JP2010116860A - Pump for circulating coolant, tank for refrigeration device, and the refrigeration device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pump for circulating coolant capable of suppressing heat exchange with brine and to provide a tank for a refrigeration device and to provide the refrigeration device. <P>SOLUTION: This pump for circulating coolant is provided with a motor 61, a shaft 63 extended downward from the motor 61, an impeller supported on a lower end side of the shaft 63, a casing 67 storing the shaft 63 and the impeller and having a flow-in port 68 in which coolant flows and a flow-out port 66 from which coolant flows out, and a discharge pipe 69 having a terminal part connected with the flow-out port 66, extended to the outside from the casing 67, arranged apart from the casing 67, and having a flow passage for feeding coolant upward. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerant circulation pump used in a refrigeration apparatus that supplies a constant temperature refrigerant to a cooling target such as a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus to adjust the temperature of the cooling target, a refrigeration apparatus tank and a refrigeration apparatus including the same. It is.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a refrigeration apparatus for adjusting the temperature of a cooling target such as a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus is known. This refrigeration apparatus includes a refrigeration circuit in which a primary refrigerant circulates and a refrigerant circuit in which a refrigerant liquid (brine) as a secondary refrigerant circulates. The refrigeration circuit includes a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve, and an evaporator, which are connected by piping in this order. The refrigerant circuit includes a supply-side passage for sending brine from the evaporator of the refrigeration circuit to the cooling target, a return-side passage for sending brine from the cooling target to the evaporator, a tank for temporarily storing the brine and feeding the brine have.

  This tank has a tank body for storing brine, a heater for adjusting the temperature of the brine in the tank body, and a pump for discharging the brine in the tank body to the outside of the tank body and circulating the brine in the refrigerant circuit. I have.

Patent Document 1 discloses an immersion pump that is used by being immersed in a liquid. The pump includes a motor, a shaft extending downward from the motor, an impeller supported on the lower end side of the shaft, and a casing for housing the shaft and the impeller. In this pump, the liquid flows into the casing from a suction port provided in the lower part of the casing, passes through the discharge channel, and is discharged from the discharge port.
JP-A-1-247793

  However, in the pump described in Patent Document 1, heat exchange is likely to occur between the pump and the liquid in the process until the liquid flowing into the casing from the suction port is discharged from the discharge port. Thus, when heat exchange occurs between the liquid (brine) and the pump, there are the following problems.

  First, when the brine is affected by the heat of the pump by heat exchange, the temperature of the liquid tends to fluctuate. For example, when the cooling target of the refrigeration apparatus is a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, it is necessary to adjust the temperature of the brine with very high accuracy, for example, within ± 1 ° C. Therefore, using the pump described in Patent Document 1, temperature control is performed. This will cause the accuracy to decrease.

  Further, when the cooling target is a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, the set temperature range of the brine may be a wide range of about −30 ° C. to 100 ° C., for example. When the set temperature of the brine is high, the temperature of the brine is higher than the temperature of the motor of the pump. Therefore, the parts that make up the pump such as the motor and the bearing are heated by the heat of the brine, so that the life of the parts May be shortened, which may cause a decrease in reliability. In particular, the life of the bearing is susceptible to heating by brine. On the other hand, when the set temperature of the brine is low, since the brine absorbs the heat of the pump, the cooling capacity of the refrigeration device is used, which is problematic from the viewpoint of increasing running costs and energy saving. There is.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of such a point, and an object thereof is to provide a refrigerant circulation pump, a refrigeration apparatus tank, and a refrigeration apparatus that can suppress heat exchange with brine. .

  The refrigerant circulation pump of the present invention includes a motor (61), a shaft (63) extending downward from the motor (61), an impeller supported on a lower end side of the shaft (63), A casing (67) that accommodates the shaft (63) and the impeller and has an inlet (68) through which refrigerant flows and an outlet (66) through which the refrigerant flows out, and a base end (69a) are the outlet. A discharge pipe (69) connected to (66), extending outward from the casing (67) and spaced apart from the casing (67) and having a flow path for sending the refrigerant upward. I have.

  In the conventional pump, the discharge flow path is provided in the casing, so heat exchange with the pump is likely to occur in the process of brine passing through the discharge flow path, and the discharge flow path extends to the vicinity of the motor. As a result, the brine is susceptible to the heat of the motor.

  On the other hand, in this structure, since it has the discharge piping (69) which is arrange | positioned away from the casing (67) and has a flow path which sends a refrigerant | coolant upwards, heat exchange between a brine and a pump is carried out. It can be effectively suppressed. As a result, the temperature control accuracy of the brine can be increased, the decrease in the reliability of the pump can be suppressed, and the use of excess cooling capacity can be suppressed, so that the increase in running cost can be suppressed and effective from the viewpoint of energy saving. It is.

  The tank for a refrigeration apparatus of the present invention includes a tank body (41) having a top plate (42) and the above-described refrigerant circulation pump (47), and at least the inlet (68) and the outlet (66). ) Is disposed inside the tank main body (41), and the tip end portion (69b) of the discharge pipe (69) extends upward from the top plate (42).

  In the refrigeration apparatus tank, the top plate (42) has an opening (42b) into which the refrigerant circulation pump (47) can be inserted into the tank body (41) from outside the tank body (41). The refrigerant circulation pump (47) extends laterally from the upper end of the casing (67) to support the tip (69b) of the discharge pipe (69) and the opening (42b). It is preferable to further include a support member (47c) that closes the structure.

  In this configuration, the pump (47) can be inserted from the opening (42b) provided in the top plate (42) of the tank body (41), and the support member (47c) provided in the pump (47). Can close the opening (42b) of the tank body (41), so that the pump (47) can be easily attached to the tank body (41) and the opening (42d) of the tank body (41) can be blocked. The tank can be sealed.

  The refrigeration apparatus of the present invention includes a refrigeration circuit (21) having a compressor (23), a condenser (25), a decompression mechanism (27), and an evaporator (29), and from the evaporator (29) to the object to be cooled. Any of the supply side passage (32) for sending the refrigerant, the return side passage (34) for sending the refrigerant from the object to be cooled to the evaporator (29), the supply side passage (32), and the return side passage (34). And a refrigerant circuit (31) having a tank for a refrigerating apparatus (33) according to claim 2 or 3, which is arranged in a crucible.

  As described above, according to the present invention, heat exchange between the brine and the pump can be effectively suppressed, so that the accuracy of brine temperature control can be improved and the reliability of the pump can be improved. The decrease can be suppressed, and the use of extra cooling capacity can be suppressed, so that the increase in running cost can be suppressed, which is also effective from the viewpoint of energy saving.

  Hereinafter, a refrigerant circulation pump, a refrigeration tank, and a refrigeration apparatus including the same according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the refrigeration apparatus 11 according to the present embodiment includes a refrigeration circuit 21 in which a primary refrigerant circulates and a refrigerant circuit 31 in which a refrigerant liquid (hereinafter referred to as brine) as a secondary refrigerant circulates. ing. The refrigeration apparatus 11 is for supplying temperature-adjusted brine to a cooling target and adjusting the temperature of the cooling target. In the present embodiment, a case where the cooling target is a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus will be described as an example.

  The refrigeration circuit 21 includes a compressor 23, a condenser 25, an expansion valve 27, and an evaporator 29, which are connected by a pipe in this order. The primary refrigerant circulates while changing phase in the refrigeration circuit 21.

  The evaporator 29 is divided into a flow path through which the primary refrigerant circulating in the refrigeration circuit 21 flows and a flow path through which the brine circulating in the refrigerant circuit 31 flows. The evaporator 29 is a heat exchanger that adjusts the temperature of the brine by exchanging heat between the primary refrigerant and the brine.

  The refrigerant circuit 31 includes a supply-side passage 32 that sends brine from the evaporator 29 to the object to be cooled, a return-side passage 34 that sends brine from the object to be cooled to the evaporator 29, and a refrigeration apparatus tank disposed in the return-side passage 34. 33. The return side passage 34 includes a first return side passage 34a and a second return side passage 34b, and a tank 33 is disposed therebetween. The brine whose temperature has been adjusted in the evaporator 29 is sent to the cooling target through the supply side passage 32 to adjust the temperature of the cooling target.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the tank 33 adjusts the temperature of the tank body 41 in which the brine is stored, the supply pipe 43 that supplies the brine into the tank body 41, and the brine in the tank body 41. A heater 45 and a pump 47 that sucks brine in the tank main body 41, discharges the brine to the outside of the tank main body 41, and sends the brine to the evaporator 29 are provided. The tank main body 41 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and a top plate 42 is disposed on the upper portion and sealed.

  The supply pipe 43 is inserted into the tank main body 41 from the outer side surface of the side portion of the tank main body 41, and further extends downward along the inner side surface of the tank main body 41. The brine is supplied into the tank body 41 from the supply pipe 43. A first return side passage 34 a connected to the cooling target is connected to the upstream end 43 b of the supply pipe 43.

  Two openings 42 a and 42 b are formed in the top plate 42 of the tank body 41. The heater 45 is inserted into one opening 42a, and the pump 47 is inserted into the other opening 42b.

  The heater 45 is an electric heater, and includes a coil-shaped heating unit (not shown) that generates heat when energized, and a power supply pipe 45 b that extends from the heating unit to an upper part of the top plate 42 of the tank body 41. I have. A flange portion 45c that supports the piping 45b and closes the opening 42a of the tank body 41 is provided on the upper portion of the piping 45b.

  The heating unit is located on the lower end side of the heater 45, is disposed in the vicinity of the bottom surface 48 in the tank body 41, and is immersed in brine. The brine is adjusted to a predetermined temperature by this heating unit.

  The flange 45c is designed to be slightly larger than the opening 42a, and is disposed on the top surface of the top plate 42 of the tank body 41 via a packing 81 so as to close the opening 42a. Insertion openings are formed at the four corners of the flange portion 45c. Bolts 83 erected at the four corners of the opening 42 a are respectively inserted into these insertion openings, and nuts (not shown) are respectively screwed into these bolts 83. Thereby, the heater 45 is fixed to the tank body 41.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the pump 47 includes a motor 61, a casing 67 extending downward from the motor 61, a shaft 63 housed in the casing 67, and an impeller (not shown). Yes. The shaft 63 is connected to the motor 61 and rotates by driving the motor 61. The impeller described above is supported on the lower end side of the shaft 63.

  The casing 67 includes a lower end side of the shaft 63, an impeller accommodating portion 671 that accommodates the impeller, and a shaft accommodating portion 672 that accommodates the upper end side of the shaft 63 positioned between the impeller accommodating portion 671 and the motor 61. Consists of. The impeller accommodating portion 671 and the shaft accommodating portion 672 are not communicated with each other and are partitioned. The impeller accommodating portion 671 has an inlet 68 for sucking the brine in the tank body 41 into the impeller accommodating portion 671 and an outlet 66 provided at the lower end of the impeller accommodating portion 671 and serving as an outlet for the brine. And soaked in brine. A discharge pipe 69 is connected to the outlet 66 of the impeller accommodating portion 671.

  The discharge pipe 69 is disposed away from the casing 67, and its base end portion 69 a is connected to the outlet 66 of the impeller housing portion 671, and the tip end portion 69 b is above the top plate 42 of the tank body 41. Is arranged. The distal end portion 69b of the discharge pipe 69 is connected to the second return side passage 34b via a tubular joint (not shown).

  A flange portion 47 c that supports the discharge pipe 69 and closes the opening 42 b of the tank body 41 is provided at the lower portion of the motor 61. The flange portion 47c is designed to have a size slightly larger than the opening portion 42b, and is disposed on the upper surface of the top plate 42 of the tank body 41 via a packing 82 so as to close the opening portion 42b. A plurality of insertion openings are formed around the flange portion 47c. A plurality of bolts 84 erected around the opening 42 b are respectively inserted into these insertion openings, and nuts (not shown) are respectively screwed into these bolts 84. As a result, the pump 47 is fixed to the tank body 41.

  Conventional pumps with a structure in which the discharge pipe is integrated with the casing are castings that are manufactured by pouring the material into the mold, which increases the amount of material used, increases the weight of the product, and tends to increase costs. . On the other hand, the pump 47 according to the present embodiment does not need to be manufactured as a casting, and after the casing 67 and the discharge pipe 69 are separately formed and then connected, the cost increase can be suppressed.

  Next, the operation of the refrigeration apparatus 11 according to this embodiment will be described. When the compressor 23 is operated in the refrigeration circuit 21, the compressed gaseous primary refrigerant is discharged from the compressor 23. This primary refrigerant is introduced into the condenser 25 through a pipe. In the condenser 25, the introduced primary refrigerant dissipates heat to the cooling water and condenses. The condensed primary refrigerant is discharged from the condenser 25. The discharged primary refrigerant is decompressed by the expansion valve 27 and then introduced into the evaporator 29.

  The evaporator 29 adjusts the temperature of the brine in the refrigerant circuit 31 as described above. In the evaporator 29, the flow path through which the primary refrigerant flows and the flow path through which the brine circulating in the refrigerant circuit 31 flows are partitioned, and in this evaporator 29, the primary refrigerant takes heat from the brine and becomes steam, The brine is cooled. The primary refrigerant that has become gaseous in the evaporator 29 is sent again to the compressor 23 and compressed.

  On the other hand, when the pump 47 is driven in the refrigerant circuit 31, the brine whose temperature is adjusted in the tank 31 is discharged from the tank 31 and sent to the evaporator 29 through the second return side passage 34b. In the evaporator 29, the temperature of the brine is adjusted to a predetermined set temperature. Thereafter, the brine that has passed through the evaporator 29 is sent to the object to be cooled through the supply side passage 32.

  The brine sent to the cooling target cools the cooling target and adjusts the temperature. In the present embodiment, the object to be cooled is a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, and it is required to adjust the temperature of the object to be cooled in a wide temperature range of, for example, about −30 ° C. to 100 ° C. In semiconductor manufacturing equipment, even if the load fluctuates in a short cycle, if the error from the set temperature exceeds ± 1 ° C, for example, there may be a problem in the manufacturing process. May be required. Thus, when the object to be cooled is a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, high-precision temperature control is required unlike in the case of air conditioning or the like, and therefore, heat exchange between the pump 47 and the brine is suppressed to control the temperature of the brine. It is important to improve the adjustment accuracy.

  The brine whose temperature to be cooled is adjusted is sent again to the tank 33 through the first return side passage 34 a and supplied to the tank body 41 through the supply pipe 43. The brine supplied into the tank body 41 is heated by the heater 45 to adjust the temperature as necessary.

  The brine that has passed through the heater 45 is sucked into the impeller accommodating portion 671 from the inlet 68 of the pump 47. The sucked brine moves downward in the impeller accommodating portion 671 by the impeller that rotates with the shaft 63 by driving the motor 61. Subsequently, the brine is sent upward through a discharge pipe 69 extending from the outlet 66 of the impeller accommodating portion 671, and is sent to the evaporator 29 through the second return side passage 34b.

  As described above, the refrigerant circulation pump 47 according to the present embodiment includes the motor 61, the shaft 63 extending downward from the motor 61, the impeller supported on the lower end side of the shaft 63, and the shaft 63. And a casing 67 having an inlet 68 through which the refrigerant flows in and an outlet 66 through which the refrigerant flows out, and a base end portion 69a are connected to the outlet 66, and extend from the casing 67 to the outside to be connected to the casing 67. And a discharge pipe 69 having a flow path for sending the refrigerant upward, heat exchange between the brine and the pump can be effectively suppressed. As a result, the accuracy of brine temperature control can be increased, a decrease in the reliability of the pump can be suppressed, and the use of extra cooling capacity can be suppressed, so that an increase in cost can be suppressed.

  In the refrigeration apparatus tank 33 according to the present embodiment, the top plate 42 has an opening 42b having an opening area into which the refrigerant circulation pump 47 can be inserted into the tank main body 41 from the outside of the tank main body 41. The circulation pump 47 further includes a flange 47c that extends from the upper end of the casing 67 to the side, supports the tip 69b of the discharge pipe 69, and closes the opening 42b. It can be inserted from the opening 42 b provided in the top plate 42 of 41, and the opening 42 b of the tank body 41 can be closed by the flange 47 c provided in the pump 47. In this way, the pump 47 can be easily attached to the tank body 41, and the tank 42 can be sealed by closing the opening 42d of the tank body 41.

  As mentioned above, although one Embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, A various change, improvement, etc. are possible in the range which does not deviate from the meaning. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the refrigeration tank is disposed upstream of the evaporator and downstream of the object to be cooled has been described as an example. However, the refrigeration tank is more than the evaporator. You may arrange | position in the upstream from the cooling object downstream.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the object to be cooled is a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus has been described as an example. However, the object to be cooled is not limited to the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus. The apparatus can be applied to adjust the temperature of various objects to be cooled.

It is a block diagram which shows the freezing apparatus concerning one Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the tank for freezing apparatuses concerning one Embodiment of this invention. It is a front view which shows the pump for refrigerant | coolant circulation concerning one Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Refrigerating device 21 Refrigeration circuit 23 Compressor 25 Condenser 27 Expansion valve 29 Evaporator 31 Refrigerant circuit 32 Supply side passage 33 Refrigeration equipment tank 34 Return side passage 41 Tank main body 42 Top plate 42b Top plate opening 47 Pump 47c Flange (Support member)
61 Motor 63 Shaft 66 Outlet 67 Casing 68 Inlet 69 Discharge piping 69b Discharge piping tip

Claims (4)

A motor (61);
A shaft (63) extending downward from the motor (61);
An impeller supported on the lower end side of the shaft (63);
A casing (67) containing the shaft (63) and the impeller, and having an inlet (68) into which refrigerant flows and an outlet (66) from which the refrigerant flows out;
A base end (69a) is connected to the outflow port (66), is extended from the casing (67) to the outside, is spaced from the casing (67), and is a flow path for sending the refrigerant upward. And a discharge pipe (69) having a refrigerant circulation pump. A tank for a refrigeration system comprising a tank body (41) having a top plate (42) and the refrigerant circulation pump (47) according to claim 1,
At least the inflow port (68) and the outflow port (66) are disposed inside the tank body (41), and the tip end portion (69b) of the discharge pipe (69) is located above the top plate (42). An extended tank for refrigeration equipment. The top plate (42) has an opening (42b) into which the refrigerant circulation pump (47) can be inserted into the tank body (41) from the outside of the tank body (41).
The refrigerant circulation pump (47) extends laterally from the upper end of the casing (67) to support the tip (69b) of the discharge pipe (69) and to open the opening (42b). The tank for a refrigeration apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a supporting member (47c) for closing. A refrigeration circuit (21) having a compressor (23), a condenser (25), a decompression mechanism (27), and an evaporator (29);
A supply side passage (32) for sending the refrigerant from the evaporator (29) to the object to be cooled, a return side passage (34) for sending the refrigerant from the object to be cooled to the evaporator (29), and the supply side passage (32). And a refrigerant circuit (31) having the refrigeration apparatus tank (33) according to claim 2 or 3 disposed in any one of the return side passages (34).

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