Patent Publication Number: US-2022236133-A1

Title: Gas leakage prevention cooling box for pipe flange connection and gas leakage sensing system

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     The present disclosure relates to a manufacturing device of a semiconductors or a similar product, and particularly, to a gas leakage prevention cooling box for a pipe flange connection and a gas leakage sensing system capable of safely protecting a pipe connection so that a gas having various chemical properties does not leak out from the pipe connection. 
     In general, a semiconductor manufacturing process largely includes a fabrication process and an assembly process. Here, the fabrication process refers to a process of manufacturing a semiconductor chip by repeating depositing a thin film on a wafer in various process chambers and selectively etching the deposited thin film to process a specific pattern, and the assembly process refers to a process of individually separating the chips manufactured in the fabrication process and then combining the separated chip with a lead frame to assemble a finished product. 
     In this semiconductor manufacturing process, a high-temperature and high-pressure gas is transferred through a pipe, and the gas also involve powders having various chemical properties. Therefore, it is important to perform a control so that leakage does not occur at a connection between pipes during gas transfer. 
     Accordingly, an O-ring is mounted between flanges of both pipes, and thus is compressed to prevent leakage. However, in a pipe connecting member of a related art, a small gap is generated between both side surfaces of a center ring and the flange of the pipe, and thus a vortex is generated. Accordingly, a pressure difference is generated through the gap, and the gas reaches and comes into contact with the O-ring. Therefore, the O-ring is corroded, oxidated, or carbonized by a high-temperature gas having chemical properties and damaged, and as a result, a fatal problem such as leakage occurs. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present disclosure provides a gas leakage prevention cooling box for a pipe flange connection and a gas leakage sensing system capable of safely protecting a pipe connection so that a gas having various chemical properties does not leak out from the pipe connection. 
     In an aspect, there is provided a gas leakage prevention cooling box which is used when manufacturing any one product of product groups including semiconductor products, or is installed at a connection between a first pipe and a second pipe connected to each other to transfer a used gas to prevent gas leakage, including: a main body casing having an inner chamber in which connection flanges of the first pipe and the second pipe are located at a center portion of the main body casing, a pipe mounting hole in which the pipes connected around the flange are located on front and rear sides of the inner chamber, and a first half main body and a second half main body coupled to face to each other with the connection flanges of the first and second pipes therebetween and supported by the connection between the first pipe and the second pipe; and a cooling fan installed in the first half main body of the main body casing and configured to supply external air to the inner chamber. 
     Here, an accommodation box which isolates and accommodates the connection flanges of the first and second pipes in a space narrower than that of the inner chamber may be further formed in the inner chamber of the main body casing to block a gas so that the gas flows into the inner chamber even when the gas leaks out from the connection between the first and second pipes, the accommodation box may be divided into two half main bodies according to the first half main body and the second half main body, and the half main bodies of the accommodation box may also be coupled to face each other about the connection flanges of the first and second pipes when the first half main body and the second half main body are coupled to face each other, and each of the first half main body and the second half main body of the main body casing may include an air circulation hole communicating with the inner chamber, and external air may be supplied to the inner chamber by the cooling fan to heat exchange with the accommodation box and then discharged. 
     In addition, in the main body casing, one end portion of the first half main body and one end portion of the second half main body may be hinge-coupled to each other, the first half main body and the second half main body may rotate about a hinge shaft and be opened or closed so that the connections of the first pipe and the second pipe are bitten to each other. 
     Moreover, the gas leakage prevention cooling box may further include: a center ring module having a center ring located in a concave groove formed inside peripheries of the first and second pipes and an O-ring mounted along an outer peripheral surface of the center ring and compressed between peripheral portions of the flanges to block outflow of a gas; and a clamp configured to clamp the connection flanges of the first and second pipes compressed with the O-ring therebetween from the outside. 
     Moreover, the center ring module may further include a pair of packer rings disposed to protrude along both corners of an outer peripheral surface of the centering and compressed in the concave groove of the flange. 
     In addition, the main body casing may further include a gas sensing sensor configured to sense a gas leaking out from the connection between the first and second pipes. 
     A port configured to communicate with the accommodation box to guide the gas leaking out from the connection between the first and second pipes may be provided on an outer wall of the main body casing, a transparent cap configured to block outflow of the gas guided through the port may be coupled, and a gas sensing tape discolored when coming into contact with the gas may be provided on an inner surface of the transparent cap. 
     The port may be provided to protrude from a plurality of outer walls located on a side opposite to the main body casing, and the transparent cap and the gas sensing tape may be installed in each of all ports. 
     In another aspect, there is provided a gas leakage sensing system including: the above-described gas leakage prevention cooling box; a controller configured to recognize a leaked gas when the gas is sensed by the gas sensing sensor and notify the gas leakage; and an alarm configured to receive a control signal from the controller and alert the gas leakage. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIGS. 1 and 2  are perspective views of a gas leakage prevention cooling box according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 3  is a side view of the gas leakage prevention cooling box according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view illustrating a state where the gas leakage prevention cooling box according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is open. 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view illustrating a state in which connected first pipe and second pipe are mounted in the state where the gas leakage prevention cooling box according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is open. 
         FIG. 7  is an assembly view for describing a center ring module and a clamp in the gas leakage prevention cooling box according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 8  is a longitudinal sectional view for describing a configuration of the center ring module in the gas leakage prevention cooling box according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 9  is a reference view for describing a gas leakage prevention cooling box according to a modification embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     A gas leakage prevention cooling box according to embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Various changes may be applied to the present disclosure, and thus the present disclosure has various forms. Accordingly, specific embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and will be described in detail in the present specification. However, the specific embodiments are not intended to limit the present disclosure to a specific form of disclosure, and should be understood to include all changes, equivalents, or substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. In describing each drawing, similar reference numerals are used for similar elements. In the accompanying drawings, dimensions of components are illustrated to be enlarged than actual for clarity of the present disclosure or reduced than actual for understandings of schematic configurations. 
     In addition, terms such as first and second may be used to describe various elements, but the elements should not be limited by the terms. These terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another component. For example, a first component may be referred to as a second component without departing from the scope of the present disclosure right, and similarly, a second component may also be referred as a first component. Meanwhile, unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by a person having ordinary skill in a technical field to which the present disclosure belongs. Terms as defined in a commonly used dictionary should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning in the context of the related technology, and should not be interpreted as an ideal or excessively formal meaning unless explicitly defined in the present application. 
     Embodiment 
       FIGS. 1 and 2  are perspective views of a gas leakage prevention cooling box according to one embodiment of the present disclosure,  FIG. 3  is a side view of the gas leakage prevention cooling box according to one embodiment of the present disclosure,  FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of  FIG. 3 ,  FIG. 5  is a perspective view illustrating a state where the gas leakage prevention cooling box according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is open, and  FIG. 6  is a perspective view illustrating a state in which connected first pipe and second pipe are mounted in the state where the gas leakage prevention cooling box according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is open. 
     As illustrated in the drawings, the gas leakage prevention cooling box according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is used when manufacturing any one product of product groups including semiconductor products, or is installed to surround flanges f 1  and f 2  at a connection between a first pipe P 1  and a second pipe P 2  to transfer a used gas. The gas leakage prevention cooling box includes, as main components, a main body casing  110  which is installed at the connection of the first pipe P 1  and the second pipe P 2  and supported, a cooling fan module  120  for cooling the connection between the first pipe P 1  and the second pipe P 2 , a sensor module  130  which senses a gas leaking from the connection between the first pipe P 1  and the second pipe P 2 , and a center ring module  150  and a clamp  160  for packing the connection between the first pipe P 1  and the second pipe P 2 . 
     The gas leakage prevention cooling box according to one embodiment of the present disclosure safely protects the connection between the first pipe P 1  and the second pipe P 2  so that a gas having various chemical properties does not leak out from the connection, using these components, and is configured to detect an outflow of the gas more quickly even if the gas leaks out. 
     Hereinafter, the gas leakage prevention cooling box according to one embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail, focusing on the respective components. 
     As illustrated in the drawings, the main body casing  110  has a rectangular box-shaped outer shape, and has an inner chamber  111 , in which connection flanges f 1  and f 2  of the first pipe P 1  and the second pipe P 2  are located in a central portion of the main body casing  110 . Moreover, pipe mounting holes  112  in which pipes connected around the flanges f 1  and f 2  are located are provided in front and rear sides of the inner chamber  111 . As illustrated in the drawings, each of the pipe mounting holes  112  is formed in a semicircular shape divided into the first half main body  110   a  and the second half main body  110   b , and preferably, a divided adapter  113  for forming holes corresponding to the first pipe P 1  and the second pipe P 2  is provided. 
     Here, the hinged first half main body  110   a  and the second half main body  110   b  face each other on one end portion of the main body casing  110 , a pair of fasteners  115  are installed on the other end portion thereof, and thus, the first half main body  110   a  and the second half main body  110   b  can be fastened to each other in a closed state. Accordingly, the first half main body  110   a  and the second half main body  110   b  are not completely separated from each other, but are opened and closed around a hinge shaft  114  to be coupled and decoupled. According to this configuration, it is possible to simply install the gas leakage prevention cooling box of the present disclosure in a state where the connection flanges f 1  and f 2  of the first pipe P 1  and the second pipe P 2  are bitten to each other. Each of the first half main body  110   a  and the second half main body  110   b  of the main body casing  110  includes an air circulation hole  111   a  communicating with an inner chamber  111 , and external air is supplied to the inner chamber  111  through the air circulation hole  111   a  by the cooling fan  121  to heat exchange with an accommodation box  140  and then discharged. 
     In addition, the accommodation box  140  having an accommodation space  140   a  which isolates and accommodates the connection flanges f 1  and f 2  of the first pipe P 1  and the second pipe P 2  in a space narrower than that of the inner chamber  111  is further formed in the inner chamber  111  of the main body casing  110 . The accommodation box  140  prevents the gas leaking out from the connection between the first pipe P 1  and the second pipe P 2  from flowing into the inner chamber  111  opened by the air circulation hole  111   a , and guide the gas so that the gas moves through a port  116  and comes into contact with a gas sensing sensor. In this way, according to the configuration in which the accommodation box  140  is provided in the inner chamber  111  of the main body casing  110 , when a gas leaks out from the connection between the first pipe P 1  and the second pipe P 2 , the gas does not diffuse into the inner chamber  111  having a relatively wide space, but the gas is limitedly diffused only in the accommodation space  140   a  of the accommodation box  140  which is a narrower space. Accordingly, even if the same amount of gas leaks out, the gas comes into contact with the gas sensing sensor at a higher concentration, and thus it is possible to rapidly sense the leaked gas. Here, the port  116  is a tubular member, is installed to protrude from an outer wall of the main body casing  110 , and communicates with the accommodation space  140   a  of the accommodation box  140 . The sensor module  130  including the gas sensing sensor is installed in the port  116 . 
     The accommodation box  140  is divided into two half main bodies  141  according to the first half main body  110   a  and the second half main body  110   b . Accordingly, when the first half main body  110   a  and the second half main body  110   b  are coupled to face each other, the half main bodies  141  of the accommodation box  140  are also coupled to face each other about the connection flanges f 1  and f 2  of the first pipe P 1  and the second pipe P 2 . A pair of half main bodies  141  of the accommodation box  140  includes pipe seating portions  141   a  on which a pipe is seated in a line facing each other, and when the pair of half main bodies  141  face each other, packing  142  is formed along the facing line to form a circular hole so that a gas does not leak out from the accommodation box  140 . 
     The cooling fan module  120  is installed on an outer surface of the first half main body  110   a  of the main body casing  110  to supply external air to the inner chamber  111  through the air circulation hole  111   a  of the main body casing  110 . The cooling fan module  120  is coupled to the outer surface of the first half main body  110   a  and has a fan casing  122  having an opening  122   a  for sucking and blowing air and a cooling fan  121  installed inside the fan casing  122 . According to this configuration, as illustrated in  FIG. 4 , fresh external air is supplied to the inner chamber  111  through the air circulation hole  111   a  as the cooling fan  121  rotates, and thus it is possible to effectively cool the connection between the first pipe P 1  and the second pipe P 2 . Then, it is possible to prevent an O-ring  152  and a packer ring  153  of the center ring module  150  installed between the connection flanges f 1  and f 2  of the first pipe P 1  and the second pipe P 2  from being easily hardened or corroded due to a high temperature. 
     The sensor module  130  senses the gas flowing out from the connection between the first pipe (P 1 ) and the second pipe P 2  so that a manager or an operator can quickly recognize the gas leakage. To this end, the sensor module  130  includes a transparent cap  131  and a gas sensing tape  132  as illustrated in  FIGS. 3, 5 and 6 . The transparent cap  131  of the sensor module  130  is coupled to the port  116  installed to protrude from an outer wall of the main body casing  110 . The gas sensing tape  132  is adhered to an inner surface of the transparent cap  131  and has a property discolorized when the gas sensing tape  132  comes into contact with a leaked gas. The gas sensing tape  132  can be used by purchasing a commercially available one. According to the configuration of the sensor module  130 , when a gas leaks out from the connection of the first pipe P 1  and the second pipe P 2 , the leaked gas is diffused from the accommodation box  140  accommodating the connection flanges (f 1 , f 2 ) and guided to the inside of the transparent cap  131  through the port  116 . Accordingly, the leaked gas reaches the transparent cap  131  and immediately comes into contact with the gas sensing tape  132 . Then, as the gas sensing tape  132  is discolored, the manager can easily recognize the leakage of the gas with the naked eye. 
     In the configuration of the sensor module  130 , the port  116  is installed to protrude outward of the main body casing  110  and guides the gas leaked out from the inside of the main body casing  110 , the transparent cap  131  to which the gas sensing tape  132  is adhered is installed in the port  116  protruding outward of the main body casing  110  and protrudes outward of the main body casing  10 . Accordingly, as long as not viewing the gas sensing tape  132  from a completely opposite side, the gas sensing tape  132  is located at a point which can be seen in all directions. 
     In relation to the configuration of the sensor module  130 , as a modification example illustrated in  FIG. 9 , more preferably, the port  116  and the sensor module  130  are respectively installed on opposite sides of the main body casing  110 . Accordingly, regardless of which direction the manager or operator is located, the gas leakage can be easily checked with the naked eye. 
     As described above, when the gas leakage prevention cooling box of the present disclosure includes the gas sensing sensor, the gas leakage sensing system may be implemented, which, in addition to the gas leakage prevention cooling box, further includes a controller which recognizes the leaked gas when the leaked gas is sensed and notifies this and an alarm which receives a control signal from the controller and alerts the gas leakage. 
     The center ring module  150  packs a gap so that a gas does not leak out between the flanges f 1  and f 2  coupled to each other at the connection of the first pipe P 1  and the second pipe P 2 . To this end, the center ring module  150  includes a center ring  151 , the O-ring  152 , and the packer ring  153  as illustrated in  FIG. 8 . The center ring  151  is a ring-shaped frame member which is positioned in concave grooves f 3  formed inside peripheries of the flanges f 1  and f 2  of the first pipe P 1  and the second pipe P 2 . A seating groove  151   b  is formed on an outer peripheral surface of the center ring so that the O-ring can be stably mounted as illustrated in  FIG. 8 . The O-ring  152  is mounted along an outer peripheral surface of the center ring  151  and compressed between peripheral portions of the flanges f 1  and f 2  to block outflow of the gas. The packer ring  153  is provided in a pair and protrudes along both corners of the outer peripheral surface of the center ring  151  and is compressed in the concave groove f 3  of the flanges f 1  and f 2 . In the configuration of the center ring module  150 , unlike the related art, the pair of packer rings  153  is added to block the gas leakage double together with the O-ring  152 . Moreover, the O-ring  152  and the packer ring  153  are continuously cooled by the external air supplied to the inner chamber  111  by the cooling fan  121 , hardening and damages of the O-ring  152  and the packer ring  153  caused by a high temperature can be minimized, and thus, it is possible to more stably prevent the gas leakage. 
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 4, 6, and 7 , the clamp  160  clamps the connection flanges f 1  and f 2  of the first pipe P 1  and the second pipe P 2  compressed with the O-ring  152  therebetween from the outside so that the state where the O-ring  152  is compressed between the flanges f 1  and f 2  is continuously maintained. Here, as illustrated in an enlarged portion of  FIG. 4 , a support member  161  which supports the O-ring  152  from the opposite side so that the O-ring  152  is stably located on the seating groove  151   b  of the center ring  150  may be additionally provided on an inner circumferential surface of the clamp  160 . 
     Heretofore, a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure is described. However, various changes, modifications, and equivalents may be used for the present disclosure. It is clear that the present disclosure can be applied in the same manner by appropriately modifying the embodiment. Therefore, the above description does not limit the scope of the present disclosure determined by the limits of the following claims. 
     According to the gas leakage prevention cooling box and the gas leakage detection system of the present disclosure, the connection between the pipes is cooled by the external air. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the O-ring from being easily hardened or corroded due to a high temperature, and it is possible to safely protect the connection so that the gas having various chemical properties does not easily leak out. 
     In addition, according to the present disclosure, the inner chamber of the main body casing is opened to sufficiently supply the external air for cooling, the connection of the pipe is isolated and accommodated in the accommodation box having a size smaller than that of the inner chamber. Accordingly, even when the gas leaks out from the connection of the pipe, it is possible to prevent the gas from flowing to the outside, and it is possible to more quickly sense the gas leaked out from the connection of the pipe. 
     According to the present disclosure, the center ring module includes the O-ring and the center ring. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the gas leakage in double. Moreover, the accommodation box is provided inside the main body casing, and thus it is possible to prevent the gas leakage in triple.