Transport case for precision apparatus unit, transport method for precision apparatus unit

Abstract

To avoid damage on components, and to improve workability of assembly including work such as packaging in transport, when transporting a unit whose structure is complicated and which needs highly accurate positioning.SOLUTION: A transport case for transporting or storing a precision apparatus unit comprising by a plurality of components or members being mounted on a tabular member includes: a case body 10 which has a lower case 101 for forming at least part of a bottom surface part and a peripheral surface part, and an upper case 102 for forming a box body by being combined with the lower case; and a unit fixing part which has a plurality of spacers 11 erected on the bottom surface part and having a fixing part 111 for detachably fixing a tabular member 351 at an upper end. The spacer has a height formed below the tabular member in which a space where a positioning jig 2 for positioning a component or a member can be installed on the bottom surface part when the work of mounting the component or the member on the tabular member is performed in a state of loading the tabular member.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a case for transporting or storing a unit constituting a precision instrument such as various analytical instruments, and a method for transporting a precision instrument unit using such a case. [Background technology]

[0002] Many analytical instruments used in physical and chemical analyses require high mechanical precision in the various parts and members themselves, or in the arrangement and positional relationship of multiple parts and members. For example, in the case of a relatively large and expensive analytical instrument such as a mass spectrometer, the analytical instrument is usually transported from the manufacturing site to the customer's site by airplane, ship, automobile, etc., and installed at the customer's site by a specialized service staff. During such transportation, the analytical instrument may be transported in a fully assembled, so to speak, state, but due to various transportation constraints, it may be transported in a state where it is disassembled into multiple units, and final assembly is performed at the customer's site or at a local business establishment. In addition, in the case of an optional unit that is installed at the customer's special request, only that unit may be transported.

[0003] In particular, when transporting a unit that contains parts that are easily damaged and that require highly accurate alignment, the following procedure may be adopted at the manufacturing site: a temporary assembly is performed using dedicated assembly and alignment tools to prevent damage to the parts during assembly, and then the unit is inspected to see if there are any problems with its performance. If the inspection passes, the parts and materials are temporarily disassembled and packed for transport. At the installation site, the unit is reassembled using the received parts and materials, and the completed unit is then attached to the intended analytical equipment.

[0004] For example, Patent Document 1 describes a tandem mass spectrometer that dissociates ions derived from sample components by attaching radical species such as oxygen radicals and hydroxyl radicals to the ions, and performs mass analysis on the product ions thus generated. Patent Documents 2 and 3 describe specific configuration examples of a radical source for generating radical species in such a mass spectrometer. Although the detailed configuration will be described later, such a radical source has a complex structure consisting of multiple parts and members, such as a thin-diameter quartz tube that circulates a gas that is the source of radical species and also functions as a plasma generation chamber, an inner cylinder and an outer cylinder that are conductors coaxially surrounding the quartz tube, and an outer conductor part incorporating a permanent magnet. When assembling this radical source, it is necessary to insert the easily breakable quartz tube into multiple other members, and when transporting a radical generation unit in which the assembled radical source is attached to the lid of a vacuum chamber via a seal member or the like, the above-mentioned procedure is generally adopted. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-191081 A [Patent Document 2] International Publication No. 2022 / 059247 [Patent Document 3] International Publication No. 2022 / 091674 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, the above-mentioned method requires a procedure of provisional assembly, disassembly, and reassembly of the units, which results in problems such as poor assembly efficiency, increased costs, and a long time required.

[0007] The present invention has been made to solve these problems, and its main objective is to provide a transport case for a precision equipment unit and a method for transporting a precision equipment unit that can improve the workability of assembly, including packaging and other operations during transport, while avoiding damage to parts and components, even in units that have a complex structure and require highly accurate alignment, including parts and components that are easily damaged. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] One aspect of the transport case for a precision equipment unit according to the present invention is a case for transporting or storing a precision equipment unit having a plurality of parts or members attached to a plate-like member, comprising: a case body including a lower case that forms at least a part of a bottom surface portion and a peripheral surface portion that surrounds the bottom surface portion, and an upper case that forms a box body in combination with the lower case; a unit fixing portion including a plurality of spacers provided upright on the bottom surface portion, each spacer having a fixing portion for detachably fixing the plate-like member to an upper end thereof; The spacer has a height that allows a space to be formed below the plate-like member in which a positioning jig for positioning a part or member can be installed on the bottom surface when an operation of attaching a part or member to the plate-like member is performed with the plate-like member placed on the spacer.

[0009] Furthermore, one aspect of the method for transporting a precision equipment unit according to the present invention is a method for transporting the precision equipment unit, which utilizes the above-described aspect of the transport case for a precision equipment unit according to the present invention, in which the precision equipment unit is assembled by attaching parts or members to the plate-like member placed on the spacer with the positioning jig installed on the bottom portion of the lower case, and then the positioning jig is removed from the bottom portion, fixed to the spacer by the fixing portion, and transported in the state stored within the case body. Effect of the Invention

[0010] In the above-described aspect of the transport case for precision equipment units according to the present invention, the transport case can be used to smoothly assemble precision equipment units that require high positional accuracy without applying excessive force to each component. Furthermore, the precision equipment units assembled with high accuracy can be transported or stored while still stored in the case. As a result, according to the present invention, even for units that have complex structures and require high-precision alignment, including parts and components that are easily damaged, damage to such parts and components can be avoided, and assembly workability, including packaging work for transport, can be improved. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1A is a schematic front view and FIG. 1B is a schematic side view of a transportation case according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing the state in which the radical generation unit is stored in the transport case of the present embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state in which a radical generation unit is assembled using the transportation case of the present embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a mass spectrometer including the radical generation unit shown in FIG. 5. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a radical generation unit to be transported in the transport case of the present embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a main part of the radical generation unit. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the radical generation unit connected to the collision cell. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] Hereinafter, a case for transporting units constituting a mass spectrometer will be described as an example of one embodiment of a transport case according to the present invention. Prior to describing this transport case, a radical generation unit and a mass spectrometer including this unit, which are objects to be transported by this case, will be described.

[0013] [Configuration and operation of mass spectrometer] A schematic diagram of this mass spectrometer is shown in Figure 4. This mass spectrometer is a quadrupole time-of-flight (Q-TOF) mass spectrometer equipped with an atmospheric pressure ion source. As shown in Fig. 4, the mass spectrometer 3 has an ionization chamber 30 and a vacuum chamber 35. The inside of the ionization chamber 30 is at approximately atmospheric pressure. The inside of the vacuum chamber 35 is divided into a plurality of chambers (four chambers in this embodiment), which are, in order from the side closest to the ionization chamber 30, a first intermediate vacuum chamber 31, a second intermediate vacuum chamber 32, a first analysis chamber 33, and a second analysis chamber 34. Each of these chambers is evacuated to a vacuum by a vacuum pump (a rotary pump and / or a turbo molecular pump) not shown, and the degree of vacuum increases sequentially from the ionization chamber 30 to the second analysis chamber 34, forming a multi-stage differential pumping system.

[0014] The ionization chamber 30 is provided with an electrospray ionization (ESI) probe 301 that applies an electric charge to a liquid sample and sprays it. The ionization chamber 30 and the first intermediate vacuum chamber 31 communicate with each other through a thin-diameter desolvation tube 302. The first intermediate vacuum chamber 31 and the second intermediate vacuum chamber 32 are separated by a skimmer 312 having a small hole at the top. The first intermediate vacuum chamber 31 and the second intermediate vacuum chamber 32 are provided with ion guides 311 and 321 of different structures, respectively. The first analysis chamber 33 is provided with a quadrupole mass filter 331 that separates ions according to their mass-to-charge ratio (m / z), a collision cell 332 that includes a multipole ion guide 333 therein, and an ion transport electrode 334 for transporting ions along the ion optical axis C. The quadrupole mass filter 331 and the multipole ion guide 333 are each composed of a plurality of rod electrodes, and the ion transport electrode 334 is composed of a plurality of ring-shaped electrodes.

[0015] The collision cell 332 is fixed to the inner surface of the vacuum chamber 35 by a mounting bracket (not shown). An opening 3321 for inserting the quartz tube 410 of the radical generation unit 4 is provided on the wall of the collision cell 332. A cylindrical tube connection member 61 is provided so that one end of the tube connection member 61 surrounds the opening 3321. In the collision cell 332, ions are dissociated by radical species supplied from the radical generation unit 4 described later. In addition to the radical generation unit 4, a gas supply pipe 3323 with a valve 3324 provided midway is connected to the collision cell 332, and a collision induced dissociation (CID) gas for causing collision induced dissociation is supplied from a CID gas supply source 3322.

[0016] The second analysis chamber 34 is equipped with an ion transport electrode 341 for transporting the ions incident from the first analysis chamber 33, an orthogonal acceleration section 342 including a pair of electrodes arranged opposite each other across the ion optical axis C, an acceleration electrode 343, a flight tube 344 forming an internal flight space, a reflectron electrode 345 for forming a return trajectory of the ions in the flight space, and an ion detector 346 for detecting the ions. Note that the data processing section, control section, etc. are omitted in FIG. 4.

[0017] A typical analysis operation in the mass spectrometer having the above configuration is as follows. The ESI probe 301 sprays a liquid sample supplied from, for example, a column outlet of a liquid chromatograph into the ionization chamber 30 while imparting an electric charge to the liquid sample, thereby ionizing the compounds in the liquid sample. The generated ions are sent through the desolvation tube 302 to the first intermediate vacuum chamber 31. The ions that have entered the first intermediate vacuum chamber 31 are sent through the ion guide 311, the small hole of the skimmer 312, and the ion guide 321 to the first analysis chamber 33, where they are introduced into the quadrupole mass filter 331.

[0018] Among the various ions introduced, only ions having a specific m / z value selectively pass through the quadrupole mass filter 331 and are introduced into the collision cell 332. Radical species are supplied into the collision cell 332 from the radical generator 4, and the ions introduced into the collision cell 332 react with the radical species and dissociate. Various product ions generated by dissociation leave the collision cell 332 and are introduced into the orthogonal accelerator 342 via ion transport electrodes 334 and 341.

[0019] The ions introduced into the orthogonal acceleration unit 342 are ejected in a direction substantially perpendicular to the ion optical axis C at a predetermined timing. The ejected ions are accelerated by the acceleration electrode 343 and are introduced into a flight space in a flight tube 344. The ions fly back and forth due to an electric field formed by the reflectron electrode 345, and finally reach an ion detector 346. The ion detector 346 outputs a detection signal according to the amount of the incident ions to a data processor (not shown). The flight time of the ions from the time they leave the orthogonal acceleration unit 342 to the time they reach the ion detector 346 depends on the m / z value of the ions. Therefore, the data processor (not shown) creates a time-of-flight spectrum showing the relationship between the flight time and the ion intensity based on the detection signal, and creates a mass spectrum by converting the flight time into an m / z value.

[0020] [Schematic configuration of radical generation unit 4] 4, the plasma generating unit 41 generates plasma from a raw material gas such as water vapor supplied from a raw material gas supply source 47, and introduces radicals generated in the plasma into a collision cell 332. A microwave power source 46 supplies high-frequency power for generating the plasma. The amount of raw material gas supplied from the raw material gas supply source 47 is adjusted by a valve 40 provided in a flow path connecting the raw material gas supply source 47 and a quartz tube 410.

[0021] FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the essential parts of the radical generating part 4, focusing on the plasma generating part 41. As shown in FIG. The plasma generating unit 41 includes a long quartz tube 410, a helical antenna 411 which is a strip-shaped conductor wound helically around the quartz tube 410, an outer conductor 412 which is coaxial with the quartz tube 410 and has a cylindrical opening whose inner diameter is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the quartz tube 410, a permanent magnet 413 embedded in the outer conductor 412, a casing 414 which holds the outer conductor 412, and a permanent magnet 415 which is disposed at the bottom of the casing 414. The casing 414 is provided with a microwave supply connector 416 and an ultraviolet light source 417. When the ultraviolet light source 417 irradiates the quartz tube 410 with deep ultraviolet light, electrons are emitted from the wall of the quartz tube 410, and the electrons induce the ignition of plasma.

[0022] The quartz tube 410 is a raw material introduction tube into which raw material gas is introduced from a raw material gas supply source 47, and its inside serves as a plasma generation chamber and a radical flow path. The microwave supply connector 416 is a coaxial connector, and is connected to a microwave power source 46 via a coaxial cable. The conductive wire of the coaxial connector is connected to one end of a helical antenna 411. The outer conductor 412 is grounded. A part of the helical antenna 411 and the outer conductor 412 are electrically connected via a resonator adjustment mechanism 420, and the helical antenna 411 is grounded at the connection position. The helical antenna 411, the outer conductor 412, the resonator adjustment mechanism 420, and the like constitute an electron cyclotron resonance resonator. The resonator adjustment mechanism 420 is used to adjust the resonator, and is, for example, described in Patent Document 2.

[0023] This plasma generating unit 41 has a configuration called an electron cyclotron resonance-localized inductively coupled plasma (ECR-LICP) type, which uses a local inductively coupled discharge and electron cyclotron resonance to generate and maintain plasma.

[0024] A substantially disk-shaped magnet holder 51 is attached to the bottom surface of the casing 414. The casing 414 and the magnet holder 51 function as a holding member 50 that holds the quartz tube 410. An opening is formed in the center of the magnet holder 51 through which the quartz tube 410 and the guide member 52 are inserted. The guide member 52 is a cylindrical member that is arranged coaxially with the quartz tube 410 and on the outer periphery of the quartz tube 410, and a spring 56 that expands and contracts in the axial direction of the quartz tube 410 is attached to the outer periphery. A cylindrical protector 53 is provided at the tip of the guide member 52. The outer periphery of the tip portion of the quartz tube 410 exposed from the magnet holder 51 is surrounded by the guide member 52 and the protector 53, and the tip of the protector 53 protrudes beyond the tip of the quartz tube 410. As a result, the guide member 52, the protector 53 and the spring 56 function as a tube protection member 54 that protects the outer periphery and the tip of the portion of the quartz tube 410 that is exposed from the holding member 50, which is easily broken.

[0025] FIG. 7 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the connection portion between the radical generator 4 and the collision cell 332 in a state where the radical generator 4 and the collision cell 332 are attached to each other. In the vacuum chamber 35, a large opening through which the internal members can be inserted and removed is provided at the top of the first analysis chamber 33, and a removable vacuum chamber lid 351 is attached to the opening to seal the inside of the first analysis chamber 33. The above-mentioned plasma generation unit 41 is attached to this vacuum chamber lid 351. This vacuum chamber lid 351 corresponds to the plate-like member in the above-mentioned aspect of the present invention.

[0026] Openings are formed in the walls of the vacuum chamber lid 351 and the collision cell 332, and a tube connection member 61 is inserted into these openings. The bottom of the tube connection member 61 protrudes inward in a generally L-shaped cross section, and is attached to an opening 3321 provided in the wall of the collision cell 332. Meanwhile, the inlet of the tube connection member 61 is formed in a tapered shape that widens toward the inlet end. The outer circumferential tip of the protector 53 is also formed in a tapered shape.

[0027] The seal joint 62 is inserted into the opening of the vacuum chamber lid 351. The seal joint 62 is a cylindrical part as a whole, and has a disk part extending outward from the outer periphery at the center in the longitudinal direction. The inlet of the seal joint 62 is formed in a tapered shape that widens toward the inlet end. The lower surface of the disk part of the seal joint 62 and the vacuum chamber lid 351 are sealed with an O-ring 63. In addition, the inner peripheral surface of the seal joint 62 and the outer peripheral surface of the tube connection member 61 are sealed with a Y packing 64. Furthermore, with the radical generation unit 4 attached, the upper surface of the seal joint 62 and the magnet holder 51 are also sealed with another O-ring 65. As a result, with the radical generation unit 4 attached to the collision cell 332, the radical flow path from the quartz tube 410 to the collision cell 332 can be maintained airtight.

[0028] FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of the radical generation unit in which the radical generation part 4 and the like are attached to the vacuum chamber lid 351. As shown in FIG. The plasma generating unit 41, the cooling fan 48, and the vacuum gauge 49, each having the above-mentioned configuration, are attached to the upper surface of the vacuum chamber lid 351 (the outer surface of the vacuum chamber 35). As shown in FIG. 7, the plasma generating unit 41 is connected to the collision cell 332 disposed inside the vacuum chamber 35 via a tube connecting member 61. Note that, although FIG. 5 shows the collision cell 332 as hanging from the vacuum chamber lid 351, in reality, the collision cell 332 is positioned and fixed inside the vacuum chamber 35 so that the ion optical axes C of the ion guide 333 therein, the quadrupole mass filter 331 at the front stage, and the ion transport electrode 334 at the rear stage are aligned in a straight line.

[0029] The cooling fan 48 blows outside air into the inside of the casing 414 of the plasma generating unit 41 through the air blower duct 481, and has the function of cooling the helical antenna 411, the quartz tube 410, etc. during plasma generation. As shown in Fig. 4, when the vacuum chamber cover 351 is attached so as to cover the opening formed in the vacuum chamber 35, the vacuum gauge 49 faces the inside of the vacuum chamber 35 through the opening, and the vacuum gauge 49 measures the degree of vacuum in the first analysis chamber 33. The vacuum gauge 49 is, for example, a cold cathode inverted magnetron type vacuum gauge.

[0030] In the above-mentioned mass spectrometer, ion dissociation by collision induced dissociation and ion dissociation by radical attachment dissociation described in Patent Documents 1 to 3 can be selectively or simultaneously performed in the collision cell 332. Collision induced dissociation is a widely used ion dissociation technique, whereas radical attachment dissociation is an ion dissociation technique that is particularly useful for structural analysis of specific compounds. Therefore, a configuration for collision induced dissociation is installed as standard, and a configuration for radical attachment dissociation, i.e., the radical generator 4, is installed as an option according to the user's request.

[0031] Specifically, when the function of ion dissociation by radical attachment dissociation is not installed, a vacuum chamber lid not provided with the radical generation unit 4 and the like is attached to the vacuum chamber 35. Also, a collision cell without an opening 3321 for inserting the quartz tube 410 is attached inside the vacuum chamber. On the other hand, when the function of ion dissociation by radical attachment dissociation is installed, a vacuum chamber lid 351 provided with the radical generation unit 4 and the like as shown in FIG. 5 is attached to the vacuum chamber 35, and a collision cell having the above-mentioned opening 3321 is used. Therefore, in order to transport the mass spectrometer 3 equipped with the function of ion dissociation by radical attachment dissociation to a customer, it is necessary to send the radical generation unit shown in FIG. 5 to the customer in addition to the mass spectrometer body. Also, when a customer already owns a mass spectrometer not equipped with the function of ion dissociation by radical attachment dissociation and wants to add the function of ion dissociation by radical attachment dissociation to it, it is necessary to send the radical generation unit shown in FIG. 5 to the customer. Next, a transportation case of this embodiment used in such cases will be described.

[0032] [Configuration of the transport case of this embodiment] As shown in FIG. 5, the radical generator 4 includes a plurality of permanent magnets 413, 415. The cold cathode inverted magnetron vacuum gauge 49 also includes a magnet. These magnets have a fairly strong magnetic field. As is well known, when transporting magnetic materials by air, they must be packed in a state that complies with the leakage magnetic flux regulations of the IATA (International Air Transport Association) standard. This regulation requires that the magnetic flux density at any point 2.1 m away from the surface of the cargo must be 0.002 G (= 0.2 uT) or less. If this is to be met by general packaging, the shipping box must be larger than necessary for the size of the plasma generator 41 and the vacuum gauge 49, which include strong magnets, respectively, resulting in increased costs of packaging materials and transportation costs.

[0033] Therefore, in this embodiment, the case for transporting the radical generating unit is made of a material that blocks magnetic forces and can house the unit inside and be sealed. This eliminates the need to make the case unnecessarily large, leading to reduced transportation costs. In addition, a case made of such a material that blocks magnetic forces is useful not only for transportation, but also for temporarily storing the radical generating unit.

[0034] That is, for example, when the radical generator or vacuum gauge is attached to the mass spectrometer during assembly at the factory or installation at the customer's site, or when the radical generator or vacuum gauge is removed from the mass spectrometer and replaced for equipment maintenance, it is necessary to temporarily store the radical generator or vacuum gauge. If these components are carelessly placed near precision equipment such as a personal computer at that time, the precision equipment may be damaged by the strong magnetic force. In addition, if a pacemaker user accidentally comes close to the radical generator or vacuum gauge, the pacemaker may malfunction.

[0035] In response to this, by preparing a case made of a material capable of blocking magnetic force, such as the transport case of this embodiment, and allowing the radical generation unit and vacuum gauge to be temporarily stored in the case before being attached to the apparatus or after being removed from the apparatus, various problems caused by the magnets in the radical generation unit and vacuum gauge can be avoided.

[0036] Fig. 1 is a front view (A) and a side view (B) of a transport case 1 of this embodiment. Fig. 1 also shows a radical generation unit stored inside the transport case 1 and a positioning jig 2 used when assembling a plasma generating section 41. Fig. 2 is a see-through perspective view of the state when the radical generation unit is stored in the transport case 1 and transported.

[0037] As shown in FIG. 1, the exterior of the transport case 1 is a rectangular parallelepiped. The case body 10 is a combination of a lower case 101 and an upper case 102, which are formed by cutting the case body 10 horizontally near the center in the height direction. Both the lower case 101 and the upper case 102 are made of iron, which is a material that shields magnetic force, and have a plate thickness that can shield magnetism to comply with the leakage magnetic flux regulations of the IATA standard. The lower case 101 and the upper case 102 are connected by a hinge 104 on the back side so that the upper case 102 can rotate freely, and the upper case 102 can be fixed so that it does not open by two snap locks (or snap locks) 103 on the front side. A handle 105 for carrying is attached to the top surface of the upper case 102, and four legs 106 are attached to the bottom surface of the lower case 101.

[0038] Four rod-shaped spacers 11 of the same height are erected near the four corners of the bottom surface 1011 of the lower case 101. A screw hole is formed on the upper end surface of each spacer 11, and the vacuum chamber lid 351 can be fixed on the spacer 11 by inserting four long screws into four through holes formed in the vacuum chamber lid 351 and screwing them into the screw holes. That is, the combination of the long screws and the screw holes functions as the fixing part 111 that fixes the vacuum chamber lid 351 or the radical generation unit on the spacer 11. However, as described above, the collision cell 332 is fixed inside the vacuum chamber 35 and not the vacuum chamber lid 351, so that it is removed during transportation and placed on the bottom surface part 1011 below the vacuum chamber lid 351 as shown in FIG. 2.

[0039] The case body 10 has a space above the vacuum chamber lid 351 that is large enough to accommodate the tallest plasma generating part 41 with the radical generation unit fixed by the fixing part 111. On the other hand, the space below the vacuum chamber lid 351 is determined so as to facilitate the assembly of the plasma generating part 41.

[0040] When assembling the radical generation unit in a factory, it is inevitable that the quartz tube 410 will be temporarily exposed during the assembly. However, since the quartz tube 410 is very fragile, if the plasma generation unit 41 is placed horizontally on the assembly desk during assembly, the quartz tube 410 will be subjected to unnecessary bending force and will likely be damaged. To avoid this, it is desirable to assemble the plasma generation unit 41 in its entirety in a substantially vertical and floating state, as shown in FIG. 3(A). In addition, when attaching the plasma generation unit 41 and the seal joint 62 to the vacuum chamber lid 351, it is necessary to align them with high accuracy. Furthermore, in order to check whether there are any problems with the accuracy of each component, it is necessary to check that there is no vacuum leakage in the radical generation unit alone and age the quartz tube after such assembly.

[0041] In contrast, the transport case 1 of this embodiment has a function for transporting the assembled radical generation unit almost as it is without disassembling it, and can also function as a kind of assembly stand equipped with a positioning mechanism for assembling the radical generation unit. For this assembly work, a positioning jig 2 as shown in FIG. 3 is used. The positioning jig 2 is a substantially columnar body that is approximately the same height as the lower surface of the vacuum chamber lid 351 placed on the spacer 11 when placed on the bottom surface 1011 of the lower case 101. In other words, the height of the spacer 11 is determined so that when the positioning jig 2 is placed on the bottom surface 1011, the upper surface of the positioning jig 2 is approximately the same height as the lower surface of the vacuum chamber lid 351 placed on the spacer 11. The upper surface of the positioning jig 2 is formed with a roughly annular inner convex portion 21 having a shape and dimensions corresponding to the upper end of the pipe connection member 61, a roughly cylindrical recessed portion 22 having a shape corresponding to almost the entire pipe protection member 54, and a roughly annular outer convex portion 23 for determining the position of the seal joint 62 relative to the vacuum chamber lid 351 (the opening formed therein).

[0042] When assembling the radical generation unit in a factory, the positioning jig 2 is placed at a predetermined position on the bottom surface portion 1011, and the vacuum chamber lid 351 is placed on the four spacers 11. At this time, it is preferable to fix the vacuum chamber lid 351 to the spacers 11 by the fixing portion 111 so that the vacuum chamber lid 351 does not rattle. Then, the plasma generation portion 41 is assembled and attached to the vacuum chamber lid 351 while aligning the quartz tube 410, the tube protection member 54, the seal joint 62, etc., using the inner convex portion 21, the outer convex portion 23, and the concave portion 22 of the positioning jig 2. Since the quartz tube 410 can be assembled in a substantially vertical state, excessive force is not applied to the quartz tube 410 in a direction perpendicular or oblique to its axis, and the quartz tube 410 is unlikely to be damaged. In particular, the seal joint 62 and the tube protection member 54 are precisely positioned, so that the O-rings 63 to 65 perform good sealing. Furthermore, since the protector 53 and the seal joint 62 are positioned with high precision, the radical generation unit 4 can be smoothly attached to the collision cell 332 at the installation site, and damage to the radical generation unit 4 can be prevented.

[0043] The transport case 1 can also be used to store each part and member before or during the assembly of the radical generation unit. As described above, the case body 10 is made of a material capable of blocking magnetism, so that when the strong permanent magnets 413, 415 and parts including them are temporarily stored, the influence of the magnetic force of the magnets can be avoided.

[0044] In the factory, the transport case 1 is used as an assembly stand to attach the plasma generating unit 41, the cooling fan 48, the vacuum gauge 49, etc. to the vacuum chamber lid 351 to complete the radical generation unit, and then the radical generation unit is temporarily removed from the transport case 1 to carry out necessary work such as vacuum leak inspection and aging treatment of the quartz tube. When the radical generation unit is shipped to a customer after the series of work is completed and the product passes the inspection, the vacuum chamber lid 351 of the radical generation unit is fixed to the spacer 11 by the fixing part 111. In addition, parts and members such as the collision cell 332 and the tube connection member 61 are stored in the space below the vacuum chamber lid 351 as shown in FIG. 2. These parts and members can be fixed to the bottom part 1011 by an appropriate method. Of course, it is possible to use an appropriate cushioning material.

[0045] The radical generating unit is held floating in the case body 10 by the spacer 11, so damage to the radical generating unit can be avoided even if a certain degree of vibration is applied to the transport case 1 during transport. In addition, since the case body 10 is made of a material that blocks magnetic forces, the magnetic force from the strong magnet contained in the radical generating unit hardly leaks outside the case, making it possible to transport it by regular air freight. This makes it possible to reduce transportation costs.

[0046] As described above, here, the radical generating unit is transported to the customer in a substantially assembled state, but there may be cases where some of the components constituting the radical generating unit are replaced at the customer's site, or where the unit is disassembled for cleaning or the like and then reassembled. In such cases, the customer also needs the positioning jig 2. Therefore, the positioning jig 2 (or multiple components that can be combined to form the positioning jig 2) may be packed in the transport case 1 and transported to the customer together with the radical generating unit.

[0047] In that case, it is advisable to provide a space inside the transport case 1 in which the positioning jig 2 and the parts that constitute it can be stored or held, so that they can be transported essentially as part of the transport case 1. This allows the customer to reassemble the radical generation unit with high precision using the transport case 1. Furthermore, by including a positioning jig 2 that is the same as the positioning jig (at least has the exact same dimensions) used when assembling the radical generation unit in a factory or the like in the transport case 1, reassembly under the same conditions as at the time of assembly can be performed, and precision during reassembly can be reliably ensured.

[0048] In the above embodiment, the outer shape of the transport case 1 is a rectangular parallelepiped, but this is not limited to this and can be any shape appropriate to the shape of the contents stored inside. Also, the number of spacers for fixing the plate-like members is not limited to four and can be increased or decreased as appropriate depending on the strength of the plate-like members, etc.

[0049] Furthermore, the above embodiment is merely one example of the present invention, and it goes without saying that any appropriate changes, modifications, additions, etc. made within the spirit of the present invention will also be encompassed within the scope of the claims of the present application.

[0050] [Various aspects] It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the exemplary embodiments described above are examples of the following aspects.

[0051] (Item 1) One aspect of the transport case for a precision equipment unit according to the present invention is a case for transporting or storing a precision equipment unit having a plate-like member to which a plurality of parts or members are attached, a case body including a lower case that forms at least a part of a bottom surface portion and a peripheral surface portion that surrounds the bottom surface portion, and an upper case that forms a box body in combination with the lower case; a unit fixing portion including a plurality of spacers provided upright on the bottom surface portion, each spacer having a fixing portion for detachably fixing the plate-like member to an upper end thereof; The spacer has a height that allows a space to be formed below the plate-like member in which a positioning jig for positioning a part or member can be installed on the bottom surface when an operation of attaching a part or member to the plate-like member is performed with the plate-like member placed on the spacer.

[0052] (Item 6) One aspect of the method for transporting a precision equipment unit according to the present invention is a method for transporting a precision equipment unit using a transport case for a precision equipment unit described in any one of items 1 to 5, in which the precision equipment unit is assembled by attaching parts or members to the plate-like member placed on the spacer with the positioning jig placed on the bottom surface of the lower case, and the precision equipment unit is transported in a state in which the positioning jig is removed from the bottom surface and fixed to the spacer by the fixing part, and stored within the case body.

[0053] The transport case for a precision instrument unit described in paragraph 1 and the transport method described in paragraph 6 can be used to smoothly assemble a precision instrument unit that requires high positional accuracy without applying excessive force to each component. The precision instrument unit assembled with high accuracy can be transported or stored while still stored in the case. As a result, the transport case for a precision instrument unit described in paragraph 1 and the transport method described in paragraph 6 can improve the efficiency of assembly, including packaging and other work required for transportation, even for a unit that has a complex structure and requires high-precision alignment, including parts and components that are easily damaged, while avoiding damage to such parts and components.

[0054] (2) In the transport case for a precision equipment unit described in (1), the parts or members may include those that emit magnetism, and the case body may be made of a material that blocks magnetism. The "material that blocks magnetism" referred to here is typically iron.

[0055] According to the transport case for precision equipment units described in paragraph 2, the magnetism caused by the parts or members attached to the plate-like member is shielded by the case, so there is no need to use a large-sized packaging box or the like to reduce the magnetic flux density around the object to be transported. This eliminates waste of packaging materials, reduces the size of the object to be transported, and reduces the transportation cost, and also makes it easier to handle.

[0056] (Item 3) In the transport case for a precision equipment unit described in item 1 or 2, the fixing portion may be configured to fix the plate-like member with a screw.

[0057] According to the transport case for a precision equipment unit described in the third aspect, the plate-like member can be reliably fixed at low cost. Furthermore, the fixing and releasing operations can be performed using tools that are easily available.

[0058] (Item 4) In the transport case for a precision equipment unit described in any one of items 1 to 3, the lower case and the upper case can be connected openably and closably by a hinge, and can be fixed in the closed state by a snap lock.

[0059] According to the transport case for a precision instrument unit described in paragraph 4, the case can be opened and closed with a simple operation, while the case can be securely sealed to prevent magnetic leakage, dust intrusion, etc.

[0060] (Item 5) The transport case for a precision equipment unit according to any one of items 1 to 4 may include the positioning jig or a plurality of parts constituting the positioning jig as an accessory.

[0061] The positioning jig or the multiple parts that make up the positioning jig are preferably stored inside the transport case for precision equipment units. According to the transport case described in paragraph 5, even when a part of the parts that make up the precision equipment unit is replaced at the customer's destination, or when the unit is disassembled and reassembled for cleaning or the like, the transport case can be used to reassemble with high precision at the customer's destination. In addition, since reassembly can be performed using a positioning jig that is the same as the positioning jig used during assembly (at least has the exact same dimensions), precision during reassembly can be reliably ensured. [Explanation of symbols]

[0062] 1. Transport case 10…Case body 101…Lower case 1011…Bottom part 102…Upper case 103...Snap lock 104…hinge 105...Handle 106...legs 11...Spacer 111...Fixed part 2... Positioning jig 21…Inner convex part 22…Recess 23...Outer convex part 3...Mass spectrometer 33…1st analysis room 332…Collision cell 3321…Aperture 35…Vacuum chamber 351…Vacuum chamber lid 4... Radical generation section 40…Valve 41...Plasma generating section 410...Quartz tube 411…Helical antenna 412...Outer conductor part 413, 415...Permanent magnets 414…Casing 416...Microwave supply connector 417...Light source 420…Resonator adjustment mechanism 46...Microwave power supply 47…Source gas supply source 48…Cooling fan 481...Air pipe 49...Vacuum gauge 50...Retaining member 51...Magnet holder 52...Guide member 53…Protector 54...Pipe protection member 61...Pipe connection member 62…Seal joint 63, 65...O-ring 64...Y packing

Claims

1. A case for transporting or storing a precision equipment unit having a plate-like member to which a plurality of parts or members are attached, a case body including a lower case that forms at least a part of a bottom surface portion and a peripheral surface portion that surrounds the bottom surface portion, and an upper case that forms a box body in combination with the lower case; a unit fixing portion including a plurality of spacers provided upright on the bottom surface portion, each spacer having a fixing portion for detachably fixing the plate-like member to an upper end thereof; the spacer having a height such that a space can be formed below the plate-like member in which a positioning jig for positioning a part or component can be installed on the bottom surface when the plate-like member is placed on the spacer and a part or component is attached to the plate-like member.

2. 2. The transport case for a precision equipment unit according to claim 1, wherein the parts or members include those that generate magnetism, and the case body is made of a material that blocks magnetism.

3. 2. The transport case for a precision equipment unit according to claim 1, wherein said fixing portion fixes said plate-like member with a screw.

4. 2. The transport case for a precision equipment unit according to claim 1, wherein the lower case and the upper case are connected to each other so as to be able to open and close by a hinge, and can be fixed in a closed state by a snap lock.

5. 2. The transport case for a precision equipment unit according to claim 1, further comprising the positioning jig or a plurality of parts constituting the positioning jig as accessories.

6. A transportation method using the precision equipment unit transportation case according to any one of claims 1 to 5, comprising the steps of: A method for transporting a precision equipment unit, comprising the steps of: assembling a precision equipment unit by attaching parts or members to the plate-like member placed on the spacer with the positioning jig installed on the bottom surface; fixing the positioning jig to the spacer by the fixing portion with the positioning jig removed from the bottom surface; and transporting the precision equipment unit in the state where it is stored within the case body.

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