JPH086843B2 - Dust-free gate valve - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention mainly relates to a dust-free gate valve used in a high-purity gas system and an ultra-high vacuum system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, gate valves used in high-purity gas systems and ultra-high vacuum systems have been disclosed in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 61-44034 and Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 1-7893. The valve plate or the valve seat is attached via the bellows, and the valve plate or the valve seat is operated by supplying the fluid pressure into the bellows to seal the flow path. However, the method of supplying the fluid into the bellows has the following problems.

That is, in the above-mentioned proposed gate valve, the high-purity gas system and ultra-high vacuum system flow paths that are opened and closed by the gate valve are normally in a vacuum state. High pressure fluid is supplied into the bellows to be operated. Therefore, when the bellows breaks, the pressure fluid flows into the vacuum system and diffuses into the system, contaminating the whole. To avoid such problems,
Although it is necessary to increase the pressure resistance of the bellows, the valve opening / closing mechanism becomes large. Even if there is no such damage, there is usually a part where the valve member etc. slides in the system, and the inside of the system is contaminated by dust generated by abrasion at these sliding parts. become.

Moreover, when the pressure fluid is directly supplied into the bellows having the valve plate and the valve seat attached to generate the valve closing force by the fluid pressure, the pressure action corresponding to the magnitude of the valve closing force is applied. Since the area is required, it is necessary to set a necessary pressure acting area in the assembly of the valve plate and the valve seat, which also increases the size of the device.

Further, in this type of gate valve, when the valve seat is closed by the valve member, the seat surface is moved until it comes close to the sealing material, and then both are pressed to seal, but the seat surface comes close to the sealing material. It is desirable to carry out a large displacement operation with a small power in the moving stage of moving to the following, and to perform a small displacement with a large power in the subsequent sealing stage.

However, the above proposed method does not consider such a point. That is, even in the proposed method, it is possible to supply high pressure fluid to the bellows of the valve plate or the valve seat at the sealing stage to achieve high power sealing, but in this case, large displacement to the sealing position is required. It is necessary to impart pressure resistance to the bellows to withstand the high pressure, and the bellows becomes large in size as a whole, and an apparatus having an unnecessarily large pressure resistance is used in the moving stage.

[0007]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The technical problem of the present invention is mainly to accommodate the expansion / contraction mechanism of the valve member for sealing in the valve assembly in the gate valve used in the high purity gas system and the ultra high vacuum system. In addition, the sliding parts in the high-purity gas system and the ultra-high vacuum system are eliminated to realize a dust-free structure that does not contaminate the inside of the flow path of the valve, and furthermore, to seal directly in the valve assembly. A valve that allows large displacement with a small amount of power in the moving stage in which the pair of valve members move to the vicinity of the sealing position without the introduction of high-pressure fluid, and a small displacement and a large expansion force in the subsequent sealing stage. To get the structure.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a dust-free gate valve of the present invention is a gate valve for opening and closing a through hole of a flange provided at an opposing position in a valve box, The valve assembly includes a valve assembly movably supported by a holding tube between a closed position and an open position in the valve box. The valve assembly is formed by pressing a seat surface against a sealing material around the through hole. A pair of valve members for closing the through holes are provided, and these valve members are connected to the rings interposed between them by bellows, respectively, to form a fluid flow path in the valve box and a valve assembly. A large-displacement expansion / contraction mechanism that isolates the inside and transmits an operating force through the holding tube to apply an expansion force by mechanical drive to the pair of valve members is provided in the valve assembly, and expanded by the large-displacement expansion / contraction mechanism. The valve member from the It is characterized in that provided a piezoelectric element which applies the expansion force of the small displacement high power Te.

As the large displacement expansion / contraction mechanism, a wedge-shaped displacement plate and a piezoelectric element having a small displacement and a large power are arranged in an overlapping manner between the opposing surfaces of a pair of valve members, and the displacement plate is piezoelectrically moved by its movement. It can be configured to be connected to an actuator that changes the contact position with the element.

[0010]

When the gate valve is opened, the bellows of the valve assembly is contracted by the expansion / contraction mechanism, and the valve assembly is held in the opened position by the opening / closing actuator. To close the valve from the open state, the valve assembly is moved to the closed position by the holding pipe, but the seat surface is kept from contacting the valve box, and the valve member for sealing is expanded or contracted. Since the mechanism is housed in the valve assembly, there are no sliding parts in the flow path.

At the time of closing the valve, the pair of valve members of the valve assembly are expanded by the operation of the expansion / contraction mechanism, and the seat surface is pressed against the seal material of the valve box, but is moved until the seat surface approaches the seal material. In the stage, the valve member is moved by the expansion / contraction mechanism of small displacement with large power, and in the subsequent sealing stage, the piezoelectric element of small displacement with large power is operated. Therefore, the mechanism for opening and closing the valve does not have a waste of capacity, and the device can be downsized and simplified by using a mechanism suitable for the moving stage and the sealing stage.

By eliminating the sliding parts in the high-purity gas system and the ultra-high vacuum system in this way, a dust-free structure which does not contaminate the inside of the flow path of the valve can be realized, and moreover, directly in the valve assembly. Since a high displacement fluid with a small displacement is used during the moving stage of the pair of valve members and a diverging force with a small displacement and a large power is applied during the subsequent sealing stage without the need for high pressure fluid for sealing. The pressure resistance of the bellows can be reduced, the inside of the system is not contaminated even if the valve assembly is damaged, and the expansion / contraction mechanism of the valve member can be downsized and simplified.

[0013]

1 and 2 show the structure of a rotary dust-free gate valve according to an embodiment of the present invention. This gate valve has a flange 2, which is provided at an opposite position in the valve box 1.
Gas passages 3 are formed in each of the gas passages 2, and a valve assembly 4 is arranged in the valve box 1. In order to open and close the through hole 3, the valve assembly 4 has a holding tube 5 attached thereto supported by a swing shaft 6 so as to be swingable to the outside of the valve box 1, and the through holes of the flanges 2 and 2 are supported. 3 between, namely, the valve closed position and the valve box 1
It is movable to the storage portion 1a completely removed from the inner through hole 3, that is, to the valve opening position. To perform this movement, an opening / closing actuator 7 is attached to the holding pipe 5.
In FIG. 1, a case where a fluid pressure cylinder is used as the opening / closing actuator 7 is schematically shown, but a rotary actuator, a motor, or the like can also be used.

In the valve assembly 4, the seat surface 11 abuts on the sealing material 9 (elastic body, metal C ring or the like) arranged around the through holes 3 to close the through holes 3. A pair of valve members 10 are provided so as to face the through holes 3 of the valve box 1. These valve members 10 are connected to each other by a bellows 13 welded to a ring 12 arranged between their outer peripheral portions. The holding pipe 5 is attached to the ring 12, and a bent bellows 14 that covers the holding pipe 5 is connected between the valve box 1 and the ring 12. Therefore, the space between the pair of valve members 10 in the valve assembly 4 is completely closed in the valve box 1 by the bellows 13 and the bending bellows 14 and the like, and the fluid flow path in the valve box 1 and the valve assembly are closed. The inside of the solid 4 is isolated. It should be noted that the pair of valve members 10 has the through hole 3
To approach or separate from each other to open or close
In order to guide this movement, the ring 12 and the two valve members 10
Between them, a guide can be provided as appropriate.

In order to open and close the pair of valve members 10,
Between the valve members 10 and 10, there is provided an expansion / contraction mechanism 20 of small displacement and large displacement for applying an expansion force by mechanical drive. This expansion / contraction mechanism 20 expands and drives the valve members 10 in the moving stage of the valve members until the seat surfaces 11 of the pair of valve members 10 approach the sealing material 9, and is for opening the valves. The valve member 10 is returned to the bellows 1
This is performed by the return force provided by the 3 itself or a return spring provided as necessary. Further, the expansion / contraction mechanism 20
In order to drive the pair of valve members 10 in the sealing stage after the moving stage by (1), a pair of piezoelectric elements 21 with large power and small displacement are provided between the valve members 10, 10.

As the expansion / contraction mechanism 20, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a center pin 22 is provided upright at the center of the inner surface of one valve member 10, and a pair of left and right members are rotatably attached to the center pin 22. Displacement plates 23 are symmetrically provided at the tips of the arms 24. These displacement plates 23
Is a wedge-shaped member having a circular arc shape centered on the center pin 22 at the position where it abuts on the piezoelectric element 21 and the plate thickness of which gradually changes from one end to the other end thereof. And a thick plate portion 23c adjacent to it and having a smoothly continuous surface, and a thick plate portion 23c located at the other end and similarly having a continuous surface, which can be selectively stacked on the piezoelectric element 21. I am trying. The thickness of the thin plate portion 23a gives the position of the piezoelectric element 21 when the valve member 10 is separated from the sealing material 9, while the thick plate portion 23c is the piezoelectric element at the end of the movement stage of the valve member. 21 positions.

A driving pin 25 is provided on the arm 24 in a protruding manner, and a frame 26 engaged with the pin 25 is connected to an actuator 28 via a rod 27.
As the actuator 28, a fluid pressure cylinder as illustrated or other mechanical drive source can be used. Therefore, by driving the actuator 28, the frame 26
When is pulled, the driving force is transmitted to the arm 24 via the driving pin 25 by the frame 26, the arm 24 rotates about the center pin 22, and the displacement plate 23 moves to the piezoelectric element 2.
When the displacement plate 23 is driven to the 1 side, the contact position of the displacement plate 23 with the piezoelectric element 21 changes.

As described above, the piezoelectric element 21 is attached to the other valve member 10 at the position where it abuts the displacement plate 23. The piezoelectric element 21 slides along the surface of the thin plate portion 23a, the inclined surface portion 23b, or the thick plate portion 23c of the displacement plate 23 by driving the actuator 28, and the displacement element 23 slides to cause the piezoelectric element 21 to slide. By driving the piezoelectric element 21 in a state in which is located on the surface of the thick plate portion 23c, it is possible to perform a reliable valve closing with a large displacement but a small displacement.

The supply of electric power to the piezoelectric element 21 and the supply of the driving fluid pressure to the actuator 28 are performed through a power supply line and a pipe led to the outside through the inside of the holding tube 5.

In the gate valve having the above structure, when the gate valve is in the open state, the bellows 13 of the valve assembly 4 is in the contracted state and the valve assembly 4 is moved to the open position by the opening / closing actuator 7. Held in. To close the valve from the valve open state, first, the valve assembly 4 integrated with the holding tube 5 is swung around the swing shaft 6 by the operation of the opening / closing actuator 7, and the valve assembly 4 is passed through the through hole. The seal member 9 provided on the flange 2 of the valve box 1 is opposed to the seat surface 11 of the valve member 10 by moving the centers to match the centers of the two. When the valve assembly 4 is moved, the seat surface 11
The valve member 10 of the valve assembly 4 is contracted so as not to come into contact with the sealing material 9, but this eliminates any sliding portion in the flow path.

To close the valve, in this state, the pair of valve members 10 of the valve assembly 4 are opened and the seat surface 11 is brought into pressure contact with the seal member 9. When the valve member 10 is opened, the frame body 26 of the expansion / contraction mechanism 20 is pulled by driving the actuator 28. By this, the driving force is transmitted to the arm 24 via the drive pin 25 by the frame body 26, and the arm 24 rotates around the center pin 22 to drive the displacement plate 23, and the piezoelectric element 2
The thick plate portion 23c is brought into contact with 1.

In closing the valve, a particularly large driving force is not required in the moving stage until the seat surface 11 approaches the sealing material 9, so that the valve member 10 is moved by the expansion / contraction mechanism 20 with small power and large displacement. It suffices to do so, and rather mechanical drive by the above-mentioned fluid pressure cylinder or the like is suitable. Further, in the subsequent sealing step, the piezoelectric element 21 with a large power and a small displacement is operated. However, with such a configuration, there is no waste of capacity in the mechanism for opening and closing the valve, and it is suitable for the moving step and the sealing step. The device can be downsized and simplified by using the mechanism described above, whereby the valve can be reliably closed.

Further, like the above-mentioned gate valve,
By eliminating the sliding part in the system, a dust-free structure that does not contaminate the inside of the flow path of the valve can be realized, and the high pressure fluid for sealing does not enter the valve assembly 4 directly. Since a small actuator is incorporated so as to apply an appropriate power spreading force, the pressure resistance of the bellows 13 can be reduced, and even if the valve assembly 4 is damaged, there is no contamination in the system, Moreover, the expansion / contraction mechanism of the valve member can be downsized and simplified.

[0024]

According to the present invention described in detail above, in a gate valve used mainly in a high-purity gas system and an ultra-high vacuum system, a valve member expansion / contraction mechanism for sealing is housed in a valve assembly. , Realizes a dust-free structure that does not contaminate the inside of the flow path of the valve by eliminating the sliding part in the system, and without directly inserting high-pressure fluid for sealing into the valve assembly. In the moving stage where the pair of valve members move to the vicinity of the seal position, large displacement is performed with small power, and in the subsequent sealing stage, the expanding force of small displacement and large power is applied to the mechanism for opening and closing the valve. It is possible to obtain a valve structure in which the device is small and simple by using a mechanism suitable for the moving stage and the sealing stage.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a development view showing a positional relationship between a displacement plate and a piezoelectric element in the above embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 valve box, 2 flanges, 3 through holes, 4 valve assembly, 5 holding tube, 9 sealing material, 10 valve member, 11 seat surface, 12
Ring, 13 bellows, 20 expansion / contraction mechanism, 21 piezoelectric element, 22
Shaft, 23 Displacement plate, 28
Actuator.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A gate valve for opening and closing a through hole of a flange provided at a facing position in a valve box, the gate valve being movably supported by a holding pipe in the valve box. The valve assembly includes a pair of valve members that close the through holes by pressing the seat surface against the sealing material around the through holes, the valve members including the valve members. The bellows are used to connect the ring and the ring interposed between them to isolate the fluid passage in the valve box from the inside of the valve assembly. A piezoelectric element that provides a large-displacement expansion / contraction mechanism that applies an expansion force by mechanical drive to the valve member, and applies a small-displacement large-power expansion force to the valve member from the expanded state by the large-displacement expansion / contraction mechanism. It is characterized by Dust-free gate valve that does. 2. The gate valve according to claim 1, wherein a wedge-shaped displacement plate and a piezoelectric element that constitute a large displacement expansion / contraction mechanism are arranged in an overlapping manner between the opposing surfaces of the pair of valve members, and the displacement plate is provided. A dust-free gate valve, characterized in that it is connected to an actuator that changes the contact position with the piezoelectric element by its movement.