explain this with reference to the drawings, 1 is the main body of the air gun, 2 is a cylindrical portion, and 3 is a cylindrical base end. Inside the main body 1, a passage 4 is provided which can be connected to a cylinder (not shown) containing compressed inert gas such as dry nitrogen gas or dry air, and 5 is a connecting portion thereof.

Reference numeral 6 denotes an operation button, and a rod 7 integral with the operation button 6 is slidably inserted into the main body 1, and a valve body 8 is provided at the tip of the rod 7. This valve body 8 is movable within the valve chamber 9,
By pressing the operation button 6 against the spring 10, the passage 4 in the main body 1 and the passage 11 provided in the cylindrical base end 3 can be opened.

The passage 11 provided in the cylindrical base end 3 further communicates with the base end of a cartridge type air filter 12 that is removably mounted within the cylindrical part 2. The tip of the air filter 12 is in communication with a nozzle 14 of a nozzle member 15 attached to the tip of the cylindrical portion 2 via a passage 13.

Therefore, when using the air gun, when the main body 1 is held and the operation button 6 is operated, the valve body 8 opens the valve hole and the gas filtered by the air filter 12 is sent to the nozzle 14 through the passage 11. It can erupt from.

[Problem that the invention attempts to solve]

However, according to the air gun with the conventional configuration,
When compressed air is ejected from the nozzle 14, unfiltered gases existing in the surroundings are drawn into the air filtered by the air filter 12 and ejected together, resulting in damage to the wafers and other objects. The cleaning body had the disadvantage that unclean air was also blown onto it, reducing its effectiveness in removing dirt and dust.

[Means and actions for solving problems]

The air gun according to the present invention solves the above-mentioned drawbacks, namely, in an air gun that spouts compressed air filtered by an air filter from a nozzle at the tip of a cylindrical portion, a main nozzle is provided at the tip of the cylindrical portion. At the same time, an annular sub-nozzle is provided which is inclined outward at a predetermined angle with respect to the arrangement direction of the main nozzle, and the main nozzle jets mainstream air, and the sub-nozzle simultaneously directs the secondary air to the outside of the main stream air in a conical annular shape. The gist of this method is to prevent unfiltered air around the mainstream air from being drawn in when the mainstream air is jetted onto the object to be cleaned.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. Note that the same parts as those of the conventional air gun will be described with the same reference numerals.

In the air gun according to this embodiment, the nozzle member 18, which is detachably attached to the tip of the cylindrical portion 2 via a screw, has the following configuration.

That is, the nozzle member 18 passes through the main nozzle 16 at its axial center, and branch holes 17 are provided in the middle of the main nozzle 16 in four directions to penetrate the peripheral wall of the nozzle member 18. .

Further, a screw 19 is provided on the outer periphery of the nozzle member 18.

The nozzle member 18 is the cylindrical part 2 of the air gun.
is removably screwed onto the tip of the nozzle member 18 through a screw 19, and in this state, between the nozzle member 18 and the tip of the cylindrical portion 2, the branch hole 17 is inserted.
A ventilation gap 20 is provided which communicates with the ventilation gap 2.
The tip of the nozzle 0 is an annular sub nozzle 21. The sub nozzle 21 is arranged so as to face outward at a predetermined angle with respect to the direction in which the main nozzle 16 is arranged.

Therefore, according to the air gun according to this embodiment, compressed air passes through the passage 11 of the cylindrical portion 2;
It is ejected forward from the main nozzle 16 at its tip, and is also ejected from the sub nozzle 21 through the branch hole 17 and the ventilation gap 20. Moreover, the secondary air jetted from the secondary nozzle 21 is transferred to the main nozzle 16.
Mainstream air is ejected outward in a conical ring shape.

Therefore, when the main stream air is ejected towards the object to be cleaned such as a wafer, the unfiltered air surrounding the main stream air is blown out by the side stream air.
It is blown outward and does not get caught up in the mainstream air, so it eliminates the need to blow unfiltered air around the nozzle onto the object to be cleaned along with the filtered air as in the conventional method. can be kept.

Further, according to this embodiment, by adjusting the screwing of the nozzle member 18 into the tip of the cylindrical portion 2, the ventilation gap 20 is changed, and the amount of side stream air from the sub nozzle 21 is adjusted, thereby making it relatively The amount of mainstream air ejected from the main nozzle 16 can be adjusted. Note that the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and a sub nozzle (not shown) may be provided obliquely in the thick portion of the peripheral wall of the nozzle member 18. In that case, as mentioned above, the size of the sub nozzle cannot be changed and the flow rate of the main nozzle cannot be adjusted, but the purpose of the sub nozzle is to prevent surrounding unfiltered air from being entrained by the sub nozzle. It can be achieved.

On the other hand, in this embodiment, the configuration of the air filter 22 is also different from that of the conventional one. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the cylindrical base end portion 3 is divided into upper and lower members 3a and 3b, which are removably connected with bolts 27.
A filter storage space 28 is provided at the joint part of 3b, and the air filter 22 is stored in this space 28.

In this air filter 22, 25 is a filter body made of Teflon and has holes of about 0.5 microns, and 24, 24 are filter holders made of thin metal plates with a large number of small holes that sandwich the top and bottom of the filter body 25. Lower filter receiver 24
is supported by a support member 23 rising from the bottom of the cavity 28, and the upper filter receiver 2
4 is held down by a packing 26. Blank space 2
The lower part of 8 communicates with the passage 4 in the main body 1,
The upper part communicates with the passage 11 of the cylindrical base end part 3.

Therefore, the configuration as in this embodiment has the following effects.

Compressed air entering from the lower passage 4 is diffused in the cavity 28, passes through the air filter 22, and enters the passage 11 again, so the amount of air passing through the air filter 22 is as shown in FIG. The amount of air that enters the cartridge-type air filter 12 housed in the cylindrical portion 2 of the conventional air gun shown in the figure can be larger than that of the cartridge-type air filter 12, and therefore the amount of air ejected from the nozzle of the conventional air gun is small. According to the air gun according to the example, a larger amount of air can be ejected more vigorously from the main nozzle 16 by pressing the operation button 6 once.

Air filter 2 inside the main body 1 of the air gun
Since the air filter 12 is disposed in the cylindrical part 2, the tip of the air gun is not heavy compared to the conventional arrangement in which the air filter 12 is disposed in the cylindrical part 2, and the workability is significantly improved.

Further, since the cylindrical part 2 does not have a cartridge type air filter 12 unlike a conventional air gun, the cylindrical part can be made thinner, and by replacing the attachment, it can be used even in narrow spaces.

[Effect of idea]

As described above, according to the present invention, the main nozzle and the sub-nozzle are provided in the cylindrical part of the air gun, and the sub-stream air is ejected in a conical ring shape around the main air ejected from the main nozzle. , the air from the main nozzle does not involve surrounding unclean air, and only clean air is blown onto the surface of the object to be cleaned, such as a wafer.
It has a great practical effect in removing impurities such as dirt and dust.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of the air gun according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof, Fig. 3 is a sectional view of a nozzle member, and Fig. 4 is a sectional view showing an example of a conventional air gun. . 1... Main body, 2... Cylindrical part, 11... Passage, 1
6... Main nozzle, 17... Branch hole, 18... Nozzle member, 20... Gap, 21... Sub-nozzle.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] In an air gun that ejects air filtered by an air filter from a nozzle at the tip of the cylindrical portion, a main nozzle 16 is provided at the tip of the cylindrical portion 2, and with respect to the arrangement direction of the main nozzle 16,
An air gun characterized by being provided with an annular sub-nozzle 21 that is inclined outward at a predetermined angle.