JPH0417507Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Purpose of the invention] (Industrial application field) This invention relates to a structure for mounting an inlet/outlet coupler of a high-purity material storage container, and is a high-purity etching material used in semiconductor manufacturing, etc. A container for storing high-purity materials, such as photoresist materials, doping sources, cleaning materials, or materials used in biotechnology, can be attached to an opening projecting from the container to connect a pipe for transferring the high-purity materials. This invention relates to an inlet/outlet coupler mounting structure for a high-purity material storage container that prevents impurities (hereinafter referred to as particles) in the container from being mixed into the high-purity material when the coupler is installed.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, the above-mentioned high-purity materials have been stored in large quantities in large storage containers, and when used, they are supplied from the outlet to the point of use through a transfer pipe.

This large container is made of, for example, stainless steel, and its inner surface is coated with a special fluororesin or the like to prevent particles from forming inside. Two protruding cylinders are formed in this container, one for the gas inlet and the other for the outlet of the high-purity material to send out the high-purity material by gas pressure, and screwed into the cylinder. A coupler for connecting the transfer pipe is attached to the container by other means, and the contamination of particles into the high-purity material in the container is extremely reduced and the high-purity material is strictly preserved.

On the other hand, a liquid container was proposed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 48-9885, in which a funnel having a flange was placed at the opening of the container with the flange in contact with the opening, and the flange was inserted through the funnel. A structure is disclosed that includes a cap that is fixed to the opening with a screw so that the through holes communicate with each other.

(Problems to be solved by the invention) <Problems of the conventional technology> However, in order to prevent particles from entering the container, the coupler is formed into a nozzle shape with a narrow hole at the tip. be. Therefore, there is no problem when using it, but for example, when putting high-purity materials into this container, especially when filling it up in a short period of time, it is recommended to remove the coupler and then screw it back in again. I had to carry out the work. Further, even if the tip of the coupler is not shaped like a nozzle, the coupler can be attached and detached to some extent.

In this case, when the coupler is screwed in, very small particles are generated due to the sliding of the threaded parts. However, this type of high-purity material does not allow even the smallest particles to get mixed in, so if even the smallest particles generated by the sliding movement get mixed in, the high-purity material becomes unusable. This screw-in type coupler mounting structure had a major problem. Additionally, if this threaded part is located in a position where there is a high possibility of contact with high-purity materials, this threaded part must also be coated with the coating described above, but as mentioned above, the threaded parts should not slide against each other. In order to do this, the coating material is gradually peeled off little by little, becoming particles itself, and at the same time, the parts where the coating has peeled off corrode and particles are generated, and the durability is also reduced. However, there was a problem that caused it to be inferior to the previous model.

Therefore, if we were to adopt the structure of the liquid container described above, it would seem at first glance that the funnel could be attached without rotating by holding the funnel itself by hand and rotating the cap, but this type of high purity Material storage containers must be sealed securely and must be done with strong force.

In this case, since the funnel part is only held down by hand, it often appears that it is not rotating, but it often rotates a little, which causes the problem of unavoidable generation of particles, albeit a small amount.

Therefore, in view of the above-mentioned problems, this idea was developed by
Locking means such as screws are placed in locations where there is a very low possibility of touching high-purity materials, and particles generated by sliding are prevented from entering the container, making it easy to install the coupler. It was devised with the goal of making this possible.

[Structure of the invention] (Means for solving the problem) This invention consists of a substantially cylindrical opening that protrudes from a high-purity material storage container that is designed to prevent the presence of impurities inside, and a cylindrical opening that abuts the opening. It consists of a coupler that connects the through hole and allows installation of a transfer pipe for moving high-purity materials to another location, and a fitting that locks the coupler with the entrance/exit. The coupler has a flange formed at one end thereof, and the end surface including the flange is a flat surface having approximately the same width as the entrance and exit port, and The fitting has a cylindrical shape with a bottom, and the coupler except the flange is passed through the bottom of the fitting, and the fitting is placed over the coupler with a sealing ring interposed between the abutment surface of the entrance and exit and the abutment surface of the coupler. The opening and the coupler are formed to be locked together by a locking means that is locked by rotation between the inner periphery of the fitting and the outer periphery of the opening, and is made of fluorine material with excellent corrosion resistance from at least the through hole of the opening to the end surface. A coating layer made of resin is formed, and a sealing ring made of a non-slip O-ring made of an elastic material is interposed on the contact surface of the coupler with the entrance and exit port, and is interposed approximately in the center of the contact surface. This solves the above-mentioned problems.

(Function) The end face of the approximately cylindrical opening of an appropriate width protruding from the high-purity material storage container which is made free of impurities inside is used as the contact surface with the coupler, and the through hole is brought into communication by contacting with the entrance/exit. In addition, a coupler that can be attached to a transfer pipe for moving high-purity materials to another location has a flange formed at one end, and the end surface including the flange is placed in contact with the entrance and exit of the entrance. The width of the coupler is approximately the same as that of the end face, and a coating layer made of fluororesin with excellent corrosion resistance is formed at least from the through hole of the entrance/exit to the end face, and the contact surface with the entrance/exit of the coupler is A sealing ring made of a non-slip O-ring made of elastic material is placed approximately in the center of the contact surface, and a cylindrical fitting with a bottom is inserted through the coupler excluding the flange. At the same time, the fitting is placed over the coupler, the coupler is held down by hand, etc., and the doorway and the coupler are locked by a locking means that is locked by rotation between the inner circumference of the fitting and the outer circumference of the doorway. By forming a coating layer of fluororesin on the entrance/exit side, the generation of particles at the entrance/exit is eliminated.

Moreover, since the opening and the end face of the entrance are covered with a coating layer of fluorine resin, it is extremely slippery, and if you try to lock the entrance and the coupler with the locking means that locks by rotation, you will not be able to handle it. Although the coupler tends to rotate even when pressed with It fulfills its purpose, and the doorway and coupler can be locked and installed without slipping by pressing with your hands.
Also, even if it slips a little, the O-ring is placed almost in the center of the end face on the coupler side, so only the O-ring will come into contact with the end face of the entrance/exit in the early stages of locking, when the coupler is most slippery. Therefore, particles due to the slipping do not move to the edge of the through hole, and there is no intrusion of particles at all.

(Embodiments) Hereinafter, embodiments of this invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

That is, the reference numeral 1 shown in the figure is a container made of stainless steel, and a cylindrical gas inlet 2 and a high-purity material outlet 3 are formed protruding from the upper part of the container.

As shown in FIG. 1, this container 1 is constructed by providing a flange 5 at the mouth 4 and fixing an inlet/outlet mounting plate 6 having approximately the same diameter to the flange 5 with bolts 7 or the like. It is designed to be sealed.

The gas inlet 2 and outlet 3 are fixed to the inlet/outlet mounting plate 6 in advance by welding or the like so that they protrude before being attached to the flange 5. is connected to the outside world only by through holes 8, 9 at the gas inlet 2 and outlet 3.
Further, in order to maintain a good sealing condition by the entrance/exit mounting plate 6, a sealing ring 10 made of an elastic material such as an O-ring is interposed between the flange 5 and the entrance/exit mounting plate 6. put. Furthermore, container 1
A coating layer 25 is coated with a special fluororesin from the inner surface of the inlet/outlet mounting plate 6 to the inner surfaces of the through holes 8 and 9 between the gas inlet 2 and the outlet 3, the end surfaces of the gas inlet 2 and the outlet 3, and the outer peripheral surface of the end. By forming a surface with excellent corrosion resistance, particles are prevented from being generated inside the container 1.

On the other hand, a container 1 is provided at the gas inlet 2 and outlet 3.
A moving pipe 11 for moving the high-purity material inside to be supplied to another location, that is, the point of use.
The coupler 12 is formed so that it can be attached with a single touch.

Its mounting structure is as follows.

That is, in the case of the outlet 3, as shown in FIG. 2, a screw 13 is threaded on the outer periphery of the protruding cylindrical shape, and a flange 14 having a smaller diameter than the outer diameter of the screw 13 is formed at the end thereof. flange 1
The end face including 4 is formed to be a plane with an appropriate width.

On the other hand, the coupler 12 has a flange 15 formed at one end, and the end surface including the flange 15 is a flat surface with approximately the same width as the end surface of the outlet 3, and the other end has a flange 15 formed thereon. It has a cylindrical shape with a mounting means 16 that can be mounted with one touch, and the other end has a nozzle-shaped delivery hole 17 formed by narrowing the through hole 9 to prevent particles from entering from the outside as much as possible, and to prevent the contact surfaces from touching each other. To prevent high-purity material from stagnation between planes due to contact between planes when brought into contact.

And, on one end surface of the coupler 12,
A mounting groove 19 for mounting a sealing ring 18 made of an O-ring is formed so that the sealing ring 18 is interposed between the end face of the outlet 3 and one end face of the coupler 12. Since this sealing ring is formed of an O-ring, its material is rubber that has elasticity and does not slip easily. Further, the inside of the mounting groove 19 on this single surface is formed to be slightly recessed than the other portion so that the end of the lead-out pipe 20 described later can be held therebetween. These outlets 3 and the coupler 12 are attached using a fitting 21.

This fixture 21 has a cylindrical shape with a bottom, and has a screw 22 threaded from the open end of the inner peripheral surface to approximately the middle part.
A through hole 23 through which the coupler 12 excluding the flange 15 can pass is bored in the center of the bottom.

Then, the through hole 9 of the outlet 3 and the through hole 24 of the coupler 12 are made to communicate with each other so that their abutting surfaces are brought into contact with each other, and as described above, between the abutting surface of the outlet 3 and the abutting surface of the coupler 12. A sealing ring 18 is interposed between the two. At the same time, the end of the lead-out pipe 20, which sends out high-purity material to the outside by pressure from gas injection from the gas inlet 2, is held between the outlet 3 and the coupler 12, and the fitting 21 is attached to the bottom of the lead-out pipe 20. Attach the fitting 21 to the coupler 1 while passing through the coupler 12 excluding the flange 15.
2, hold the coupler 12 with your hand, and connect the screws 22 on the inner circumference of the fitting 21 and the screws 13 on the outer circumference of the outlet 3.
The outlet 3 and the coupler 12 are screwed together and locked by the locking means.

Then, without rotating the coupler 12, just by rotating the outer fitting 21, the outlet 3
Since there is no sliding part between the outlet 3 and the coupler 12 during installation, particles are not generated.
Particles are not mixed into the high-purity material in the container 1.

In this case, the means for locking the outer periphery of the outlet 3 and the inner periphery of the fixture 21 is not limited to the screws 13 and 22 as long as it locks by rotation.
For example, it goes without saying that a locking means such as a so-called bayonet method or other means may be used. Also, the sealing ring 18 is connected to the coupler 1.
Although it may be attached to the outlet 3 side instead of the coupler 2 side, it is preferable to attach it to the coupler 12 side since the attachment groove faces upward and high purity material may accumulate and stagnate.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, the gas inlet 2 and coupler 12 are attached using a fitting 21 in the same way as the outlet 3. In that case, it is necessary to clamp the outlet pipe 20. This is the same as the case of the outlet 3 shown in FIG. 2, except that there is no need to dent the inner part of the mounting groove 19 on the contact surface of the coupler 12.

Note that the reference numeral 26 in the figure is a protection tube that protects the mouth portion 4 and also serves as a handle.

[Effect of the device] This device configured as described above has substantially cylindrical openings 2 and 3 protruding from the high-purity material storage container 1, which is designed to prevent the presence of impurities inside, and the openings 2 and 3 and the corresponding portions. A coupler 12 that connects the through holes 8, 9, and 24 to communicate with each other, and can be attached with a transfer pipe 11 for transferring high-purity material to another location.
and a fitting 21 that locks the openings 2, 3 and the coupler 12.The openings 2, 3 have their end faces flat with an appropriate width as contact surfaces with the coupler 12, and the coupler 12 A flange 15 is formed at one end, and the end surface including the flange 15 is a flat surface having approximately the same width as the entrances and exits 2 and 3, and is used as a contact surface with the entrances and exits 2 and 3.
It has a cylindrical shape with a bottom, and the coupler 12 excluding the flange 15 passes through the bottom thereof, and a sealing ring 18 is provided between the abutting surfaces of the openings 2 and 3 and the abutting surface of the coupler 12.
The fitting 21 is placed over the coupler 12 while interposing the fitting 21, and the locking means that locks by rotation between the inner periphery of the fitting 21 and the outer periphery of the openings 2, 3
3 and the coupler 12, and by interposing the sealing ring 18 between the contact surfaces of the entrances and exits 2 and 3, the entrances and exits 2 and 3 and the coupler 12 can be locked and fixed. The container 1 can be completely sealed except that the through holes 8, 9, and 24 communicate with each other and are connected to the outside.

To attach the coupler 12 to the entrance/exit ports 2 and 3, the bottomed cylindrical fitting 21 is passed through the coupler 12 excluding the flange 15 at the bottom thereof, and
Place the fitting 21 on the coupler 12, and then
is held down with your hand, etc., and the locking means between the inner periphery of the fixture 21 and the outer periphery of the entrances and exits 2 and 3 closes the entrances and exits 2 and 3.
If this is done by locking the coupler 12 with the coupler 12, a coating layer 25 made of fluororesin with excellent corrosion resistance is formed at least from the through hole 24 of the entrance/exit 2, 3 to the end surface, and the A sealing ring 18 made of a non-slip O-ring made of an elastic material is interposed approximately in the center of the contact surface, and a cylindrical fitting 21 with a bottom is attached to the bottom of the contact surface. The coupler 12 except the flange 15 is penetrated, and the fitting 21 is placed over the coupler 12,
The coupler 12 is connected to the entrances 2 and 3 by locking means that locks the coupler 12 by hand or the like by rotation between the inner periphery of the fixture 21 and the outer periphery of the entrances 2 and 3.
By forming a coating layer of fluororesin on the entrance/exit ports 2, 3, it is possible to eliminate the generation of particles at the entrance/exit ports 2, 3.

Moreover, since the openings 2 and 3 are covered from the through holes 24 to the end faces with a coating layer 25 of fluororesin, they are extremely slippery, and the openings 2 and 3 are connected to the couplers by a locking means that locks by rotation. 12, the coupler 12 tends to rotate even if you press it by hand, but a sealing ring 18 made of an elastic material and a non-slip O-ring is interposed approximately in the center of the end face of the coupler 12. Therefore, it serves to prevent the coupler 12 from rotating and to seal it, and by pressing the coupler 18 by hand, the coupler 18 can be locked and attached without slipping at all. Furthermore, even if the coupler 18 slips a little, the O-ring is placed approximately in the center of the end face on the coupler 18 side, so at the initial stage of locking when the coupler 18 is most slippery, there will be no O-ring on the end face of the entrances and exits 2 and 3. Since only the rings are in contact, particles due to their slipping do not move to the edge of the through hole 24, and there is no intrusion of particles at all.

Therefore, according to this invention, although it is structurally very simple, it is possible to shut out particles from entering the high-purity material storage container when the coupler is attached, and it is possible to prevent particles from entering the high-purity material storage container. It is very convenient for transportation and supply, and as mentioned above, the structure is simple, so it has practical beneficial effects such as being able to provide containers with fewer failures at low cost.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of this invention; FIG. 1 is a front sectional view, FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the outlet of high-purity material, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the gas inlet. 1... Container, 2... Gas inlet, 3... Outlet, 4
... Mouth part, 5 ... Flange, 6 ... Entrance/exit mounting plate, 7 ... Bolt, 8 ... Through hole, 9 ... Through hole, 1
0...Sealing ring, 11...Movement pipe, 12
... Coupler, 13 ... Screw, 14 ... Flange, 15 ... Flange, 16 ... Mounting means, 17
... Delivery hole, 18 ... Sealing ring, 19 ... Mounting groove, 20 ... Output pipe, 21 ... Fixture, 22
...Screw, 23...Through hole, 24...Through hole, 25
...Coating layer.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A roughly cylindrical entrance and exit that protrudes from a high-purity material storage container that is designed to prevent the presence of impurities inside, and abuts against this entrance and connects the through hole, and is used for transporting the high-purity material to another location. It consists of a coupler to which a pipe can be attached, and a fitting that locks the coupler to the inlet/outlet, and the inlet/outlet has an end face of a flat surface of an appropriate width as an abutting surface with the coupler,
The coupler has a flange formed at one end thereof, and the end surface including the flange is a flat surface having approximately the same width as the entrance and exit port, and the fitting is a cylindrical shape with a bottom. The coupler, excluding the flange, is passed through the coupler, and the fitting is placed over the coupler with a sealing ring interposed between the abutment surface of the inlet and outlet, and the rotation between the inner circumference of the fitting and the outer circumference of the inlet and outlet is prevented. A locking means for locking the coupler is formed to lock the entrance/exit and the coupler, and a coating layer made of a fluorine resin having excellent corrosion resistance is formed at least from the through hole of the entrance/exit to the end surface of the coupler. An entrance/exit of a high-purity material storage container characterized in that a sealing ring made of an elastic material and a non-slip O-ring is interposed on the contact surface with the entrance/exit of the container, which is arranged approximately in the center of the contact surface. Coupler mounting structure.