JP2013068357A - Cooling apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cooling apparatus which effectively prevents a vortex without increasing cost and, even when air is mixed in a liquid tank, prevents a force-feeding pump from sucking air, in order to solve the following problems: when the cooing apparatus for cooling a liquid uses the force-feeding pump to deliver the liquid from a liquid tank storing the liquid, if the liquid level in the liquid tank decreases below a predetermined level, the overall weight and volume of the liquid in the liquid tank is reduced, so that the liquid in the liquid tank is likely to be affected by a sucking force of the pump, and a vortex is likely to occur; and it is costly to install an anti-vortex plate or the like, which requires attachment into the liquid tank and machining, for preventing the vortex.SOLUTION: The cooling apparatus includes: a liquid tank for storing liquid to be circulated between an object to be cooled and the liquid tank; a force-feeding pump for discharging the liquid from the liquid tank to the object to be cooled via an outlet of the liquid tank and recovering the liquid to the liquid tank via an inlet of the liquid tank; a cooling circuit for cooling the liquid; a pipe for connecting the force-feeding pump with the liquid tank; and a joint for connecting the pipe, for connecting the force-feeding pump with the liquid tank, with the liquid tank. The joint is attached to an inner part of an outlet of the liquid in the liquid tank, and at least one hole is formed on the joint.

Description

  The present invention relates to a cooling apparatus that circulates a cooling liquid to an object to be cooled such as a laser processing machine used at a production site or an MRI used at a medical site to cool the cooling object.

  The cooling device has a liquid tank for storing a coolant to be circulated with the object to be cooled, a liquid tank for sending the cooling liquid from the liquid tank to the object to be cooled through the cooling liquid outlet, and via the cooling liquid inlet. It is equipped with a pressure feed pump for recovery, a cooler for cooling the coolant, and a pipe connecting the liquid tank and the pressure feed pump.

As described in Patent Document 1, a liquid feed pump is used to feed water from the coolant tank. In the eddy current prevention device described in Patent Document 2, a pump is provided on the terminal side in the water absorption tank, and a vortex prevention wall extending downward on the upstream side of the pump in the water absorption tank is provided to prevent generation of eddy currents. It is preventing. In the eddy current preventing device described in Patent Document 3, a vertical axis pump having a bell mouth is installed in the water absorbing tank, and the bottom surface of the water absorbing tank is perpendicular to the bell mouth and is perpendicular to the bottom surface of the water absorbing tank. A vortex prevention plate protruding in the direction is installed to prevent vortex flow.

JP 2006-322658 A JP-A-5-321897 Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-103879

However, the conventional eddy current preventing device described above has the following problems to be solved.
In Patent Document 1, when the liquid level in the liquid tank is equal to or lower than a certain liquid level, the weight and volume of the entire liquid in the liquid tank are reduced, so that the liquid in the liquid tank is easily affected by the suction force by the pump. Thus, the vortex 20 is likely to be generated as shown in FIG. When the vortex 20 is generated, the vortex 20 entrains air into the liquid. In general, a pump for liquid sucks in liquid by creating a vacuum state. Therefore, when air is entrained, a vacuum state cannot be created. The pressure-feed pump 3 cannot suck in the liquid and runs idle. When the pump 3 is idle, the seal member is urged to expand, leading to liquid leakage or failure due to motor heat generation.

In order to prevent eddy currents, as shown in Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3, the liquid tank must be processed and assembled by providing a vortex prevention wall and a vortex prevention plate in the liquid tank. Therefore, the number of parts and assembly man-hours increase. Therefore, the overall cost increases and the product price increases.

The present invention solves the above-described problem, and the pump does not suck in the air sucked in by the liquid in the liquid tank due to the influence of the suction force by the pump, so that the pump malfunctions or breaks down. The purpose is to prevent.

  The cooling device of the present invention includes at least a liquid tank 2 for storing the liquid 8 to be circulated with the object to be cooled 17, and the liquid 8 from the liquid tank 2 to the object to be cooled 17 via the liquid tank outlet 11. A pumping pump 3 for sending out and recovering to the liquid tank via the liquid tank inlet 10, a cooling circuit 13 for cooling the liquid 8, a pipe 4 connecting them, the liquid tank 2 and the pressure pump 3. The apparatus includes a joint 6 for connecting the pipe 4 to be connected to the liquid tank 2, and the joint 6 attached to the lower wall surface of the liquid tank 2 is the same height as the pressure pump 3 or higher than the pressure pump 3. The suction position 6a for introducing the liquid 8 of the joint 6 is set at a position lower than the liquid tank outlet lower end 11b, and the joint 6 is provided with a hole 7 of a predetermined size. Features.

Further, according to the cooling device of the second aspect of the present invention, the hole 7 is provided on the upper surface of the joint 6 and a surface having a height equal to or higher than the liquid tank outlet central position 11b.

Furthermore, according to the cooling device of the third aspect of the present invention, a plurality of holes 7 are processed in a direction along the flow direction of the liquid 8.

Furthermore, according to the cooling device of the fourth aspect of the present invention, a plurality of holes 7 are processed in a direction perpendicular to the direction along the flow direction of the liquid 8.

Furthermore, according to the cooling device of claim 5 of the present invention, the shape of the joint 6 is T-shaped.

Furthermore, according to the cooling device of the sixth aspect of the present invention, the shape of the joint 6 is a curved tone inverted V-shape.

Further, according to the cooling device of the seventh aspect of the present invention, the shape of the joint 6 is a stepped L-shape.

Furthermore, according to the cooling device of the eighth aspect of the present invention, the shape of the joint 6 has a slope portion.

Furthermore, according to the cooling device of the ninth aspect of the present invention, the shape of the joint 6 includes a horizontal introduction portion and a gradient portion.

Furthermore, according to the cooling device of the tenth aspect of the present invention, the pipe 4 has a horizontal portion and a gradient portion.

Furthermore, according to the cooling device of the eleventh aspect of the present invention, the pipe 4 is characterized by only the gradient portion.

According to the cooling device 1 of the first aspect of the present invention having such a configuration, the following remarkable effects can be obtained.
(1) Since the suction position 6a for introducing the liquid 8 of the joint 6 attached inside the liquid tank 2 is set to a position lower than the liquid tank outlet 11, and the hole 6 having a predetermined size is provided in the joint 6, for example, Even when the liquid level 12 is lowered from a certain level and air 9 is mixed into the liquid 8 in the liquid tank 2, the liquid 8 is sent out by the pressure pump 3. Since the air 9 escapes upward from the hole 7, it is possible to prevent the pump 9 from sucking the air 9.

(2)
Since the pumping pump 3 can prevent the air 9 from being sucked in, the pumping pump 3 runs idly and the motor generates heat, thereby encouraging expansion of a seal member (not shown) and causing liquid leakage. In addition, it is possible to avoid problems due to damage to the motor body (not shown).

.
(3)
Since a simple process of providing a hole 7 of a predetermined size in the joint 6 is sufficient, there is no need to provide a vortex prevention wall or vortex prevention plate in the liquid tank 2, and the number of parts and assembly man-hours are not increased. It can contribute to cost reduction as a whole.

Furthermore, according to the cooling device of the second aspect of the present invention, the following remarkable effects can be obtained.
By processing the hole 7 into a surface having a height higher than the upper surface of the joint 6 and the liquid tank outlet center position 11b, when the liquid 8 flows through the joint 6, the air 9 having a low specific gravity can easily escape from the hole 7. .

Furthermore, according to the cooling device of claim 3 according to the present invention, the plurality of holes 7 are machined in the direction along the flow direction of the liquid 8, thereby increasing the certainty that the air 9 can escape from the joint 6 in the flow direction. Can do.

Furthermore, according to the cooling device of the fourth aspect of the present invention, the plurality of holes 7 are processed in a direction perpendicular to the direction along the flow direction of the liquid 8, so that the air 9 can be surely released from the liquid 6. The property can be enhanced in a direction perpendicular to the flow direction of the liquid 8.

Furthermore, according to the cooling device of the fifth aspect of the present invention, the following remarkable effects are obtained.
By securing the air reservoir space 6d formed at least at the height of the liquid tank outlet center position 11b or higher even when the amount of air is relatively large, the joint 6 is T-shaped. The liquid 8 can be prevented from flowing out with the air 9 mixed therein.

Furthermore, according to the cooling device of the sixth aspect of the present invention, the following remarkable effects can be obtained. Since the joint 6 has a curved tone reverse V shape, the flow of the liquid 8 flowing through the joint 6 can be made smooth.

Further, according to the cooling device of the seventh aspect of the present invention, the following remarkable effects are obtained. When the joint 6 is a stepped L-shape, it is possible to improve the ease of attachment when the joint 6 is attached to the water tank 2 using a tool.

Furthermore, according to the cooling device of the eighth aspect of the present invention, the following remarkable effects are obtained.
The shape of the joint 6 includes the joint gradient portion 6c, so that the flow of the liquid 8 flowing through the joint 6 can be made smooth to some extent, and the ease of attachment when the joint 6 is attached to the water tank 2 is ensured. be able to.

Furthermore, according to the cooling measure of the ninth aspect of the present invention, since the joint 6 includes the horizontal introduction portion 6e and the gradient portion 6c, the liquid 8 can be smoothly introduced into the joint 6.

Further, according to the cooling device of the tenth aspect of the present invention, the pipe 4 has the horizontal part and the slope part formed in the direction descending from the liquid tank outlet 11, so that the pipe 4 can be easily attached to the water tank 2. In addition, the flow of the liquid 8 flowing through the pipe 4 to the pump 3 can be made smooth.

Furthermore, according to the cooling device of the eleventh aspect of the present invention, the pump 3 of the liquid 8 flowing in the pipe 4 is provided by having only the gradient portion formed in the direction in which the pipe 4 descends from the liquid tank outlet 11. The flow to can be made smoother. Further, the position at which the joint 6 is attached to the liquid tank 2 is made higher than the pressure pump 3, and the inside of the pipe 4 connecting the liquid tank 2 and the pressure pump 3 and the pressure pump 3 are filled with the liquid 8. In doing so, air 9 can be prevented from being mixed.

It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the cooling device which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which expands and clearly shows the joint in FIG. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the configuration of the main part of FIG. 1. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the cooling device which concerns on this Embodiment 2. FIG. It is a figure which shows each Example of the coupling of this invention. It is a figure which shows the Example of the hole arrangement | positioning of the joint of this invention. It is a figure which shows each Example of the connection structure of the liquid tank and piping of this invention. It is the figure which showed one example of what combined the Example of this invention. It is the figure which showed the eddy current generation state in the conventional cooling device.

Next, preferred embodiments according to the present invention will be given and described in detail with reference to the drawings.
First, the configuration of the cooling device 1 according to the present embodiment will be specifically described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 shows a schematic circuit configuration of the present invention. The cooling device 1 is roughly divided into a liquid tank 2 for storing the liquid 8 to be circulated with the object 17 to be cooled, and the liquid 8 is sent from the liquid tank 2 to the object 17 to be cooled through the liquid tank outlet 11. At the same time, a pressure pump 3 for recovering the liquid tank 2 through the liquid tank inlet 10, a cooling circuit 13 for cooling the liquid 8, a pipe 4 connecting the liquid tank 2 and the pressure pump 3, and the liquid tank 2 And a joint 6 for connecting the pipe 4 connecting the pressure feed pump 3 to the liquid tank 2.

  The cooling circuit 13 includes a compressor 14 that compresses the refrigerant to increase the pressure, a condenser 15 that condenses and liquefies the refrigerant, an expansion valve 16 that expands the refrigerant, evaporates the refrigerant, and heats the vaporization thereof. It comprises a circuit based on the evaporator 5 for cooling the liquid using it.

  After the liquid 8 sent out by the pressure feed pump 3 from the liquid tank outlet 11 to which the joint 6 in the liquid tank 2 is attached is introduced into the cooled object 17 from the cooled object inlet 18 and the cooled object 17 is cooled. Then, the liquid 8 that flows from the outlet to be cooled 19 to the evaporator 5 and cooled by the evaporator 5 is returned from the liquid tank inlet 10 into the liquid tank 2 and stored. The stored liquid 8 is sent out by the pressure pump 3 again.

  The joint 6 attached to the liquid tank outlet 11 is a tubular joint processed into an L shape in a side view, one of which is directed to the liquid tank bottom surface 2a, and the other is connected to the liquid tank outlet 11, and the liquid tank bottom surface The liquid 8 is introduced from the side directed to 2a, that is, from the suction position 6a. The suction position 6a for introducing the liquid 8 is set at a position lower than the liquid tank outlet lower end 11a. Since the liquid level 12 is less affected by the force sucked into the pressure feed pump 3 through the joint 6 by the amount set at a low position, the generation of the vortex 20 as shown in FIG. 9 can be suppressed. Here, the expression “high” or “low” expresses the height in the direction perpendicular to the ground plane.

  2 is an enlarged view of the joint 6 in FIG. 1, (1) is a plan view of the joint 6 as viewed from above, and (2) is a side view of the joint 6 as viewed from the side. The joint 6 has a hole 7 of a predetermined size on the upper surface and a surface at a height of the liquid tank outlet center position 11b or more (specifically, in the case of a joint having a diameter of about 30 mm, a hole of about φ5 mm).

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the configuration of the main part of FIG. Even if the air 9 is mixed in the joint 6 when the liquid 8 in the liquid tank 2 is pumped out by the pressure feed pump 3, the air 9 having a lighter specific gravity than the liquid 8 is caused to flow from the hole 7 to the joint 6 by the liquid flow. Pushed out of the. After the air 9 is pushed out, the pressure pump 3 sucks in the liquid 8. This prevents the pumping pump 3 from sucking the air 9.

  By preventing the pressure pump 3 from sucking the air 9, the pressure pump 3 can continuously suck the liquid 8 and send it out. Therefore, when the pressure pump 3 is idling and the motor is overheated, the seal member It is possible to prevent problems caused by expansion of (not shown) and liquid leakage, or failure of the motor body (not shown).

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the cooling device 100 according to the second embodiment. The positional relationship between the liquid tank 2 and the evaporator 5 is different from that in the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, the liquid 8 flows in the order of the liquid tank 2, the pressure pump 3, the object 17 to be cooled, and the evaporator 5, and returns to the liquid tank 2. However, in the second embodiment, the liquid 8 is the liquid tank. 2, the pumping pump 3, the evaporator 5, and the object to be cooled 17 are returned to the flow liquid tank 2 in this order. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment. Therefore, it has the same effect as the effect of Embodiment 1.

  (A)-(e) of Drawing 5 is a figure showing each example of a joint of the present invention. (A) is a T-shaped joint. It is attached so that the letter T is rotated 90 degrees to the left. The liquid 8 flows from the lower side of the figure to the right side. A hole 7 is formed on the upper side of the joint. By securing the air reservoir space 6d at a position higher than the liquid tank outlet center position 11b, the separation state can be made more stable when the liquid 8 and the mixed air 9 are separated.

  FIG. 5B shows a curved-tone inverted V-shaped joint. As with the joint (a), a hole 7 is formed on the upper side. By making the curve tone, there is an effect of increasing the ease of flow. Further, since the hole 7 is formed at the top of the V-order type of the joint 6, there is an effect of easily separating the air 9 mixed in the liquid 8.

  FIG. 5C shows a stepped L-shaped joint. As with the joint (a), a hole 7 is formed on the upper side. By reducing the diameter on the liquid tank outlet 11 side, the possibility that the pumping pump 3 sucks the air 9 can be further reduced. Moreover, when attaching the joint 6 to the liquid tank 2, since the part with a small diameter is attached, the usability of a tool can also be improved.

  FIG. 5D shows a joint having a joint gradient portion 6c. The joint gradient portion 6 c is directed upward from the suction port 6 a, which hits the opposite end of the joint 6 with respect to the liquid tank outlet 11, toward the liquid tank outlet 11. Since there is an effect of increasing the ease of flow of the liquid 8 and the joint horizontal portion 6b is also configured, there is an advantage that it can be easily attached to the liquid tank wall surface 2b.

  FIG. 5E shows a joint having a horizontal introduction part 6e and a joint gradient part 6c. The gradient of the joint gradient portion 6 c is a direction that rises from the suction port 6 a toward the liquid tank outlet 11. There is an advantage that the liquid 8 easily flows into the joint 6 and easily flows in the joint and is easy to install.

  FIGS. 6A to 6C are views showing examples of the hole arrangement of the joint of the present invention, wherein (1) is a plan view and (2) is a side view of (1). In FIG. 6A, two holes 7 are formed on the upper surface of the joint 6. When the air 9 mixed in cannot be pushed out by one hole 7, the air 9 can be pushed out more easily.

In FIG. 6B, three holes 7 are machined in the direction along the flow direction of the liquid 8 on the upper surface of the joint. Even when the flow rate of the liquid 8 is relatively fast, the air 9 can be pushed out.

6C, three holes 7 are machined on the upper surface of the joint in a direction perpendicular to the direction along the flow direction of the liquid 8 on the upper surface of the joint. Even when the flow rate of the liquid 8 is relatively slow and the amount of mixed air 9 is relatively large, the air 9 can be pushed out.
The number of holes 7 in FIGS. 6A to 6C is not limited to two or three, and more holes may be provided. The plurality of holes 7 may have the same size or shape, or may have different shapes.

Further, the embodiment shown in FIGS. 5A to 5E and the embodiment shown in FIGS. 6A to 6C may be combined. An example is shown in FIG. FIG. 8 shows an example in which (b) shown in FIG. 5 and (c) shown in FIG. 6 are combined. (1) is the top view which looked at the coupling 6 from the top, (2) is the side view seen from the side. In this example, three holes 7 are machined at the apex of the curved tone V-shaped joint. By doing so, the liquid 8 and the air 9 can be easily separated, and the amount of air to be separated can be increased. Thus, a synergistic effect can be achieved by combining the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 and the embodiment shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a view showing each embodiment of the connection structure between the liquid tank and the pipe of the present invention. (A) in FIG. 7 shows a case where a pipe having a pipe horizontal part 4b and a pipe gradient part 4c is attached to the liquid tank 2, and the fact that the pipe horizontal part 4b is present makes it easy to attach, The ease of inflow into the pump 3 can be increased.

FIG. 7B shows a case where the pipe 4 having only the pipe gradient portion 4 c is attached to the liquid tank 2, and if there is no need to consider the ease of attachment to the liquid tank 2, the flow into the pressure feed pump 3 is reduced. It is possible to increase the ease of operation.

  The preferred embodiments and examples have been described in detail above. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments and examples, and the gist of the present invention is described in detail in configuration, shape, material, quantity, and the like. Any change, addition, or deletion can be made without departing from the scope.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1: Cooling device, 2: Liquid tank, 2a: Liquid tank bottom surface, 3: Pumping pump, 4: Piping, piping horizontal part: 4b, Piping gradient part: 4c, 5: Evaporator, 6: Joint, 6a: Suction position , Joint horizontal part: 6b, joint gradient part 6c, air reservoir space 6d, horizontal introduction part 6e, 7: hole, 8: liquid, 9: air, 10: liquid tank inlet, 11: liquid tank outlet, 11a: liquid Tank outlet lower end, 11b: Liquid tank outlet center position, 12: Liquid level, 13: Cooling circuit, 14: Compressor, 15: Condenser, 16: Expansion valve, 17: Object to be cooled, 18: Inlet to be cooled, 19: Exit to be cooled, 20: Swirl

Claims (11)

At least a liquid tank for storing a liquid to be circulated with the object to be cooled, and a liquid is sent from the liquid tank to the object to be cooled through a liquid tank outlet and to the liquid tank through a liquid tank inlet. A pressure pump for recovering, a cooling circuit for cooling the liquid, a pipe connecting the liquid tank and the pressure pump, and a pipe connecting the liquid tank and the pressure pump are connected to the liquid tank. The joint attached to the lower wall surface of the liquid tank is disposed at the same height as the pressure pump or higher than the pressure pump, and introduces the liquid of the joint The cooling position is set to a position lower than the lower end of the liquid tank outlet, and the joint is provided with a hole of a predetermined size. 2. The cooling device according to claim 1, wherein the hole is provided on a surface having a height equal to or higher than a liquid tank outlet center position of the liquid tank outlet on an upper surface of the joint. The cooling device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the holes are processed in a direction along a liquid flow direction. The cooling device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the holes are machined in a direction perpendicular to a direction along a liquid flow direction. The cooling device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a shape of the joint is T-shaped. The shape of the joint is a curved tone inverted V-shape. Claims 1-4
The cooling apparatus in any one. The cooling device according to claim 1, wherein the shape of the joint is a stepped L shape. The cooling device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the joint has a slope portion. The shape of the joint includes a horizontal introduction portion and a gradient portion.
-4 cooling device in any one. The said piping has a horizontal part and a gradient part, The cooling device in any one of Claims 1-9 characterized by the above-mentioned. The cooling device according to claim 1, wherein the pipe has only a gradient portion.