WO2023047870A1

WO2023047870A1 - Fluid control device and gas supply system

Info

Publication number: WO2023047870A1
Application number: PCT/JP2022/031745
Authority: WO
Inventors: 和也赤土
Original assignee: 株式会社堀場エステック
Priority date: 2021-09-22
Filing date: 2022-08-23
Publication date: 2023-03-30

Abstract

In order to make it possible to keep a device compact even when a plurality of fluid control valves are used to control a fluid having a high flow rate, the present invention is provided with: a block 10 in which an internal flow path L is formed; fluid control valves 20 which are provided on an apparatus placement surface 12 of the block 10; and a pressure sensor 31 which detects the pressure of a fluid flowing in the internal flow path L, wherein a recess 14 is formed in a side surface 13 of the block 10, and the pressure sensor 31 is accommodated in the recess 14.

Description

Fluid control device and gas supply system

The present invention relates to a fluid control device and a gas supply system.

As a conventional fluid control device, as shown in Patent Document 1, a block in which an internal flow path is formed is provided with a fluid control valve and a pressure sensor. are configured to control

In such a fluid control device, in order to meet the demand for controlling a large flow rate of fluid, there is one in which the internal flow path is branched within a block and a fluid control valve is arranged in each of these branched flow paths.

However, when the design is changed from one having one fluid control valve to one having a plurality of fluid control valves, the above-described block becomes longer in the arrangement direction of the fluid control valves. Moreover, since the gasket for sealing the internal flow path is also designed according to this block, it is also necessary to lengthen it in the direction in which the fluid control valves are arranged.

As a result, existing gaskets cannot be used, and secondary problems arise, such as the inability to maintain compatibility between products with different numbers of fluid control valves.

It should be noted that such a problem can occur not only when a plurality of fluid control valves are provided, but also when the size of the block must be increased due to various factors.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2020-079606

Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to keep the device compact even when a plurality of fluid control valves are used to control a large flow rate of fluid.

That is, a fluid control device according to the present invention includes a block in which an internal flow path is formed, a fluid control valve provided on the device mounting surface of the block, and a pressure sensor for detecting the pressure of the fluid flowing through the internal flow path. A recess is formed in the side surface of the block, and the pressure sensor is accommodated in the recess.

According to the fluid control device configured in this way, since the pressure sensor is accommodated in the recess formed in the side surface of the block, the block can be shortened compared to the configuration in which the pressure sensor is mounted on the device mounting surface. be able to.
This is because when the pressure sensor is mounted on the equipment mounting surface of the block, a flange is attached to the equipment mounting surface and the pressure sensor is attached to the flange. This is because the above-described flange can be dispensed with if it is, and there is no need to secure the length for attaching this flange.

This makes it possible to keep the device compact even when using multiple fluid control valves to control a large flow rate of fluid. As a result, even when the design is changed from one having one fluid control valve to one having a plurality of fluid control valves, the block can be kept the same length in the arrangement direction of the fluid control valves. Existing blocks and gaskets can be used.

When the pressure sensor is housed in the concave portion of the side surface of the block, wiring for extracting signals from the pressure sensor becomes complicated, which may lead to difficulty in assembling the device.
Therefore, an opening is formed in the block in communication with the recess and is formed in the device mounting surface of the block, and the wiring connected to the output terminal of the pressure sensor passes through the opening to the recess. preferably taken from.
In this case, the wiring can be taken out from the concave portion without difficulty, and the assembling of the device can be simplified.

It is preferable that the entire pressure sensor is housed in the recess.
In this case, the pressure sensor can be accommodated without protruding from the side of the block, so when a plurality of fluid control devices are arranged, the side of each block can be arranged in close contact. You can keep your footprint.

As an embodiment in which the above-described effects are exhibited more remarkably, there is an embodiment in which a plurality of the fluid control valves are provided on the device mounting surface.
With such a configuration, it is possible to keep the device compact while enabling control of a large flow rate of fluid as described in the background art.

As a specific embodiment for housing a plurality of pressure sensors in a recess, a plurality of recesses are formed in one of the mutually opposite side surfaces of the block, and the pressures different from each other are provided in each of the plurality of recesses. A mode in which the sensor is housed can be mentioned.

A specific aspect of the side surface is a surface that intersects with the equipment mounting surface and the bottom surface on the back side of the equipment mounting surface.

In addition, as another embodiment, the recesses are formed on the side surfaces facing opposite to each other, and the pressure sensors different from each other are accommodated in each of the plurality of recesses.

A gas supply system according to the present invention is characterized by including a plurality of fluid control devices described above.
With such a gas supply system, the effects of the fluid control device described above can be obtained.

According to the present invention configured in this manner, even when a plurality of fluid control valves are used to control a large flow rate of fluid, the device can be kept compact, and the number of fluid control valves can vary. A secondary effect such as compatibility between products can also be obtained.

1 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which a plurality of fluid control devices are arranged according to an embodiment; FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the internal structure of the fluid control device according to the same embodiment; The schematic diagram which shows the state by which the pressure sensor in the same embodiment is accommodated in the recessed part. The schematic diagram which shows the structure of the fluid control apparatus in other embodiment. The schematic diagram which shows the structure of the fluid control apparatus in other embodiment. The schematic diagram which shows the structure of the fluid control apparatus in other embodiment. The schematic diagram which shows the structure of the fluid control apparatus in other embodiment. The schematic diagram which shows the internal structure of the fluid control apparatus in other embodiment.

An embodiment of a fluid control device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

A fluid control device is used, for example, in a semiconductor manufacturing device to control the flow rate or pressure of a fluid such as a gas for a semiconductor process.

As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of fluid control devices 100 of this embodiment are arranged in parallel in the width direction Z1 to construct a gas supply system X, and are attached to a common base B via a gasket G. be done.

Each fluid control device 100 includes, as shown in FIG. A mass flow controller configured to control the valve opening degree of the fluid control valve 20 so that the measured flow rate output by the flow rate detection mechanism 30 approaches a predetermined set flow rate. be.

The block 10 has an elongated shape, and a fluid flowing in from an inflow port P1 formed at one end flows through an internal flow path L formed along the longitudinal direction Z2, and flows through an outflow port P1 formed at the other end. It is configured to flow out from port P2.

These inflow port P1 and outflow port P2 are formed on the bottom surface 11 of the block 10, as shown in FIG. It is sealed by a gasket G.

The block 10 of this embodiment has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape with a constant width dimension, and one surface along the longitudinal direction Z2 is mainly composed of fluid devices such as a fluid control valve 20 and a pressure sensor 31, which will be described later. It becomes the device mounting surface 12 to be mounted. In this embodiment, the device mounting surface 12 is a surface facing away from the bottom surface 11 described above, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 .

Also, hereinafter, a surface between the device mounting surface 12 and the bottom surface 11 is referred to as a side surface 13 . That is, the side surface 13 is a surface that intersects the device mounting surface 12 and the bottom surface 11, and extends along the longitudinal direction Z2 of the block 10 in this embodiment in which the block 10 is elongated.

The fluid control valve 20 adjusts the valve opening degree by separating and contacting a valve body with respect to a valve seat member. is a piezo valve.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the upstream side of the internal flow path L is branched into two parallel flow paths L1, and a fluid control valve 20 is provided in each of these parallel branch flow paths L1. (The fluid control valves 20 are hereinafter also referred to as the first fluid control valve 20A and the second fluid control valve 20B).

These branch flow paths L1 are formed at twisted positions so as not to interfere with each other within the block 10. In other words, each branch channel L1 is formed to be shifted in the width direction Z1 of the block 10 . Accordingly, the first fluid control valve 20A and the second fluid control valve 20B are arranged in parallel and provided along the longitudinal direction Z2 of the block 10. As shown in FIG.

The respective branched flow paths L1 are merged on the downstream side, and the gas that has passed through the first fluid control valve 20A and the second fluid control valve 20B flows into this merged flow path L2.

In this way, the internal flow path L is branched into two parallel branch flow paths L1, and the fluid control valve 20 is provided in each of the branch flow paths L1. Compared to , the controllable flow rate is approximately doubled, making it possible to control a large flow rate of fluid.
Moreover, since the first fluid control valve 20A and the second fluid control valve 20B are arranged along the longitudinal direction Z2 of the block 10, the width dimension of the block 10 can be kept small.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the flow rate detection mechanism 30 is of a differential pressure type, and includes a pair of pressure sensors 31 provided in the internal flow path L and a list provided between these pressure sensors 31. (not shown) and configured to measure the flow rate based on the difference in pressure detected by these pressure sensors 31 .

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2 , a detection signal indicating the pressure detected by the pair of pressure sensors 31 is output to the control board 40 . A control circuit composed of a CPU, a memory, etc. mounted on the control board 40 calculates the flow rate of the fluid based on the pressure difference indicated by the detection signal, and the calculated flow rate is set in advance. The valve opening degree of the fluid control valve 20 described above is controlled so that

Note that the fluid control valve 20, the flow rate detection mechanism 30, and the control board 40 described above are housed in a common casing 50, as shown in FIG.

In such a configuration, as shown in FIG. 3, a recess 14 is formed in the side surface 13 of the block 10 described above, and at least one pressure sensor 31 is accommodated in this recess 14 .

In this embodiment, the upstream pressure sensor 31A is provided on the equipment mounting surface 12 of the block 10. More specifically, a flange 32 is attached to the device mounting surface 12, and an upstream pressure sensor 31A is attached to the flange 32. As shown in FIG.

On the other hand, the pressure sensor 31B on the downstream side is accommodated in the recess 14 formed in the side surface 13 described above. More specifically, the entirety of the downstream pressure sensor 31B is housed in the recess 14; It is accommodated in the concave portion 14 without protruding out. However, a part of this pressure sensor 31B may protrude slightly from the recess 14 .

As shown in FIG. 3, the concave portion 14 has a cylindrical shape, for example, and is formed halfway in the width direction Z1 of the block 10 without penetrating to the other side surface 13 by recessing one side surface 13. .

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the block 10 of this embodiment has a protruding portion 15 protruding from the equipment mounting surface 12, and the side surface of the protruding portion 15 is also opened. A recess 14 is formed in the .

The pressure sensor 31B on the downstream side is accommodated in the recess 14 with its pressure receiving surface (not shown) parallel to the side surface 13 of the block 10 .

As shown in FIG. 2, the internal space of the recess 14 constitutes a part of the internal flow path L, and the inlet 14a and the outlet 14b of the fluid flowing through the internal flow path L are on the bottom surface or the inner periphery of the recess 14. open on the face. As a result, the pressure of the fluid that has flowed into the recess 14 is detected by the pressure sensor 31B accommodated in the recess 14. As shown in FIG.

Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the block 10 of the present embodiment has an opening 16 that communicates with the concave portion 14 and is formed in the device mounting surface 12 described above.

More specifically, as described above, the equipment mounting surface 12 is a surface facing away from the bottom surface 11, and the tip surface 151 of the projecting portion 15 is also a part of the equipment mounting surface 12. The opening 16 of the present embodiment is formed by penetrating the tip surface 151 of the projecting portion 15 and the recessed portion 14 .

A wiring C connected to the output terminal of the pressure sensor 31B is taken out from the concave portion 14 through the opening 16.

More specifically, the pressure sensor 31B has a plurality of output terminals such as an output terminal for outputting a detection signal indicating the magnitude of the detected pressure. It is electrically connected to the control board 40 via the .

In this embodiment, a flexible cable such as an FPC, which is formed by bundling a plurality of wirings C connected to a plurality of output terminals respectively, is taken out from the concave portion 14 through the opening 16 and connected to the control board 40. there is

According to the fluid control device 100 configured in this way, since at least one pressure sensor 31 is housed in the recess 14 formed in the side surface 13 of the block 10, the pressure sensor 31 is placed on the device mounting surface 12. The flange 32 required for mounting can be eliminated, and the block 10 can be shortened in the direction in which the fluid control valves 20 are arranged because there is no need to secure the length for attaching the flange 32 .

As a result, it is possible to keep the device compact while controlling a large flow rate of fluid using two fluid control valves 20 as in the present embodiment. As a result, even when the design is changed from one having a single fluid control valve 20 to one having two fluid control valves 20, the length of the block 10 can be kept the same. An existing gasket G can be used.

In addition, since the wiring C connected to the output terminal of the pressure sensor 31 communicates with the recess 14 and is taken out through the opening 16 formed in the device mounting surface 12, the wiring C can be easily removed from the recess 14. can be taken out, and simplification of the assembly of the device can be achieved.

Furthermore, since the entire pressure sensor 31 is accommodated in the recess 14, when a plurality of fluid control devices 100 are arranged in parallel in the width direction Z1, the side surfaces 13 of the blocks 10 of the respective fluid control devices 100 are brought into close contact with each other. , and the footprint of the gas supply system X shown in FIG. 1 can be reduced.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, one pressure sensor 31 is accommodated in the recess 14 formed in the side surface 13 of the block 10 . 14 may be accommodated.

As an example, as shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of recesses 14 may be formed in one of the side surfaces 13 facing opposite to each other, and pressure sensors 31 different from each other may be accommodated in each of the plurality of recesses 14. . Here, an upstream pressure sensor 31A and a downstream pressure sensor 31B, which constitute the flow rate detection mechanism 30, are housed in the recess 14, respectively.

As another example, as shown in FIG. 5, recesses 14 are formed in each of the side surfaces 13 facing opposite to each other, and pressure sensors 31 different from each other are accommodated in each of the plurality of recesses 14. good. Here, a third pressure sensor 31C is accommodated in the recess 14 separately from the upstream pressure sensor 31A and the downstream pressure sensor 31B.
The third pressure sensor 31C can be used as a spare for either the upstream pressure sensor 31A or the downstream pressure sensor 31B, and can be arranged back-to-back with the one pressure sensor 31B, for example.
Further, although not shown, a fourth pressure sensor may be provided as a spare for the other of the upstream pressure sensor 31A and the downstream pressure sensor 31B, and this fourth pressure sensor may also be accommodated in the recess 14. good.

As shown in FIG. 6, the fluid control device 100 may include a single fluid control valve 20. In this case, the size in the longitudinal direction Z2 can be made shorter than in the conventional configuration. .
The fluid control device 100 may include three or more fluid control valves 20 (not shown).

Further, although the fluid control device 100 controls the flow rate of the fluid in the above embodiment, it may control the pressure of the fluid.
As the fluid control device 100 in this case, as shown in FIG. be able to.

In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the opening 16 for extracting the wiring C was formed by penetrating the protrusion 15 to the recess 14. However, as shown in FIG. may be formed by recessing the side surface 13 of the . In this case, the recess 14 that accommodates the pressure sensor 31 is open to the side surface 13 of the block 10 and the equipment mounting surface 12 .

Furthermore, the fluid control device 100 may further include a pressure sensor provided upstream of the fluid control valve 20 .

Also, although the block 10 has been described as having an elongated shape in the above embodiment, the shape is not particularly limited, and the device mounting surface 12 may be square or circular, for example.

In addition, some or all of the above-described embodiments and modified embodiments may be appropriately combined, and the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and combinations of embodiments are possible without departing from the scope of the invention. It goes without saying that there is.

According to the present invention, even when using a plurality of fluid control valves to control a large flow rate of fluid, the device can be kept compact.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100... Fluid control apparatus G... Gasket L... Internal channel 10... Block 11... Bottom surface 12... Equipment mounting surface 13... Side surface 14... Recess 16...・Opening Z2...Longitudinal direction 20...Fluid control valve 30...Flow detection mechanism 31...Pressure sensor C...Wiring

Claims

a block in which an internal channel is formed;
a fluid control valve provided on the device mounting surface of the block;
a pressure sensor that detects the pressure of the fluid flowing through the internal channel,
A fluid control device, wherein a recess is formed in a side surface of the block, and the pressure sensor is accommodated in the recess.
The block is formed with an opening communicating with the recess and in the device mounting surface of the block,
2. The fluid control device according to claim 1, wherein wiring connected to the output terminal of said pressure sensor is taken out from said recess through said opening.
The fluid control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the entire pressure sensor is accommodated in the recess.
The fluid control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a plurality of the fluid control valves are provided on the equipment mounting surface.
5. The block according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a plurality of said recesses are formed in one of the side surfaces of said block facing opposite to each other, and said pressure sensors different from each other are housed in each of said plurality of recesses. A fluid control device as described.
6. The fluid control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein said recesses are formed in each of said side surfaces facing opposite to each other, and said pressure sensors different from each other are housed in each of said plurality of recesses. .
The fluid control device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the side surface intersects with the equipment mounting surface and the bottom surface on the back side of the equipment mounting surface.
A gas supply system comprising a plurality of fluid control devices according to any one of claims 1 to 7.