TWI860900B - Liquid trap for exhaust channel - Google Patents

Abstract

A liquid trap includes a collection unit, an optical detector, at least one upstream exhaust channel, one downstream exhaust channel and an air pump. The collection unit has a collection chamber, an air inlet and an exhaust port. The air inlet and the exhaust port are respectively connected to the collection chamber. The optical detector is installed in the collection chamber and has a light-emitting device, an optical element and a photosensitive device. The optical element has a conical prism located in the collection chamber, and the light-emitting device is used to emit a detection light toward the conical prism. When the fluid in the collection cavity is all gas, the detection light can be reflected by the conical prism and enter the photosensitive device; when part of the fluid passing through the collection cavity is liquid and in contact with the conical prism, the detection light cannot enter the photosensitive device. When the air pump is working and the detection light cannot enter the photosensitive device, the air pump stops working.

Description

Translated fromChinese

用於排氣管路的液體捕集器Liquid traps for exhaust lines

本發明是關於一種通過偵測排氣通道是否存在液體並能滯留液體的設備。The present invention relates to a device capable of retaining liquid by detecting whether liquid exists in an exhaust passage.

在部分液體輸送設備中，會使用氦氣、氖氣等惰性氣體來推送液體（例如液態反應物），推送後，會再利用氮氣等吹洗氣體（purge gas）去除液體輸送設備內的惰性氣體。這些氣體會從液體輸送設備中的排氣管路排出。In some liquid transport equipment, inert gases such as helium and neon are used to push liquids (such as liquid reactants). After pushing, purge gases such as nitrogen are used to remove the inert gases in the liquid transport equipment. These gases are discharged from the exhaust pipes in the liquid transport equipment.

然而，由於管道內尚有其他液體存在，液體也有可能會從排氣管道洩漏，甚至損壞排氣管道中的抽氣泵，因此，如何避免液體從排氣管道洩漏，實是值得本領域人士思量的。However, since there are other liquids in the pipe, the liquid may leak from the exhaust pipe and even damage the vacuum pump in the exhaust pipe. Therefore, how to prevent the liquid from leaking from the exhaust pipe is worth considering by people in this field.

本發明之主要目的在於提供一種能避免液體從排氣管道洩漏的液體捕集器。The main purpose of the present invention is to provide a liquid trap that can prevent liquid from leaking from an exhaust pipe.

為了達成上述及其他目的，本發明提供一種用於排氣管路的液體捕集器，其包括一捕集室、一光學偵測器、至少一上游排氣通道、一下游排氣通道及一抽氣泵。捕集室具有一捕集腔、一進氣口及一排氣口，該進氣口及排氣口分別連通該捕集腔。光學偵測器設於該捕集室，該光學偵測器具有一發光裝置、一光學元件及一感光裝置，該光學元件具有一位於該捕集腔的圓錐棱鏡，該發光裝置是用以朝該圓錐棱鏡發射一偵測光。上游排氣通道及下游排氣通道分別連通進氣口及排氣口。抽氣泵設於下游排氣通道。其中當通過該捕集腔的流體均為氣體時，該偵測光可經由該圓錐棱鏡連續反射而進入該感光裝置；當通過該捕集腔的流體的一部分為液體且所述液體與該圓錐棱鏡接觸時，該偵測光無法進入該感光裝置。其中，當該抽氣泵正在工作且該偵測光無法進入該感光裝置時，該抽氣泵停止繼續工作。In order to achieve the above and other purposes, the present invention provides a liquid collector for an exhaust pipeline, which includes a capture chamber, an optical detector, at least one upstream exhaust channel, a downstream exhaust channel and an air pump. The capture chamber has a capture cavity, an air inlet and an exhaust port, and the air inlet and the exhaust port are respectively connected to the capture cavity. The optical detector is arranged in the capture chamber, and the optical detector has a light-emitting device, an optical element and a photosensitive device. The optical element has a conical prism located in the capture cavity, and the light-emitting device is used to emit a detection light toward the conical prism. The upstream exhaust channel and the downstream exhaust channel are respectively connected to the air inlet and the exhaust port. The air pump is arranged in the downstream exhaust channel. When the fluid passing through the capture chamber is all gas, the detection light can enter the photosensitive device through continuous reflection by the conical prism; when part of the fluid passing through the capture chamber is liquid and the liquid contacts the conical prism, the detection light cannot enter the photosensitive device. When the vacuum pump is working and the detection light cannot enter the photosensitive device, the vacuum pump stops working.

本發明藉由氣體與液體折射率不同的特性，讓圓錐棱鏡在接觸到不同介質時表現出的不同反射性能，從而影響偵測光是否可被圓錐棱鏡連續反射而被感光裝置所接收，進而控制抽氣泵緊急停機的時點，實現偵測、捕集、滯留排氣管路中的液體的效果。The present invention uses the different refractive index characteristics of gas and liquid to allow the conical prism to exhibit different reflection properties when it contacts different media, thereby affecting whether the detection light can be continuously reflected by the conical prism and received by the photosensitive device, thereby controlling the time point of emergency shutdown of the vacuum pump, and achieving the effect of detecting, capturing, and retaining the liquid in the exhaust pipeline.

請參考第1至3圖，所繪示者為本發明液體捕集器的其中一實施例，本實施例的液體捕集器包括一捕集室10、一光學偵測器20、二上游排氣通道30、一下游排氣通道40、一抽氣泵50、一多通管60及多個控制閥70。本發明的液體捕集器可用於液體輸送設備1，液體輸送設備1會使用到推送氣體（例如氦氣、氖氣）及/或沖洗氣體（例如氮氣），這些推送氣體及沖洗氣體可經由液體捕集器離開液體輸送設備1。Please refer to Figures 1 to 3, which show one embodiment of the liquid trap of the present invention. The liquid trap of the present embodiment includes atrap chamber 10, anoptical detector 20, twoupstream exhaust channels 30, adownstream exhaust channel 40, anair pump 50, amulti-way pipe 60 and a plurality ofcontrol valves 70. The liquid trap of the present invention can be used in aliquid transport device 1, and theliquid transport device 1 uses a propulsion gas (such as helium, neon) and/or a flushing gas (such as nitrogen). These propulsion gases and flushing gases can leave theliquid transport device 1 through the liquid trap.

捕集室10具有一捕集腔11、一進氣口12及一排氣口13，進氣口12及排氣口13分別連通該捕集腔11。多通管60與進氣口12連接，上游排氣通道30分別通過多通管60而與進氣口12連通，並且，上游排氣通道30分別與不同的液體輸送設備1連通，控制閥70則設於多通管60與上游排氣通道30之間。另一方面，下游排氣通道40連通於該排氣口13，抽氣泵50設於下游排氣通道40，用以抽取推送氣體及沖洗氣體。在可能的實施方式中，可能只有一個液體輸送設備或更多個液體輸送設備，此時上游排氣通道控制閥等元件的數量也會隨之改變。Thecapture chamber 10 has acapture cavity 11, anair inlet 12 and anair exhaust port 13, and theair inlet 12 and theair exhaust port 13 are respectively connected to thecapture cavity 11. Themulti-way pipe 60 is connected to theair inlet 12, and theupstream exhaust channel 30 is respectively connected to theair inlet 12 through themulti-way pipe 60, and theupstream exhaust channel 30 is respectively connected to differentliquid conveying devices 1, and thecontrol valve 70 is arranged between themulti-way pipe 60 and theupstream exhaust channel 30. On the other hand, thedownstream exhaust channel 40 is connected to theexhaust port 13, and thevacuum pump 50 is arranged in thedownstream exhaust channel 40 to extract the push gas and the flushing gas. In a possible implementation, there may be only one liquid conveying device or more liquid conveying devices, and the number of components such as the upstream exhaust channel control valve will also change accordingly.

光學偵測器20設於捕集室10頂部的安裝孔，光學偵測器20具有一發光裝置21、一光學元件22及一感光裝置23，光學元件22是以可讓發光裝置21所發射的偵測光通過的材質製成，例如聚碸（Polysulfone）或聚醯胺（Polyamide），光學元件22具有一位於捕集腔11的圓錐棱鏡221，發光裝置21是用以朝圓錐棱鏡221發射偵測光，且如第3圖所示，當通過捕集腔11的流體都是氣體時，偵測光可經由圓錐棱鏡連續反射而進入感光裝置23（例如CCD）。另一方面，如第4圖所示，當通過捕集腔11的流體的一部分為液體且液體與圓錐棱鏡221接觸時，由於液體與空氣的折射率不同，因此偵測光無法依第3圖所示的路徑順利反射進入感光裝置23。從而，當抽氣泵50正在工作，且偵測光無法進入感光裝置23時，即表示液體可能已進入捕集腔11，此時系統會發出警示控制訊號，控制抽氣泵50停止繼續工作，進而避免液體洩漏。Theoptical detector 20 is disposed at a mounting hole at the top of thecapture chamber 10. Theoptical detector 20 has a light-emitting device 21, anoptical element 22, and aphotosensitive device 23. Theoptical element 22 is made of a material that allows the detection light emitted by the light-emittingdevice 21 to pass through, such as polysulfone or polyamide. Theoptical element 22 has aconical prism 221 located in thecapture chamber 11. The light-emitting device 21 is used to emit the detection light toward theconical prism 221. As shown in FIG. 3 , when the fluid passing through thecapture chamber 11 is gas, the detection light can be continuously reflected by the conical prism and enter the photosensitive device 23 (such as CCD). On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4 , when part of the fluid passing through thecapture chamber 11 is liquid and the liquid contacts theconical prism 221, the detection light cannot be smoothly reflected along the path shown in FIG. 3 and enter thephotosensitive device 23 due to the different refractive indices of the liquid and the air. Therefore, when thevacuum pump 50 is working and the detection light cannot enter thephotosensitive device 23, it means that the liquid may have entered thecapture chamber 11. At this time, the system will send out a warning control signal to control thevacuum pump 50 to stop working, thereby avoiding liquid leakage.

1:液體輸送設備 10:捕集室 11:捕集腔 12:進氣口 13:排氣口 20:光學偵測器 21:發光裝置 22:光學元件 221:圓錐棱鏡 23:感光裝置 30:上游排氣通道 40:下游排氣通道 50:抽氣泵 60:多通管 70:控制閥1: Liquid transport equipment10: Capture chamber11: Capture chamber12: Air inlet13: Air exhaust port20: Optical detector21: Light emitting device22: Optical element221: Conical prism23: Photosensitive device30: Upstream exhaust channel40: Downstream exhaust channel50: Vacuum pump60: Multi-way pipe70: Control valve

第1圖為本發明其中一實施例的方塊圖。FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one embodiment of the present invention.

第2圖為本發明其中一實施例的局部立體圖。FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of one embodiment of the present invention.

第3圖為本發明其中一實施例的局部剖面圖及光路示意圖，其中捕集腔內的流體均為氣體。FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view and a schematic diagram of the optical path of one embodiment of the present invention, wherein the fluid in the capture chamber is gas.

第4圖為本發明其中一實施例的局部剖面圖及光路示意圖，其中捕集腔內存在液體。FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view and a schematic diagram of the optical path of one embodiment of the present invention, wherein a liquid exists in the capture chamber.

1:液體輸送設備1:Liquid transport equipment

10:捕集室10: Capture chamber

20:光學偵測器20: Optical detector

30:上游排氣通道30: Upstream exhaust channel

40:下游排氣通道40: Downstream exhaust channel

50:抽氣泵50: Air pump

60:多通管60: Multi-way pipe

70:控制閥70: Control valve

Claims (3)

Translated fromChinese

一種用於排氣管路的液體捕集器，包括： 一捕集室，具有一捕集腔、一進氣口及一排氣口，該進氣口及排氣口分別連通該捕集腔； 一光學偵測器，設於該捕集室，該光學偵測器具有一發光裝置、一光學元件及一感光裝置，該光學元件具有一位於該捕集腔的圓錐棱鏡，該發光裝置是用以朝該圓錐棱鏡發射一偵測光； 至少一上游排氣通道，連通於該進氣口； 一下游排氣通道，連通於該排氣口；以及 一抽氣泵，設於該下游排氣通道； 其中，當通過該捕集腔的流體均為氣體時，該偵測光可經由該圓錐棱鏡連續反射而進入該感光裝置；當通過該捕集腔的流體的一部分為液體且所述液體與該圓錐棱鏡接觸時，該偵測光無法進入該感光裝置； 其中，當該抽氣泵正在工作且該偵測光無法進入該感光裝置時，該抽氣泵停止繼續工作。A liquid collector for an exhaust pipeline, comprising:A collection chamber, having a collection cavity, an air inlet and an exhaust port, wherein the air inlet and the exhaust port are respectively connected to the collection cavity;An optical detector, disposed in the collection chamber, the optical detector having a light-emitting device, an optical element and a photosensitive device, the optical element having a conical prism located in the collection cavity, the light-emitting device being used to emit a detection light toward the conical prism;At least one upstream exhaust channel, connected to the air inlet;A downstream exhaust channel, connected to the exhaust port; andAn air pump, disposed in the downstream exhaust channel;Wherein, when the fluid passing through the capture chamber is all gas, the detection light can enter the photosensitive device through continuous reflection of the conical prism; when part of the fluid passing through the capture chamber is liquid and the liquid contacts the conical prism, the detection light cannot enter the photosensitive device;Wherein, when the vacuum pump is working and the detection light cannot enter the photosensitive device, the vacuum pump stops working.如請求項1所述的液體捕集器，包括多個所述上游排氣通道及一多通管，該多通管與該進氣口連接，該些上游排氣通道是通過該多通管而與該進氣口連通。The liquid collector as described in claim 1 includes a plurality of upstream exhaust channels and a multi-way pipe, the multi-way pipe is connected to the air inlet, and the upstream exhaust channels are connected to the air inlet through the multi-way pipe.如請求項2所述的液體捕集器，更包括多個控制閥，分別設於該多通管與該些上游排氣通道之間。The liquid collector as described in claim 2 further includes a plurality of control valves, which are respectively arranged between the multi-way pipe and the upstream exhaust channels.

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