JP2012174906A - Cooling device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cooling device which can have a refrigerant easily replaced without stopping the operation of a cooled body.SOLUTION: A closed type cooling device includes: a pipe 1 filled with the refrigerant; a pump 5 for circulating the refrigerant by applying pressure larger than atmospheric pressure to the refrigerant in the pipe; a tank 6 to which a first liquid reservoir part 81 for reservoiring the refrigerant discharged from the pipe 1 and a second liquid reservoir part 82 for reservoiring the refrigerant injected into the pipe are connected above a liquid level; a first three-way valve A connected to the pipe 1 and first liquid reservoir part 81; and a second three-way valve B connected to the pipe 1 and second liquid reservoir part 82. When the refrigerant is replaced, a flow passage of the refrigerant in the pipe is switched to the first liquid reservoir part 81, and the first and second three-way valves A, B are switched associatively so as to introduce the refrigerant in the second liquid reservoir part 82 into the pipe.

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to a cooling device.

  In a television transmitter for terrestrial digital broadcasting, a cooling device is used to process a large amount of waste heat. In this type of application, a water cooling type cooling device (hereinafter referred to as a water cooling device) is generally used. The water cooling device is used by circulating cooling water used as a refrigerant. For this reason, if the cooling water is not replaced at regular intervals, problems such as a decrease in cooling effect and corrosion of the apparatus occur.

  There are two types of water-cooling devices: closed type and open type. Of these, the open type has cooling water in contact with the outside air. In the sealed type, the cooling water is completely cut off from the outside air, and the cooling water is less deteriorated. In both cases of cooling water exchange, the apparatus must be temporarily stopped and the cooling water must be extracted from the apparatus. During this time, the cooling function is stopped, so that it is necessary to stop the operation of the object to be cooled (such as a transmission device).

  When refilling the cooling water, the open type can use a circulation pump provided in the apparatus, but the sealed type requires a separate filling pump. Since the hermetic cooling water exchange cycle is long, the filling pump may be operated once every several years, which may cause a problem in terms of pump maintenance.

JP-A-4-236083

In the existing cooling device, it is necessary to stop the operation of the object to be cooled when the refrigerant is replaced. This is something that should be avoided when applied to a high-power transmission device or server device that is operated on the premise of constant operation. In addition, it is necessary to separately prepare equipment such as a filling pump, and it is difficult to say that the refrigerant can be easily replaced.
An object is to provide a cooling device capable of easily replacing the refrigerant without stopping the operation of the object to be cooled.

  According to the embodiment, the hermetic cooling device includes a pipe filled with a refrigerant, a pump that circulates the refrigerant by applying a pressure equal to or higher than atmospheric pressure to the refrigerant in the pipe, and a refrigerant discharged from the pipe. A tank in which a first liquid reservoir for storing and a second liquid reservoir for storing a refrigerant injected into the pipe are connected above the liquid level, and connected to the pipe and the first liquid reservoir. And a second three-way valve connected to the pipe and the second liquid reservoir. Then, at the time of replacement of the refrigerant, the flow path of the refrigerant in the pipe is switched to the first liquid reservoir, and the first and second 3 to introduce the refrigerant in the second liquid reservoir into the pipe. The way valve is switched in conjunction.

The figure which shows an example of the cooling device concerning embodiment. The figure which shows 3 way valve A and B shown by FIG. The figure which shows the existing open type cooling device for a comparison. The figure which shows the existing sealing-type cooling device for a comparison. The figure which shows the mode at the time of refrigerant | coolant replacement | exchange of the cooling device shown in FIG. The figure which shows the example of the form of the tank 8 for replacement | exchange. The figure which shows the other example of the form of the tank 8 for replacement | exchange.

Drawing 1 is a figure showing an example of the cooling device concerning an embodiment. This cooling device is a closed type, and collects the heat of the object to be cooled through the refrigerant by circulating a refrigerant such as water filled in the pipe 1. In FIG. 1, a cooling unit 3 is attached to an object to be cooled 2 (for example, a television transmitter). In the cooling unit 3, the heat of the object to be cooled 2 is recovered, and in the heat exchanger 4 connected via a pipe, the recovered heat is wasted into the outside air. The pipe 1 is connected to a pump 5 that circulates the refrigerant by applying a pressure higher than atmospheric pressure to the refrigerant in the pipe 1. The tube 1 may be provided with a sealed tank 6 and an air vent valve 7.
1 includes a first three-way valve A and a second three-way valve B that are connected in the middle of the pipe 1 and switch the refrigerant flow path in the pipe 1. The three-way valves A and B are also connected to the replacement tank 8. The replacement tank 8 includes a first liquid reservoir 81 that stores the refrigerant discharged from the pipe 1 and a second liquid reservoir 82 that stores the refrigerant injected into the pipe 1. That is, deteriorated refrigerant is stored in the liquid reservoir 81, and fresh refrigerant for replacement is stored in the liquid reservoir 82. The liquid reservoir 81 may be empty before the refrigerant replacement operation.

  Although the replacement tank 8 is hermetically sealed as a whole, the liquid reservoir 81 and the liquid reservoir 82 are connected to each other via an air port above the liquid level of the refrigerant. The liquid reservoir 81 is connected to the three-way valve A, and the liquid reservoir 82 is individually connected to the three-way valve B by a flexible tube or a coupler, respectively.

  FIG. 2 is a view showing the three-way valves A and B shown in FIG. At the time of normal operation (a), that is, in a state where the refrigerant replacement operation is not performed, both the three-way valves A and B are switched so that the refrigerant circulates in the pipe 1. That is, during normal operation (a), the refrigerant flow path is closed in the pipe 1, and the refrigerant pushed out from the pump 5 returns to the pump 5 through the pipe 1.

  At the time of refrigerant replacement (b), the three-way valves A and B are switched in conjunction. As a result, the flow path of the refrigerant is dressed with the replacement tank 8 interposed therebetween. That is, the refrigerant in the pipe 1 is pushed out from the three-way valve A to the liquid reservoir 81 of the replacement tank 8 with a force higher than the atmospheric pressure by the pump 5. Then, the air in the liquid reservoir 81 is pushed out to the liquid reservoir 82, the pressure is applied to the refrigerant in the liquid reservoir 82, and the fresh refrigerant is pushed out of the liquid reservoir 82 and is piped through the three-way valve B. 1 is injected. Through the above process, old refrigerant is recovered in the replacement tank 8 and new refrigerant is replenished to the pipe 1.

  As described above, the recovery of the old refrigerant and the replenishment of the new refrigerant can be performed at once, and the replacement operation is completed within a short time. In addition, since the circulation pump 5 and the action of the atmospheric pressure are used, it is not necessary to separately prepare a water supply pump or the like.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an existing open-type cooling device for comparison. In the open type cooling device, a replacement refrigerant (water) is poured into the open type tank 9, and the pump 5 fills the pipe with the refrigerant. When replacing the refrigerant, the pump 5 is stopped, the discharge port (drain) 10 is opened, and the air vent valve 7 is opened to discharge the refrigerant. Replenishment of water to the open tank 9 requires manual operation such as water injection from a poly tank or use of a water injection pump, which is laborious. Also, the cooling device must be stopped when the refrigerant is replaced, and therefore the operation of the object to be cooled must also be stopped.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an existing hermetic cooling device for comparison. In the apparatus of FIG. 4, the refrigerant is injected from the inlet 11. When replacing the refrigerant, the pump 5 is also stopped, the discharge port (drain) is opened, the air vent valve 7 and the like are opened, and the refrigerant is discharged. Then, as shown in FIG. Pour water.

  As described above, in the existing cooling device, it is necessary to stop the pump for circulating the refrigerant when replacing the refrigerant, and the object to be cooled must be stopped while the cooling effect cannot be obtained. Therefore, there is a problem in cooling an always-on type device. Even if the operation is performed without stopping the pump, a device such as an infusion pump needs to be prepared separately, and it cannot be said that the replacement operation can be performed easily.

  On the other hand, according to the embodiment, if the three-way valves A and B that are interlocked are switched, the refrigerant is automatically replaced by the circulation pump 5 and the action of atmospheric pressure. Therefore, the labor required for the replacement work can be drastically reduced and the time can be shortened, and it is not necessary to prepare a pump for injection separately. Further, since the refrigerant circulates in the pipe 1 even during the replacement work, there is no need to stop the cooling device, and therefore there is no need to stop the operation of the object to be cooled. Furthermore, an effect that the ratio of the deteriorated refrigerant mixed in the new refrigerant is small can be obtained. From these things, the cooling device which can replace | exchange a refrigerant | coolant easily, without stopping operation | use of a to-be-cooled object can be provided.

Below, another form of the replacement tank 8 is shown.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the form of the replacement tank 8. The replacement tank 8 does not have to be an integral type as shown in FIG. 6 (a), and as shown in FIG. 6 (b), the upper part from the liquid level is connected by a pipe or tube to keep the airtightness. It may be a separate type.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the form of a replacement tank. The tank shown in FIG. 7 includes a third liquid reservoir 83. The liquid reservoir 83 is connected to the liquid reservoir 81 and the liquid reservoir 82 above the liquid surface. As described above, the number of liquid reservoirs is not limited to two, and if they are connected by an air pipe, the same effect as that of the embodiment is brought about when the refrigerant is replaced. Furthermore, a plurality of liquid reservoirs or the tanks themselves may be connected according to the amount of refrigerant exchanged.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this embodiment is shown as an example and is not intending limiting the range of invention. The novel embodiment can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. This embodiment and its modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Pipe, 2 ... Cooled object, 3 ... Cooling part, 4 ... Heat exchanger, 5 ... Pump, 6 ... Sealed tank, 7 ... Air vent valve, A, B ... Three-way valve, 8 ... Replacement tank, 81 , 82, 83 ... Liquid reservoir, 9 ... Open-type tank, 10 ... Discharge port (drain), 11 ... Injection port, 12 ... Pump for injection

Claims (4)

In a sealed cooling device,
A tube filled with refrigerant;
A pump that circulates the refrigerant by applying a pressure higher than atmospheric pressure to the refrigerant in the pipe;
A tank in which a first liquid reservoir for storing refrigerant discharged from the pipe and a second liquid reservoir for storing refrigerant injected into the pipe are connected above the liquid level;
A first three-way valve connected to the tube and the first liquid reservoir;
A second three-way valve connected to the pipe and the second liquid reservoir,
When the refrigerant is replaced, the first and second three-way valves are used to switch the refrigerant flow path in the pipe to the first liquid reservoir and to introduce the refrigerant in the second liquid reservoir into the pipe. A cooling device that switches between them.   2. The cooling device according to claim 1, wherein the tank further includes a third liquid reservoir portion connected to the first liquid reservoir portion and the second liquid reservoir portion at an upper portion than the liquid level.   The cooling device according to claim 1, wherein the refrigerant is water.   The cooling device according to claim 1, wherein the object to be cooled is a television transmission device.

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