Fluid control valve and fluid control device
11187343 · 2021-11-30
Assignee
Inventors
Cpc classification
F16K7/12
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F16K31/365
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
G01F1/36
PHYSICS
F16K27/0236
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F16K31/126
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F16K7/16
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F23N2235/12
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F16K31/0655
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
International classification
F16K27/02
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F16K7/12
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F16K31/126
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F16K31/06
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
Abstract
The present invention intends to make it hard to distort a diaphragm at the time of assembling in a fluid control valve structured to screw a screw member to a plunger. The fluid control valve that makes an actuator move a valve body installed movably in a contacting/separating direction with respect to a valve seat includes: the plunger that is interposed between the valve body and the actuator to transfer the power of the actuator to the valve body; and the diaphragm connected to the circumferential surface of the plunger. In addition, the plunger includes: a first division body connected to the diaphragm; and a second division body that is arranged on an actuator side of the first division body and to which the screw member is screwed. Further, the second division body is configured to be rotatable with respect to the first division body in its circumferential direction.
Claims
1. A fluid control valve that makes an actuator move a valve body installed movably in a contacting/separating direction with respect to a valve seat, the fluid control valve comprising: a plunger that is interposed between the valve body and the actuator to transfer power of the actuator to the valve body; and a diaphragm connected to a circumferential surface of the plunger, wherein the plunger comprises multiple division bodies including at least a first division body connected to the diaphragm, and a second division body that is arranged on an actuator side of the first division body and to which a screw member is screwed, the second division body is configured to be rotatable with respect to the first division body in its circumferential direction, the second division body is formed with a hole which prevents the second division body from rotating in its circumferential direction in a state in which a pin is inserted therein, the second division body is connected to an adjacent division body which is one of the multiple division bodies and is adjacent to the second division body, any one of the second division body and the adjacent division body is provided with a connecting convex part, and the other is provided with a connecting concave part connected with the connecting convex part, and a gap positioned outside in a radial direction from the connecting convex part is formed between the connecting convex part and the connecting concave part.
2. The fluid control valve according to claim 1, further comprising a position sensor that outputs an output value indicating a position of the valve body with respect to the valve seat.
3. The fluid control valve according to claim 2, wherein the position sensor comprises: a first sensor part that is fixed so as to prevent a position relative to the valve seat from changing; and a second sensor part that is fixed to the second division body via the screw member, and outputs the output value on a basis of a relative position between the first sensor part and the second sensor part.
4. The fluid control valve according to claim 1, further comprises an elastic body that presses the second division body toward an actuator side, wherein the elastic body is configured to press the second division body in a state where the plunger moves so as to deflect the diaphragm toward a valve body side.
5. The fluid control valve according to claim 4, wherein the second division body is configured to be slidable with respect to the first division body in an axial direction of the plunger by a predetermined distance.
6. The fluid control valve according to claim 1, wherein: any one of an outer circumferential surface of the connecting convex part and an inner circumferential surface of the connecting concave part is provided with a fitting piece, and the other is provided with a fitting groove into which the fitting piece is fitted; at least one of the fitting piece and the fitting groove is formed in such a manner as to circle in a circumferential direction of the plunger; and the second division body is configured to, with the connecting convex part and the connecting concave part connected to each other and the fitting piece and the fitting groove fitted to each other, rotate along the fitting piece or the fitting groove provided to the adjacent division body.
7. The fluid control valve according to claim 6, wherein a width of the fitting groove in an axial direction of the plunger is larger by a predetermined distance than a width of the fitting piece in the axial direction of the plunger, and the second division body is configured to, with the connecting convex part and the connecting concave part connected to each other and the fitting piece and the fitting groove fitted to each other, slide by the predetermined distance along the fitting piece or the fitting groove provided to the adjacent division body.
8. A fluid control device comprising the fluid control valve according to claim 1.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
(7) In the following, the fluid control valve according to the present invention and a fluid control device using the fluid control valve will be described on the basis of the drawings.
(8) The fluid control device according to the present invention is a so-called mass flow controller used in a semiconductor manufacturing process. In addition the fluid control device according to the present invention can be used not only in the semiconductor manufacturing process but also in other processes.
First Embodiment
(9) As illustrated in
(10) The block body B is a rectangular-shaped one, whose predetermined surface is installed with the fluid control valve V and the paired pressure sensors PS1 and PS2. Also, the block body B is provided with a concave accommodation part B1 for installing the fluid control valve V on the predetermined surface of the block body B, and the accommodation part B1 divides the flow path L into an upstream side flow path L1 and a downstream side flow path L2. In addition, in the accommodation part B1, one end of the upstream side flow path L1 is opened in the bottom surface thereof, and one end of the downstream side flow path L2 is opened in the side surface thereof.
(11) The paired pressure sensors PS1 and PS2 are respectively connected to the upstream and downstream sides of a laminar flow element S1 in the flow path L, and both connected to a flow rate calculation part S2 that calculates the flow rate on the basis of the outputs of the first and second pressure sensors PS1 and PS2 provided in a pair. The paired pressure sensors PS1 and PS2 are, together with the fluid control valve V, arranged in line and attached on the predetermined surface of the block body B.
(12) The fluid control valve V is one of a so-called normally opened type. Specifically, the fluid control valve V includes: a valve seat 10 fitted into the accommodation part B1 of the block body B; a valve body 20 installed movably in a contacting/separating direction with respect to the valve seat 10; an actuator 30 for moving the valve body 20; a plunger 40 interposed between the valve body 20 and the actuator 30 to transfer the power of the actuator 30 to the valve body 20; a connecting mechanism 50 interposed between the actuator 30 and the plunger 40 to connect the plunger 40 to the actuator 30; a filmy diaphragm 60 that constitutes a part of a valve chamber VR accommodating the valve body 20 and is integrally connected to the plunger 40; and a position sensor 70 installed on the plunger 40 to output an output value indicating the position of the valve body 20 with respect to the valve seat 10.
(13) Also, the fluid control valve V includes a substantially tubular-shaped casing 80 that accommodates the actuator 30 and the plunger 40 in its internal space and is installed on the predetermined surface of the block body B. The casing 80 is divided into multiple parts in consideration of assembling, and the respective parts are connected by screwing, caulking, or the like. In addition, the casing 80 is provided on one side thereof with a concave part 81 formed by allowing the diaphragm 60 to separate the internal space. Further, the casing 80 is configured to allow the concave part 81 provided on one end side thereof to form the valve chamber VR by, with the valve seat 10 fitted into the accommodation part B1 of the block body B, bringing the one end of the casing 80 into close contact with the predetermined surface in such a manner as to block the accommodation part B1. Accordingly, a part of the inner surfaces of the valve chamber VR, specifically, the surface opposite to the valve seat 10 is formed of the diaphragm 60. In addition, the fluid control valve V is adapted to transfer the power of the actuator 30 to the valve body 20 via the plunger 40 using the deflection of the diaphragm 60 while maintaining the airtightness of the valve chamber VR.
(14) Next, respective members constituting the fluid control valve V according to the present embodiment will be described in detail on the basis of
(15) The valve seat 10 is a block-shaped one fitted into the accommodation part B1 of the block body B. In addition, a surface of the valve seat 10 facing in the same direction as that of the predetermined surface of the block body B with the valve seat 10 fitted into the accommodation part B1 of the block body B is a valve seat surface 11, and the valve seat surface 11 includes a part of the inner surfaces of the valve chamber VR. Also, inside the valve seat 10, a first flow path l1 communicating with the upstream side flow path L1 and multiple second flow path l2 communicating with the downstream side flow path L2 are provided.
(16) The first flow path l1 is such that one end thereof is opened in the center of the valve seat surface 11 and also the other end thereof is opened in a surface opposite to the bottom surface of the accommodation part B1. Also, the second flow paths l2 are such that one ends thereof are opened concentrically around the center of the valve seat surface 11 and also the other ends thereof are opened in an outer surface opposite to an inner surface of the accommodation part B1. Further, the outer surface of the valve seat 10 is stepwise, whose valve seat surface 11 side is adapted to be in close contact with the inner surface of the accommodation part B1 and whose surface side opposite to the valve seat surface 11 is adapted to be opposite to the inner surface of the accommodation part B1 with a clearance 12 kept. In doing so, in the state where the valve seat 10 is fitted into the accommodation part B1 of the block body B, the first flow path L1 communicates with the upstream side flow path l1, and also the second flow path L2 communicates with the downstream side flow paths l2 via the clearance 12.
(17) The valve seat surface 11 is formed with multiple conduction grooves 13 concentrically around the center thereof. In addition, in each of the conduction grooves 13, multiple conduction holes 14 communicating with the second flow paths l2 are arranged at regular intervals. This allows the fluid accumulating in the valve chamber VR to be uniformly led out to the second flow paths l2.
(18) The valve body 20 is a filmy one having a flat seating surface 21 opposite to the valve seat surface 11. In addition, the surface of the valve body 20 opposite to the diaphragm 60, which is the surface opposite to the seating surface 21, is provided with an inclination suppressing protrusion 22 having a curved surface shape (specifically, a spherical surface shape). Further, the inclination suppressing protrusion 22 is provided opposite to the plunger 40 connected to the diaphragm 60. Also, the valve body 20 is supported by the valve seat surface 11 via an annular leaf spring 24 placed on a support ring 23 installed on the valve seat surface 11. This allows the valve body 20 to be repelled by the leaf spring 24 against pressing force on the valve seat 10 side.
(19) The actuator 30 includes: a piezo stack 31 made by stacking multiple piezo elements; and terminals 32 (see
(20) The plunger 40 is a rodlike one whose one end is formed integrally with the diaphragm 60 and whose other side is a rodlike member extending toward the actuator 30 side. In addition, the plunger 40 is divided between the diaphragm 60 and the actuator 30, and includes: a first division body 41 connected to the diaphragm 60; and a second division body 42 arranged on the actuator 30 side of the first division body 41.
(21) The circumferential surface 41s of the first division body 41 on the valve body 20 side is integrally formed with the diaphragm 60. Note that the circumferential surface 41s is a surface along a circumferential direction A illustrated in
(22) The circumferential surface of the second division body 42 on the actuator 30 side is formed with a screw groove 42x. In addition, the second division body 42 is connected to the actuator 30 via the connecting mechanism 50 on the actuator 30 side thereof. Specifically, the connecting mechanism 50 includes: a substantially nut-shaped screw member 51 provided with a screw hole 51x into which the screw groove 42x of the second division body 42 is fitted; and a contact member 52 mutually fitted to the screw member 51 to contact with the actuator 30, and the second division body 42 is connected to the actuator 30 via these members 51 and 52. Also, the second division body 42 is provided with a connecting concave part 42z connected to the first division body 41 on the valve body 20 side thereof.
(23) In addition, the screw member 51 and the contact member 52 are connected so that they can mutually slide in a direction intersecting with (direction orthogonal to) the axial direction of the plunger 40. In doing so, axial displacement in the direction orthogonal to the axial direction caused by manufacturing and assembling errors of the respective members can be accommodated.
(24) Further, the second division body 42 is formed with a first pin hole 42y penetrating in the direction orthogonal to the axial direction thereof. In addition, the casing 80 also has a second pin hole 80y penetrating through the side surface opposite to the first pin hole 42y. As a result, the second division body 42 is adapted to be capable of being restricted from rotating in the circumferential direction thereof with respect to the casing 80 by inserting a pin (not illustrated) into the first pin hole 42y and the second pin hole 80y.
(25) Also, the second division body 42 is structured to be pressed toward the actuator 30 side by a pressing mechanism 90. Specifically, the pressing mechanism 90 includes: a support member 91 held preventing positional displacement inside the casing 80; and an elastic body 92 (e.g., a coil spring) through which the first division body 41 is passed and whose one end is supported by the support member 91. In addition, the second division body 42 is adapted to be pressed toward the actuator 30 side by the elastic body 92 when the plunger 40 is pressed by the actuator 30 to move to the valve body 20 side and thereby the diaphragm 60 is deflected toward the valve chamber VR side.
(26) Next, the connecting structure between the first division body 41 and the second division body 42 will be described in detail on the basis of
(27) The first division body 41 and the second division body 42 are configured to connect to each other via the connecting convex part 41z and connecting concave part 42z. The connecting convex part 41z is formed in a cross-sectionally T shape. The connecting convex part 41z is provided on the outer circumferential surface thereof with a fitting piece 41a. In addition, the fitting piece 41a is formed in a shape rotationally symmetric around an axis extending in the axial direction of the plunger 40, and this allows the shape to circle in the circumferential direction of the plunger 40. Also, the connecting concave part 42z is formed in a cross-sectionally T shape, and penetrates from one side surface to a surface opposite to the one side surface. The connecting concave part 42z is provided in the inner circumferential surface thereof with a fitting groove 42a into which the fitting piece 41a is fitted.
(28) In addition, the width of the fitting groove 42a in the axial direction of the plunger 40 is longer than the width of the fitting piece 41a in the axial direction by a predetermined distance α. Further, the diameter of the fitting groove 42a in the direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the plunger 40 is longer than the diameter of the fitting piece 41a in the orthogonal direction by a predetermined distance β.
(29) The first division body 41 and the second division body 42 are configured to be connectable by sliding the connecting convex part 41z to fit it into the connecting concave part 42z, and at this time, the fitting piece 41a is in a state of being fitted into the fitting groove 42a. In addition, the second division body 42 is configured to slide the fitting groove 42a along the fitting piece 41a by fitting the fitting piece 41a and the fitting groove 42a to each other, and freely rotate in the circumferential direction of the second division body 42 (in the arrow A direction in
(30) The diaphragm 60 is one that is formed in such a manner as to separate the internal space of the casing 80 and plays a role in transmitting the movement of the plunger 40 to the valve body 20 while maintaining the airtightness of the valve chamber VR.
(31) The position sensor 70 is one that outputs the output value indicating the position of the seating surface 21 of the valve body 20 with respect to the valve seat surface 11 of the valve seat 10. In addition, the position sensor 70 includes: a first sensor part 71 fixed to the casing 80 so that a relative position to the valve seat surface 11 of the valve seat 10 does not change; and a second sensor part 72 fixed to the second division body 42, and is configured to output, as the output value, a value based on the relative position (relative distance) between the first sensor part 71 and the second sensor part 72 serving as a target for it. In addition, the first sensor part 71 is constantly pressed toward the valve seat 10 side by a leaf spring 73 supported by the casing 80, and in doing so, positional displacement is suppressed. Also, the second sensor part 72 is fixed to the second division body 42 via the screw member 51 so as to prevent positional displacement. In doing so, the positions of the respective members constituting the position sensor 70 are fixed, and thereby the detection accuracy of the position sensor 70 is improved.
(32) The control part C has a so-called computer including a CPU, a memory, A/D and D/A converters, and the like, and is adapted to implement the above-described respective functions by executing a program stored in the memory to make various types of equipment cooperate. Specifically, the control part C is one that feedback-controls the fluid control valve V using the output value of the position sensor 70 so that the flow rate value calculated by the flow rate calculation part S3 comes close to the target value preliminarily stored in the memory.
(33) Next, the operation of the fluid control valve V according to the present embodiment will be described.
(34) In the fluid control valve V, when the voltage is not applied to the actuator 30, a valve opening level (the distance between the valve seat surface 11 of the valve seat 10 and the seating surface 21 of the valve body 20) is set to have a predetermined value. Note that when the valve opening level has the predetermined value, the fluid control valve V is in a fully opened state.
(35) Then, when the voltage is applied to the actuator 30, the actuator 30 is extended. As a result, power associated with the extension of the actuator 30 is transferred to the valve body 20 in the order of the connecting mechanism 50, the second division body 42 (plunger), and the first division body 41 (plunger), and the valve body 20 is moved in a direction to contact with (in a direction to come close to) the valve seat 10 while resisting the pressing force of the leaf spring 24. This allows the valve opening level to have a smaller value than the predetermined value. In addition, the extension of the actuator 30 increases as an applied voltage value (or current value) is increased, and therefore by adjusting the magnitude of the voltage value, the valve opening level can be controlled.
(36) Subsequently, when the voltage applied to the actuator 30 decreases, the actuator 30 is contracted. As a result, in association with the contraction of the actuator 30, the valve body 20 is moved in a direction to separate from (in a direction to get away from) the valve seat 10 by the pressing force of the leaf spring 24. This allows the valve opening level to have a large value.
(37) In addition, when the voltage applied to the actuator 30 decreases, power associated with the contraction of the actuator 30 is adapted not to be directly transferred to the diaphragm 60. In detail, when the actuator 30 contracts, the second division body 42 is moved to the actuator 30 side by the pressing force of the elastic body 92. However, since the second division body 42 is configured to be slidable by the predetermined distance α with respect to the first division body 41, the movement of the second division body 42 is accommodated by the sliding operation and is thereby not directly transmitted to the first division body 41. In addition, the first division body 41 is moved to the actuator 30 side by the restoring force of the diaphragm 60, and also the valve body 20 is moved by the pressing force of the leaf spring 24 in a direction to separate from the valve seat 10, thus allowing the valve opening level to have a large value. This makes it hard for the force associated with the contraction of the actuator 30 to be directly transferred to the diaphragm 60, and therefore the diaphragm 60 can be suppressed from being damaged. Also, as compared with the case where the plunger 40 is integrally formed, power (the pressing force of the pressing mechanism 90 and the restoring force of the diaphragm 60) for moving the plunger 40 to the actuator 30 side increases. This allows the follow-up operation of the plunger 40 associated with the contraction movement of the actuator 30 to be sped up, thus improving the responsiveness of the fluid control valve V.
(38) Next, the process of assembling the plunger 40 of the fluid control valve V according to the present embodiment will be described.
(39) Basically, the fluid control valve V is assembled by making connections sequentially from members arranged on the block body B side in such a manner as to stack them. In addition, when assembling the plunger 40, the second division body 42 is first connected to the first division body 41. In this state, the pin is inserted into the first pin hole 42y and the second pin hole 80y, and thereby the second division body 42 is fixed to members constituting the casing 80 to prevent the second division body 42 from rotating. In this state, the second sensor part 72 of the position sensor 70 is fitted to the second division body 42 and then fixed by the screw member 51. In addition, in this case, even if the second division body 42 is rotated to some extent with respect to the first division body 41 by the backlash between the respective pin holes 42y and 80y and the pin, the second division body 42 is adapted to be rotatable with respect to the first division body 41 in its circumferential direction, and therefore torque generated when tightening or loosening the screw member 51 with respect to the second division body 42 is hard to be transferred to the diaphragm 60. After that, by removing the pin from the first pin hole 42y and second pin hole 80y, the plunger 40 is made movable with respect to the casing 80.
(40) Further, the widths of the fitting groove 42a of the second division body 42 in the axial direction of the plunger 40 and in the direction orthogonal to the axial direction are both larger than those of the fitting piece 41a of the first division body 41. For this reason, the first division body 41 and the second division body 42 are adapted to be able to accommodate the inclination of the valve body 20 even in the connection part therebetween.
Other Embodiments
(41) In the above-described first embodiment, the plunger 40 is divided in one place on the actuator 30 side of the diaphragm 60, but may be divided in two or more places. In this case, a division body arranged adjacent to the first division body 41 connected to the diaphragm 60 is not necessarily required to be set to the second division body 42, and a division body arranged sandwiching another division body with the first division body 41 may be set to the second division body 42.
(42) For example, as illustrated in
(43) Also, in the above-described first embodiment, the present invention is described while exemplifying the fluid control valve V of a normally opened type, but can also be applied to a fluid control valve of a normally closed type. For example, as illustrated in
(44) Also, in the above-described first embodiment, as the actuator 30 of the fluid control valve V, the piezo element (piezo stack) is used, but a solenoid or the like may be used.
(45) Further, in the above-described first embodiment, the description is given while exemplifying, as the fluid control device MFC, the mass flow controller of a type adapted to feedback-control the fluid control valve V on the basis of the output value of the position sensor 70. However, the present invention can also be applied to a mass flow controller of a type adapted to feedback-control a fluid control valve on the basis of a measured value of a thermal type or pressure type flow rate sensor.
(46) Besides, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to each of the above-described embodiments but can be variously modified without departing from the scope thereof.
LIST OF REFERENCE CHARACTERS
(47) MFC: Fluid control device
(48) B: Block body
(49) S: Flow rate sensor
(50) V: Fluid control valve
(51) 10: Valve seat
(52) 20: Valve body
(53) 30: Actuator
(54) 40: Plunger
(55) 41: First division body
(56) 41s: Circumferential surface
(57) 41z: Connecting convex part
(58) 41a: Fitting piece
(59) 42: Second division body
(60) 42z: Connecting concave part
(61) 42a: Fitting groove
(62) 50: Connecting mechanism
(63) 51: Screw member
(64) 60: Diaphragm
(65) 70: Position sensor
(66) 71: First sensor part
(67) 72: Second sensor part
(68) 80: Casing
(69) 90: Pressing mechanism
(70) 91: Support member
(71) 92: Elastic body