Patent ID: 7887305
Filing Date: 2011-02-15
Classification: F04B

Abstract:
1. In a chemical liquid supply apparatus having a primary-side pump and a secondary-side pump, a flexible tank comprising: a volume-variable chamber formed by a flexible tube which is expandable and contractable in a radial direction, and two adaptor parts in which the flexible tube is attached, the volume-variable chamber temporarily containing a chemical liquid flowing from the primary-side pump to the secondary-side pump; a primary-side port and a secondary-side port formed in at least one of the adaptor parts so as to be open to the volume-variable chamber, the primary-side and secondary-side ports being connected to the primary-side and secondary-side pumps, respectively; and a connection part connecting and fixing the adaptor parts and enclosing the flexible tube, wherein the flexible tube has an elastic deformable part comprising, in both fully-expanded and contracted conditions: wherein each of the protruding arc-like parts in the flexible tube is elastically deformed in the circumferential direction, each of the recessed arc-like parts therein is elastically deformed in a radial direction, and the flexible tube expands in accordance with a volume of the chemical liquid flowing in from the primary-side port, and contracts in accordance with a volume of the chemical liquid flowing out from the secondary-side port.