JP2006184538A - Cooling device, exposure drawing apparatus and coolant supply method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cooling device for a light source, which stably controls the light quantity of a light source by uniformly cooling a plurality of light source units. <P>SOLUTION: A coolant flowing from a chiller 56 through a supply pipe 58 is divided into two supply pipes 60A and 60B, further divided into inlet pipes 62A and 62B and inlet pipes 62C and 62D, and supplied to a plurality of cooling members 52A to 52D. The coolant streams introduced into the plurality of cooling members 52A to 52D are joined through discharge pipes 64A and 64D into a discharge pipe 68A and through discharge pipes 64B and 64C into a discharge pipe 68B. The coolant streams are joined into one recovery pipe 74 and recovered to the chiller 56. Thus, temperature of the coolant supplied to the plurality of cooling members 52A to 52D is controlled to be approximately uniform. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a cooling device that supplies and cools a plurality of light source units or a plurality of heat generating members, cools an exposure drawing apparatus including the cooling device, and a coolant supply method.

  Conventionally, various exposure drawing apparatuses for writing an image by exposing exposure light to a photosensitive material surface have been proposed.

  Such an exposure drawing apparatus is provided with a plurality of light source devices, modulates light emitted from the plurality of light source devices into a predetermined pattern, and writes an image by exposing the photosensitive material surface through optical components. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

  In this exposure drawing apparatus, when driving a plurality of light source devices, the amount of light emitted from each light source varies due to heat generated by the light sources arranged in each light source device. For this reason, it is necessary to cool a light source by installing a radiator at a site where each light source is installed and supplying a refrigerant to the radiator.

However, since a plurality of radiators are arranged, it is difficult to uniformly cool the plurality of radiators when supplying the refrigerant through a pipe or the like.
JP 2002-351886 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and provides a cooling device, an exposure drawing device, and a refrigerant supply method capable of uniformly cooling a plurality of light sources or a plurality of heat generating members. Objective.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, a cooling device according to an embodiment of the present invention is a cooling device that cools a plurality of light source units from which light is emitted, and is configured to conduct a refrigerant and to connect the plurality of light source units. A plurality of cooling members for cooling the refrigerant, a supply pipe to which the refrigerant is supplied, a plurality of introduction pipes connected in parallel to the plurality of cooling members, and a branch from the recovery pipe for collecting the refrigerant, A plurality of discharge pipes connected in parallel to a plurality of cooling members, and a refrigerant is branched from the supply pipes to the plurality of introduction pipes, supplied to the plurality of cooling members, and connected to the plurality of cooling members. And a refrigerant supply means for joining the refrigerant to the recovery pipe through a plurality of discharge pipes.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the plurality of cooling members that conduct the refrigerant and cool the plurality of light source units respectively are provided, and the plurality of introduction pipes branched from the supply pipe are parallel to the plurality of cooling members. It is connected to the. In addition, a plurality of discharge pipes are connected in parallel to the collection pipe for collecting the refrigerant and the plurality of cooling members. Then, the refrigerant is supplied from the supply pipe to the plurality of introduction pipes by the refrigerant supply means and supplied to the plurality of cooling members. After the refrigerant is conducted to the plurality of cooling members, the refrigerant passes through the plurality of discharge pipes and joins the recovery pipe. Thus, by supplying the refrigerant to the plurality of cooling members through the plurality of introduction pipes connected in parallel from the supply pipe, for example, the refrigerant is supplied to the plurality of cooling members as compared to the case where the plurality of introduction pipes are connected in series. The temperature of the refrigerant to be made becomes substantially uniform, and the plurality of light source parts are cooled under the same cooling condition. For this reason, the output variation of the light by the temperature characteristic of a several light source part is suppressed, and it becomes possible to perform light quantity control of the light source part with high precision.

  The invention according to claim 2 is a cooling device that cools the plurality of heat generating members, and includes a plurality of cooling members that conduct the refrigerant and cool the plurality of heat generating members, respectively, and a supply pipe that is supplied with the refrigerant. A plurality of inlet pipes branched and connected in parallel to the plurality of cooling members; a plurality of discharge pipes branched from a recovery pipe from which the refrigerant is recovered and connected in parallel to the plurality of cooling members; and the supply A refrigerant supply means for diverting a refrigerant from a pipe to the plurality of introduction pipes, supplying the refrigerant to the plurality of cooling members, and merging the refrigerant conducted to the plurality of cooling members with the recovery pipes through a plurality of discharge pipes; It is characterized by having.

  Here, examples of the heat generating member include a control board and a motor.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the refrigerant is supplied to the plurality of cooling members through the plurality of introduction pipes connected in parallel from the supply pipe, so that the temperature of the refrigerant supplied to the plurality of cooling members is substantially uniform. Thus, the plurality of heat generating members can be cooled almost uniformly.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the cooling device according to the first or second aspect, the large diameter supply pipe to the small diameter introduction pipe is a branch portion from the supply pipe to the plurality of introduction pipes. It is characterized by the fact that the refrigerant is diverted.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the refrigerant is diverted from the large diameter supply pipe to the small diameter introduction pipe at the branch portion from the supply pipe to the plurality of introduction pipes. The flow path fluctuation is small, and the local pressure fluctuation at the branching portion is small. For this reason, the flow rate of the refrigerant becomes even more uniform.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the cooling device according to any one of the first to third aspects of the present invention, the merging portion from the plurality of discharge pipes to the recovery pipe is a small diameter from the discharge pipe. A refrigerant is merged into the large-diameter recovery pipe.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the refrigerant is merged from the small diameter discharge pipe to the large diameter collection pipe at the joining portion from the plurality of discharge pipes to the collection pipe, the refrigerant in the discharge pipe and the collection pipe The flow path fluctuation is small, and the local pressure fluctuation at the branching portion is small. For this reason, the flow rate of the refrigerant becomes even more uniform.

  The invention according to claim 5 is the cooling device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the plurality of introduction pipes or the plurality of discharge pipes connected to the plurality of cooling members are , The head is branched so that the lift positions are the same.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the plurality of introduction pipes or the plurality of discharge pipes connected to the plurality of cooling members are branched so that the lift positions are the same, the refrigerant is provided with the plurality of introduction pipes. Alternatively, when conducting to a plurality of discharge pipes, the refrigerant goes up to the same head position and is divided. For this reason, the flow resistances of the plurality of introduction pipes and the plurality of discharge pipes connected in parallel are substantially equal, and the amounts of refrigerant conducted to the plurality of introduction pipes and the plurality of discharge pipes are substantially equal. Thereby, the cooling capacities of the plurality of cooling members are substantially equal, and the temperature control can be made even more uniform.

  The invention according to claim 6 is a cooling device for cooling a plurality of light source portions from which light is emitted, and a plurality of pairs of refrigerant inlets and outlets are provided to cool the plurality of light source portions, respectively. A cooling member, a plurality of pipes arranged in parallel within the plurality of cooling members, respectively connected to the inlet and the outlet, and a refrigerant supplied to the plurality of inlets to the plurality of pipes And a refrigerant supply means for causing the refrigerant to flow and discharging the refrigerant from the plurality of discharge ports.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, a plurality of pairs of refrigerant inlets and outlets are provided in the plurality of cooling members that respectively cool the plurality of light source units. In the cooling member, a plurality of pipes arranged in parallel are connected to a plurality of inlets and outlets, respectively. Then, the refrigerant is supplied to the plurality of inlets by the refrigerant supply means, and the refrigerant is conducted to the plurality of pipes and discharged from the plurality of outlets. For this reason, the temperature distribution in the cooling member becomes substantially uniform by the plurality of pipes arranged in parallel, and the output variation of the light source section in each cooling member is suppressed. Accordingly, it is possible to perform light amount control with high accuracy of the light source unit.

  The invention according to claim 7 is a cooling device that cools a plurality of heat generating members, wherein a plurality of pairs of refrigerant inlets and outlets are provided, and a plurality of cooling members that respectively cool the plurality of heat generating members; A plurality of pipes which are arranged in parallel in the plurality of cooling members and are respectively connected to the inlet and the outlet; a refrigerant is supplied to the plurality of inlets and the refrigerant flows through the plurality of pipes; And a refrigerant supply means for discharging the refrigerant from the discharge port.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the temperature distribution in the cooling member becomes substantially uniform by the plurality of pipes arranged in parallel, and the temperature distribution of each heat generating member becomes almost uniform.

  An exposure drawing apparatus according to an eighth aspect of the present invention is provided with the cooling device according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, wherein the light emitted from the plurality of light source units has a predetermined pattern. It is characterized in that an image is written on the surface of the photosensitive material after modulation.

  According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, since the cooling device according to any one of the first to seventh aspects is disposed, the plurality of light source units or the plurality of heating members are substantially uniform. It becomes possible to cool.

  A refrigerant supply method according to a ninth aspect of the present invention is a refrigerant supply method for supplying a refrigerant to a plurality of cooling members disposed in a plurality of light source sections or a plurality of heat generating members, wherein the refrigerant is separated from a supply pipe. The refrigerant is supplied to the plurality of cooling members, the refrigerant is conducted to the pipes arranged in the plurality of cooling members, and the refrigerant conducted to the pipes is joined to the collection pipe to be collected.

  According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the refrigerant is divided from the supply pipe and supplied to the plurality of cooling members, and the plurality of light source units or the plurality of light source units are provided by conducting the refrigerant to the pipes disposed on the plurality of cooling members. The heat generating member is cooled. Further, the refrigerant conducted to the pipe is joined to the collection pipe and collected. As described above, the coolant is divided and supplied to the plurality of cooling members, whereby the plurality of cooling members are cooled substantially uniformly. For this reason, it becomes possible to cool a several light source part or several heat-emitting members uniformly.

  Since the cooling device, the exposure drawing apparatus, and the refrigerant supply method according to the present invention are configured as described above, the plurality of light source units or the plurality of heat generating members can be cooled substantially uniformly.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of a cooling device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  First, an outline of the overall configuration of an exposure drawing apparatus equipped with a light source cooling device as a cooling device according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described, and then the main part of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 1 shows an exposure drawing apparatus 10 equipped with a light source cooling device 50 according to the first embodiment.

  The exposure drawing apparatus 10 is configured as a so-called flatbed surface exposure type multi-beam exposure apparatus, and includes a plate base 12 supported by four leg members 12A on a base 11, and the plate base. 12, a movable base 15 mounted on the movable base 15 so as to be movable in the feeding direction (scanning direction) indicated by Y in the figure, and installed on the movable base 15, for example, a printed circuit board (PCB), a color liquid crystal display A photosensitive material 21 such as a surface of a glass substrate such as an LCD (LCD) or a plasma display panel (PDP) is placed and fixed, and the position in the height direction indicated by Z in the figure is adjusted. A moving stage 14, a light source unit 16 that emits a multi-beam extending in one direction as laser light, and the multi-beam into desired image data Next, the spatial modulation is performed according to the position of the multi-beam, and the photosensitive material having sensitivity in the wavelength region of the multi-beam is irradiated with the modulated multi-beam as an exposure beam. And a control unit 20 that mainly generates modulation signals supplied to the respective exposure heads 26 of the exposure head unit 18 from the image data.

  In the exposure drawing apparatus 10, an exposure head unit 18 for exposing a photosensitive material is disposed above the moving stage 14, and each exposure head 26 installed in the exposure head unit 18 includes a light source unit. Bundled optical fibers 28 each drawn from 16 are connected.

  The exposure drawing apparatus 10 is provided with a portal frame 22 so as to straddle the plate base 12, and a pair of position detection sensors 24 are attached to both sides thereof. The position detection sensor 24 supplies a detection signal when the passage of the moving stage 14 is detected to the control unit 20.

  In the exposure drawing apparatus 10, two guides 30 extending along the stage moving direction are installed on the upper surface of the plate base 12. A movable pedestal 15 is mounted on the two guides 30 via a slider 31 so as to be reciprocally movable.

  In this exposure drawing apparatus 10, a photosensitive material (substrate) 21 which is an exposed material placed on a moving base 15 via a moving stage 14 is moved in a feeding direction with respect to a fixed exposure head unit 18. The photosensitive material surface is scanned and exposed.

A sliding operation plate member 38 is disposed on the moving base 15 via a guide rail (not shown), and is orthogonal to the scanning direction (arrow Y direction, which is the moving direction of the moving stage 14) by the linear drive mechanism 40. It is moved and adjusted precisely in the direction (arrow X direction). On the sliding operation plate member 38, a pair of wedge-shaped members 44 are arranged in parallel along a direction (arrow X direction) orthogonal to the scanning direction (arrow Y direction which is the moving direction of the moving stage 14). A triangular support block 48 is disposed on the pair of wedge-shaped members 44, and the moving stage 14 installed on the upper side of the support block 48 is configured to be supported in parallel with the moving base 15. Each support block 48 is supported by a support member (not shown) so as not to slide down on the wedge-shaped member 44 due to gravity. And
The linear drive mechanism 40 is driven and controlled by the control unit 20 so that each wedge-shaped member 44 integrated with the sliding operation plate member 38 is perpendicular to the scanning direction (arrow Y direction as the moving direction of the moving stage 14) (arrow X). The exposure surface height (in the direction of arrow Z) of each support block 48 is adjusted by precisely moving in the direction).

  In the light source unit 16, four light source devices 16A to 16D are arranged two by two substantially in parallel in the vertical direction. As shown in FIG. 3, the light source device 16 </ b> B includes a light source unit 17 </ b> B in which a large number of laser modules 112 having a plurality of LD chips are arranged, and lasers connected to the laser modules 112 and emitted from the laser modules 112. A multimode optical fiber 113 that guides and emits light; a multiplicity of multimode optical fibers 113 connected; a connector section 114 that focuses and emits laser light emitted from the multimode optical fibers; A drive control unit 115 that drives and controls the laser module 112 and a wiring 116 that connects each laser module 112 and each drive control unit 115 are provided. The laser module 112 is arranged in two light source rows 112a and 112b with the same laser beam emission direction. The light source arrays 112a and 112b are arranged so as to be positioned forward and backward with respect to the laser light emission direction. In addition, the multi-mode optical fiber 113 is bundled at the connector portion 114 to form a bundled optical fiber 28. The bundle-shaped optical fiber 28 is taken out from the connector portion 114, and focused light obtained by converging the laser beams emitted from the multi-mode optical fibers 113 is emitted from the bundle-shaped optical fiber 28. 3 shows the light source device 16B, the light source devices 16A, 16C, and 16D have the same configuration.

  In such an exposure drawing apparatus 10, as shown in FIG. 1, the light source unit 16 emits laser light from a bundle-like optical fiber 28. Further, image data corresponding to the exposure pattern is input to the control unit 20 and temporarily stored in a memory in the control unit 20.

  The moving stage 14 having the photosensitive material 21 adsorbed on the surface thereof is adjusted by being moved up and down so that the exposure surface position becomes a predetermined height (predetermined interval) with respect to the exposure head unit 18. The moving stage 14 is moved at a constant speed from the upstream side to the downstream side in the transport direction along the guide 30 by a driving device (not shown). When the leading end of the photosensitive material 21 is detected by the position detection sensor 24 attached to the portal frame 22 when the moving stage 14 passes under the portal frame 22, a plurality of lines of image data stored in the memory are obtained. The data is sequentially read out in increments of minutes, and a control signal (control data) is generated for each exposure head 26 by the control unit 20.

  Based on the generated control signal, each micromirror of the spatial light modulation element (not shown) is on / off controlled for each exposure head 26. When the spatial light modulation element is irradiated with laser light from the light source unit 16, the laser light reflected when the micromirror is in the on state forms an image at a required exposure beam spot position. In this way, the laser light emitted from the light source unit 16 is turned on / off for each pixel, and the photosensitive material 21 is exposed.

  The photosensitive material 21 is moved at a constant speed together with the moving stage 14 and scanned by the exposure head unit 18, and a strip-shaped exposed region is formed for each exposure head 26. When the scanning of the photosensitive material 21 by the exposure head unit 18 is completed and the rear end of the photosensitive material 21 is detected by the position detection sensor 24, the moving stage 14 is moved along the guide 30 by the driving device (not shown) in the conveyance direction. It returns to the origin on the upstream side, and again moves along the guide 30 from the upstream side in the transport direction to the downstream side at a constant speed.

  Next, the light source cooling device 50 mounted on the light source unit 16 of the exposure drawing apparatus 10 will be described.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, four light source devices 16 </ b> A to 16 </ b> D arranged substantially parallel to the vertical direction are fixedly supported on a light source unit 16 on a frame (not shown). The four light source devices 16A to 16D include light source units 17A to 17D in which a large number of laser modules 112 (see FIG. 3) are arranged, and plate-like cooling members (under the light source units 17A to 17D, respectively) Radiators) 52A to 52D are disposed.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the cooling member 52B is provided with an aluminum plate 53 having a size substantially the same as that of the light source unit 17B, below the light source unit 17B. A pipe 54 through which a refrigerant (for example, cooling water) flows is disposed below the aluminum plate 53. The pipe 54 is arranged meandering over the entire aluminum plate 53 and supported by a support member (not shown) so that substantially the entire cooling members 52A to 52D can be cooled via the aluminum plate 53. Although FIG. 4 shows the cooling member 52B, the other cooling members 52A, 52C, and 52D have the same configuration.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the light source cooling device 50 includes a chiller 56 that cools and supplies the coolant to a predetermined temperature. The chiller 56 is connected to one supply pipe 58 through which the refrigerant flows, and this supply pipe 58 is branched into two supply pipes 60A and 60B on the lower side of the light source cooling device 50. Further, the supply pipe 60A is branched into two introduction pipes 62A and 62B at a branch part 61A, and the supply pipe 60B is branched into two introduction pipes 62C and 62D at a branch part 61B. The introduction pipe 62A is connected to a pipe 54 (see the direction of arrow A in FIG. 4) disposed on the cooling member 52A. The introduction pipe 62B is connected to the cooling member 52B, the introduction pipe 62C is connected to the cooling member 52C, and the introduction pipe 62D is connected to the pipe 54 provided on the cooling member 52D. These introduction pipes 62A to 62D are piped so that the refrigerant is introduced into the pipe 54 from below the cooling members 52A to 52D.

  Moreover, the discharge side (refer to the arrow B direction in FIG. 4) of the pipe 54 of the cooling members 52A to 52D is connected to the four discharge pipes 64A to 64D, respectively. These discharge pipes 64A to 64D are piped so that the refrigerant flows upward from the pipes 54 of the cooling members 52A to 52D. The introduction pipes 62A to 62D are piped from the lower side of the cooling members 52A to 52D, and the discharge pipes 64A to 64D are piped from the upper side of the cooling members 52A to 52D. Stabilize.

  Further, the discharge pipe 64A and the discharge pipe 64D are joined to one discharge pipe 68A at a branching portion 66A supported at the uppermost portion through which the refrigerant flows. Further, the discharge pipe 64B and the discharge pipe 64C are joined to one discharge pipe 68B at a branch portion 66B supported at the same lift position (uppermost portion) as the branch portion 66A. The branch part 66A and the branch part 66B are supported by a frame (not shown) by fixing members 80, respectively. Further, the discharge pipe 68 </ b> A and the discharge pipe 68 </ b> B are joined to one recovery pipe 74 at the branch portion 72. The collection pipe 74 is connected to the chiller 56. A heat exchanger and a pump (not shown) are provided in the chiller 56, and the refrigerant recovered from the recovery pipe 74 is cooled to a predetermined temperature and sent to the supply pipe 58 so that the refrigerant is circulated and supplied.

  In such a light source cooling apparatus 50, the introduction pipes 62A to 62D and the discharge pipes 64A to 64D are arranged in parallel between the supply pipe 58 and the cooling members 52A to 52D and between the cooling members 52A to 52D and the recovery pipe 74. The piping is connected to

  In the above-described piping, the large diameter supply pipe 58 is branched into supply pipes 60A and 60B having the same dimensions (large diameter), and the large diameter supply pipes 60A and 60B are branched into small diameter introduction pipes 62A to 62D. It is comprised so that. The small diameter discharge pipes 64A to 64D are joined to the same size (small diameter) discharge pipes 68A and 68B, and the small diameter discharge pipes 68A and 68B are joined to the large diameter recovery pipe 74. Yes.

  Next, the refrigerant supply method according to the present invention, which is an operation of the light source cooling device 50 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, will be described.

  In the chiller 56, the refrigerant recovered from the recovery pipe 74 is cooled to a predetermined temperature and sent out to the supply pipe 58. The refrigerant flowing through the supply pipe 58 is divided into two supply pipes 60A and 60B. Further, the refrigerant flowing through the supply pipe 60A is divided into two introduction pipes 62A and 62B, and the refrigerant flowing through the supply pipe 60B is divided into two introduction pipes 62C and 62D. The refrigerant flowing through the introduction pipes 62A to 62D is introduced into the pipes 54 (in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 4) disposed in the four cooling members 52A to 52D. At this time, since the refrigerant is diverted from the large diameter supply pipes 60A and 60B to the small diameter introduction pipes 62A to 62D at the branch portions 61A and 61B, the refrigerant flows in the supply pipes 60A and 60B and the introduction pipes 62A to 62D. The path fluctuation is small, and the local pressure fluctuation at the branch portions 61A and 61B is small.

  And light source parts 17A-17D are cooled because a refrigerant | coolant conducts to the pipe 54 arrange | positioned at four cooling member 52A-52D. At this time, since the introduction pipes 62A to 62D are connected in parallel between the supply pipe 58 and the cooling members 52A to 52D via the supply pipes 60A and 60B, a refrigerant with a substantially uniform temperature is supplied to each of the cooling members 52A to 52D. 52D. For this reason, each cooling member 52A-52D becomes substantially the same cooling condition, the output variation of the light by the temperature characteristic of light source part 17A-17D is suppressed, and light quantity control with high precision can be performed.

  Further, the refrigerant conducted in the pipe 54 of the cooling members 52A to 52D passes through the discharge pipes 64A to 64D, respectively, and is branched at the same head position (position higher than the cooling members 52A and 52B). Sent to. The refrigerant in the discharge pipe 64A and the discharge pipe 64D is merged into one discharge pipe 68A at the branching section 66A, and the refrigerant in the discharge pipe 64B and the discharge pipe 64C is merged into one discharge pipe 68B at the branching section 66B. . Further, the refrigerant in the discharge pipe 68 </ b> A and the discharge pipe 68 </ b> B is merged into one recovery pipe 74 at the branch portion 72 and is recovered in the chiller 56. In the chiller 56, the refrigerant is cooled to a predetermined temperature by a heat exchanger and a pump (not shown) and supplied to the supply pipe 58, whereby the refrigerant is circulated and used.

  When the refrigerant is recovered, since the refrigerant merges from the small diameter discharge pipes 68A and 68B to the large diameter recovery pipe 74 at the branch portion 72, the flow path of the refrigerant in the discharge pipes 68A and 68B and the recovery pipe 74 The fluctuation is small, and the local pressure fluctuation at the branching portion 72 is small. Further, since the refrigerant discharged from the cooling members 52A to 52D to the discharge pipes 64A to 64D passes through the branch portions 66A and 66B arranged at the same head position (a position higher than the cooling members 52A and 52B), it is connected in parallel. The flow path resistances of the introduced pipes 62A to 62D and the discharge pipes 64A to 64D are substantially equal. For this reason, the amounts of refrigerant flowing through the introduction pipes 62A to 62D and the discharge pipes 64A to 64D are substantially equal, and the cooling capacities of the cooling members 52A to 52D are substantially equal.

  Next, 2nd Embodiment of the cooling device for light sources which concerns on this invention is described based on drawing.

  In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the member same as 1st Embodiment, and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 5, U-shaped pipes 102 and 104 are arranged in parallel below the aluminum plate 53 in the cooling member 100 used in the light source cooling device. Two inlet pipes (not shown) are connected to the inlets 102A and 104A of the pipes 102 and 104, and the refrigerant is branched and introduced from the direction of the arrow A. The discharge ports 102B and 104B of the pipes 102 and 104 are connected to two branched discharge pipes (not shown), and the refrigerant merges in the direction of arrow B and is discharged.

  Four cooling members 100 are arranged in the light source cooling device 50 shown in FIG. In such a cooling member 100, since the refrigerant flows through the pipes 102 and 104 arranged in parallel, the temperature distribution in the cooling member 100 is controlled almost uniformly, and the cooling member 100 is disposed at the upper part of each cooling member 100. The output variation of the light source unit (see FIG. 2) is further suppressed. For this reason, highly accurate light quantity control of each light source part can be performed.

  In the above embodiment, the two supply pipes 60A and 60B branched from the supply pipe 58 have the same diameter (large diameter), but the two supply pipes 60A and 60B are connected to the large diameter supply pipe 58. You may comprise in the intermediate diameter of small diameter introductory pipes 62A-62D. The discharge pipes 68A and 68B joined with the discharge pipes 64A to 64D have the same diameter (small diameter), but the discharge pipes 68A and 68B are intermediate between the small diameter discharge pipes 64A to 64D and the large diameter recovery pipe 74. You may comprise in a diameter. Thereby, the flow path fluctuation | variation in piping can be reduced further.

  In the above embodiment, the four light source units 17A to 17D are arranged. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and the number of light source units can be set as appropriate. At this time, the number of cooling members may be set in accordance with the number of light source units, and the pipes for flowing the refrigerant may be connected in parallel.

  In the above embodiment, the U-shaped pipes 102 and 104 are arranged in parallel on the cooling member 100. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and the shape and number of pipes can be set as appropriate.

  In the above-described embodiment, the plurality of light source units 17A to 17D are cooled by the cooling member. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and may be used as a cooling device that cools the plurality of heat generating members. Examples of the heat generating member include a control board and a motor. Thereby, a plurality of exothermic members can be cooled almost uniformly.

It is a perspective view showing the outline of the exposure drawing device carrying the cooling device for light sources concerning a 1st embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows the cooling device for light sources which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the light source part cooled with the cooling device for light sources which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the cooling member used with the cooling device for light sources which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the cooling member used with the cooling device for light sources which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Exposure drawing apparatus 16 Light source unit 16A Light source apparatus 16B Light source apparatus 16C Light source apparatus 16D Light source apparatus 17A Light source part 17B Light source part 17C Light source part 17D Light source part 18 Exposure head unit 50 Light source cooling device (cooling device)
52A Cooling member 52B Cooling member 52C Cooling member 52D Cooling member 53 Aluminum plate 54 Pipe 56 Chiller (refrigerant supply means)
58 supply pipe 60A supply pipe 60B supply pipe 61A branch part 61B branch part 62A introduction pipe 62B introduction pipe 62C introduction pipe 62D introduction pipe 64A discharge pipe 64B discharge pipe 64C discharge pipe 64D discharge pipe 66A branch part 66B branch part 68A discharge pipe 68B discharge Pipe 72 Branching section 74 Recovery pipe 100 Cooling member 102 Pipe 104 Pipe 102A Inlet 102B Outlet 104A Inlet 104B Outlet

Claims (9)

A cooling device for cooling a plurality of light source units from which light is emitted,
A plurality of cooling members that conduct the refrigerant and cool the plurality of light source units, respectively;
A plurality of introduction pipes branched from a supply pipe to which a refrigerant is supplied and connected in parallel to the plurality of cooling members;
A plurality of discharge pipes branched from a collection pipe from which the refrigerant is collected and connected in parallel to the plurality of cooling members;
Refrigerant supply means for diverting the refrigerant from the supply pipe to the plurality of introduction pipes, supplying the refrigerant to the plurality of cooling members, and joining the refrigerant conducted to the plurality of cooling members to the recovery pipe through the plurality of discharge pipes When,
A cooling device comprising: A cooling device for cooling a plurality of heating members,
A plurality of cooling members that conduct the refrigerant and cool the plurality of heat generating members, respectively;
A plurality of introduction pipes branched from a supply pipe to which a refrigerant is supplied and connected in parallel to the plurality of cooling members;
A plurality of discharge pipes branched from a collection pipe from which the refrigerant is collected and connected in parallel to the plurality of cooling members;
Refrigerant supply means for diverting the refrigerant from the supply pipe to the plurality of introduction pipes, supplying the refrigerant to the plurality of cooling members, and joining the refrigerant conducted to the plurality of cooling members to the recovery pipe through the plurality of discharge pipes When,
A cooling device comprising:   3. The cooling device according to claim 1, wherein the refrigerant is branched from the supply pipe having a large diameter to the introduction pipe having a small diameter at a branch portion from the supply pipe to the plurality of introduction pipes. .   4. The refrigerant according to claim 1, wherein the refrigerant is merged from the small-diameter discharge pipe to the large-diameter collection pipe at a merging portion from the plurality of discharge pipes to the collection pipe. The cooling device according to item.   The plurality of introduction pipes or the plurality of discharge pipes connected to the plurality of cooling members are branched so that the lift positions are the same. 2. The cooling device according to item 1. A cooling device for cooling a plurality of light source units from which light is emitted,
Plural pairs of refrigerant inlets and outlets are provided, and a plurality of cooling members for cooling the plurality of light source units,
A plurality of pipes arranged in parallel in the plurality of cooling members, each connected to the inlet and the outlet;
Refrigerant supply means for supplying refrigerant to the plurality of inlets, flowing refrigerant through the plurality of pipes, and discharging refrigerant from the plurality of outlets;
A cooling device comprising: A cooling device for cooling a plurality of heating members,
Plural pairs of refrigerant inlets and outlets are provided, and a plurality of cooling members that respectively cool the plurality of heat generating members;
A plurality of pipes arranged in parallel in the plurality of cooling members, each connected to the inlet and the outlet;
Refrigerant supply means for supplying refrigerant to the plurality of inlets, flowing refrigerant through the plurality of pipes, and discharging refrigerant from the plurality of outlets;
A cooling device comprising: The cooling device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, is provided,
An exposure drawing apparatus, wherein light emitted from the plurality of light source units is modulated into a predetermined pattern and an image is written on the surface of the photosensitive material. A refrigerant supply method for supplying a refrigerant to a plurality of cooling members disposed in a plurality of light source units or a plurality of heat generating members,
A refrigerant is divided from a supply pipe and supplied to the plurality of cooling members;
Conducting a refrigerant to pipes arranged in the plurality of cooling members,
A refrigerant supply method, wherein the refrigerant conducted to the pipe joins the recovery pipe and is recovered.

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