Fluid handling – With indicator – register – recorder – alarm or inspection means – Plural
Reexamination Certificate
1998-12-21
2001-08-14
Rivell, John (Department: 3753)
Fluid handling
With indicator, register, recorder, alarm or inspection means
Plural
C700S282000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06273129
ABSTRACT:
This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §§119 and/or 365 to 97 16491 filed in France on Dec. 24, 1997; the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a device for distributing a working gas and to an installation for providing such gases, particularly for manufacturing circuits in the microelectronics industry.
2. Description of the Related Prior Art
The manufacture of electronic circuits requires the use of various so-called “working” gases such as, for example, Cl
2
, NH
3
, HCl, HBr, NF
3
or WF
6
, etc, which are, for the most part, considered to be hazardous to man on account of their toxicity and/or their flammability.
This is why these gases are stored in pressurized gas cylinders arranged in pairs in gas-supply installations also known by the name of “gas cabinets”. Such an installation comprises a safety cabinet with controlled extraction and a device for distributing the working gas that is located in the cabinet.
The distribution device comprises a series of pipes for supplying gas, flushing and extraction, connected to the two pressurized gas cylinders, valves arranged in the pipes for regulating the flow of the working gas, and gas-leak detectors and sensors for measuring the pressures prevailing in the pipe in order to monitor the operating status of the installation.
The valves are regulated and the various signals originating from the leak detectors and the pressure sensors are picked up and exploited by a command-control unit.
This command-control unit comprises, for example, a programmed controller and, connected to this, a display and control panel.
A block diagram of the installation is drawn on this panel. A great many luminous indicators, each associated with a specific alarm, are arranged in the panel for alerting to the alarms an operator responsible for monitoring the installation. In addition, switches for commanding the valves allowing the installation to be operated in manual mode are also installed on this panel. Furthermore, various displays mounted in the panel and controlled by the controller show the values of measurements picked up by the sensors.
Because of the numerous indicators, switches and displays, the display and control panel seems at first sight, complicated and not very user-friendly, which means that a rather lengthy learning process is needed in order to train an operator who will be responsible for monitoring the installation.
The invention aims to alleviate this drawback by providing a distribution device equipped with a more user-friendly display and control interface.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To this end, the subject of the invention is a device for distributing a working gas, comprising a series of pipes connected to at least one source of working gas and to at least one outlet pipe for conveying the working gas towards a consumer station, functional members, particularly valves arranged in the pipes and used to regulate the flow of the working gas through these pipes, and gas-leak detectors, and a command-control unit comprising means for communicating with the said functional members, means for controlling tasks relating to the said functional members and means for operating the control means, which can be actuated by an operator of the distribution device, which device is characterized in that the said operating means comprise a touch-sensitive screen which has main control zones associated with the control of corresponding tasks, which main control zones are delimited by graphics associated with the said tasks and displayed permanently on the said touch-sensitive screen.
The distribution device according to the invention may additionally have one or more of the following features:
the touch-sensitive screen comprises, for at least one main control zone at least a secondary control zone associated with the said at least one main zone and relating to an instruction for controlling the task corresponding to the said at least one main control zone, the said at least one secondary control zone being delimited by a graphic associated with the said instruction and displayed on the said touch-sensitive screen only if the said corresponding main control zone is activated by an operator,
the touch-sensitive screen comprises a first region reserved exclusively for the said main control zones and a second region distinct from the said first region and intended for the said secondary control zones,
the touch-sensitive screen further comprises a third region distinct from the said first and second regions and reserved for displaying information relating to a main control zone activated by an operator,
the operating means additionally comprise means for designating, on the touch-sensitive screen, a control zone that has been activated by an operator,
one task controlled by the control means relates to managing and particularly to displaying on the touch-sensitive screen, alarms detected by the functional members, and one of the main control zones of the touch-sensitive screen is a zone for activating the displaying of the alarms picked up,
when the device is equipped with measurement sensors, particularly for measuring the pressures prevailing in the pipes, one task controlled by the control means relates to evaluating the values of measurements picked up by the said measurement sensors and to displaying these values on the touch-sensitive screen, and one of the said main control zones is a zone for activating the displaying on the touch-sensitive screen of the measurement values picked up,
when the device is equipped with measurement sensors, particularly for measuring the pressures prevailing in the pipes, the operating means comprise means for storing in memory a block diagram representing, in particular, the series of pipes of the device for distributing the working gas and the valves arranged in these pipes, one task controlled by the control means relates to evaluating the values of measurements picked up by the said sensors and to displaying on the touch-sensitive screen the block diagram of the distribution device, recorded in the said memory-storage means, together with the said values of measurements picked up by the sensors, and one of the said main control zones is a zone for activating the displaying on the touch-sensitive screen of the block diagram together with the values of measurements picked up.
In addition, the subject of the invention is an installation for distributing a working gas, characterized in that it comprises a first and second device for distributing working gas as defined hereinabove, which devices are arranged in series and whose command-control units communicate with each other, in that the second device is a functional member as far as the first device is concerned, in that one task of the control means of the first device relates to monitoring the operating status of the second device, which it considers as a functional member, and in that one of the said main control zones of the touch-sensitive screen of the first device is a zone for activating the displaying on the touch-sensitive screen of the first device, of information regarding the operating status of the second device.
The installation for distributing working gas may additionally have the following feature:
when the second distribution device is equipped with measurement sensors, particularly for measuring the pressures prevailing in its pipes, the operating means of the first distribution device comprise means for storing in memory a block diagram representing, in particular, the series of pipes of the second device for distributing the working gas and the valves arranged in these pipes, one task controlled by the control means of the first distribution device relates to evaluating the values of measurements picked up by the sensors of the second distribution device and to displaying on the touch-sensitive screen of the first distribution device, the block diagram of the second distribution device together with the said values of mea
Bourgeois Marc
Chavand André
Fanjat Norbert
Burns Doane Swecker & Mathis L.L.P.
L'Air Liquide, Societe Anonyme pour l'Etude et l'
Rivell John
LandOfFree
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