JP4718426B2 - Environmental test equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an environmental test apparatus having a storage tank in which a sample is stored and a temperature of an internal gas is kept constant.

  There is an apparatus described in Patent Document 1 as an apparatus for performing a test relating to an operation state of an electronic component in an environment where a temperature or the like is set to a predetermined value. The apparatus of Patent Document 1 has a storage tank that stores a sample. The storage tank is provided with heating means such as a heater, and the gas in the storage tank is set to a predetermined temperature by appropriately controlling the heating means.

JP 2005-121256 A

  In this apparatus, when the gas in the storage tank is heated excessively, the temperature of the gas may increase excessively, and it may be difficult to maintain the temperature of the gas at a predetermined set value. For example, when the sample is an electronic component and the operation test is performed, heat is released from the electronic component. When heat is generated from the sample as described above, it may be necessary to actively cool the inside of the storage tank.

  However, when the storage tank is cooled from the outside, for example, the gas near the inner surface of the storage tank is first cooled. When the gas temperature reaches the dew point, water vapor in the gas is condensed and adheres to the inner surface of the storage tank. As a result, the heat taken away by the cooling is compensated by the condensation, so that the cooling effect may hardly reach the gas inside the storage tank. In particular, when the storage tank has a multilayer structure as in Patent Document 1, the circulation of the gas is likely to be limited, and the cooling of the entire gas becomes more difficult. If the gas in the storage tank is difficult to cool, the temperature of the gas in the storage tank cannot be suppressed from rising excessively, and the gas temperature may not be maintained at the set value.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an environmental test apparatus in which the temperature of a gas in a storage tank can be easily maintained even when the storage tank for storing a sample has a multilayer structure.

Means for solving the problems and their effects

  The environmental test apparatus of the present invention includes a first storage tank that selectively takes a state in which an internal gas is sealed and a state in which the internal gas is released to the outside, and the internal environment is accommodated in the first storage tank. The second storage tank in which the sample is stored, the heating means for heating the gas in the second storage tank, and the temperature of the gas in the second storage tank become the set temperature. The heating control means for controlling the heater and the condensed water generated when condensation occurs on the inner surface of the first storage tank flow down to reach the outer surface of the second storage tank And a guiding means for guiding the condensed water.

  For example, when the first storage tank is cooled from the outside of the first storage tank, when the temperature of the gas near the inner surface of the first storage tank reaches the dew point, dew condensation occurs on the inner surface of the first storage tank. appear. As a result, the gas in the second storage tank may be difficult to cool. According to the present invention, the guide means guides the condensed water from the inner surface of the first storage tank to the outer surface of the second storage tank. On the other hand, the heating control means can control the temperature of the gas in the second storage tank to be higher than the dew point. In this case, the condensed water guided to the second storage tank evaporates on the outer surface thereof, whereby the second storage tank is cooled, and thereby the gas in the second storage tank is cooled. That is, even if it is cooled from the outside of the first storage tank, the gas in the second storage tank is easily cooled, and the temperature of the gas in the storage tank is easily maintained at a predetermined temperature.

  Further, in the present invention, the guide means has an inner surface of the first storage tank so that condensed water on the inner surface of the first storage tank is transmitted and reaches the outer surface of the second storage tank. It is preferable that it has the protrusion part which protruded toward the outer surface of the said 2nd storage tank. According to this structure, the guide means which guides dew condensation water from the inner surface of the first storage tank to the outer surface of the second storage tank is easily realized.

  In the present invention, the dew condensation water guided by the guide means from the inner surface of the first storage tank flows down to the outer surface of the second storage tank. It is preferable to have a dew condensation water flow hindrance part that hinders water flow. According to this structure, it is delayed that the dew condensation water guided to the outer surface of the second storage tank flows down to the second storage tank. That is, the dew condensation water is likely to stay on the outer surface of the second storage tank, so that the dew condensation water is easily evaporated and the second storage tank is easily cooled.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an environmental test apparatus 1 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The environmental test apparatus 1 includes a test tank 100 and a control device 150. The control device 150 adjusts the test environment such as the temperature of the gas in the test tank 100 (heating control means).

  The test tank 100 has a multilayer structure in which an outer tank 103, a first inner tank 101, and a second inner tank 102 are combined in a nested manner. These storage tanks are formed of the outer tank 103, the first inner tank 101 (first storage tank), and the second inner tank 102 (second storage tank) from the outside to the inside of the test tank 100. Arranged in order. The first inner tank 101 is accommodated in the outer tank 103, and the second inner tank 102 is accommodated in the first inner tank 101. A space is formed between the outer tub 103 and the first inner tub 101, and a cooler 142 is installed in the space.

  The first inner tank 101 opens toward the left in FIG. An opening / closing lid 104 is installed in this opening. The opening / closing lid 104 is supported by the first inner tank 101 via an opening / closing mechanism (not shown), and can be selectively taken between a closed state and an opened state. FIG. 1 shows a state in which the opening / closing lid 104 is closed. At this time, the inside of the first inner tank 101 is sealed. The opening / closing mechanism is configured so that the sealed state of the first inner tank 101 is maintained even when the pressure of the gas in the first inner tank 101 changes from the atmospheric pressure, and the test is performed. The user of the tank 100 is configured to be able to manually open and close the opening / closing lid 104.

  The second inner tank 102 opens leftward in FIG. 1, and a through hole 102 a penetrating the second inner tank 102 in the left-right direction is formed at the right end of the second inner tank 102. A sample stage 102 b is installed in the second inner tank 102.

  In the space between the first inner tank 101 and the second inner tank 102, a heater 141 (heater) is installed to the right of the through hole 102a. A blower fan 131 (airflow generating means) is installed further to the right of the heater 141. The rotation shaft of the blower fan 131 is fixed to the drive shaft of the drive motor 132. When the drive motor 132 is operated, the blower fan 131 is rotated, and an air flow toward the left is generated. As a result, an air flow is generated in the first inner tank 101 and the second inner tank 102 along the white arrow in FIG. Due to the air flow, the gas heated by the heater 141 flows into the second inner tank 102 through the through hole 102a, and the gas in the first inner tank 101 and the second inner tank 102 circulates. Both the heater 141 and the drive motor 132 are connected to the control device 150. The control device 150 switches the heater 141 on and off and controls the drive of the drive motor 132.

  A humidifier 143 is installed in the lower part of the first inner tank 101. The humidifier 143 is fixed on the inner bottom surface of the first inner tank 101, and contains humidifying water W for humidification. The humidifier 143 has a heater 144, and the heat generating part of the heater 144 is immersed in the humidifying water W in the humidifier 143. When the heater 144 is activated, the humidifying water W is heated. When the temperature of the humidifying water W changes, the humidity in the test tank 100 changes. The heater 144 is connected to the control device 150. The control device 150 switches the heater 144 on and off. Thereby, the control device 150 adjusts the humidity of the gas in the test tank 100 to a predetermined value.

  The test tank 100 is provided with a dry bulb temperature sensor 121 and a wet bulb temperature sensor 122. The detection units of the dry bulb temperature sensor 121 and the wet bulb temperature sensor 122 are both installed in the second inner tank 102. The dry bulb temperature sensor 121 and the wet bulb temperature sensor 122 are connected to the control device 150, and signals indicating the temperatures detected by these detection units are transmitted to the control device 150. The control device 150 derives the temperature and humidity of the gas in the second inner tank 102 based on signals from the dry bulb temperature sensor 121 and the wet bulb temperature sensor 122. A water temperature sensor 123 is also installed in the humidifying water W. The temperature detected by the water temperature sensor 123 is mainly used for controlling the heater 144 for adjusting the humidity.

  With the above configuration, the control device 150 derives the temperature and humidity of the gas in the second inner tank 102, and based on the derived result, the temperature and humidity of the gas in the second inner tank 102 are determined in advance. The heaters 141 and 144 and the drive motor 132 are controlled so that the set temperature and set humidity are set. As a result, the gas in the second inner tank 102 is maintained in a predetermined environment based on the set temperature and set humidity. Then, the sample S placed on the sample table 102b is tested under such a predetermined environment. For example, the temperature in the second inner tank 102 is set to 130 ° C. and the humidity is set to 85%. When the sample S is an electronic circuit, a test is performed on the operation of the electronic circuit corresponding to the sample S at the above set temperature and set humidity.

  By the way, for example, when the temperature of the gas in the second inner tank 102 suddenly rises due to heat generation from the sample S, the temperature in the second inner tank 102 is controlled only by controlling the heater 141 and the drive motor 132. May not be able to cope with the rise. In order to avoid such a situation, the control device 150, based on the signal from the dry bulb temperature sensor 121, when the predetermined condition regarding the temperature of the gas in the second inner tank 102 is satisfied, 142 causes the first inner tank 101 to cool.

  When the cooler 142 cools the first inner tank 101, the gas inside thereof starts to be cooled from the vicinity of the inner surface of the first inner tank 101. When the temperature of the gas near the inner surface of the first inner tank 101 reaches the dew point, dew condensation occurs on the inner surface of the first inner tank 101. For example, if the set temperature is 130 ° C. and the set humidity is 85%, the dew point of the gas that satisfies such a set condition is 124.6 ° C. In this case, since the difference between the set temperature of 130 ° C. and the dew point is small, the temperature of the gas tends to reach the dew point by cooling. When condensation occurs on the inner surface of the first inner tank 101, most of the condensed water flows down along the inner surface of the first inner tank 101 and flows into the humidifying water of the humidifier 143. The heat deprived from the gas in the first inner tank 101 by the cooling of the cooler 142 is compensated by the heat generated when condensation occurs. Therefore, the problem that the gas in the 1st inner tank 101 is not cooled easily may arise. In addition, the gas in the second inner tank 102 existing further inside the first inner tank 101 is hardly cooled.

  Therefore, the test tank 100 of the present embodiment is provided with a protruding portion 111 that protrudes from the inner surface of the first inner tank 101. FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the test chamber 100 taken along line II-II in FIG. The first inner tank 101 is provided with a plurality of protrusions 111 as shown in FIG. Each of the protrusions 111 has an upper end fixed to the inner surface of the first inner tank 101 and a lower end disposed in the vicinity of the outer surface of the second inner tank 102. Each of the protruding portions 111 has a flat plate shape. All of the protrusions 111 installed in the left half of the first inner tank 101 extend from the inner surface of the first inner tank 101 in the lower right direction of FIG. Each of the protrusions 111 installed in the right half of the first inner tank 101 extends from the inner surface of the first inner tank 101 in the lower left direction of FIG.

  Further, stainless wool 112 (condensation water flow prevention member) is fixed to the outer surface of the second inner tank 102. The stainless wool 112 is installed between the lower end of the protrusion 111 and the second inner tank 102.

  Further, the heat pipe 113 is immersed in the humidifying water W in the humidifier 143. The heat pipe 113 is a rod-shaped member made of stainless steel or the like. One end of the heat pipe 113 is disposed above the left end of the humidifier 143 in FIG. Further, the other end of the heat pipe 113 is in contact with the bottom surface in the humidifier 143. That is, the part of predetermined length from the end of the heat pipe 113 is exposed above the liquid level of the humidifying water W, and the remaining part is immersed below the liquid level.

  By having the above structure, when the cooler 142 operates, the second inner tank 102 is cooled as follows. Condensation occurs on the inner surface of the first inner tank 101 by cooling the first inner tank 101. Condensed water D thus generated reaches the outer surface of the second inner tank 102 along the inner surface of the first inner tank 101 and the protruding portion 111 as indicated by the white arrow in FIG. Thus, the dew condensation water reaching the outer surface of the second inner tub 102 is held by the stainless wool 112. On the other hand, the gas in the second inner tank 102 is higher than the set temperature due to heat generated from the sample S or the like. For example, when the set temperature is 130 ° C. and the set humidity is 85%, the gas in the second inner tank 102 is higher than 130 ° C. Here, the dew point is 124.6 ° C. Therefore, since the second inner tank 102 has a temperature higher than the dew point, the condensed water held in the stainless wool evaporates. At this time, the evaporation heat of condensed water is taken from the outer surface of the second inner tank 102, so that the second inner tank 102 is cooled, and the gas in the second inner tank 102 is also cooled.

  For example, when the set temperature is 130 ° C. and the set humidity is 85%, the water temperature of the humidifying water is set to 124.6 ° C. Thus, since the temperature of the humidification water W is set below the set temperature, if the gas in the second inner tank 102 rises above the set temperature, there is a large difference between the temperature of the gas and the temperature of the humidification water W. Occurs. Accordingly, heat moves from the gas to the humidifying water W through the heat pipe 113 in the direction indicated by the black arrow in FIG. Thereby, the gas in the second inner tank 102 is cooled.

  As described above, the dew condensation water generated on the inner surface of the first inner tank 101 is guided to the second inner tank 102 through the protruding portion 111 and is evaporated on the outer surface thereof. Thereby, even if dew condensation occurs on the inner surface of the first inner tank 101, the second inner tank 102 is cooled by the condensation water evaporating on the outer surface of the second inner tank 102, and the second inner tank 102 is cooled. The gas in the inner tank 102 is cooled.

  Further, the dew condensation water reaching the outer surface of the second inner tank 102 is held by the stainless wool 112. That is, the stainless wool 112 plays a role of preventing the condensed water from flowing down along the outer surface of the second inner tank 102. Therefore, the dew condensation water tends to stay on the outer surface of the second inner tank 102, and the dew condensation water easily evaporates on the outer surface before flowing down below the second inner tank 102.

  Furthermore, since the heat of the gas in the first inner tank 101 and the second inner tank 102 moves to the humidifying water W by the heat pipe 113, the gas is easily cooled. The material of the heat pipe 113 is preferably as high as possible. However, any material having a higher thermal conductivity than that in the gas in the first inner tank 101 and the second inner tank 102 may be used.

<Modification>
The above is a description of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made as long as the contents are described in the means for solving the problem. It can be changed.

  In the above-described embodiment, stainless wool 112 is used, but any member or structure that makes it difficult for dewed water to flow down on the outer surface of the second inner tank 102 may be used. . For example, a structure that increases the surface area of the outer surface, such as a plurality of grooves that are parallel to the horizontal direction, may be formed on the outer surface of the second inner tank 102. In addition, when the member holding dew condensation water like stainless steel wool 112 is used, it is preferable that it is a member which consists of a material with as large a thermal conductivity as possible.

  Moreover, although the rod-shaped heat pipe 113 is used in the above-described embodiment, a member having a shape different from the rod shape may be used. For example, unlike the heat pipe 113, a member having a shape adjusted so that one end reaches the inside of the second inner tank 102 and the other end is immersed in the humidifying water W has the same role as the heat pipe 113. It may be used as a member having

  Moreover, in said embodiment, the case where the test tank 100 is accompanied with both the protrusion part 111 and the heat pipe 113 is shown. However, the test tank 100 may have any of these. That is, since the protrusion 111 and the heat pipe 113 function independently of each other, if any of them is provided, an effect is obtained that the gas in the second inner tank 102 is easily cooled. The

  In the above-described embodiment, the cooler 142 is installed in the test tank 100. However, the environmental test apparatus 1 may not have the cooler 142. In such a case, when the temperature of the gas in the second inner tank 102 increases excessively, the test tank 100 is cooled from the outside of the outer tank 103 using some cooling means, or the outside of the outer tank 103 is What is necessary is just to make it easy to radiate heat from the test tank 100 by removing a covering member (not shown) or the like from the outer tank 103.

It is an internal block diagram containing the partial cross section of the environmental test apparatus which is one Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing along the II-II line of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Environmental test apparatus 100 Test tank 101 1st inner tank 102 2nd inner tank 102a Through-hole 102b Sample stand 103 Outer tank 111 Protruding part 112 Stainless steel wool 113 Heat pipe 131 Blower fan 141 Heater 142 Cooler 143 Humidifier 144 Heater 150 Controller S Sample W Water for humidification

Claims (3)

A first storage tank that selectively takes a state in which the internal gas is sealed and a state in which the internal gas is released to the outside;
A second storage tank that is stored in the first storage tank and in which a sample is stored;
Heating means for heating the gas in the second storage tank;
Heating control means for controlling the heater so that the temperature of the gas in the second storage tank becomes a set temperature;
Guidance means for guiding the condensed water so that the condensed water generated when condensation occurs on the inner surface of the first storage tank flows down and reaches the outer surface of the second storage tank; An environmental testing apparatus characterized by   The second storing from the inner surface of the first storing tank so that the dew condensation water on the inner surface of the first storing tank is transmitted to the guiding means and reaches the outer surface of the second storing tank. The environmental test apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a protruding portion protruding toward an outer surface of the tank.   Condensed water flow on the outer surface of the second storage tank that prevents the condensed water guided by the guide means from the inner surface of the first storage tank from flowing down to the second storage tank. The environmental test apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an obstruction part.

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