KR-102962680-B1 - System and Method for Auto Pipe Purging

KR102962680B1KR 102962680 B1KR102962680 B1KR 102962680B1KR-102962680-B1

Abstract

The technical concept of the present invention provides an automatic pipe purge system characterized by comprising: an auxiliary pipe branched and connected from the upstream portion of a gas pipe; a first manual valve connected to the auxiliary pipe, which is manually opened and closed to allow or block purge gas flowing through the auxiliary pipe; a gas flow control device connected to the auxiliary pipe, which regulates the flow rate of purge gas flowing through the auxiliary pipe; a first automatic control valve connected to the auxiliary pipe, which is automatically closed according to the pressure within the gas pipe; a second manual valve connected to the downstream portion of the gas pipe, which is manually opened and closed to allow or block purge gas flowing through the gas pipe; a pressure sensor connected to the downstream portion of the gas pipe, which measures the pressure within the gas pipe; a second automatic control valve connected to the downstream portion of the gas pipe, which is automatically opened after a certain period of time has passed since the first automatic control valve is closed, and which is automatically closed according to the pressure within the gas pipe; and a control center that controls the first automatic control valve and the second automatic control valve.

Inventors

전종현
김우진
이채윤
홍성욱

Assignees

삼성전자주식회사
삼성물산 주식회사
주식회사 아스플로

Dates

Publication Date: 20260508
Application Date: 20210917

Claims (10)

Auxiliary piping branched off and connected from the upstream section of the gas pipeline; A first manual valve connected to the auxiliary pipe and manually opened and closed to allow or block the purge gas flowing through the auxiliary pipe; A gas flow control device connected to the auxiliary pipe above and controlling the flow rate of the purge gas flowing through the auxiliary pipe; A second manual valve connected to the downstream portion of the gas pipeline and manually opened and closed to allow or block the purge gas flowing through the gas pipeline; A first automatic control valve connected between the upstream and downstream portions of the auxiliary pipe, which automatically opens completely after the first manual valve and the second manual valve are opened, and automatically closes completely when the pressure in the gas pipe reaches a preset first pressure; A pressure sensor connected to the downstream portion of the gas pipeline to measure the pressure within the gas pipeline; A second automatic control valve connected to the downstream portion of the gas pipeline, which automatically opens completely after a certain period of time has elapsed since the first automatic control valve was closed, and automatically closes completely when the pressure in the gas pipeline reaches a preset second pressure lower than the first pressure; and A control center that controls the first automatic control valve and the second automatic control valve; An automatic piping purge system characterized by including
In Article 1, An automatic pipe purge system characterized in that the above control center receives the pressure within the gas pipe where the above first automatic control valve is closed.
In Article 1, An automatic pipe purge system characterized in that the above control center receives the pressure within the gas pipe where the above second automatic control valve is closed.
In Article 1, An automatic piping purge system characterized by the above control center receiving input of the time taken from the first automatic control valve being closed until the second automatic control valve is opened.
In Article 1, An automatic piping purge system characterized in that the first automatic control valve and the second automatic control valve are pneumatic valves.
In Article 1, An automatic piping purge system characterized by the above control center further including a compressor for opening and closing the first automatic control valve and the second automatic control valve.
It includes a control center configured to control multiple automatic pipe purge subsystems, and Each automatic piping purge subsystem Auxiliary pipes branched off and connected from the upstream section of each gas pipe; A first manual valve connected to the auxiliary pipe and manually opened and closed to allow or block the purge gas flowing through the auxiliary pipe; A gas flow control device connected to the auxiliary pipe above and controlling the flow rate of the purge gas flowing through the auxiliary pipe; A second manual valve connected to the downstream portion of each of the above gas pipes, which is manually opened and closed to allow or block the purge gas flowing through the gas pipes; A pressure sensor connected to the downstream portion of each of the above gas pipes to measure the pressure within the gas pipes; A first automatic control valve connected to the upstream and downstream portions of the auxiliary pipe, which automatically opens completely after the first manual valve and the second manual valve are opened, and automatically closes completely when the pressure in the gas pipe reaches a preset first pressure; and A second automatic control valve connected to the downstream portion of each of the above gas pipes, which automatically opens completely after a certain period of time has elapsed since the first automatic control valve was closed, and automatically closes completely when the pressure within each of the above gas pipes reaches a preset second pressure lower than the first pressure; An automatic pipe purge system characterized in that the above control center controls the first automatic control valve and the second automatic control valve of each of the above automatic pipe purge subsystems.
Auxiliary piping branched off and connected from the upstream section of the gas pipeline; A first manual valve connected to the auxiliary pipe and manually opened and closed to allow or block the purge gas flowing through the auxiliary pipe; A gas flow control device connected to the auxiliary pipe and controlling the flow rate of the purge gas flowing through the auxiliary pipe; A first pressure sensor connected to the auxiliary pipe and measuring the pressure within the auxiliary pipe; A second manual valve connected to the downstream portion of the gas pipeline and manually opened and closed to allow or block the purge gas flowing through the gas pipeline; A second pressure sensor connected to the downstream portion of the gas pipeline to measure the pressure within the gas pipeline; A first automatic control valve connected between the upstream and downstream portions of the auxiliary pipe, which automatically opens completely after the first manual valve and the second manual valve are opened, and automatically closes completely when the pressure in the gas pipe reaches a preset first pressure; A second automatic control valve connected to the downstream portion of the gas pipeline, which automatically opens completely after a certain period of time has elapsed since the first automatic control valve was closed, and automatically closes completely when the pressure in the gas pipeline reaches a preset second pressure lower than the first pressure; A first control center for controlling the above-mentioned first automatic control valve; and An automatic piping purge system characterized by including a second control center that controls the second automatic control valve.
Step of opening the first manual valve and the second manual valve; A step of opening the first automatic control valve to supply purge gas into the gas pipeline; A step of measuring the pressure within the gas pipeline; A step of closing the first automatic control valve when the measured pressure reaches a first pressure set to close the first automatic control valve; A step of opening the second automatic control valve after a set time has elapsed from the point in time when the first automatic control valve is closed; A step of measuring the pressure within the gas pipeline; and A step of closing the second automatic control valve when the measured pressure drops to a second pressure lower than the first pressure set to close the second automatic control valve; An automatic pipe purging method characterized by including
In Article 9, An automatic pipe purging method characterized in that the pressure set to close the first automatic control valve is 4.5 kg/cm2 to 5 kg/cm2, and the pressure set to close the second automatic control valve is 0.5 kg/cm2 to 1 kg/cm2.

Description

Automatic Pipe Purging System and Method The technical concept of the present invention relates to an automatic pipe purging system. More specifically, it relates to an automatic pipe purging system and method capable of automatically performing purging inside pipes used in semiconductor manufacturing devices or processes. Gas byproducts form inside the gas piping used in semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Prior to the semiconductor manufacturing process, it is necessary to remove these byproducts to ensure the quality of the bulk gas. In the piping purging operation for removing gas byproducts, operators typically operate valves manually. However, due to the limitations in manpower and time required for manual valve operation, there is a problem in that it delays the semiconductor manufacturing process and increases costs. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an automatic pipe purging system according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 2a is a front view showing the configuration of a control center according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 2b is a side view showing the configuration of a control center according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 2c is a configuration diagram showing the configuration of a control unit according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing an automatic pipe purging system according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an automatic pipe purging method according to one embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, embodiments of the technical concept of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. Identical components in the drawings are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions thereof are omitted. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an automatic pipe purging system (10) according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, the automatic pipe purge system (10) may include an auxiliary pipe (100a), a gas flow control device (200), a first automatic control valve (300), a first manual valve (400), a second manual valve (500), a pressure sensor (600), a second automatic control valve (700), and a control center (800). The auxiliary pipe (100a) can be branched off and connected from the upstream portion of the gas pipe (100b). The auxiliary pipe (100a) can be installed in the gas pipe (100b) for purging operations on the gas pipe (100b), and can be removed from the gas pipe (100b) when the purging operations on the gas pipe (100b) are completed. A gas flow control device (200) is connected to the upstream portion of the auxiliary pipe (100a) to control the flow rate of the purge gas (PG). By controlling the flow rate of the purge gas (PG) through the auxiliary pipe (100a) using the gas flow control device (200), the pressure of the purge gas (PG) passing through the auxiliary pipe (100a) can be maintained at a constant level. The purge gas (PG) may be, for example, nitrogen gas (N2), but is not limited thereto. The gas flow control device (200) may be installed in the auxiliary pipe (100a) for the purging operation of the gas pipe (100b), and may be removed together with the auxiliary pipe (100a) once the purging operation of the gas pipe (100b) is completed. The first manual valve (400) is connected to the downstream portion of the auxiliary pipe (100a) and can be manually opened or closed to allow or block the purge gas flowing through the auxiliary pipe (100a). After the purge operation of the gas pipe (100b) is completed, a nozzle (not shown) is connected to the first manual valve (400) to supply bulk gas to the gas pipe (100b) and the semiconductor device. The first automatic control valve (300) is connected between the upstream and downstream sections of the auxiliary pipe (100a) and can be automatically closed according to the pressure in the gas pipe (100b). By closing the first automatic control valve (300), the supply of the purge gas can be stopped. In an exemplary embodiment, the first automatic control valve (300) may be a pneumatic valve. For example, the first automatic control valve (300) may be an on-off type pneumatic valve. If the first automatic control valve (300) is a pneumatic valve, the first automatic control valve (300) is connected to a compressor (not shown) through an air hose (not shown) and can be opened or closed by the pressure of the air supplied through the compressor. An air filter (not shown) for filtering dust, particulates, etc., from the air supplied through the compressor may be placed in the air hose. By filtering the air supplied to the air hose through the air filter, malfunction of the first automatic control valve (300) can be prevented. The first automatic control valve (300) can be configured to transmit and receive electrical signals to and from the control center (80