JP2001021440A - Method and apparatus for sensing liquid leakage and cooler - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To sense a liquid leakage within a relatively short time by measuring a flow rate difference of a refrigerant flowing in both a pair of pipings constituting forward and return paths, sensing the flow rate difference arriving at a predetermined value or more, and deciding the leakage. SOLUTION: A cooling circulating device A containing a pump 11, a tank 13 or the like and an IC device B mounting a material 6 to be cooled are connected by forward piping 21 and return piping 22. The liquid leakage sensing apparatus 30 measures currents flowing through flow rate measuring means 31, 32 mounted at both the pipings 21, 22, and an arithmetic unit 33 obtains a difference between the measured flow rate signals. A comparing means 34 compares a signal corresponding to the obtained flow rate difference with a set value of a setter 35. The liquid leakage is detected in the state that the relationship between the flow rates W1 and W2 of both the means 31 and 32 becomes W1>W2, and an alarm signal is generated when the corresponding signal value of the difference exceeds the set value. That is, the difference of the flow rates of the refrigerants flowing through both the pipings 21, 22 is detected, and the liquid leakage is decided.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is applied to a cooling device suitable for use in a device having a high mounting density, such as an IC test device, a liquid leak detecting device suitable in addition to the cooling device, and to the liquid leak detecting device. The present invention relates to a liquid leakage detection method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Large-scale electronic equipment such as an IC test apparatus or a supercomputer is required to be miniaturized, and the mounting density is increasing. For this reason, a cooling device has been put to practical use in which a water jacket or the like is placed over components that generate heat, a coolant flows through the water jacket, and the components that generate heat are cooled.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show an example. A heat-generating component 2 is mounted on a printed circuit board 1, and a water jacket 3 is placed over the heat-generating component 2. The water jacket 3 is mounted on both sides of the printed circuit board 1 as shown in FIG. Printed circuit board 1 and heating components 2 mounted on it
Here, the portion constituted by the water jacket 3 will be referred to as a cooled object 6 here.

A coolant inlet 4 and a coolant outlet 5 are provided on one side and the other side of the water jacket 3, and a coolant circulating device 10 is connected to the inlet 4 and the coolant outlet 5, and the coolant circulating device 10 Circulates to cool the cooled body 6.
The refrigerant circulation device 10 includes a pump 11, a heat exchanger 12, a tank 13 for storing the refrigerant, and the like.

[0005]

The printed circuit board 1 is electrically connected to the apparatus through connectors J1 and J2 and operates. For this purpose, a number of other electronic components are mounted near the cooled object 6. Therefore, when a cooling device using a refrigerant is disposed in an electronic device, if a large amount of the refrigerant leaks in the electronic device, the electronic device is seriously damaged, and it is difficult to repair an expensive electronic device. There is a risk of falling.

For this reason, as shown in FIG. 5, for example, a level sensor 13A is installed in the tank 13, the level sensor 13A monitors the liquid level of the refrigerant 14, and detects that the liquid level has dropped from a set position. Although the method of detecting the occurrence of liquid leakage has been considered, in the case of this structure, the generation of liquid leakage cannot be detected unless the liquid level of the refrigerant 14 is lowered to some extent in order to detect liquid leakage. There is a disadvantage that it cannot be detected until a certain amount has flowed out. In order to keep the outflow of the refrigerant small, it is conceivable to set a small decrease in the flow surface for detecting the occurrence of liquid leakage.However, if it is set too small, there is a risk of malfunction due to waves generated on the liquid surface. Since a large amount of refrigerant is injected from the tank toward the object to be cooled 6 at the time of the initial startup, the injection lowers the liquid level of the refrigerant, and there is a disadvantage that malfunction occurs at this time.

Further, even if a liquid leak occurs in the electronic equipment, it is convenient if the liquid can flow down without touching other parts and be stored in a receiving tray or the like, but it is convenient. It is very difficult. In particular, it is very difficult because it is not possible to specify where the leak occurs. Further, in this type of cooling device, for example, a liquid having a very high insulating property called, for example, Fluorinert or the like is used, so that it is impossible to electrically detect the occurrence of leakage at all.

An object of the present invention is to provide a liquid leakage detecting method capable of reliably detecting a liquid leakage accident with an inexpensive configuration and stopping the operation of the cooling device before a major accident occurs, and a liquid leakage detection method. And a cooling device equipped with the liquid leakage detection device.

[0009]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a pair of pipes forming a dwelling path and a return path are connected between the apparatus A and the apparatus B, and the apparatus A and the apparatus B are connected through the pair of pipes. In a cooling circulating device that circulates refrigerant between devices and transfers thermal energy from device A to device B or from device B to device A, the difference in the flow rate of refrigerant flowing through both the pair of pipes that make up the homeway and the return route Is measured, and when the flow rate difference has reached a predetermined value or more, a liquid leakage detection method for judging the occurrence of liquid leakage is proposed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there are provided a pair of pipes forming a dwelling path and a return path, flow rate measuring means installed on each of the pair of pipes, and a subtraction means for calculating a difference between detection signals of the flow rate measuring means. And a comparing means for detecting that the subtracted output of the subtracting means exceeds a preset value.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a pair of pipes connected between the heat exchanger and the object to be cooled and circulating the refrigerant between the heat exchanger and the object to be cooled are provided. And a subtraction means for obtaining a difference between flow measurement outputs of the flow measurement means, a signal corresponding to the flow difference output by the subtraction means and a preset set value, Comparison means for detecting that a signal corresponding to the difference exceeds a set value and detecting occurrence of leakage, and control means for controlling the detection signal of the comparison means and stopping the flow of refrigerant flowing through the pipe, A cooling device characterized by the configuration is proposed.

[0012]

According to the liquid leakage detection method of the present invention, the flow rate difference between the refrigerant flowing in the home and the return path through which the refrigerant flows is monitored, and the occurrence of liquid leakage is detected in accordance with the flow rate difference. Even if the value is high, the leak can be detected reliably. Also,
According to the liquid leakage detection device of the present invention, since the flow rate measurement signals of the two flow rate measurement means are input to the subtractor and the difference between the flow rate measurement signals is electrically obtained, the detection sensitivity can be increased. . As a result, there is obtained an advantage that a relatively small leak amount can be detected.

Further, since the cooling device of the present invention is provided with a control means for stopping the circulation of the refrigerant immediately after the leakage detecting device detects the liquid leakage, the amount of the refrigerant leaking can be reduced and the cooling device is provided to the object to be cooled. The advantage that the damage can be minimized is obtained.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a leak detecting device which operates according to the leak detecting method according to the present invention, and a cooling device equipped with the leak detecting device. In the figure, A and B indicate the apparatus A and the apparatus B, respectively. As the device A, for example, a pump 1
1. Refrigerant circulating device containing heat exchanger 12, tank 13, etc. As device B, for example, an IC mounted with cooled object 6
It shall be a test device.

Reference numerals 21 and 22 denote pipes connecting between the apparatus A and the apparatus B. In this example, the pipe 21 constitutes a residence,
It is assumed that the pipe 22 forms a return path. According to the present invention, the flow rate measuring means 31
And 32 are mounted, a flow rate difference of the refrigerant flowing through the pipe is obtained, and when the flow rate difference exceeds a predetermined value, it is proposed that a liquid leakage detection method is determined to determine that liquid leakage has occurred.

Reference numeral 30 shown in FIG. 1 indicates a liquid leakage detecting device which operates by the liquid leakage detecting method. The liquid leakage detecting device 30 according to the present invention includes a flow rate measuring means 3 mounted on both the pipes 21 and 22.
1 and 32; a subtraction means 33 for obtaining a difference between the flow rate signals measured by the flow rate measurement means 31 and 32;
And a comparing means 34 for comparing a signal corresponding to the flow rate difference obtained in the step (1) with a value set in the setting device 35.

When a liquid leak occurs, it is detected in a state where the relationship between the flow rate W1 flowing through the flow rate measuring means 31 and the flow rate W2 flowing through the flow rate measuring means 32 is W1> W2. Therefore,
The polarity of the signal representing the flow rate difference output from the subtracting means 33 may be monitored by limiting the polarity to either positive or negative. The flow rate measuring means 31 and 32 can be constituted by, for example, a rotating blade arranged in a fluid passage and a pulse generator that generates a pulse each time the rotating blade rotates a predetermined angle, and is generated every unit time. It is possible to use a flow rate measuring means that measures the flow rate of the refrigerant based on the number of pulses and outputs the flow rate value by a digital signal.

Accordingly, the subtraction means 33 and the comparison means 34 can also be constituted by digital subtraction means, and the set value set in the setter 35 can be set by a digital value. Actions can be taken. Here, the flow rate measuring means 31 and 32 need not be pulse output type, but may be analog output type flow rate measuring means. Therefore, the subtracting means 33 and the comparing means 34
Also, there is no need for the setting unit 35 to be constituted by a digital circuit.

The comparing means 34 inverts the logical value of the output when the value of the signal corresponding to the flow rate difference inputted from the subtracting means 33 exceeds the set value set in the setter 35, and generates an alarm signal. According to the liquid leakage detection device 30 of the present invention, a difference occurs between the flow rates W1 and W2 of the refrigerant flowing through the pipes 31 and 32, and when the difference value exceeds a set value, an alarm signal is output. If the refrigerant leaks on the side, the leak can be immediately detected and an alarm signal can be transmitted to notify the operator. In addition, the leak here means, for example, the pipes 21 and 22.
When a relatively large amount of leakage starts due to inconvenience of connection at the connection portion between the cooling target 6 and the cooling target 6, or when the leakage starts at the connection between the water jacket 3 and the hose of the cooling target 6 itself, and this is left. Refers to such a leak that a large amount of refrigerant is discharged outside in a short time.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of a cooling device equipped with the liquid leakage detecting device 30 shown in FIG. The cooling device proposed in the present invention has a structure in which, in addition to the liquid leakage detection device 30 shown in FIG. 1, a control means for stopping the flow of the refrigerant flowing through the pipes 21 and 22 according to a detection signal of the liquid leakage detection device 30 is provided. It is characterized by the following point. The means for stopping the flow of the refrigerant is provided, for example, by providing a control means 36 constituted by an electromagnetic shutoff valve in the pipe 21 on the residential road side, and controlling the control means 36 to a cutoff state by a detection signal of the liquid leakage detection device 30. It can be configured as follows.

As described above, the control means 36 is provided in the pipe 21 on the dwelling side, and the control means 36 is shut off simultaneously with the detection of the liquid leakage. The remaining refrigerant is sucked into the tank 11, so that the amount of refrigerant leaking outside can be minimized. In the above embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied mainly to a cooling device has been described. However, it can be easily understood that the present invention can also be applied to, for example, a hot water type floor heating device, a solar hot water heating device, and the like.

[0022]

As described above, the liquid leakage detecting method according to the present invention detects the occurrence of a difference in the flow rate of the refrigerant flowing through the pipes 21 and 22 constituting the home and return paths, and detects the occurrence of the liquid leakage. Since the detection is performed, the occurrence of the leak can be detected within a relatively short time after the occurrence of the leak.

According to the cooling device of the present invention, the control means 36 for stopping the movement of the refrigerant at the same time that the liquid leakage detection device 30 detects the occurrence of the liquid leakage is provided. The amount can be as small as possible. In particular, the control means 36 is connected to the pipe 2 on the residential road side.
1 and shuts off the residential road side simultaneously with the detection of liquid leakage, the pump 11 allows the refrigerant remaining in the pipe 21, the cooled body 6 and the pipe 22 to be sucked into the tank 13. The advantage that the amount of leakage can be further reduced is obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system diagram for explaining a liquid leakage detection method according to the present invention and a liquid leakage detection device that operates using the liquid leakage detection method.

FIG. 2 is a system diagram for explaining an embodiment of a cooling device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view for explaining an example of a cooled object to be cooled by the cooling device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line AA shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a system diagram for explaining a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A, B Apparatus A, Apparatus B 6 Object to be cooled 10 Refrigerant circulator 11 Pump 12 Heat exchanger 13 Tank 21 Piping that constitutes a living path 22 Piping that constitutes a return path 30 Liquid leak detecting device 31, 32 Flow rate measuring means 33 Subtraction Means 34 Comparison means 35 Setter 36 Control means

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2F030 CB02 CE02 CF07 CF11 2G067 AA34 BB22 DD04 EE12 3L044 AA04 BA06 CA13 DB02 FA02 FA04 KA02 KA05

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A pair of pipes forming a dwelling path and a return path are connected between the apparatus A and the apparatus B, and a refrigerant is circulated between the apparatus A and the apparatus B through the pair of pipes. In the refrigerant circulating device for transferring thermal energy from the device to the device B or from the device B to the device A, the flow rate difference of the refrigerant flowing through both of the pair of pipes constituting the home path and the return path is measured, and the flow rate difference is determined to be a predetermined value. A liquid leakage detection method comprising: detecting that the liquid has reached a value or more, and determining that liquid leakage has occurred. 2. A pair of pipes forming a dwelling route and a return route; B; flow rate measuring means installed on each of the pair of pipes; C; subtraction means for obtaining a difference between detection signals of these flow rate measuring means. And D; a comparison means for detecting that the subtraction output of the subtraction means has exceeded a predetermined value. 3. A pair of pipes connected between the heat exchanger and the object to be cooled, and circulating the refrigerant between the heat exchanger and the object to be cooled; C, a subtraction means for obtaining the difference between the flow measurement outputs of the flow measurement means, and D, a signal corresponding to the flow difference output by the subtraction means and a preset set value. E, a comparing means for detecting that a signal corresponding to the flow rate difference exceeds a set value and detecting the occurrence of a leak; and E, stopping a flow of the refrigerant flowing through the pipe, controlled by a detection signal of the comparing means. A cooling device, comprising: control means;