KR20220113124A - Coupler with Integrated Dip Tube and Coupling System for Drum Container Including the Same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a coupler detachably coupled to an opening of a drum container to supply chemicals inside the drum container to a place where the chemicals are needed or to inject the chemicals into the drum container. The coupler includes: a coupler head having a chemical passage formed therein, wherein a chemical pipeline is connected to the chemical passage; and a deep tube coupled to communicate with the chemical passage of the coupler head and inserted and drooped into the drum container when the coupled is coupled to the opening of the drum container. The coupler head and the dip tube are detachably coupled to the opening of the drum container together. According to the present invention, after using the coupler, the coupler including the dip tube can be separated from the opening of the drum container to easily clean the coupler including the dip tube.

Description

Coupler with Integrated Dip Tube and Coupling System for Drum Container Including the Same

The present invention relates to a facility for transporting chemicals from a place of use or a supplier, such as a semiconductor factory or a chemical plant, and more particularly, the chemical supplied in a drum container is supplied to the place of use or the chemical is injected from the supplier into the drum container It relates to a coupling system for a drum container including a coupler coupled to the drum container to do so.

Semiconductor factories and chemical factories use or supply various types of chemicals in large quantities. Here, the chemical includes liquids such as pure water or various acidic, alkaline or neutral solutions, and emulsion or paste, such as a slurry in which a powder is mixed with a liquid.

These chemicals are usually transported by tank trucks or trucks in containers such as tanks or drums. Therefore, in order to inject a chemical into such a container or to supply a chemical contained in the container to a place of use, a connection part called a coupler is coupled to the inlet of the container, and the chemical is injected into the container through the coupler or the chemical inside the container is sucked through a transport process. do. In order to enable chemical transfer using such a coupler, a container (drum container) and a coupler are generally configured as follows.

First, an inlet to which a cap (stopper) is mounted is provided on a flat upper surface of the drum container, and a dip tube is built in the drum container. One end of this dip tube communicates with the inlet and the other end extends to the vicinity of the inner bottom of the drum container. Thus, the chemical is filled or sucked out from the inner bottom of the drum container through the dip tube. In addition, in the inlet, a gas passage for discharging the air inside the drum container or blowing an inert gas such as compressed air or nitrogen into the drum container in order to facilitate the injection or suction of the chemical is separated from the dip tube Available in Euros.

The coupler is a connecting part that is detachably coupled to the open inlet with the cap separated, and has a chemical flow path and a gas flow path in which one end communicates with the dip tube and the gas passage of the drum container, respectively, are formed separately. In addition, a chemical pipe and a gas pipe are respectively connected to the other ends of the chemical flow path and the gas flow path of the coupler, and the chemical pipe and the gas pipe are respectively fluidly connected to a chemical tank and an exhaust pipe or a compressed gas supply source provided at a chemical supply or use place. .

On the other hand, some chemicals precipitate or harden with the passage of time or change in temperature, such as slurries for chemical mechanical polishing (CMP). If the chemical is precipitated or hardened in this way, it may not be transported smoothly, and in severe cases, the chemical flow path of the dip tube or coupler may be blocked. In this case, the coupler can be separated and cleaned immediately after use to prevent clogging of the chemical flow path, but the dip tube built into the drum container cannot be easily separated and washed.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the technical background as described above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a coupler capable of easily cleaning a coupler including a dip tube after use of the coupler.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a coupling system for a drum container including a coupler cleaning unit capable of cleaning a coupler.

A coupler according to an aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object is detachably coupled to the inlet of the drum container in order to supply the chemical inside the drum container to a place that needs it or to inject the chemical into the drum container A coupler, comprising: a coupler head having a chemical flow path formed therein, and a chemical pipe connected to the chemical flow path; and a dip tube that is coupled to communicate with the chemical flow path of the coupler head, and is inserted into the drum container when the coupler is coupled to the inlet of the drum container and is hung, the coupler head and the dip tube together It is removably coupled to the inlet of the drum container.

In addition, the coupler, made in the form of a hollow column penetrating up and down, further comprising a coupler socket screw-coupled to the inlet of the drum container, wherein the coupler head is coupled to the hollow of the coupler socket by interposing the coupler socket to be coupled to the inlet of the drum container.

In this case, the dip tube may be directly coupled to the chemical flow path of the coupler head, or coupled to the coupler socket to communicate with the chemical flow path.

In addition, in this case, at least two coupling protrusions are protruded from the lower outer circumferential surface of the coupler head, and the coupling protrusions are inserted into the hollow inner circumferential surface of the coupler socket to form a coupling groove rotatable by a predetermined angle, After screwing the coupler socket to the inlet of the drum container, inserting the coupling protrusion of the coupler head into the coupling groove of the coupler socket and rotating the coupler head by the predetermined angle, the coupler head to the coupler socket may be configured to couple.

Alternatively, the coupler head is relatively rotatably coupled to the coupler socket on the hollow inner circumferential surface of the coupler socket, and rotates only the coupler socket while the coupler head is coupled to the coupler socket to the inlet of the drum container The coupler may be configured to be coupled to.

In addition, in the inside of the coupler head, a gas flow path that is separated from the chemical flow path and communicates with the inside of the drum container when the coupler is coupled to the inlet of the drum container is further formed, It may be configured so that gas enters and exits the drum container when supplying it to a place where it is needed or injecting a chemical into the drum container.

In addition, in the inside of the coupler head, there is further formed a chemical circulation passage that is separated from the chemical passage and communicates with the inside of the drum container when the coupler is coupled to the inlet of the drum container, through the chemical passage The chemical discharged to the outside of the drum container may be configured to circulate into the drum container through the chemical circulation passage.

A coupling system for a drum container according to another aspect of the present invention includes any one of the couplers described above; and a coupler cleaning unit for cleaning the coupler, wherein the coupler cleaning unit has a space for accommodating the dip tube of the coupler, and the upper part of the coupler head is mounted so that the dip tube is drawn into the space a cleaning chamber having a coupler holder and a drain hole formed at a lower portion thereof; and a nozzle provided inside the cleaning chamber to spray cleaning water toward the dip tube accommodated in the space.

Here, the coupler cleaning unit may supply cleaning water to the chemical passage through the chemical pipe when the coupler is cleaned.

In addition, a socket for mounting having the same structure as that of the coupler socket is coupled to the coupler holder, and when the coupler is cleaned, the coupler is coupled to the coupler head and the dip tube except for the coupler socket. As such, it can be mounted on the coupler holder.

Alternatively, the coupler holder may have the same structure as the inlet of the drum container, and when the coupler is cleaned, the coupler may be mounted on the coupler holder by coupling the coupler socket to the coupler holder.

According to the coupler of the present invention, since the dip tube is coupled to the coupler, the coupler including the dip tube can be separated from the inlet of the drum container after use of the coupler to easily clean the coupler including the dip tube.

Further, according to the coupling system for a drum container of the present invention, by providing the coupler cleaning unit, it is possible to clean the coupler during storage after use of the coupler.

Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the chemical from adhering to the coupler.

The following drawings attached to the present specification illustrate preferred embodiments of the present invention, and serve to further understand the technical spirit of the present invention together with the detailed description of the present invention to be described later, so the present invention is described in such drawings should not be construed as being limited only to
1 is a perspective view of an automatic coupling system for a drum container according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the system shown in FIG. 1 with the housing panel and door removed;
3 is a perspective view illustrating a multi-axis robot in a state of holding a coupler according to an embodiment in the system shown in FIG. 1 .
4 is an exploded perspective view (a) and a cross-sectional view (b) of the coupler shown in FIG. 3 .
5 is a perspective view illustrating a process of removing the cap of the drum container and coupling the coupler shown in FIG. 4 to the inlet of the drum container.
6 is an exploded perspective view (a) and a cross-sectional view (b) of a coupler according to another embodiment.
7 is a perspective view illustrating a part of the multi-axis robot in a state in which the coupler shown in FIG. 6 is gripped.
8 is a perspective view illustrating a pipe support unit in the system shown in FIG. 1 .
9 is a top perspective view illustrating a state in which the multi-axis robot is removed from the system shown in FIG. 1 .
10 is a front cut-away perspective view showing a coupler storage unit having a cleaning function in the system shown in FIG. 1 .
11 is a perspective view showing a balance receipt in the system shown in FIG.
12 is a perspective view illustrating a drum mount, a drum guide unit, a drum rotating unit, and a drum alignment unit in the system shown in FIG. 1 .
13 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which the door is opened in the system shown in FIG. 1 .

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Prior to this, the terms or words used in the present specification and claims should not be construed as being limited to conventional or dictionary meanings, and the inventor should properly understand the concept of the term in order to best describe his invention. Based on the principle that it can be defined, it should be interpreted as meaning and concept consistent with the technical idea of the present invention. Therefore, the configuration shown in the embodiments and drawings described in the present specification is merely the most preferred embodiment of the present invention and does not represent all of the technical spirit of the present invention, so at the time of the present application, various It should be understood that there may be equivalents and variations.

As used herein, the terms 'coupled', 'attached', 'fastened', 'mounted', 'fixed' or 'connected' means that one member and another member are directly coupled, detached, fastened, mounted, fixed, or In addition to the case of being connected, the case where one member is indirectly coupled, detached, fastened, mounted, fixed or connected to the other member through an intermediate member is also included.

In addition, although terms indicating directions such as up, down, left, right, front, back, vertical, and horizontal are used in this specification, these directions may vary depending on the direction in which the object is placed and the direction of observation. However, in the present specification, the direction is set and described based on the state as shown in FIG. 1 , that is, the state in which the tank lorry 10 is normally parked on the non-sloping ground (E).

1 and 2 show the overall configuration of an automatic coupling system for a drum container (hereinafter, simply referred to as a 'system') according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1 and 2 , in the system according to the present embodiment, main components are disposed in a housing 20 . The housing 20 is formed in a booth shape having a substantially cubic shape, and may include a frame 21 and a housing panel 23 .

A door 27 that is opened when the drum container 10 enters and exits may be installed on the front side of the housing 20 . This door 27 will be described in detail later.

In addition, the operation panel 29 may be installed on one side of the front side of the housing 20 . Various switches (buttons) for operating the system, a display or speaker for notifying the state of the system or an emergency situation, and a controller for controlling the overall system may be disposed on the operation panel 29 .

In the system according to the present embodiment, in order to transport the chemical, that is, supply the chemical inside the drum container 10 to a required place such as a process line, or inject the chemical into the drum container 10, the A multi-axis robot 30 is provided as a configuration for detachably coupling the coupler 40 to the inlet 11 .

2 and 3, the multi-axis robot 30 has one end fixed on the table 25, which is one point of the system, and a plurality of arms 31 rotatable about a plurality of rotation axes R1 to R6. These are connected to each other, and a gripper 33 for gripping the coupler 40 is mounted at the other end. For example, the multi-axis robot 30 may be composed of a 6-axis robot having six rotation axes R1 to R6, and the coupler 40 gripped by the gripper 33 within the range of motion of the plurality of arms 31. It can be moved in any position and direction. In addition, the operation of the multi-axis robot 30 and the gripper 33 is defined in a predetermined sequence and stored in advance in the control unit or memory, so that the attachment/detachment operation of the coupler 30 to the inlet 11 of the drum container 10 is electronically controlled. can assimilate

The gripper 33 includes at least a pair of fingers 33a, and can grip or release the coupler 40 by closing or opening the pair of fingers 33a. In addition, the gripper 33 may grip the cap 15 (refer to FIG. 5 ) fastened to the inlet 11 of the drum container 10 . In addition, the gripper 33 can rotate about a rotational axis R6 coincident with its longitudinal central axis, so that the gripped coupler 40 or the cap 15 is attached to the inlet 11 of the drum container 10 . I can put on and take off it. The details of the gripping of the coupler 40 and the cap 15 by the multi-axis robot 30 and the gripper 33 and the attachment/detachment operation to the inlet 11 of the drum container 10 will be described later.

The coupler 40 according to an embodiment of the present invention is a connecting part coupled to the inlet 11 of the drum container 10 for chemical transport. Referring to FIG. 4 showing an exploded perspective view and a cross-sectional view, the coupler It includes a head 41 and a dip tube 43 , and may optionally further include a coupler socket 45 .

The coupler head 41 is a component constituting the body of the coupler 40, and a chemical flow path 41a is formed therein, and optionally a gas flow path 41b and/or a chemical circulation flow path 41c are further formed. can

The chemical flow path 41a is a flow path through which the chemical transferred through the coupler 40 passes. At one end, the dip tube 43 is detachably coupled, for example, by screwing, and at the other end, the chemical pipe 42a, FIG. 2 See (not shown in the rest of the drawings) are connected via suitable fittings. The chemical pipe 42a is fluidly connected to a chemical tank provided at a supply or use point of a chemical.

The gas flow path 41b is a flow path for discharging air inside the drum container 10 or blowing an inert gas such as compressed air or nitrogen into the drum container in order to facilitate chemical transport (injection or discharge). One end of the gas passage 41b communicates with the inside of the drum container when the coupler 40 is coupled to the inlet 11 of the drum container 10, and the other end of the gas pipe 42b, see Fig. 2. The remaining drawings are shown omitted) are connected through appropriate fittings. The gas pipe 42b is fluidly connected to an exhaust pipe or a compressed gas supply source provided at a point of supply or use of the chemical.

In addition, the chemical circulation flow path 41c is a chemical flow path 41a in order to prevent the chemical from being deposited or hardened and fixed inside and outside the coupler 40 when the chemical is temporarily unacceptable at the place of use using the chemical. ) is a flow path that circulates the chemicals that are sucked through and discharged to the outside of the drum container 10 back into the drum container 10 . One end of the chemical circulation passage 41c communicates with the inside of the drum container when the coupler 40 is coupled to the inlet 11 of the drum container 10, and the other end has a circulation pipe 42c, see Fig. 2. In the remaining drawings, not shown) are connected via suitable fittings. The circulation pipe 42c is fluidly connected to a circulation pump provided at the point of supply or use of the system or chemical.

On the other hand, protrusions 41e or grooves are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the coupler 40 (coupler head 41) in a unique pattern according to the type of chemical filled or to be filled in the drum container 10, and the gripper 33 ) (finger 33a) may have grooves 33e (refer to FIG. 5) or projections formed on the outer peripheral surface of the coupler 40 in a pattern corresponding to the projections 41e or grooves. The protrusions 41e or grooves formed on the coupler 40 and the grooves 33e or protrusions formed on the gripper 33 mate with each other when the gripper 33 grips the coupler 40 to prevent the wrong chemical from being transferred. It can function as a kind of key code.

The dip tube 43 is inserted into the drum container when the coupler 40 is coupled to the inlet 11 of the drum container 10 and hung so that the lower end extends to the vicinity of the inner bottom of the drum container 10 . By the dip tube 43 , chemicals injected into or discharged from the drum container 10 can be filled or discharged from the vicinity of the bottom of the drum container 10 .

As such, in the embodiment of the present invention, the dip tube 43 is configured to be detachably attached to the inlet 11 of the drum container 10 together with the coupler head 41 . According to this configuration, after the coupler 40 is used, the coupler 40 including the dip tube 43 may be separated from the drum container 10 to wash the coupler head 41 and the dip tube 43 . This is very effective in preventing clogging of the dip tube 43 and the coupler head 41 in the case of a chemical that precipitates or hardens with the passage of time or temperature, such as a slurry for chemical mechanical polishing (CMP). useful. The cleaning of the coupler head 41 and the dip tube 43 will be described later in detail.

The coupler socket 45 is a part interposed between the coupler head 41 and the drum container inlet 11, and is made in the form of a hollow column penetrating vertically as shown in FIG. Hexagonal) having an outer peripheral surface, the lower outer peripheral surface is made of a circular thread (45a) is formed can be screwed to the inlet (11) of the drum container (10). In addition, the dip tube 43 is penetrated in the hollow and the coupler head 41 is coupled.

Specifically, in the coupler 40 according to the present embodiment, at least two coupling protrusions 41d are protruded from the lower outer circumferential surface of the coupler head 41, and the hollow inner circumferential surface of the coupler socket 45 has the coupler head 41 ) is inserted and a coupling groove 45d rotatable by a predetermined angle is formed, so that the coupling protrusion 41d of the coupler head 41 is inserted into the coupling groove 45d of the coupler socket 45 The coupler head 41 can be coupled to the coupler socket 45 by rotating it by a predetermined angle.

Here, the predetermined angle is, for example, about 45 degrees, which is not very large. As described above, since the chemical pipe 42a, the gas pipe 42b, and/or the circulation pipe 42c are connected to the coupler head 41, even if these pipes are flexible, the coupler head 41 is excessively ( For example, if you rotate it more than one turn), the pipe may be twisted or bent.

Then, with reference to FIG. 5, the cap 15 fastened to the inlet 11 of the drum container 10 is separated and the coupler 40 shown in FIG. 4 is coupled to the inlet 11 of the drum container 10. Explain the process.

First, the upper surface of the drum container 10 is provided with an inlet 11 for entering and exiting the chemical, the cap 15 (stopper) is fastened to the inlet 11 . In this embodiment, threads corresponding to each other are formed on the inner circumferential surface of the inlet 11 and the outer circumferential surface of the cap 15 , so that the cap 15 is screwed to the inner circumferential surface of the inlet 11 . In addition, a gripping groove may be formed on the upper surface of the cap 15 to be gripped by the gripper 33 of the multi-axis robot 30 .

On the other hand, on the upper surface of the drum container 10, a unique code ( 13) may be printed or affixed. In this case, a code reader (not shown) for recognizing the unique code 13 may be provided in the system, or a vision unit 39 to be described later (refer to FIG. 3 ) may serve as a code reader.

As described above, the gripper 33 grips the cap 15 using a pair of fingers 33a, and can rotate about the rotation axis R6, so that the gripped cap 15 is moved to the inlet 11. can be detached from Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3 , a finger tip 33b that can be inserted into the gripping groove of the cap 15 is formed at the ends of the pair of fingers 33a. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 5A , the longitudinal central axis of the gripper 33 (rotational axis R6 of the multi-axis robot 30) and the central axis of the cap 15 coincide with each other, so that the finger tip The cap 15 can be gripped by inserting the 33b into the gripping groove of the cap 15 and slightly opening or closing the pair of fingers 33a. Then, the cap 15 can be separated from the inlet 11 by rotating the gripper 33 about the rotation shaft R6 in a direction in which the screw coupling of the cap 15 is loosened (refer to arrow a). At this time, since the cap 15 is loosened and rises little by little in a direction away from the upper surface of the drum container 10, the multi-axis robot 30 is controlled accordingly so that the gripper 33 also rises at the same speed. When the cap 15 is completely separated from the inlet 11 , the multi-axis robot 30 moves to a predetermined place (eg, a balance receiver 70 to be described later (see FIG. 2 )) and places the cap 15 .

Then, by gripping the coupler socket 45 placed in a predetermined place (eg, the balance tray 70 ), the cap 15 is separated and coupled to the opened inlet 11 . Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5B, the longitudinal central axis of the gripper 33 (rotational axis R6 of the multi-axis robot 30) and the central axis of the coupler socket 45 coincide with each other. The coupler socket 45 is gripped by wrapping the upper portion having a prismatic outer circumferential surface of the coupler socket 45 with a pair of fingers 33a and closing the pair of fingers 33a slightly. Then, moving over the inlet 11 of the drum container 10, inserting the lower portion in which the thread 45a of the coupler socket 45 is formed is inserted into the inlet 11, and the gripper 33 is attached to the coupler around the rotation axis R6. The coupler socket 45 can be coupled to the inlet 11 by rotating it in the direction in which the socket 45 is screwed (see arrow a). At this time, as the coupler socket 45 is coupled to the inlet 11, it gradually descends in the inner direction of the drum container 10. Accordingly, the multi-axis robot 30 is controlled so that the gripper 33 also descends at the same speed.

Next, the coupler head 41 stored in a predetermined place (a coupler storage unit 60 to be described later, see FIGS. 2 and 9 ) is gripped and coupled to the coupler socket 45 first coupled to the inlet 11 . Specifically, as shown in Fig. 5 (c), the longitudinal central axis of the gripper 33 (rotation axis R6 of the multi-axis robot 30) and the longitudinal central axis of the coupler 40 (dip tube ( 43) so that the outer circumferential surface of the coupler head 41 is wrapped with a pair of fingers 33a so that they are perpendicular to each other, and the dip tube 43 is coupled by slightly closing the pair of fingers 33a. Gripping the coupler head 41. Then, it moves over the coupler socket 45 coupled to the inlet 11 of the drum container 10 and penetrates the dip tube 43 into the hollow of the coupler socket 45 to descend. Then, by inserting the coupling protrusion 41d of the coupler head 41 into the coupling groove 45d of the coupler socket 45 and rotating by a predetermined angle about the longitudinal central axis of the coupler 40 (see arrow b) The coupler head 41 is coupled to the coupler socket 45. At this time, the predetermined angle rotation of the coupler head 41 does not rotate the gripper 33 about the rotation axis R6, but rather of the multi-axis robot 30. This may be performed using some of the plurality of arms 31. For example, when the two rotation axes R1 and R5 of the multi-axis robot 30 are rotated in opposite directions, the plane formed by the pair of fingers 33a is horizontal. While maintaining the coupler head 41 is rotated about the longitudinal central axis of the coupler (40).

In this way, by holding the gripper 33 in the horizontal direction from the side of the coupler head 41 and rotating the coupler head 41 by a predetermined angle in the horizontal direction to couple the coupler head 41 to the coupler socket 45, the multi-axis robot 30 The system can be miniaturized by significantly reducing the size. That is, in the present embodiment, the coupler 40 includes a long dip tube 43 , and the coupler 40 (coupler head 41 ) is vertical from above, such as the cap 15 or the coupler socket 45 . To grip in the direction and insert the bottom of the dip tube 43 into the inlet 11 of the drum container 10, the arm 31 of the multi-axis robot 30 must be quite long, and accordingly the size including the height of the system (housing) However, if the coupler head 41 is gripped from the side as above, the arm 31 can be shortened and the system can be miniaturized.

Meanwhile, the system may further include a vision unit 39 for imaging the upper surface of the drum container 10 . The vision unit 39 includes an imaging unit such as a CCD camera, and by processing the image captured by the imaging unit data processing, calculates the exact position and angle of the cap 15 or the inlet 11, and the like, and the multi-axis robot 30 ) to control the position and posture of In particular, the drum container 10 may be deformed according to the external environment such as internal pressure or temperature, and long-term use, and accordingly, the upper surface of the drum container 10 is not leveled, so that the cap 15 or the inlet 11 . may be inclined. In this case, by calculating the exact position and inclination degree of the cap 15 or the inlet 11 by the vision unit 39, and finely controlling the position or the gripping angle of the gripper 33, the cap 15 or coupler 40 ) can be removed smoothly. In addition, the vision unit 39 may also serve as a code reader for reading the above-described unique code 13 printed or affixed on the upper surface of the drum container 10 .

When the coupler 40 is coupled to the inlet 11 of the drum container 10 as described above, the system sucks and discharges the chemical of the drum container 10 through the coupler 40 and supplies it to the place of use of the chemical or, conversely, the drum container A chemical transfer operation of injecting and filling chemicals into (10) can be performed.

When the chemical transfer operation is completed, the coupler 40 coupled to the inlet 11 of the drum container 10 is separated and the cap 15 is coupled to the inlet 11 . Separation of the coupler 40 and the coupling operation of the cap 15 are performed in the reverse order of the separation of the cap 15 and the coupling operation of the coupler 40 described with reference to FIG. 5 , so a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

On the other hand, in this embodiment, the inlet 11 of the drum container 10 is made of a female screw, and the cap 15 and the coupler socket 45 are made of a male screw so that the outer peripheral surface of the cap 15 and the coupler socket 45 is the inlet ( 11) has been illustrated and described as screwing to the inner circumferential surface, but their male-female coupling relationship may be reversed.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the coupler socket 45 is shown and described as being detachable from the inlet 11 of the drum container 10 whenever chemical is transferred, but the coupler socket 45 is the inlet of the drum container 10 . It may be fixedly coupled to (11). In this case, when coupling the coupler 40 to the inlet 11 of the drum container 10 for chemical transfer, remove the cap 15 from the inlet 11 of the drum container 10 (see FIG. 5 ). (a)), it is only necessary to perform the operation of coupling the coupler head 41 to the coupler socket 45 coupled to the inlet 11 (refer to (c) of FIG. 5).

6 is an exploded perspective view (a) and a cross-sectional view (b) of a coupler 40' according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a multi-axis robot ( 30) is a perspective view showing a part of it.

6 and 7, a coupler 40' and a gripper 33' according to another embodiment will be described. In FIGS. 6 and 7 , the same reference numerals as those of FIGS. 3 to 5 mean the same configuration as the coupler 40 and the gripper 33 according to the above-described embodiment, and thus detailed description thereof will be omitted, and hereinafter, the above-described embodiment will be omitted. and different points will be explained. On the other hand, although illustration of the vision unit 39 (refer to FIG. 3) is omitted in FIG. 7, the same vision unit may be provided in the system (gripper 33') of the present embodiment.

The coupler 40' of this embodiment includes a coupler head 41', a dip tube 43' and a coupler socket 45', like the coupler 40 of the above-described embodiment. The coupler head 41', the dip tube 43' and the coupler socket 45' of this embodiment are similar to the coupler head 41, the dip tube 43, and the coupler socket 45 of the above-described embodiment, but these the relationship between them is different.

Specifically, first, the coupler head 41' is relatively rotatably coupled to the coupler socket 45' in the hollow of the coupler socket 45'. To this end, a plurality of ball plungers 41p are provided on the lower outer circumferential surface of the coupler head 41', and the hollow inner circumferential surface of the coupler socket 45' has a concave groove 45p at a position corresponding to the ball plunger 41p. Provided, when the coupler head 41' is inserted into the hollow of the coupler socket 45', the ball plunger 41p is seated in the concave groove 45p, and the coupler head 41' and the coupler socket 45' are rotated relative to each other. it becomes possible Here, the arrangement of the ball plunger 41p and the concave groove 45p may be interchanged. That is, the ball plunger may be disposed on the hollow inner circumferential surface of the coupler socket 45 ′, and a concave groove may be formed on the lower outer circumferential surface of the coupler head 41 ′.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the upper portion of the coupler socket 45 has a prismatic outer circumferential surface, but in this embodiment, the upper outer circumferential surface of the coupler socket 45 'is circular, and the outer circumferential surface of the coupler socket 45') A gear 45t is formed for relative rotation with respect to the coupler head 41'.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the dip tube 43 is detachably coupled to the coupler head 41 by, for example, screwing so that it communicates with the chemical flow path 41a, but in this embodiment, the dip tube 43 ′ is It is integrally molded into the coupler socket 45' so as to communicate with the chemical flow path 41a of the coupler head 41'. Of course, in this embodiment, the dip tube 43' may be detachably coupled to the coupler socket 45', and further may be coupled to the coupler head 41' as in the above-described embodiment.

Meanwhile, referring to FIG. 7 , the gripper 33 ′ of the present embodiment has a configuration capable of rotating the coupler socket 45 ′, compared to the gripper 33 of the aforementioned embodiment. Specifically, the lower portion of the gripper 33' of this embodiment is formed on the upper outer peripheral surface of the coupler socket 45' when the coupler 40' (coupler head 41') is gripped with a pair of fingers 33a. A gear 33t meshing with the gear 45t is provided, and a motor for rotationally driving the gear 33t is built in the gripper 33'. Accordingly, by rotating only the coupler socket 45' while holding the coupler head 41' to which the coupler socket 45' is coupled with the gripper 33', the coupler 40' is moved to the inlet of the drum container 10. (11) can be combined. That is, according to the present embodiment, the cap 15 fastened to the inlet 11 of the drum container 10 is separated by the gripper 33' (refer to FIG. 5(a)), and the coupler socket 45' , the dip tube 43' and the coupler head 41' can be coupled to the inlet 11 of the drum container 10 at a time with the coupler 40'.

In this embodiment, a flexible chemical pipe 42a, a gas pipe 42b, and/or a circulation pipe 42c are connected to the coupler heads 41, 41', and these pipes 42a, 42b, 42c are couplers (40, 40') is moved together with the coupler heads (41, 41') when attaching and detaching the inlet 11 of the drum container (10). In particular, when the couplers 40 and 40' include the dip tubes 43 and 43', the vertical movement range of the pipes 42a, 42b, and 42c is greater than or equal to the length of the dip tubes 43 and 43'. . Accordingly, the system of the present embodiment further includes a pipe support unit 50 (refer to FIGS. 2 and 8) that slides while supporting the pipes 42a, 42b, and 42c that are moved by the movement of the couplers 40 and 40'. can do.

The pipe support unit 50, as shown in FIG. 8, has a length equal to or greater than the vertical movement range of at least the pipe (42a, 42b, 42c) and a guide rail 53 fixed inside the housing 20, and a pipe ( It may include a sliding block 51 that supports the 42a, 42b, and 42c and slides up and down along the guide rail 53 . The sliding block 51 may be configured to slide up and down by following the up-and-down movement of the couplers 40 and 40' without separate power, and separate power (eg, a linear motor, a motor and a rack and pinion gear, or air cylinder, etc.) and may be configured to automatically slide in conjunction with the height of the couplers 40 and 40'.

In addition, the pipe support unit 50 may further include a pipe support member 52 coupled to the sliding block 51 . The pipe support member 52 is formed with plumbing holes 52a, 52b, 52c, so that the respective pipes 42a, 42b, and 42c can be inserted therein. At this time, the plumbing (52a, 52b, 52c) has the inner diameter of the pipe (42a, 42b, 42c) than the outer diameter of the pipe (42a, 42b, 42c) so that the pipe (42a, 42b, 42c) inserted into the plumbing (52a, 52b, 52c) can move to some extent. It is preferable to be formed slightly larger. In addition, it is preferable that the pipe supporting member 52 is coupled to be rotatable 360 degrees on the plane formed by the surface of the sliding block 51 (see arrow r in FIG. 8 ).

By providing such a pipe support unit 50, it is possible to prevent problems such as the pipe (42a, 42b, 42c) being bent or twisted according to the detachment operation of the coupler (40, 40').

In addition, in the system according to the present embodiment, the couplers 40 and 40' separated from the inlet 11 of the drum container 10 as described above can be mounted and stored in the coupler storage unit 60 (refer to FIG. 9 ). have. In particular, when the couplers 40 and 40' include the dip tubes 43 and 43', the coupler storage unit 60 can store the couplers 40 and 40' including the dip tubes 43 and 43'. Further, the coupler storage unit 60 may have a cleaning function for cleaning by spraying cleaning water to the couplers 40 and 40'. That is, the coupler storage unit 60 may also serve as a coupler cleaning unit.

The coupler storage unit and coupler cleaning unit 60 may include a cleaning chamber 61 and a nozzle 63a with reference to FIG. 10 , which is a front cutaway perspective view. Specifically, the cleaning chamber 61 has an inner space for accommodating the dip tubes 43 and 43' of the couplers 40 and 40', and the dip tubes 43 and 43' are drawn into the inner space at the top. A coupler holder for mounting the coupler heads 41 and 41' is formed, and a drain 67 is formed in the lower portion. A plurality of nozzles 63a are formed on the side opposite to the outer surfaces of the dip tubes 43 and 43' of the washing water supply pipe 63 hanging in the inner space in parallel with the dip tubes 43 and 43'.

Therefore, when washing water, for example, pure water is supplied to the washing water supply pipe 63, the washing water is sprayed toward the dip tubes 43 and 43' through the nozzle 63a to clean the outer surfaces of the dip tubes 43 and 43'. can In addition, at this time, the cleaning water is also supplied to the chemical flow path (41a, see FIGS. 4 and 6) of the coupler head 41, 41' mounted on the coupler holder through the chemical pipe (42a, see FIG. 2) to supply the washing water to the chemical flow path ( 41a) and the inner surfaces of the dip tubes 43 and 43' connected thereto can also be cleaned at the same time. Furthermore, when the coupler heads 41 and 41' have the chemical circulation passage 41c, washing water is also supplied to the circulation pipe 42c to simultaneously clean the chemical circulation passage 41c. In addition, when the cleaning of the couplers 40 and 40' is completed, the washing water supply pipe 63, the chemical pipe 42a and/or the circulation pipe 42c to which the washing water was supplied, or the gas pipe 42b is dried. The couplers 40 and 40' may be dried by supplying air or dry nitrogen.

On the other hand, mounting/separating the couplers 40, 40' to the coupler holder is the same as attaching/detaching the couplers 40, 40' to the inlet 11 of the drum container 10 by the multi-axis robot 30. can be performed with

Specifically, when the coupler is the coupler 40 of the embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the mounting socket 65 having the same structure as the coupler socket 45 described above is coupled to the coupler holder, The multi-axis robot 30 (gripper 33) grips the coupler head 41 to which the dip tube 43 is coupled, except for the coupler socket 45, in the same manner as described with reference to FIG. 5(c). By coupling to the socket 65 for mounting, the coupler head 41 to which the dip tube 43 is coupled can be mounted on the coupler holder.

In addition, when the coupler is the coupler 40' of the embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, the coupler holder has the same structure as the inlet 11 of the drum container 10, and the multi-axis robot 30 (Gripper 33') grips the coupler head 41' in which the coupler socket 45' and the dip tube 43' are coupled, and the coupler socket 45' in the same manner as described with reference to FIG. By rotating the bay and coupled to the coupler holder, the coupler head 41 ′ in which the coupler socket 45 ′ and the dip tube 43 ′ are coupled can be mounted on the coupler holder.

As such, the system according to the present embodiment includes the coupler storage and cleaning unit 60 to clean the couplers 40 and 40', thereby preventing the chemicals from adhering to the inside and outside of the couplers 40 and 40'.

Meanwhile, the system according to the present embodiment may further include an extra coupler storage unit (coupler cleaning unit) 60' (refer to FIG. 2). This extra coupler storage unit 60 ′ can replace the original coupler storage unit 60 during maintenance such as cleaning of the original coupler storage unit 60 . Alternatively, as described above, when the couplers 40 and 40' are used separately according to the type of chemical filled or filled in the drum container 10, the extra coupler storage unit 60' is dependent on the type of chemical. Other couplers 40, 40' may be stored and/or cleaned accordingly. In this case, although not shown in FIG. 2, the other couplers 40 and 40' corresponding to the extra coupler storage unit 60' are stored, and the above-described pipes 42a and 42b for each coupler 40, 40'. , 42c) are connected and are fluidly connected to a place of use or a supplier of other chemicals, and a pipe support unit 50 may be added for each coupler 40, 40'. In this case, multiple types of chemical transfer operations can be performed with one system (one multi-axis robot).

In the system of this embodiment, after the chemical transfer is completed, the couplers 40 and 40' are separated from the inlet 11 of the drum container 10 and in the process of moving to the coupler storage unit 60, the couplers 40 and 40' ) (dip tubes 43 and 43 ′) may drop chemicals to contaminate the inside of the housing 20 . Accordingly, the system of the present embodiment may further include a balance receiver 70 (refer to FIG. 2 ) for receiving the chemical balance falling from the dip tubes 43 and 43 ′.

The balance receiver 70 is, with reference to FIGS. 2 and 9 , in the movement path of the couplers 40 and 40 ′ between the inlet 11 of the drum container 10 and the coupler storage unit 60 , the drum container 10 ) is disposed at a height between the lower ends of the dip tubes 43 and 43 ′, which are separated from the inlet 11 and raised to the maximum, and the upper end of the drum container 10 .

Specifically, the balance receiver 70, with reference to FIGS. 9 and 11, is made of a tray having an approximately 'L' shape in a plane shape, and is a drum in the horizontal direction by a forward and backward driving means 75 such as an air cylinder. It is configured to move forward and backward toward the container 10 (see arrow c in FIG. 11 ). Therefore, the multi-axis robot 30 separates the couplers 40 and 40' from the inlet 11 of the drum container 10 and raises it, and then moves the balance receiver 70 to the drum container 10 with the forward and backward driving means 75 . ) When moving forward, the balance receiver 70 covers the inlet 11 of the drum container 10 and the coupler holder of the coupler storage unit 60, and falls from the dip tubes 43 and 43' located thereon. You will be able to receive a chemical balance that you can do. In this state, when the multi-axis robot 30 moves the couplers 40 and 40' horizontally over the coupler holder of the coupler storage unit 60, the balance receiver 70 returns to the original position by the forward and backward driving means 75. retreat Then, the coupler holder of the coupler storage unit 60 that was covered by the balance receiver 70 is exposed, and the multi-axis robot 30 lowers the couplers 40 and 40' to mount the coupler of the coupler storage unit 60. Insert it into the sphere and mount it. At this time, although not shown in the drawing, when the multi-axis robot 30 mounts the couplers 40 and 40' to the coupler holder of the coupler storage unit 60, the balance receiver 70 is not disturbed. It may further include a balance receiving lifting means such as an air cylinder for lowering the.

In addition, the balance receiver 70 has an inclined tray shape, and a drain 71 is provided at the lowest position to drain the received chemical balance. In addition, in order to prevent the chemical from adhering to the residual liquid container 70, the cleaning water is sprayed on the bottom of the residual liquid container 70 through the cleaning water supply pipe 73 and the nozzle 73a to smoothly drain the chemical residual liquid. can

On the other hand, in the system of the present embodiment, in order to smoothly attach and detach the couplers 40 and 40' by the multi-axis robot 30, the drum container so that the inlet 11 of the drum container 10 is located at a predetermined position. (10) needs to be sorted. To this end, the system of the present embodiment may further include a drum mount, a drum guide unit, a drum rotating unit, and/or a drum alignment unit. Hereinafter, the drum mounting table 81 , the drum guide unit 83 , the drum rotating unit 85 , and the drum alignment unit 90 will be described with reference to FIG. 12 .

The drum mount 81 may be formed in the form of a flat pedestal having a slightly larger area than the lower surface of the drum container 10 . A plurality of ball rollers 82 partially protruding are disposed on the upper surface of the drum mounting table 81 . Accordingly, the drum container 10 can move and rotate in any horizontal direction on the drum mount 81 .

The drum guide unit 83 is a component that surrounds and supports the outer circumferential surface of the drum container 10, and is a guide bar 83b that is opened or closed by a rotating means 83a including a rotary cylinder or a motor and a necessary power transmission mechanism. ), and is rotatably coupled to the guide bar (83b) may include an idle roller (83c) in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the drum container (10). Here, the guide bar 83b draws in the drum container 10 mounted on the drum mounting table 81 toward the drum rotating unit 85 by closing the front end, and by opening the front end, the rear end is closed to the drum container ( 10) may be configured to push and eject away from the drum rotating unit 85 .

The drum rotating unit 85 is closely attached to the outer circumferential surface of the drum container 10 supported by the drum guide unit 83 and rotates by a built-in motor, thereby rotating the drum container 10 about a vertical central axis. can be made with

The drum aligning unit 90 detects the inlet 11 of the drum container 10 rotated by the drum rotating unit 85, and when the inlet 11 of the drum container 10 reaches a predetermined position, the drum rotating unit As a component for stopping (85), the rotation bar 91, the lifting means 97 such as an air cylinder for raising and lowering the rotation bar 91 (refer to arrow d), and the rotation bar 91 for the rotation shaft ( It may include a rotating means 99 such as a motor or a rotary cylinder for rotating about A1) (see arrow e). The tip of the rotating bar 91 has a semi-circular stopper 93 having an inner diameter approximately equal to or slightly larger than the outer diameter of the inlet 11 of the drum container 10, and a stopper 93 protruding from the center of the drum container ( 10) When the outer peripheral surface of the inlet 11 is in contact, a contact sensor 95 for detecting this may be provided.

The operation of drawing in, aligning and discharging the drum container 10 by the drum guide unit 83, the drum rotating unit 85 and the drum aligning unit 90 configured in this way will be described.

First, the guide bar 83b of the drum guide unit 83 is in a state capable of receiving the drum container 10 by having the tip of the guide bar 83b open by the rotation means 83a. Next, the drum container 10 is mounted on the drum mounting table 81 by a bogie (not shown) and pushed toward the drum rotating unit 85 . When the drum container 10 is mounted on the drum mount 81, the tip of the guide bar 83b is closed by the rotation means 83a, and the drum container 10 is drawn in and is in close contact with the drum rotation unit 85. is supported by the drum guide unit 83 in the state.

Subsequently, or in parallel with the above-described operation, the rotating bar 91 is raised by the lifting means 97 of the drum aligning unit 90 , and the stopper 93 is positioned higher than the upper jaw of the drum container 10 . . Then, the rotation bar 91 is rotated about 90 degrees clockwise in FIG. 12 about the rotation axis A1 by the rotation means 99 of the drum alignment unit 90, and then the drum alignment unit 90 The rotating bar 91 is lowered by the lifting means 97 of will be located In this state, the drum rotating unit 85 rotates the drum container 10 clockwise. When the outer peripheral surface of the inlet 11 of the drum container 10 is surrounded by the stopper 93 by the rotation of the drum container 10 and comes into contact with the contact sensor 95, the inlet 11 of the drum container 10 is opened in advance. Since it is aligned at a predetermined position, the rotation of the drum rotating unit 85 is stopped.

Then, the drum aligning unit 90 operates in the reverse order to the above operation to return to the original position (the state shown in FIG. 12 ), and as described above, the inlet 11 of the drum container 10 by the multi-axis robot 30 ) The cap 15 is separated, and the couplers 40 and 40' are coupled to the inlet 11 to perform chemical transfer. When the chemical transfer is completed, the couplers 40 and 40' are separated from the inlet 11 of the drum container 10 as described above, and the cap 15 is fastened to the inlet 11 .

Next, the drum container 10 is pushed by opening the leading end of the guide bar 83b by the rotating means 83a of the drum guide unit 83 and closing the rear end of the drum guide unit 83, and a cart (not shown) waiting in front of the drum mounting table 81. ) is discharged as

As described above, according to the system of the present embodiment, the entire process of chemical transfer including the before and after operations such as drawing in, aligning, and discharging of the drum container 10 is automatically performed.

On the other hand, in order to prevent the mixing of foreign substances such as dust or the worker exposure to chemicals during the chemical transfer operation, the system according to the present embodiment is opened at the time of entry and exit of the drum container 10 on the front of the housing 20 in the form of a booth. It may further include an automatic or manual door 27 that closes during chemical transfer.

1 and 13 , the door 27 may include a plurality of door panels 27a that are movable along the guide rails 27b installed inside the housing 20 . In addition, the door panel 27a may have a transparent window so that the operator can visually recognize the coupling process of the couplers 40 and 40' to the inlet 11 of the drum container 10 and the chemical transfer process.

In the above, although the present invention has been described with reference to limited embodiments and drawings, the present invention is not limited thereto and will be described below with the technical idea of the present invention by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains. Of course, various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of equivalents of the claims.

10: drum container
11: Entrance of the drum container
20: housing
27: door
30: multi-axis robot
40, 40': coupler
41, 41': coupler head
41a: Chemical Euro
41b: gas flow path
41c: chemical circulation flow path
41d: bonding protrusion
41e: protrusion
41p: ball plunger
43, 43': dip tube
45, 45': coupler socket
45a: thread
45d: coupling groove
45p: concave groove
45t: gear
42a, 42b, 42c: piping
50: pipe support unit
60, 60': coupler storage unit (coupler cleaning unit)
70: receive the balance
81: drum mount
83: drum guide unit
85: drum rotating unit
90: drum alignment unit

Claims (12)

As a coupler detachably coupled to the inlet of the drum container for supplying the chemical inside the drum container to a place where it is needed or for injecting the chemical into the drum container,
a coupler head having a chemical flow path formed therein, and a chemical pipe connected to the chemical flow path; and
Including a dip tube that is coupled to communicate with the chemical flow path of the coupler head, is inserted into the drum container when the coupler is coupled to the inlet of the drum container,
The coupler, characterized in that the coupler head and the dip tube are removably coupled to the inlet of the drum container together. The method of claim 1,
It is made in the form of a hollow column penetrating up and down, and further comprising a coupler socket screw-coupled to the inlet of the drum container,
The coupler head is coupled to the hollow of the coupler socket, characterized in that coupled to the inlet of the drum container via the coupler socket. 3. The method of claim 2,
The coupler, characterized in that the dip tube is directly coupled to the chemical flow path of the coupler head. 3. The method of claim 2,
A coupler, characterized in that the dip tube is coupled to the coupler socket to communicate with the chemical flow path. 3. The method of claim 2,
At least two coupling protrusions are formed protruding from the lower outer circumferential surface of the coupler head,
The coupling protrusion is inserted into the hollow inner circumferential surface of the coupler socket and a coupling groove rotatable by a predetermined angle is formed,
After screwing the coupler socket to the inlet of the drum container, inserting the coupling protrusion of the coupler head into the coupling groove of the coupler socket and rotating the coupler head by the predetermined angle, the coupler head to the coupler socket A coupler, characterized in that it is configured to couple. 3. The method of claim 2,
The coupler head is relatively rotatably coupled to the coupler socket on the hollow inner circumferential surface of the coupler socket,
Coupler, characterized in that the coupler is configured to be coupled to the inlet of the drum container by rotating only the coupler socket while the coupler head is coupled to the coupler socket. According to claim 1,
Inside the coupler head, there is further formed a gas flow path that is separated from the chemical flow path and communicates with the inside of the drum container when the coupler is coupled to the inlet of the drum container,
A coupler, characterized in that the gas in and out of the drum container is configured to supply the chemical inside the drum container to a place where it is needed or when the chemical is injected into the drum container. The method of claim 1,
Inside the coupler head, there is further formed a chemical circulation passage that is separated from the chemical passage and communicates with the inside of the drum container when the coupler is coupled to the inlet of the drum container,
A coupler, characterized in that the chemical discharged to the outside of the drum container through the chemical flow passage is configured to circulate into the drum container through the chemical circulation passage. The coupler according to any one of claims 1 to 8; and
a coupler cleaning unit for cleaning the coupler;
The coupler cleaning unit,
a cleaning chamber having a space for accommodating the dip tube of the coupler, a coupler holder on an upper portion for mounting the coupler head so that the dip tube falls into the space, and a drain hole on the lower portion; and
A coupling system for a drum container, which is provided inside the cleaning chamber and includes a nozzle for spraying cleaning water toward the dip tube accommodated in the space. 10. The method of claim 9,
The coupler cleaning unit, a coupling system for a drum container, characterized in that the cleaning water is supplied to the chemical passage through the chemical pipe when the coupler is cleaned. 10. The method of claim 9,
The coupler is the coupler according to claim 5,
A mounting socket having the same structure as the coupler socket is coupled to the coupler holder,
When the coupler is cleaned, the coupler is a coupling system for a drum container, characterized in that it is mounted on the coupler holder by coupling the coupler head and the dip tube to the mounting socket except for the coupler socket. 10. The method of claim 9,
The coupler is the coupler according to claim 6,
The coupler holder has the same structure as the inlet of the drum container,
When cleaning the coupler, the coupler is a coupling system for a drum container, characterized in that the coupler socket is coupled to the coupler holder, and is mounted on the coupler holder.

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