Compact Cleanroom Line Guide for Replaceable Dust-Tight Cable Bundles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing line guide devices for clean room applications, such as those used in semiconductor production, release particles due to abrasive wear and are cumbersome to maintain or modify, requiring complete replacement of lines even when only individual lines need changing.
Innovation Solution
A line guide with a prefabricated flexible enclosure that allows individual lines or line strands to be easily replaced or modified without dismantling the entire assembly, using a method where lines are introduced into prefabricated receiving means with closure profiles or closed enclosures, eliminating the need for additional outer sheaths and enabling non-destructive replacement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If lines are laminated between two films and welded together to form an enclosure, then the structure is simple and lightweight, but replacement of individual lines is difficult and requires complete renewal of the assembly
Solution Approach 1:
The enclosure is divided into multiple modular enclosure units that can be independently opened and closed. Each enclosure unit has closure profiles that allow it to be opened laterally to insert or remove lines, and then closed again to restore dust-tight sealing. This segmentation enables maintenance of individual lines without replacing the entire enclosure assembly.
2Reliability
If conventional energy guide chains with rotary joints are used, then the line guide device is robust and can handle dynamic movement, but the chain links release particles due to abrasive wear
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a flexible enclosure made of elastomeric material that can bend and flex to accommodate dynamic movement of lines. This flexible shell eliminates the need for rotary joints and chain links, thereby preventing particle release from abrasive wear while maintaining the capability to handle dynamic movement. The enclosure flexes smoothly during directional changes without mechanical contact between moving parts.
3Object-generated harmful factors
If lines are completely enclosed to prevent particle release, then particle contamination is minimized, but the structure becomes more complex and maintenance becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The enclosure is segmented into multiple modular units with closure profiles that enable lateral opening. This segmentation allows the enclosure to remain dust-tight during normal operation while facilitating easy access for line replacement. Each unit can be independently opened to maintain or replace lines without compromising the sealing integrity of other sections.
Solution Approach 2:
The closure profiles are designed to allow dynamic opening and closing of enclosure units during maintenance operations. The closure mechanism transitions from a static sealed state to a dynamically openable state when maintenance is required, then returns to the sealed state. This dynamic capability enables particle prevention during operation while simplifying maintenance access.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for producing a conduit for a clean room application, comprising electric cables and an elongate flexible sheath which can be moved back and forth so as to form a deflecting bend between two towers, wherein the flexible sheath has a number of parallel receiving portions, each for at least one cable, wherein each receiving portion extends in the manner of a channel in a longitudinal direction from a first end to a second end; the method comprising the steps of providing at least one cable bundle of contiguous cables and providing the flexible sheath, wherein the sheath is prefabricated and the cable bundle is introduced into a receiving portion of the prefabricated sheath, wherein the prefabricated sheath comprises at least one sleeve unit having two interacting closure profiles of a closure in order to close an open state in a dust-tight manner and the cable bundle is inserted into the opened sheath transversely to the longitudinal direction or the prefabricated sheath comprises at least one sleeve unit which is produced so as to be circumferentially closed and the cable bundle is drawn into the closed sleeve unit in the longitudinal direction.