JP2007003152A - Cooling device, and electronic component handler provided therewith - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cooling device with superior responsiveness during heating by a simple composition. <P>SOLUTION: The cooling device is provided with: at least one heat exchanger 4 having a structure 42 formed with a hollow part 41 passing a fluid; a refrigerant supply passage 5 supplying a refrigerant to the hollow part 41 of the heat exchanger 4 from a refrigerant sending passage 2; a refrigerant recovery passage 6 recovering the refrigerant from the hollow part 41 of the heat exchanger 4 to a refrigerant return passage 3; a compressed air source 7 being a supply source of compressed air; a compressed air supply passage 9 supplying the compressed air from the compressed air source 7 to a refrigerant intake side of the hollow part 41; a passage selector valve 11 carrying out a change-over of passages between two passages being the refrigerant supply passage 5 and the compressed air supply passage 9; and at least one of a heater 43 heating a structure 42 or a heater 8 heating air supplied to the hollow part 41. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a cooling device used for temperature control of electronic components (including various electronic devices) that generate self-heating, in particular, temperature control required in the inspection and manufacturing process of such electronic components, and The present invention relates to an electronic component handler provided with

For electronic components that generate self-heating, particularly CPUs, MPUs, and the like, an environment that maintains them with high accuracy and constant during inspection and manufacturing or in a state where they are incorporated in an apparatus has been demanded. For this purpose, various cooling devices have been conventionally developed (for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2).
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 7-27161 Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-23259

Patent Document 1 is a water-cooled electronic component cooling device used. The cooling water flows between the two metal plates. A through hole is formed in the metal plate, and a heat exchanging portion for electronic equipment including a diaphragm, a spring, and a heat transfer plate is provided in the through hole portion.
Patent Document 2 cools an IC by passing cooling water through a heat exchange section called a cold block for cooling the IC. A plurality of cold blocks can be installed, and the heat exchangers are connected in series with bellows type rubber called bellows.
In these cooling devices, when the cooling is excessive, it is necessary to heat the heat exchanging part using a heater or the like. However, in the case of the conventional apparatus, since the heating by the heater is affected by the refrigerant passing through the heat exchanging section, there is a problem in the responsiveness of the temperature rise of the heat exchanger during the heating. To avoid this, it is possible to physically separate the refrigerant flow path and the heater from the heat exchanger, but this complicates the structure of the cooling device.

  The present invention has been made in response to the above problems, and aims to obtain a cooling device having excellent response during heating with a simple configuration. In addition, a cooling device having excellent cooling ability and heating ability, and We propose an electronic component handler equipped with it.

  The cooling device of the present invention includes a refrigerant supply source that is a refrigerant supply source, a refrigerant delivery channel that sends the refrigerant from the refrigerant supply source to the outside, a refrigerant return channel that returns the refrigerant from the outside to the refrigerant supply source, At least one heat exchanger having a structure in which a hollow portion through which a fluid passes is formed, heating means for heating the structure, and a refrigerant is supplied from the refrigerant delivery channel to the hollow portion of the heat exchanger. A refrigerant supply channel, a refrigerant recovery channel that recovers the refrigerant from the hollow portion of the heat exchanger to the refrigerant return channel, a pressurized air source that is a compressed air supply source, and a compressed air from the compressed air source A compressed air supply flow path for supplying to the refrigerant intake side, a flow path switching device for switching the flow path between the two flow paths of the refrigerant supply flow path and the compressed air supply flow path, and heating the structure Air heating for heating the structure heating means or the air supplied to the hollow part And at least one of the stages, those with.

According to the cooling device, by switching the flow channel of the flow channel switching device, the compressed air is caused to flow into the hollow portion almost simultaneously with stopping the supply of the refrigerant to the hollow portion of the heat exchanger, and into the hollow portion of the heat exchanger. A certain refrigerant can be quickly discharged outside. For this reason, the improvement of the responsiveness at the time of the heating of a heat exchanger was attained. Moreover, since the load of the heating means when heating the heat exchanger is reduced, the heating capacity of the heat exchanger is improved and the temperature of the refrigerant can be lowered, thereby improving the cooling capacity. Therefore, the temperature control range of the heat exchanger is also expanded.
In this apparatus, when only the structure heating means is provided, the heat exchanger is heated thereby, and when only the air heating means is provided, the heat exchanger is heated thereby. When both the means and the air heating means are provided, the heat exchanger can be heated by using any one of them or appropriately combining them.

  It is preferable that the cooling device includes a temperature detection device in which the heat exchanger detects the temperature of the structure. Some electronic components subject to temperature control have a temperature detection device equivalent inside, but some do not. Therefore, by providing a temperature detection device in the heat exchanger, temperature management during temperature control can be easily performed regardless of the type of electronic component.

In addition, it is preferable to provide a flow path opening / closing device for opening / closing the flow path in the refrigerant recovery flow path. By using this flow path opening / closing device, it is possible to prevent the refrigerant discharged from the hollow part from flowing back to the hollow part.
Further, the structure of the heat exchanger is formed with a through hole in which one end is connected to a vacuum flow path of a vacuum source and the other end is opened to the outer surface side of the structure, and the opening of the through hole is formed. It is preferable that a suction pad is provided around the part. According to this, it becomes possible to closely hold the electronic component that is the object of temperature control on the heat exchanger using the suction pad.

The refrigerant supply source is preferably a chiller system capable of controlling the temperature of the refrigerant. According to this, the temperature of the refrigerant can be adjusted as appropriate.
Moreover, you may utilize the cooling water which circulates in the factory as a refrigerant | coolant of the said refrigerant | coolant supply source. According to this, since a refrigerant supply source dedicated to the cooling device is not required, the place for the storage can be saved, and the cost can be reduced.

  When the heat exchanger is heated, supply of the refrigerant to the hollow portion of the heat exchanger is stopped by switching the flow path of the flow path switching device, and compressed air is allowed to flow into the hollow section so that the refrigerant in the hollow section is removed. It is preferable to discharge to the outside. In this way, when the heat exchanger is heated, the flow path switching of the flow path switching device is performed, and the refrigerant in the hollow portion of the heat exchanger is surely discharged to the outside by compressed air. Will be. Thereby, the influence of a refrigerant | coolant is reduced at the time of the overheating for raising the temperature of a heat exchanger, and the responsiveness of the heating of a heat exchanger is improved. Moreover, since the load of the heating means when heating the heat exchanger is reduced, the heating capacity of the heat exchanger is improved and the temperature of the refrigerant can be lowered, thereby improving the cooling capacity. Therefore, the temperature control range of the heat exchanger is also expanded.

  The flow path switching device may be operated intermittently based on the temperature of the heat exchanger structure or the temperature of the electronic component controlled by the heat exchanger. By doing in this way, it becomes possible to hold | maintain the temperature of a heat exchanger to predetermined temperature.

  An electronic component handler according to the present invention includes an electronic component handler including an arm that holds an electronic component and positions the electronic component at a predetermined position. A heat exchanger is provided, and the electronic component can be held in contact with the structure of the heat exchanger. According to this, since the responsiveness of the heat exchanger which comprises the electronic component holding part is improved, the precision of the inspection of the electronic component using this electronic component handler is improved.

Embodiment 1
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a cooling device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The cooling device includes a refrigerant supply source 1 that is a refrigerant supply source, a refrigerant delivery flow path 2 that sends the refrigerant from the refrigerant supply source 1 to the outside, and a refrigerant return flow path 3 that returns the refrigerant from the outside to the refrigerant supply source 1. , At least one heat exchanger 4 having a structure 42 in which a hollow portion 41 through which a fluid passes is formed, and a refrigerant supply passage 5 for supplying a refrigerant from the refrigerant delivery passage 2 to the hollow portion 41 of the heat exchanger 4 And a refrigerant recovery flow path 6 for recovering the refrigerant from the hollow portion 41 of the heat exchanger 4 in the refrigerant return flow path 3. Each of the flow paths 2, 3, 5 and 6 is constituted by a pipe, and the refrigerant delivery flow path 2 and the refrigerant supply flow path 5, and the refrigerant return flow path 3 and the refrigerant recovery flow path 6 are respectively connected via a pipe joint 13. Connected. When only one heat exchanger 4 is used, the connecting refrigerant delivery flow path 2 and the refrigerant supply flow path 5 are configured by one continuous pipe without using the pipe joint 13, and the refrigerant You may comprise the return flow path 3 and the refrigerant | coolant collection | recovery flow path 6 from one piping path in which they continued.

  The refrigerant supply source 1 is not limited as long as it can supply a refrigerant such as water to the outside, but is preferably the refrigerant supply source 1 using a chiller system or a refrigeration cycle apparatus capable of controlling the temperature of the refrigerant. Further, when there is cooling water circulating in the factory, the circulating cooling water may be used as the refrigerant supply source 1 instead of the dedicated refrigerant supply source 1. In that case, a dedicated refrigerant supply source is not required for a cooling device such as a chiller system, so that installation space and cost can be reduced.

  The cooling device also includes a compressed air source 7 that is a supply source of compressed air, a heater 8 that heats the air in the compressed air source 7, and the compressed air from the compressed air source 7 in the hollow portion 41 of the heat exchanger 4. And a compressed air supply passage 9 for supplying the refrigerant to the refrigerant intake side. The compressed air supply flow path 9 is constituted by piping, and when there are a plurality of heat exchangers 4, the compressed air supply flow paths 9 are branched to the respective heat exchangers 4 through pipe joints 10. Note that the pressure of the air (pressure air) sent from the pressure source 7 is a pressure at which the refrigerant in the hollow part 41 can be pushed out of the hollow part 41.

  Further, a flow path switching valve 11, which is a flow path switching device that switches the flow path between the two flow paths of the refrigerant supply flow path 5 and the compressed air supply flow path 9, is provided in the middle of the refrigerant supply flow path 5. In addition, one end of the compressed air supply flow path 9 is connected to the flow path switching valve 11. Note that it is sufficient that the flow path can be switched between the two flow paths of the refrigerant supply flow path 5 and the compressed air supply flow path 9, and the refrigerant supply flow path 5, the compressed air supply flow path 9 and the flow The arrangement mode of the path switching valve 11 is not particularly limited. Further, the refrigerant recovery flow path 6 is provided with a sealing valve 12 that can open and close the flow path. The flow path switching valve 11 and the sealing valve 12 are based on a program set in advance based on a set temperature required during inspection or manufacturing of an electronic component to be temperature controlled and an actual temperature. These operations are controlled. Here, the programmable controller 15 provided with the said program is provided for such control of the flow-path switching valve 11 and the sealing valve 12. FIG. The flow path switching valve 11 or the sealing valve 12 and the programmable controller 15 are connected by a signal line 16.

  When a plurality of heat exchangers 4 are provided, a flow rate control device (not shown) for adjusting the flow rate of the refrigerant passing through the hollow portion 41 is provided in the refrigerant supply channel 5 or the refrigerant recovery channel 6. preferable. This is because the flow rate control device adjusts the amount of refrigerant supplied to each heat exchanger 4 to enable cooling control for each heat exchanger 4.

  FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram illustrating an example of the heat exchanger 4. The heat exchanger 4 includes a structure 42 in which a hollow portion 41 is formed, and one end of the hollow portion 41 communicates with the refrigerant supply channel 5 and the other end of the hollow portion 41 communicates with the refrigerant recovery channel 6. It has become. In addition, a heater 43 is incorporated in the structure 42 as means for heating the structure 42. An electronic component that is the object of temperature control is brought into contact with the outer surface of the structure 42, particularly preferably in close contact, and the electronic component is cooled or heated via the structure 42. Therefore, the structure 42 is preferably made of a material having good thermal conductivity such as metal. Furthermore, it is preferable that a temperature sensor 17 serving as a temperature detection device for detecting the temperature of the portion of the structure 42 in contact with the electronic component is provided. The temperature detected by the temperature sensor 17 is fed back to the programmable controller 15 via the signal line 16. The operation of the heater 43 that heats the structure 42 is controlled by the programmable controller 15 via the signal line 16.

  The structure 42 of the heat exchanger 4 is formed with a through hole 44 having one end connected to the evacuation channel 14 of the vacuum source 18 and the other end opened to the outer surface side of the structure 42. A flexible suction pad 45 is provided around the opening. In this way, when the vacuum source 18 is used to evacuate the through hole 44 in a state where the electronic component to be temperature controlled is in contact with the structure 42 so as to block the opening of the through hole 44. The electronic component is vacuum-sucked through the suction pad 45, and the electronic component is held in close contact with the heat exchanger 4. This vacuum suction operation control may also be performed by controlling the vacuum source 18 using the programmable controller 15. FIG. 2 shows a state where the electronic component 25 to be inspected is held in close contact with the heat exchanger 4 via the suction pad 45.

  Next, the operation of the cooling device will be described. When cooling the heat exchanger 4, the flow path switching valve 11 is controlled so that the compressed air is stopped and the refrigerant is allowed to pass, and the sealing valve 12 is not operated. Thereby, the refrigerant from the refrigerant supply source 1 returns to the refrigerant supply source 1 via the refrigerant delivery channel 3, the refrigerant supply channel 5, the hollow portion 41, the refrigerant recovery channel 6, and the refrigerant return channel 3. , Thereby cooling the structure 42 of the heat exchanger 4.

  On the other hand, when the heat exchanger 4 is heated (meaning that the temperature of the heat exchanger 4 is increased, and is simply referred to as heating of the heat exchanger 4 in this specification), the refrigerant is stopped. The flow path switching valve 11 is controlled so as to allow the compressed air to pass therethrough. Thereby, supply of the refrigerant to the hollow part 41 of the heat exchanger 4 is stopped, and the compressed air flows into the hollow part 41 from the pressurized air source 7 and the refrigerant in the hollow part 41 is discharged to the outside. In addition to this, (1) the structure 42 is heated by the heater 43, (2) the air heated by the heater 8 is sent to the hollow portion, or (3) the structure 42 is heated by the heater 43. At the same time, the structure 42 of the heat exchanger 4 is heated by sending air heated by the heater 8 to the hollow portion.

  In the case of adopting the heating method (1) above, if the sealing valve 12 is operated to close the refrigerant recovery flow path 6, the reverse flow of the refrigerant to the hollow portion 41 is prevented, and the influence of the refrigerant Can be reliably reduced. When the heating method of (2) or (3) is adopted, since the backflow of the refrigerant to the hollow portion 41 is prevented by the air flowing into the hollow portion 41, it is not necessary to operate the sealing valve 12.

  Further, in order to keep the temperature of the structure 42 of the heat exchanger 4 at a predetermined temperature, the flow path is switched based on the temperature of the structure 42 of the heat exchanger 4 or the temperature of the electronic component controlled by the heat exchanger. The valve 11 may be controlled to operate intermittently. In the intermittent operation of the flow path switching valve 11 in this case, the programmable controller 15 monitors the detection value of the temperature sensor 17 incorporated in the structure 42 or the information of the temperature sensor included in the electronic component controlled by the heat exchanger 4. When they reach a predetermined allowable value, the flow switching valve 11 is used to switch between cooling and heating, or heating and cooling.

The cooling device according to the first embodiment that achieves the above-described effects has the following effects.
Since the load from the refrigerant received by the heater 43 for heating the structure is reduced during heating, the heating capacity of the heat exchanger 4 is improved accordingly.
-Since the load from the refrigerant received by the heater 43 for heating the structure is reduced and the heating capacity is improved, the temperature of the refrigerant can be set low, and the heating capacity of the heat exchanger 4 is improved.
Since the load on the heater 43 for heating the structure is reduced, the capacity of the heater 43 can be reduced and the size can be reduced.
The heat exchanger 4 can be heated with heated air, and the heat exchanger 4 without the heater 43 for heating the structure can be used.
Since the refrigerant load can be reduced only by switching the flow path switching valve 11, the refrigerant load reduction mechanism is simple and the reliability is improved.
Since a plurality of heat exchangers 4 are arranged in parallel with respect to the refrigerant delivery channel 2 and the refrigerant return channel 3 using the refrigerant supply channel 5 and the refrigerant recovery channel 6, each heat exchange The refrigerant can be supplied to the units 4 under substantially the same conditions, and the cooling capacity of each heat exchanger 4 can be made uniform.

In the cooling device of the above embodiment, the heater 43 that heats the structure 42 of the heat exchanger 4 and the heater 8 that heats the air supplied to the hollow portion 41 of the heat exchanger 4 are provided. Any one of them may be provided. In addition, although the heater 8 for heating the air supplied to the hollow portion 41 of the heat exchanger 4 is provided in the compressed air source 7, the heater 8 may be provided in the compressed air supply flow path 9. Furthermore, although the heaters 8 and 43 are basically assumed to be electric heaters, it is possible to use heaters using thermal power.
Moreover, the flow path switching valve 11 and the sealing valve 12 used in the cooling device of the above embodiment may be replaced with a flow path switching apparatus or a sealing device that performs the same function.

Embodiment 2
FIG. 3 is an overall configuration diagram of an electronic component inspection apparatus for explaining an electronic component handler according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. This electronic component inspection apparatus includes a cooling device according to the present invention, for example, an electronic component handler (generally referred to as an IC handler) provided with the cooling device of Embodiment 1, and an inspection device that inspects an electronic component. 30. The same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 1 and 2 in FIG. 3 represent the same or equivalent parts as described in each figure. It should be noted that the entire operation of the electronic component inspection apparatus, including the temperature management control described in the first embodiment, may be centrally controlled by the controller indicated by reference numeral 15.

  In this electronic component handler, the heat exchanger 4 is arranged in the device-to-be-inspected holding unit at the tip of the robot arm 20 so that the electronic component 25 to be inspected can be held in contact with the bottom surface of the structure 43 of the heat exchanger 4. Is. As a method for holding the electronic component to be inspected 25 in contact with the bottom surface of the structure 43, there is the vacuum suction method already described in the first embodiment. 3 shows a state where the electronic component 25 to be inspected held in contact with the structure 43 of the heat exchanger 4 is positioned in the socket 31 of the inspection device 30. FIG.

Next, temperature control of the electronic component 25 to be inspected by the electronic component handler will be described. The electronic component 25 to be inspected is cooled by using the refrigerant from the refrigerant supply source 1 as the refrigerant delivery channel 2, the refrigerant supply channel 5, the hollow portion 41 of the heat exchanger 4, the refrigerant recovery channel 6, and the refrigerant return channel. The structure 43 of the heat exchanger 4 is cooled by being circulated through the heat exchanger 4.
On the other hand, the electronic component 25 to be inspected can be heated in the following manner already described. That is, (1) the structure 42 is heated by using the heater 43 for heating the structure, and (2) the structure 42 is heated by the heater 43 for heating the structure, and the air heater 8 is heated. (3) The structure 43 can be heated by sending the air heated by the air heating heater 8 into the hollow portion 41, respectively. it can.
In the case of heating according to the above (1), it is preferable to shut off the refrigerant recovery flow path 6 by the sealing valve 12 in order to prevent the refrigerant from flowing back into the hollow portion 41.

In the electronic component handler having the above-described configuration, the heat response of the heat exchanger 4 and the heat response of the heat exchanger 4 holding the electronic component 25 to be inspected are improved. Therefore, the temperature can be controlled with good responsiveness during the inspection and manufacturing, and the accuracy and efficiency of the inspection and manufacturing of electronic parts are improved.
Further, since the influence of the refrigerant during heating is reduced, the load on the heater to be used is reduced, the heating capacity of the heat exchanger is improved, and the temperature of the refrigerant can be lowered, thereby improving the cooling capacity. Therefore, the temperature control range of the heat exchanger and thus the electronic component 25 to be inspected is also expanded.
The cooling device provided in the electronic component handler of the present invention is not limited to the one shown in FIG. 3, and various types of cooling devices as described in the first embodiment can be adopted.

The block diagram of the cooling device which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. The block diagram which shows an example of the heat exchanger which comprises the cooling device of FIG. The whole block diagram of the electronic component inspection apparatus explaining the electronic component handler which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Refrigerant supply source, 2 Refrigerant delivery flow path, 3 Refrigerant return flow path, 4 Heat exchanger, 5 Refrigerant supply flow path, 6 Refrigerant recovery flow path, 7 Pressure air source, 8 Heater (for air heating), 9 Pressure air supply flow Path, 10 pipe joint, 11 flow path switching valve, 12 sealing valve, 13 pipe joint, 14 evacuation flow path, 15 programmable controller, 16 signal line, 17 temperature sensor, 18 vacuum pump, 20 robot arm, 25 inspected Electronic component, 30 inspection device, 31 socket, 41 hollow part, 42 structure, 43 heater (for heating structure), 44 through hole, 45 suction pad.

Claims (9)

A refrigerant supply source that is a refrigerant supply source;
A refrigerant delivery flow path for delivering the refrigerant to the outside from the refrigerant supply source;
A refrigerant return flow path for returning the refrigerant from the outside to the refrigerant supply source;
At least one heat exchanger having a structure in which a hollow portion through which a fluid passes is formed;
A refrigerant supply channel for supplying the refrigerant from the refrigerant delivery channel to the hollow portion of the heat exchanger;
A refrigerant recovery passage for recovering the refrigerant from the hollow portion of the heat exchanger in the refrigerant return passage;
A compressed air source that is a source of compressed air;
A compressed air supply passage for supplying compressed air from the compressed air source to the refrigerant intake side of the hollow portion;
A flow path switching device for switching the flow path between the two flow paths of the refrigerant supply flow path and the compressed air supply flow path;
At least one of a structure heating means for heating the structure or an air heating means for heating the air supplied to the hollow part,
A cooling device comprising:   The cooling device according to claim 1, wherein the heat exchanger includes a temperature detection device that detects a temperature of the structure.   The cooling apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a flow path opening / closing device that opens and closes the refrigerant recovery flow path.   The structure of the heat exchanger is formed with a through hole having one end connected to a vacuum suction flow path of a vacuum source and the other end opened to the outer surface side of the structure, and around the opening of the through hole. The cooling device according to claim 1, further comprising a suction pad.   The cooling device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the refrigerant supply source is a chiller system capable of controlling a temperature of the refrigerant.   The cooling device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the refrigerant of the refrigerant supply source is cooling water circulating in a factory.   When the heat exchanger is heated, the supply of the refrigerant to the hollow part of the heat exchanger is stopped by switching the flow path of the flow path switching device, and the compressed air is allowed to flow into the hollow part so that the refrigerant in the hollow part is discharged. 7. The cooling device according to claim 1, wherein the cooling device is discharged to the outside.   8. The cooling device according to claim 7, wherein the flow path switching device operates intermittently based on a temperature of a structure of the heat exchanger or a temperature of an electronic component controlled by the heat exchanger. An electronic component handler including an arm that holds an electronic component and positions the electronic component at a predetermined position includes the cooling device according to any one of claims 1 to 8.
An electronic component handler, wherein the heat exchanger is disposed in an electronic component holding portion of the arm so that the electronic component can be held in contact with a structure of the heat exchanger.

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