JP2004020103A - Temperature control chiller - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a constant-temperature chiller for manufacturing equipment improving the stability of the temperature control while expanding the limit value of the temperature regulation and reducing the manufacturing cost and the operation cost by simplifying the device whole body. <P>SOLUTION: This constant-temperature chiller 1 for the manufacturing equipment comprises a circulating path 2 supplying the temperature control liquid, a heat exchanger 5, a compressor retaining temperature control liquid for the circulating path at a prescribed temperature via the heat exchanger, and a refrigeration circuit 3 comprising a condenser and a vaporizer. This chiller is formed by disposing a flow rate setting device 14 between the condenser 13 and the vaporizer which comprise the refrigeration circuit 2 and by disposing a branch circuit 16 having a flow regulating valve 15 between the compressor 12 and the vaporizer. An intake pressure regulating valve 17 is disposed between the vaporizer and the compressor 12 comprising the refrigeration circuit so as to regulate the refrigerant to be supplied to the compressor to a prescribed amount, and the flow regulating valve 15 is connected to a temperature controller 11 provided in the circulating path so as to interlockingly regulate the opening/closing of the flow regulating valve 15. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a temperature control chiller, and more particularly to a temperature control chiller that performs temperature control for a circulation circuit without delay and reduces overall cost by simplifying the entire configuration.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A chiller generally referred to includes a circulation circuit that supplies a temperature control liquid, a heat exchanger, and a compressor, a condenser, and an evaporator that maintain the temperature control liquid in the circulation circuit at a predetermined temperature through the heat exchanger. The refrigeration circuit is configured to set the circulating fluid in the circulating circuit to a desired temperature and to control the temperature so that the set temperature is constantly maintained.
[0003]
The fields where chillers are used are wide-ranging. The main applications are circulators used for cooling and heating semiconductor and liquid crystal manufacturing equipment and laser equipment, and for semiconductor and liquid crystal manufacturing equipment. Among them, it is mainly used for an etching process, a sputtering process, and a CVD process. Chiller is also used for cooling laser transmitter tubes used for exposure equipment and temperature test equipment for semiconductor testers, oil cooling for machine tools, and temperature control for molds and constant temperature equipment for injection molding equipment. It is also used for controlling the temperature of water in water tanks, and its field of application is wide-ranging.
[0004]
In any case, the temperature control of the chiller is extremely strict and requires high-precision temperature control, so a general chiller supplies a temperature control liquid to the above-mentioned equipment. And a refrigeration cycle circuit for cooling the circulating fluid in the circulating fluid circuit and a heating circuit for controlling the temperature of the circulating fluid in the circulating fluid circuit.
[0005]
That is, as a conventional example, a chiller 20 shown in FIG. 2 is generally used. In this example, the circulating fluid circuit 21, the refrigeration cycle circuit 22, and the heating circuit 23 for controlling the temperature of the circulating fluid are combined. The circulating fluid circuit 21 includes a circulating pump 21-2 for supplying a temperature control fluid to the manufacturing apparatus 21-1, and a pressure regulating valve 21-3 is disposed for managing a supply amount of the temperature control fluid. ing.
[0006]
The temperature of the chiller 20 is controlled by evaporating the circulating liquid to the maximum capacity with an evaporator 24 disposed in a circulating liquid tank 21-4 provided in a refrigeration cycle circuit 22 and then using a heater 25. By doing so, the low-temperature circulating liquid is heated, and the temperature is controlled while controlling the temperature of the circulating liquid to a predetermined temperature by this heating.
[0007]
The evaporator 24, which cools the circulating liquid to the maximum capacity, exchanges heat by evaporating the condensed refrigerant while being disposed in the refrigeration cycle circuit 22. In addition, the compressor 22-1 includes a compressor 22-1 for compressing the refrigerant and a condenser 22-2 for condensing the compressed refrigerant. The refrigeration cycle circuit 22 is also provided with a temperature expansion valve 22-3 and a dryer 22-4 for managing the condensed refrigerant.
[0008]
However, the chiller 20 of the present example has the following problems because the heating is performed by using the heater 25 while performing the maximum cooling in the circulating fluid circuit 21, and the entire apparatus has a large capacity.
[0009]
{Circle around (1)} Delayed state occurs during temperature control, resulting in poor temperature stability.
{Circle around (2)} The maximum heating region of the circulation circuit is limited to a low value, and the control accuracy is poor.
{Circle around (3)} A circulating fluid tank is required to insert the heater.
{Circle around (4)} The amount of circulating fluid used is large enough to fill the circulating fluid tank.
(5) The power consumption of the chiller body increases.
[0010]
On the other hand, the refrigeration cycle circuit 30 of the chiller shown in FIG. 3 includes a compressor 31 for compressing the refrigerant, a condenser 32 for condensing the compressed refrigerant, an ON / OFF solenoid valve 33 for controlling the flow of the compressed refrigerant, and ON / OFF. The evaporator 34 is constituted by an evaporator 34 for evaporating the condensed refrigerant flowing through the electromagnetic valve 33, and directly supplies the compressed refrigerant from the compressor 31 to the evaporator 34 through a diversion circuit 36 provided with a diversion valve 35. In the evaporator 34, a chiller is formed by exchanging heat with circulating fluid in a circulation circuit not shown in the same manner as in the above example. A dryer 37 supplies the condensed refrigerant to the evaporator 34 while managing the condensed refrigerant.
[0011]
The operation of the refrigeration cycle circuit 30 is performed by supplying the compressed refrigerant from the compressor 31 in the refrigeration cycle circuit to the evaporator 34 by opening and closing the ON / OFF solenoid valve 33 while condensing the compressed refrigerant in the condenser 32, The compressed refrigerant is directly supplied to the evaporator 34 by opening and closing a flow dividing valve 35 which operates in reverse with the opening and closing of the opening 33.
[0012]
Then, the refrigeration cycle circuit 30 controls the ON / OFF solenoid valve 33 and the flow dividing valve 35 alternately to open and close, thereby adjusting the supply amount of the compressed refrigerant directly supplied to the evaporator 33 to reduce the temperature of the circulating liquid. Controlling.
[0013]
Thus, the refrigeration cycle circuit 30 has the following problems, and improvement thereof is demanded.
[0014]
{Circle around (1)} Since the control is performed by alternately opening and closing the ON / OFF solenoid valve and the flow dividing valve, the temperature control of the evaporator is not stable.
(2) The durability of the diversion valve is poor.
(3) The circulation of the compressed refrigerant adversely affects the durability of the compressor.
{Circle around (4)} The range in which the temperature of the refrigeration cycle can be raised is limited to 20 ° C.
[0015]
As described above, in any of the conventional chillers, the temperature control in the temperature control liquid deteriorates stability due to delay or the like, and at the same time, the size of the equipment and the temperature control liquid are reduced due to the necessity of a heater and the like. In addition, bulkiness has been caused even in the capacity of, and the manufacturing cost and the operating cost have been increased.
[0016]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention is proposed in view of the above-mentioned current situation in chillers, and improves the stability of temperature control while expanding the limit value of temperature adjustment, and simplifies the entire apparatus to reduce manufacturing costs and operating costs. The temperature control chiller which can aim at reduction of is provided.
[0017]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The temperature control chiller according to the present invention basically includes a circulation circuit for supplying a temperature control liquid, a heat exchanger, and a compressor and a condenser for maintaining the temperature control liquid in the circulation circuit at a predetermined temperature via the heat exchanger. And a refrigeration circuit comprising an evaporator, a flow setting circuit is provided between the condenser and the evaporator constituting the refrigeration circuit, and a flow dividing circuit having a flow control valve between the compressor and the evaporator is provided. Specifically, a suction pressure control valve is disposed between an evaporator and a compressor constituting a refrigeration circuit to adjust a refrigerant supplied to the compressor to a predetermined amount, or to adjust a flow rate of a refrigerant. Is connected to a temperature control device provided in the circulation circuit, and the opening and closing of the flow control valve is interlockedly adjusted by the temperature control device.
[0018]
Thereby, the temperature control chiller according to the present invention improves the stability of the temperature control while expanding the limit value of the temperature adjustment, and simplifies the entire apparatus to reduce the manufacturing cost and the operation cost.
[0019]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
The temperature control chiller according to the present invention includes a circulation circuit that supplies a temperature control liquid, a heat exchanger, and a compressor, a condenser, and an evaporator that maintain the temperature control liquid in the circulation circuit at a predetermined temperature via the heat exchanger. In a temperature control chiller comprising a refrigeration circuit, a flow setting device is disposed between a condenser and an evaporator constituting a refrigeration circuit, and a flow dividing circuit having a flow control valve is disposed between the compressor and the evaporator. Then, the suction pressure regulating valve is arranged between the evaporator and the compressor constituting the refrigeration circuit, and the flow regulating valve is connected to the temperature control device provided in the circulation circuit to open and close the flow regulating valve in an interlocked manner. I am adjusting.
[0020]
Hereinafter, embodiments of a temperature control chiller according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[0021]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of a temperature control chiller according to the present invention. The temperature control chiller 1 includes a circulation circuit 2 and a refrigeration circuit 3.
[0022]
The circulation circuit 2 supplies a temperature control liquid whose temperature is adjusted by the heat exchanger 5 to a manufacturing apparatus 4 such as a semiconductor, liquid crystal manufacturing apparatus, and a laser apparatus, and a circulation pump for circulating the temperature control liquid. 6 and a circulating fluid injection tank 7 for replenishing the circulating fluid.
[0023]
The pressure adjusting valve 8 is arranged for adjusting the circulation of the temperature control liquid to the manufacturing apparatus 2. The pressure gauge 9 and the temperature sensor 10 control signals necessary for a temperature control unit 11 described later. Are arranged to provide.
[0024]
On the other hand, the refrigeration circuit 3 compresses a refrigerant such as chlorofluorocarbon gas into a high-temperature refrigerant, a condenser 13 for condensing and liquefying a high-temperature compressed refrigerant output from the compressor 12, and vaporizes the liquefied condensed refrigerant. Thus, the evaporator is arranged in the heat exchanger 5 of the circulation circuit 2.
[0025]
The condenser 13 is supplied with cooling water such as cooling tower water, circulating water in the factory, and underground water by the water control valve 18 and the strainer 19 while cooling the high-temperature compressed refrigerant to liquefy it while cooling the compressed refrigerant. are doing. The condensed refrigerant cools the circulating liquid by exchanging heat with the circulating liquid in the circulation circuit 2, thereby converting the circulating liquid in the circulation circuit 2 into a desired temperature control liquid.
[0026]
In the temperature control chiller 1 according to the present invention, in addition to the above basic configuration, a flow rate setting device 14 is arranged between the condenser 13 and the evaporator in the heat exchanger 3, and at the same time, the compressor 12 and the A flow dividing circuit 16 including a flow control valve 15 is provided between the evaporator and the evaporator disposed in the heat exchanger 5. Further, on the suction side of the compressor 12 returning from the evaporator of the heat exchanger 3, a suction pressure adjusting valve 17 is arranged, and a constant pressure is set so that excessive pressure is not applied to the compressor 12. Adjusted to pressure value.
[0027]
The flow rate setting device 14 can be a manual expansion valve or the like. The liquefied condensed refrigerant from the condenser 13 is dried by a dryer 37 so that the evaporator in the heat exchanger 3 can exhibit a predetermined cooling capacity. While adjusting to the appropriate amount to be supplied to the evaporator.
[0028]
Therefore, when the cooling capacity exhibited by the evaporator is divided into a plurality of stages, the flow rate setting member 14 is also formed in a structure that can be switched so that the flow rate can be set in a plurality of stages by the manual expansion valve.
[0029]
Thus, the flow control valve 15 provided in the flow dividing circuit 16 directly supplies the high-temperature compressed refrigerant from the compressor 12 to the evaporator while adjusting the flow rate. When the evaporator needs to raise the temperature of the circulating fluid to be supplied to the manufacturing apparatus 4 while being set to a predetermined cooling state, the temperature of the circulating fluid is increased while utilizing the high-temperature energy of the compressed refrigerant. The adjustment is quickly controlled, and the temperature of the temperature control liquid supplied to the manufacturing apparatus 4 is quickly and accurately changed.
[0030]
Therefore, the temperature change of the temperature control liquid is applied to the minimum required amount of the circulating liquid supplied to the manufacturing apparatus 4 and is adjusted around the set temperature of the heat exchanger 5. The energy required for the change is minimum and the amount of temperature adjustment can be minimized.
[0031]
Since the compressed refrigerant is directly supplied to the evaporator of the heat exchanger 5, when a large amount of the compressed refrigerant is sucked into the compressor 12, the compressor 12 is overloaded, so as described above. This is avoided by disposing a suction pressure adjusting valve 17 to adjust the pressure to a constant value.
[0032]
Further, in the present embodiment, the flow control valve 15 is controlled by the temperature control unit 11. Accordingly, when the temperature of the temperature control liquid is to be changed as described above, when the temperature control unit 11 is reset, the temperature of the temperature control liquid can be rapidly changed, and the temperature control liquid from the pressure gauge 9 and the temperature sensor 10 can be changed. By controlling the flow control valve 15 with the signal, the temperature control unit 11 maintains a desired set value with high accuracy.
[0033]
As described above, in the temperature control chiller according to the present invention, the flow rate setting device is disposed between the condenser and the evaporator constituting the refrigeration circuit in addition to the main circuit of the chiller, and the flow rate is set between the compressor and the evaporator. Since a shunt circuit equipped with a regulating valve is arranged, the circulating fluid circuit and the refrigeration cycle circuit alone exceed the performance of the conventional chiller, and exhibit the following functions to improve the stability of temperature control. In addition, the manufacturing cost and the operating cost are reduced by simplifying the entire apparatus.
[0034]
{Circle around (1)} Since the compressed refrigerant of the refrigeration circuit is used as a heating source and a heating device for the circulation circuit is not required, power consumption can be reduced by 30% or more as compared with the conventional device.
(2) The maximum heating area of the circulation circuit can be expanded to 90 ° C.
{Circle around (3)} By controlling the flow rate of the compressed refrigerant, the temperature stability within ± 0.2 ° C. can be secured within the temperature setting range of 60 ° C. to −30 ° C., so that the temperature controllability can be improved.
{Circle around (4)} Since a tank for charging the heating device is not required, the device can be simplified and the amount of circulating fluid used can be reduced.
(5) Since the refrigerant such as Freon gas can be limited to the refrigeration circuit, there is no need to target Freon gas or the like in repairing the circulation circuit.
As described above, the present invention has been described in detail based on the embodiment, but the temperature control chiller according to the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment at all, and its application range and application form are free, Naturally, various changes can be made to the evaporator, the heat exchanger, the flow setting device, the suction pressure adjusting valve, the flow adjusting valve, and the like without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
[0036]
【The invention's effect】
The temperature control chiller according to the present invention basically includes a circulation circuit for supplying a temperature control liquid, a heat exchanger, and a compressor and a condenser for maintaining the temperature control liquid in the circulation circuit at a predetermined temperature via the heat exchanger. And a refrigeration circuit comprising an evaporator, a flow setting circuit is provided between the condenser and the evaporator constituting the refrigeration circuit, and a flow dividing circuit having a flow control valve between the compressor and the evaporator. Specifically, a suction pressure control valve is disposed between an evaporator and a compressor constituting a refrigeration circuit to adjust a refrigerant supplied to the compressor to a predetermined amount, or to adjust a flow rate of a refrigerant. Is connected to the temperature control device provided in the circulation circuit, and the opening and closing of the flow control valve is interlockingly adjusted by the temperature control device. And the overall equipment is simplified to reduce manufacturing costs and operation. And exhibit the effect of reducing the strike.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of a temperature control chiller according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a conventional chiller. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing another conventional chiller.
1 chiller, 2 circulating fluid circuit, 3 refrigeration circuit, 4 manufacturing equipment,
5 heat exchanger, 6 circulation pump, 7 circulating fluid injection tank,
8 pressure regulating valve, 9 pressure gauge, 10 temperature sensor,
11 temperature control unit, 12 compressor, 13 condenser,
14 flow setting device, 15 flow regulating valve, 16 branch circuit,
17 suction pressure regulating valve, 18 water control valve, 19 strainer,
20 chiller, 21 circulating fluid circuit, 21-1 manufacturing equipment,
21-2 circulation pump, 21-3 pressure regulating valve,
21-4 circulating fluid tank, 22, 30 refrigeration cycle circuit,
22-1 compressor, 22-2 condenser, 22-3 temperature expansion valve,
22-4, 37 dryer, 23 heating circuit, 24, 34 evaporator,
25 heater, 31 compressor, 32 condenser,
33 ON / OFF solenoid valve, 35 branch valve, 36 branch circuit,

Claims (3)

Temperature control comprising a circulation circuit for supplying a temperature control liquid, a heat exchanger, and a refrigerating circuit comprising a compressor, a condenser and an evaporator for maintaining the temperature control liquid in the circulation circuit at a predetermined temperature via the heat exchanger. A chiller, wherein a flow setting device is disposed between a condenser and an evaporator in the refrigeration circuit, and a flow dividing circuit having a flow control valve is disposed between the compressor and the evaporator. Temperature control chiller. 2. The temperature control according to claim 1, wherein the suction pressure adjusting valve is arranged between the evaporator and the compressor constituting the refrigeration circuit, and adjusts a refrigerant supplied to the compressor to a predetermined amount. Chiller. The temperature control according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the flow control valve is connected to a temperature control device provided in the circulation circuit, and the temperature control device adjusts the opening and closing of the flow control valve in an interlocking manner. Chiller.

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