JP4385575B2 - Cooling apparatus and method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a cooling apparatus and method for cooling an object to be cooled with a coolant.
[0002]
[Prior art]
For example, in the quenching process of the metal material, the heat-treated metal material (cooling object) is cooled using a cooling device. Generally, an agitator-type device that fluidizes a coolant such as cooling oil with a stirrer such as a screw is used as the cooling device. Such a cooling device maintains the cooling oil at a predetermined temperature (usually 80 degrees to 200 degrees) by a heater such as a heater provided in the oil tank, and immerses a metal material in the cooling oil. Cool the material.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, since the agitator-type cooling device as described above has a low ability to cool the cooling oil heated to a high temperature by cooling the metal material, the temperature of the cooling oil rises from a predetermined temperature as the metal material is cooled. Resulting in. For this reason, the conventional cooling device can only cool the metal material to about 250 degrees at which the metal material and the cooling oil are in a thermal equilibrium state.
[0004]
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and has the following objects.
(1) In the cooling device and method, the object to be cooled is reliably cooled to a lower temperature.
(2) Cool the coolant that has been heated by cooling the object to be cooled to a lower temperature.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, as a first means related to a cooling device, a cooling device that cools an object to be cooled by immersing it in a coolant stored in a cooling tank, In the case of cooling a heated coolant by cooling an object, a configuration in which fluidizing means for forcibly flowing the coolant and heat exchange means for cooling the fluidized coolant by heat exchange is adopted. .
[0006]
As the second means related to the cooling device, in the first means, the fluidizing means controls the pump for discharging the coolant sucked from one side to the other, the driving means for driving the pump, and the driving means. A configuration of including a control unit is employed.
[0007]
As a third means related to the cooling device, in the second means, a pipe having one end connected to a predetermined portion of the cooling tank and the other end connected to a portion separated from the predetermined portion is provided. And the structure that a heat exchange means is provided in the middle part of piping is employ | adopted.
[0008]
As a fourth means related to the cooling device, in any one of the first to third means, a bypass pipe that bypasses the heat exchange means, and a path that leads the coolant alternatively to the bypass pipe or the heat exchange means And a path selection unit that guides the coolant to the bypass pipe when the coolant is not cooled, and the fluidizing unit forces the coolant to flow even when the coolant is not cooled. Is adopted.
[0009]
As a fifth means related to the cooling device, in any one of the above second to fourth means, the fluidizing means further comprises a temperature measuring means for measuring the temperature of the coolant in the cooling tank, and the control means is a temperature A configuration is adopted in which the driving means is controlled so that the temperature measured by the measuring means becomes a predetermined target temperature.
[0010]
As a sixth means related to the cooling device, a configuration is adopted in which any one of the first to fifth means includes a stirring means for stirring the coolant in the cooling tank.
[0011]
As a seventh means related to the cooling device, a configuration in which any one of the first to sixth means is provided with a heating means for heating the coolant in the cooling tank is adopted.
[0012]
As an eighth means related to the cooling device, in any one of the first to seventh means, a configuration is adopted in which the cooling tank is installed in a container of an inert atmosphere.
[0013]
As a first means related to a cooling method, a cooling method for cooling an object to be cooled by immersing the object in a coolant, wherein the coolant is cooled by cooling the object to be cooled. Is employed, and the coolant in this fluid state is cooled by heat exchange.
[0014]
As a second means related to the cooling method, a system is adopted in which the coolant is forced to flow from one to the other and the flow rate of the forced flow is controlled in the first means.
[0015]
As a third means related to the cooling method, in the second means, cooling is performed at an intermediate portion of the pipe in which one end is connected to a predetermined portion of the cooling tank and the other end is connected to a portion separated from the predetermined portion. A method of forcibly flowing the agent and cooling it is adopted.
[0016]
As a fourth means related to the cooling method, in any one of the above first to third means, when the coolant is not cooled, the coolant is forced to flow by bypassing the heat exchange means. adopt.
[0017]
As a fifth means related to the cooling method, in any one of the second to fourth means, the temperature of the coolant in the cooling tank is measured, and the flow rate of the forced flow of the coolant is controlled based on the temperature. Adopt the method.
[0018]
As a sixth means related to the cooling method, a method of stirring the coolant in the cooling tank in any one of the first to fifth means is adopted.
[0019]
As a seventh means related to the cooling method, in any one of the first to sixth means, a method of heating the coolant in the cooling tank before immersing the object to be cooled is adopted.
[0020]
As an eighth means related to the cooling method, any one of the above first to seventh means adopts a system in which the cooling tank is installed in a container of an inert atmosphere.
[0021]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of a cooling device and method according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0022]
FIG. 1 is an overall view of a cooling device in the present embodiment. In this figure, reference numeral 1 is an oil tank (cooling tank), 2 is a stirring section (stirring means), 3 is a heater (heating means), 4 is piping, 5 is a pump, 6 is a heat exchanger (heat exchanging means), Reference numeral 7 denotes a thermometer (temperature measuring means), and 8 denotes a control unit (control means). A is a fluidizing section (fluidizing means), B is a driving section (driving means), C is a path selecting section (path selecting means), X is a metal material (cooling object), and Y is cooling oil (coolant). It is.
[0023]
The cooling oil Y is stored inside the oil tank 1, and the metal material X is cooled by being immersed in the cooling oil Y. The agitator 2 agitates the cooling oil Y, and is composed of an agitator motor 2a and a propeller 2b. The agitator motor 2a is installed outside the oil tank 1, and rotates the propeller 2b installed inside the oil tank 1, that is, in the cooling oil Y, via a connecting rod. The heater 3 is also installed inside the oil tank 1. The heater 3 sets the temperature of the cooling oil Y to a predetermined temperature (usually 80 degrees to 200 degrees) before the metal material X is immersed in the cooling oil Y. The stirring unit 2 and the heater 3 are respectively provided at the right end and the left end of the oil tank 1 as shown in the figure.
[0024]
The pipe 4 has one end connected to a predetermined part of the oil tank 1 and the other end connected to a part separated from the predetermined part. That is, one end of the pipe 4 is connected to the side surface of the right end of the oil tank 1 as shown, and the other end is connected to the bottom surface of the oil tank 1. The pipe 4 is installed outside the oil tank 1.
[0025]
The fluidizing part A is composed of a driving part B, a pump 5, a thermometer 7 and a control part 8. The fluidizing section A forcibly causes the cooling oil Y to flow at a predetermined flow rate. This drive part B drives the pump 5, and is composed of an inverter B1 and a drive part motor B2. The pump 5 is installed in the middle part of the pipe 4 and forcibly flows the cooling oil Y directly. The thermometer 7 measures the temperature of the cooling oil Y in the oil tank 1. That is, the thermometer 7 measures the temperature of the cooling oil Y in the oil tank 1 by being installed between one end of the pipe 4a connected to the side surface of the oil tank 1 and the pump 5, and controls the temperature measurement signal as a temperature measurement signal. The control unit 8 controls the drive unit B so that the temperature measured by the thermometer 7 becomes a predetermined target temperature. That is, the control unit 8 controls the operating state of the pump 5 based on the temperature measurement signal.
[0026]
The heat exchanger 6 cools the fluid cooling oil Y by heat exchange. The heat exchanger 6 is installed on the downstream side of the pump 5. Further, the pipe 4 is provided with a bypass pipe 4 a that bypasses the heat exchanger 6. That is, the bypass pipe 4 a is for the cooling oil Y that has passed through the pump 5 to flow directly into the oil tank 1.
[0027]
The path selection unit C selectively guides the cooling oil Y to the bypass pipe 4a or the heat exchanger 6, and includes the control unit 8, the bypass pipe valve V1, and the heat exchanger which are constituent elements of the fluidizing unit A. Consists of a valve V2. The bypass pipe valve V1 is installed in the bypass pipe 4a. The heat exchanger valve V2 is installed between the branch point of the bypass pipe 4a and the heat exchanger. The bypass pipe valve V <b> 1 and the heat exchanger valve V <b> 2 are controlled to open and close based on a signal input from the control unit 8.
[0028]
The control unit 8 measures and grasps the cooling state of the metal material X by measuring the time so that the cooling oil Y having a temperature suitable for the cooling state of the metal material X flows into the oil tank 1 and the bypass pipe valve V1 and Open or close one of the heat exchanger valves V2. That is, the controller 8 can variably set the temperature of the cooling oil Y for one metal material X by controlling the open / close state of the bypass pipe valve V1 and the heat exchanger valve V2.
[0029]
The safety valve Va is, for example, installed in the pipe 4 so that the cooling oil Y does not flow into a portion where maintenance is performed when the cooling device is partially maintained, and in the vicinity of the heat exchanger 6. A total of four are installed upstream and downstream, near one end connected to the side surface of the oil tank 1 and near the other end connected to the bottom surface of the oil tank 1.
[0030]
Next, the operation of the cooling device configured as described above and the cooling method will be described.
[0031]
As the pump 5 rotates, the cooling oil Y is circulated from one end of the pipe 4 connected to the side surface of the oil tank 1 to the other end of the pipe 4 connected to the bottom surface of the oil tank 1 via the pump 5. First, the cooling oil Y is set to a predetermined temperature (80 to 200 degrees) by the heater 3. In this case, the control unit 8 opens the bypass pipe valve V1, closes the heat exchanger valve V2, and sets the pump 5 to the low-speed operation state. That is, a path that does not pass through the heat exchanger 6 is formed by the control unit 8, and the temperature of the cooling oil Y is set by taking heat away from the heater 3 by circulating through such a path that does not pass through the heat exchanger 6. The Further, the cooling oil Y flows into the oil tank 1 from the bottom surface of the oil tank 1, thereby causing convection as shown in the figure and stirring by the propeller 2b. That is, the temperature of the cooling oil Y in the oil tank 1 is made uniform. The reason why the pump 5 is rotated at a low speed is that the cooling oil Y in the oil tank 1 can be sufficiently stirred even when the flow rate of the cooling oil Y is low, so that it is not necessary to rotate at a high speed.
[0032]
The metal material X is cooled to a predetermined temperature after a certain period of time by being immersed in the cooling oil Y whose temperature is set to the above-described temperature. The controller 8 recognizes that the metal material X has reached a predetermined temperature by measuring the time, opens the bypass pipe valve V1, closes the heat exchanger valve V2, and closes the pump 5 Is set to low speed operation. That is, the metal material X is uniformly cooled by the uniformized cooling oil Y in the oil tank 1 in a state where a path that does not pass through the heat exchanger 6 is formed by the control unit 8.
[0033]
Finally, the metal material X is further cooled to the required temperature (for example, 100 degrees). In this case, the controller 8 closes the bypass pipe valve V1, closes the heat exchanger valve V2, and sets the pump 5 to the high speed operation state to circulate the cooling oil Y at a predetermined flow rate. The predetermined flow rate here is a flow rate for realizing, for example, cooling the metal material X to a required temperature (for example, 100 degrees), that is, the cooling oil Y and the heat exchanger 6 satisfy the above request. This is the flow rate at which sufficient heat exchange takes place. That is, in a state in which a path passing through the heat exchanger 6 is formed by the control unit 8, the metal material X has a temperature required by the cooling oil Y sufficiently cooled by flowing through the heat exchanger 6 at a high speed. Until cooled. In this case as well, the cooling oil Y in the oil tank 1 is made uniform as described above, so that the metal material X is uniformly cooled. In addition, the pump 5 is rotated at a high speed because the heat exchanger 6 and the cooling oil Y are sufficiently heat-exchanged by increasing the flow rate of the cooling oil Y, and the metal material X and the cooling oil Y are This is to sufficiently perform heat exchange.
[0034]
In the above-described operation, the control unit 8 recognizes the temperature state of the metal material X by measuring time, and based on the temperature measurement signal fed back by the thermometer 7, the cooling oil Y is flexibly changed. The temperature is quickly and reliably set to a predetermined temperature by controlling the number of rotations of the pump 5 and the open / closed state of the bypass pipe valve V1 and the heat exchanger valve V2. That is, for example, when it is not necessary to cool the temperature of the cooling oil Y, the control unit 8 opens the bypass pipe valve V1, closes the heat exchanger valve V2, and rotates the pump 5 at a low speed. When the temperature of the cooling oil Y is slightly cooled, the bypass pipe valve V1 is closed, the heat exchanger valve V2 is opened, and the pump 5 is rotated at a low speed. When the temperature of the cooling oil Y is rapidly cooled, the bypass pipe valve V1 is closed, the heat exchanger valve V2 is opened, and the pump 5 is rotated at high speed.
[0035]
That is, according to the present cooling device, since the temperature of the cooling oil Y can be variably set during the cooling of one metal material X, the cooling oil Y having a temperature suitable for the temperature condition of the metal material X is supplied to the oil tank. By allowing the metal material X to flow into 1, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of cracks and distortions due to temperature changes of the metal material X and the occurrence of incompatible structures that occur when the cooling rate is slow.
[0036]
In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, The following modifications are also considered.
(1) You may install the oil tank 1 in the said embodiment in the container of an inert atmosphere. That is, by installing the oil tank 1 in a container having an inert atmosphere, an oxide film is not generated on the surface of the metal material X, so that it is possible to cool the metal material X while maintaining the gloss.
[0037]
(2) In the above embodiment, the metal material X is first cooled to a predetermined temperature and then cooled to a required temperature. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is up to the user of the present cooling device to change the cooling temperature and time depending on the difference in the material of the metal material X and the finally required temperature.
[0038]
(3) In the above embodiment, one end of the pipe 4 is connected to the side surface of the right end of the oil tank 1 and the other end is connected to the bottom surface of the oil tank 1. However, both ends may be separated to such an extent that the metal material X is efficiently cooled. For example, one end may be connected to the right side surface of the oil tank 1 and the other end may be connected to the side surface of the oil tank 1. That is, by connecting one end to the right end side surface of the oil tank 1 and connecting the other end to the left end side surface of the oil tank 1, the flow toward the cooling oil Y in the oil tank 1 from the left end side surface of the oil tank 1 to the right end side surface. By controlling the flow of the cooling oil Y, the metal material X can be uniformly cooled without installing the stirring unit 2 in the oil tank 1.
[0039]
(4) In the said embodiment, the control part 8 recognized the temperature state of the metal material X by measuring time. However, the temperature state of the metal material X may be recognized based only on the temperature measurement signal from the thermometer 7. In this case, the control unit 8 stores in advance relationship data between the temperature measurement signal and the temperature state of the metal material X.
[0040]
(5) In the above embodiment, the pipe 4 is installed outside the oil tank 1. However, it may be stored in the oil tank 1.
[0041]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, a cooling device that cools an object to be cooled by immersing it in a coolant stored in a cooling tank, and is cooled by cooling the object to be cooled. Fluidizing means for forcibly flowing the coolant when the agent is cooled, and heat exchange means for cooling the fluidized coolant by heat exchange. Further, it is a cooling method for cooling the object to be cooled by immersing the object in the coolant, and when cooling the heated object by cooling the object to be cooled, the coolant is forced to flow, Cool the coolant by heat exchange. That is, since the flow rate of the coolant can be controlled, in the cooling device and method, the object to be cooled is reliably cooled to a lower temperature, and the coolant whose temperature has been increased by cooling the object to be cooled is cooled to a lower temperature. can do.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an overall view of a cooling device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 ... Oil tank (cooling tank)
2. Stirring section (stirring means)
2a: Stirrer motor 2b: Propeller 3: Heater (heating means)
4 ... Piping 4a ... Bypass pipe 5 ... Pump 6 ... Heat exchanger (heat exchange means)
7. Thermometer (temperature measurement means)
8. Control unit (control means)
A: Fluidization section (fluidization means)
B ...... Driver (drive means)
B1 …… Inverter B2 …… Driver motor C …… Path selector (path selector)
V1 …… Bypass valve V2… Heat exchanger valve Va …… Safety valve X …… Metal material (object to be cooled)
Y: Cooling oil (coolant)

Claims (4)

A cooling device that cools an object to be cooled by immersing it in a coolant stored in a cooling tank,
One end is connected to a predetermined part of the cooling tank, and the other end is connected to a part separated from the predetermined part of the cooling tank,
A pump installed in the pipe for forcibly flowing the coolant;
A heat exchanger that is installed in the pipe downstream of the pump and cools the coolant by heat exchange;
A bypass pipe for bypassing the heat exchanger;
The speed of the pump is relatively low before the cooling object is immersed in the coolant and until the cooling object reaches a predetermined temperature after the cooling object is immersed in the coolant. Set the operation state and circulate the coolant through the bypass pipe, and set the pump to a relatively high speed operation state after a certain period of time has passed since the cooling object is immersed in the coolant. And a control unit that circulates the coolant via the heat exchanger.     The cooling device according to claim 1, further comprising a stirring unit that stirs the coolant in the cooling tank.     The cooling device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a heater for heating the coolant in the cooling tank.     The cooling device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the cooling tank is installed in a container having an inert atmosphere.

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