JP2005292026A - Fitting and fluid device using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a joint capable of suppressing the piping of a fluid device and a compact fluid device using the joint.
In a joint connecting a first pipe and a second pipe through which a fluid flows,
A flow rate detection unit that detects the flow rate of the fluid and outputs a flow rate signal is provided.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a joint capable of suppressing the routing of piping, and a compact fluid device using the joint, for example, a joint used in a cooling water circulation device, and a cooling water circulation device using the joint.

  In a semiconductor manufacturing field, an apparatus composed of a plating apparatus, a washing machine, or the like that is a temperature controlled object needs to keep the temperature inside the apparatus below a certain level, and therefore, it is necessary to incorporate a cooling water circulation device. This cooling water circulation device is configured by connecting a constant temperature water tank, a pump, a cooler, and the like using pipes and joints.

  A flow meter is used to monitor whether the cooling water circulation device is operating normally. Vortex types, turbine types, ultrasonic types, and the like have been put into practical use as flowmeters, but these flowmeters are also required to be incorporated into the cooling water circulation device in the same manner as the constant temperature water tank, pump, and the like.

  There exists a thing like a nonpatent literature 1 as a prior art document of a coupling. Moreover, there exists a thing like a nonpatent literature 2 as a prior art literature of a flowmeter.

Satoshi Naruse and 8 others, “Process Equipment Structural Design Series 3 Piping”, First Edition, Maruzen Co., Ltd., August 10, 1971, P7 Shuji Urabe and three others, “Small flow sensor and its series development”, Yokogawa Technical Report, Yokogawa Electric Corporation, April 20, 2001, Vol. 45 No. 2, p. 37-40

  By the way, in the conventional cooling water circulation device, it is not so difficult to secure a space for installing a pump and a flow meter which are parts constituting the cooling water circulation device.

  However, as the demand for downsizing the cooling water circulation device itself has increased in recent years, it has become difficult to secure a space for installing a pump and a flow meter.

  Hereinafter, a method of using the joint in the conventional cooling water circulating apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. First, the configuration of FIG. 3 will be described. The constant temperature water tank 1 keeps and accumulates cooling water at a predetermined temperature. The pump 3 sucks up the cooling water accumulated in the constant temperature water tank 1, and the upstream connection portion is connected to the constant temperature water tank 1 by piping. At this time, the pipe is connected without being bent by using an L-shaped joint. Similar joints 2 are used in places where it is necessary to change the direction of the piping in the following connections.

  The flow meter 4 detects the flow rate of cooling water and outputs a flow rate signal, and the straight pipe portions 4a and 4b suppress drift in a flow rate detection unit (not shown). A straight pipe portion 4 a provided on the upstream side is connected to a downstream connection portion of the pump 3 through a joint 2 by piping. The cooler 5 cools the plating apparatus or the like, and uses three joints 2 to adjust the direction of the piping, while the upstream connection portion of the cooler 5 is connected to the straight pipe portion 4b of the flowmeter 4 by the piping. It is connected to the. The downstream side connection portion of the cooler 5 is connected to the upstream side connection portion of the constant temperature water tank 1 by piping through two joints 2.

Next, the operation of such a cooling water circulation device will be described.
In FIG. 3, the cooling water proceeds in the direction of the arrow indicated by “flow”. This will be specifically described below. The cooling water accumulated in the constant temperature water tank 1 is sucked up by the pump 3, flows from the high temperature water tank 1 through the piping to the upstream connection portion of the pump 3, and is discharged from the downstream connection portion.

  The cooling water flows through the piping into the straight pipe portion 4a of the flow meter 4 and is discharged from the straight pipe portion 4b. Further, the flow rate of the cooling water is detected when passing through the flow meter 4, and the flow rate signal is transmitted to a printed board (not shown) on which the signal processing unit is mounted. In such a flowmeter 4, the fluid flows stably without causing a drift by passing through the straight pipe portions 4 a and 4 b, and a highly accurate flow rate measurement can be performed.

  In the flow meter 4, a flow rate signal (analog signal) output from a flow rate detection unit (not shown) is input to an A / D conversion converter via an operational amplifier and a buffer, converted into a digital signal, and the digital signal is processed. To calculate the flow rate.

  The cooling water discharged from the downstream connection portion of the flow meter 4 flows into the upstream connection portion of the cooler 5 through the pipe, cools the plating apparatus provided adjacent to the cooler 5 and is kept at a constant temperature. Return to tank 1. This operation is repeated thereafter.

  The flowmeter 4 used in such an apparatus is provided with straight pipe portions 4a and 4b in order to measure the flow rate with high accuracy by suppressing the drift in the flow rate detection unit. For this reason, it is necessary to route the piping in consideration of the straight pipe portions 4a and 4b, and there is a problem that the cooling water circulation device and the like cannot be reduced in size.

  The present invention focuses on this problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a joint capable of suppressing the routing of piping of the fluid device and a compact fluid device using the joint.

In order to achieve such a problem, the invention according to claim 1 of the present invention is:
In the joint connecting the first pipe and the second pipe through which the fluid flows,
A flow rate detection unit that detects the flow rate of the fluid and outputs a flow rate signal is provided.

The invention according to claim 2 is the joint according to claim 1,
A first connection portion provided at one end, comprising a male screw, a female screw, or a socket, and connected to a first pipe;
A second connecting portion that is provided at the other end and includes a male screw, a female screw, or a socket, and is connected to the second pipe.

The invention according to claim 3 is the joint according to claim 1 or 2,
The flow rate detection unit is a vortex type, turbine type, thermal type or ultrasonic type.

  A fluid device according to a fourth aspect includes the joint according to any one of the first to third aspects.

The invention according to claim 5 is the fluid device according to claim 4,
A comparator is provided that compares the signal output from the flow rate detector with a reference value to determine the presence or absence of fluid.

  In the present invention, since the flow rate detection unit is provided in the joint, the piping of the fluid device can be suppressed. In addition, the fluid device can be made compact by using this joint in a fluid device such as a cooling water circulation device that controls the temperature of the temperature controlled object to a predetermined temperature.

  Furthermore, since the presence / absence of the fluid is detected by the comparator, the A / D converter is not necessary and can be configured at low cost.

  This will be described below with reference to the drawings. The figure is the block diagram which showed one Example of this invention, (A) is a side view, (B) is a front view.

  First, the structure of the joint shown in FIG. 1 will be described. The union joint 6 is formed of an upstream connection part 7, a flow rate detection part 8, a downstream connection part 9, and a pipe body 10. The upstream connection portion 7 is formed with a female screw and is connected to a pipe (not shown).

  The flow rate detection unit 8 is formed of a flow channel tube 8a, a vortex detector 8b, and a vortex generator 8c. The flow path pipe 8 a is provided inside the pipe body 10, one end is connected to the upstream connection part 7, and the other end is connected to the downstream connection part 9. Here, the flow path pipe 8a is formed to be thin in order to ensure the sensitivity of the vortex detector 8b. However, the flow path pipe 8a may be thickened within a range that does not affect the signal detected by the vortex detector 8b.

  The vortex detector 8b is for detecting the flow rate of the fluid, and is formed in the channel tube 8a so as to protrude into the channel.

  The vortex generator 8c generates a Karman vortex, and is formed in the flow path of the flow path pipe 8a, closer to the upstream connection portion 7 than the vortex detector 8b, in a direction perpendicular to the fluid flow direction. .

  The downstream connection portion 9 is formed with a female screw and is connected to a pipe (not shown). Here, the downstream side connection portion 9 in FIG. 1 has a larger diameter than the upstream side connection portion 7, but may be the same or downstream as long as the signal detected by the vortex detector 8 b is not affected. There is no problem even if the diameter of the side connection portion 9 is smaller. The pipe body 10 has a substantially cylindrical shape as shown by hatching in the drawing, and is integrally formed with the upstream connection portion 7 and the downstream connection portion 9. The signal processing unit 11 is electrically connected to the vortex detector 8b of the union joint 6 and determines the presence or absence of fluid.

Next, the flow rate detection operation of the joint shown in FIG. 1 will be described.
The upstream connection portion 7 and the downstream connection portion 9 are each connected to a pipe (not shown). When a fluid flows from the upstream connection portion 7 toward the downstream connection portion 9, the fluid flows into the flow path of the flow path pipe 8a and collides with the vortex generator 8c to generate a Karman vortex. The vortex detector 8b made of a piezoelectric element detects the pressure fluctuation caused by the lift of the Karman vortex and generates a flow signal. This signal consists of a current of 4 mA to 20 mA, for example, and is transmitted to the signal processing unit 11.

  The flow rate signal output from the vortex detector 8b to the signal processing unit 11 is amplified by an operational amplifier and then compared with a reference voltage by a comparator. If the reference voltage is exceeded, the fluid flows normally. Judged to be.

In this way, since the flow rate detection unit 8 is provided in the union joint 6 and only the presence or absence of fluid is detected, there is no need to provide a straight pipe part for suppressing the drift as in the prior art, and the piping of the fluid device is routed. Can be suppressed. Moreover, the fluid apparatus can be made compact by using the joint 6 for the fluid apparatus that controls the temperature of the plating apparatus or the like to a predetermined temperature.
Since the flow rate flowing through the cooling water circulation device is constant, it is sufficient for the function of the flow rate detection unit 8 to be able to determine only the presence or absence of fluid. Accordingly, since it is not necessary to measure the flow rate with high accuracy, it is not a problem not to use the straight pipe portion.

  Further, since the presence / absence of fluid is detected by the comparator of the signal processing unit 11, an A / D converter is not necessary and can be configured at low cost.

  Next, other embodiments will be described. 2A and 2B are configuration diagrams showing another embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 2A is a side view and FIG. 2B is a front view. In FIG. 2, the elbow joint 12 is formed in an approximately L shape, and is provided with an upstream connection portion 13 at one end and a downstream connection portion 14 at the other end. The upstream connection portion 13 is formed with a female screw and is screwed to a pipe (not shown) on the upstream side. The downstream connection portion 14 is formed with a female screw and is screwed to a pipe (not shown) on the downstream side.

  The flow rate detection unit 15 is a turbine-type flow rate detection unit, is provided inside the elbow joint 12, has an impeller 15a, and a turbine shaft 15b, and generates a signal at a signal generation unit (not shown). The impeller 15a is attached to the turbine shaft 15b. The turbine shaft 15b transmits the rotational force to the signal generator. The signal processing unit 16 is electrically connected to the signal generation unit and determines the presence or absence of fluid.

  The flow rate detection operation of such an apparatus will be described. When the fluid flows in the pipe of the elbow joint 12, the fluid collides with the impeller 15a, and the turbine shaft 15b rotates. The signal generation unit generates a flow rate signal by the rotational force of the turbine shaft 15 b and outputs the flow rate signal to the signal processing unit 16. The flow rate signal input to the signal processing unit 16 is amplified by an operational amplifier and then compared with a reference voltage by a comparator. If the flow rate signal exceeds the reference voltage, it is determined that the fluid is flowing normally.

Thus, since the flow rate detection part 15 is provided in the elbow joint 12 and only the presence or absence of the fluid is detected, it is not necessary to provide a straight pipe part, and the routing of the piping of the cooling water circulation device can be suppressed. Moreover, the fluid device can be made compact by using the elbow joint 12 in a fluid device such as a cooling water circulation device that controls the temperature of the plating device or the like to a predetermined temperature.
Since the flow rate flowing through the cooling water circulation device is constant, it is sufficient for the function of the flow rate detection unit 15 to determine only the presence or absence of fluid. Therefore, it is not necessary to measure the flow rate with high accuracy, and it is not a problem not to use a straight pipe portion for suppressing drift.

  Further, since the presence / absence of fluid is detected by the comparator of the signal processing unit 16, an A / D converter is not necessary and can be configured at low cost.

  The present invention is not limited to this, and the material of the union joint 6 and the elbow joint 12 is, for example, synthetic resin or metal, but any material that has corrosion resistance to the fluid used is used. There is no problem.

  Moreover, although the example of the vortex type and the turbine type flowmeter was shown, it may be a thermal type or an ultrasonic type.

  Moreover, according to the Example of this invention, although the connection part 7, 9, 13, 14 showed the example comprised with a female screw, it may comprise with a male screw or a socket.

  Further, although the signal processing unit 11 is provided separately from the union joint 6, it may be provided outside the flow channel pipe 8a together with the flow rate detecting means 8b.

  Furthermore, although the example of the coupling | joint used for fluid apparatuses, such as a cooling water circulation apparatus of the semiconductor manufacture field | area, was described, a coupling | joint can also be used for the flow management of air piping for the energy saving of a factory. In this case, durability and corrosion resistance are not so required, and any material that does not rust can be used. It can also be used as a pure water line for a liquid crystal glass substrate cleaning apparatus. Furthermore, it can be used for a cooling water circulation device used in a car engine room.

It is the block diagram which showed one Example of this invention. It is the block diagram which showed the other Example of this invention. It is the figure which showed the usage method of the coupling in the conventional cooling water circulation apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

6 Union joints 7 and 13 Upstream connection 8a Flow pipe 8b Vortex detector 8c Vortex generators 9 and 14 Downstream connection 11 and 16 Signal processor 12 Elbow joint 15a Impeller 15b Turbine shaft

Claims (5)

In the joint connecting the first pipe and the second pipe through which the fluid flows,
A joint comprising: a flow rate detection unit that detects a flow rate of the fluid and outputs a flow rate signal. A first connection portion provided at one end, comprising a male screw, a female screw, or a socket, and connected to a first pipe;
The joint according to claim 1, further comprising: a second connection portion provided at the other end and made of a male screw, a female screw, or a socket and connected to the second pipe.   The joint according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the flow rate detection unit is a vortex type, a turbine type, a thermal type or an ultrasonic type.   A fluid device comprising the joint according to claim 1. 5. The fluid device according to claim 4, further comprising a comparator that compares the signal output from the flow rate detection unit with a reference value to determine the presence or absence of fluid.

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