JPH11305404A - Heating controller for fluid - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To effectively utilize energy by optimally controlling the on/off of a cooling fan so that processing solution may not be cooled excessively by the cooling fan which is continued to be actuated and utilizing generated heat by a circulating pump as a part of a heat source for heating fluid. SOLUTION: When the processing solution is heated to be at set temperature by a heater 5, the cooling fan 6 is stopped to utilize the generated heat by the circulating pump 4 as a part of the heat source for raising temperature. Namely, since the generated heat by the pump is utilized as the heat source for heating the fluid by restraining a heat exhaust function by a heat exhaust means when a heating requirement signal is outputted, energy efficiency is improved. Therefore, rise time in temperature control is shortened. Since the ability of the heat source used for heating is restrained to be low, running cost is reduced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technology for controlling the temperature of a fluid, and more particularly to a technology for effectively utilizing heat generated by a pump in a device having a pump for moving a fluid.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in the process of processing a photographic material in a photographic processing apparatus, it is important to control the temperature of a processing solution for proper processing. In such a case, a heating means such as a heater is required to obtain a liquid temperature higher than room temperature, and an on / off switch is required to maintain the liquid temperature.
Control means having an off control function and a proportional control function is required. The treatment liquid is circulated using a circulation pump of a magnet type or the like for stirring and temperature control. However, the heat generated by the circulating pump affects the temperature of the processing liquid and disturbs accurate temperature control.Therefore, a cooling fan or the like is provided to cool the circulating pump, and forced cooling by outside air is performed. Have been done. The general flow of temperature control is to first turn on the circulation pump and turn on temperature control. At this time, the cooling fan is also turned on. When the temperature control is turned on, if the temperature is lower than the set temperature, the heater is turned on to heat the processing liquid. (On / Off Control) When a predetermined proportional control band is reached, the temperature control is switched to proportional temperature control, and the temperature is maintained in a predetermined temperature range. The cooling fan continues to operate until the processing is completed and the circulation pump is stopped. Note that, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-87100, the applicant does not switch from on / off control to proportional control when reaching the proportional control band, but when the temperature reaches a set temperature set within the range of the proportional control band. A technique was proposed that can reduce the rise time of temperature control by switching from on / off control to proportional control.

[0003]

In the conventional temperature control device, the cooling fan is constantly operating while the temperature control is in operation. Therefore, when the outside air temperature is low, the processing liquid is forcibly cooled by the cooling fan. Becomes Therefore, there is a problem that the temperature rise time required for raising the liquid temperature to a predetermined temperature in an environment where the outside air temperature is low becomes extremely long. Further, even when the temperature control is in operation, the cooling fan continues to be cooled, so that unnecessary heating energy is required. In order to solve such a problem, it was necessary to increase the capacity of the heater. However, increasing the capacity of the heater causes problems such as an increase in running cost.

Accordingly, the present invention provides an on / off switch for the cooling fan so that the processing liquid is not wastefully cooled by the cooling fan.
The object of the present invention is to control the turning-off optimally and to utilize the heat generated by the circulation pump as a part of the heat source for heating the fluid, thereby effectively utilizing the energy.

[0005]

In the fluid heating control apparatus according to the present invention, a heating request means for outputting a heating request signal when the fluid needs to be heated, and transferring the fluid. A pump, a heat-dissipating means having a heat-dissipating function for eliminating heat generated in the pump, and a suppressing means for suppressing the heat-dissipating function by the heat-dissipating means when a heating request signal is output; Is used as a heat source for heating the fluid.

The fluid may be a liquid or a gas. The pump is not limited to the circulation pump, but may be a transfer pump. In the configuration in which the fluid is heated while being transferred, the heat generated in the transfer pump can be used for heating the fluid. Further, the heat discharging means is not limited to a cooling fan that blows outside air to the pump, but may be a device that removes heat generated by the pump through a coolant such as a liquid. In this case, a means for suppressing the flow rate of the refrigerant can be employed as the suppressing means. The heat discharging means may be configured to radiate heat by widely opening the radiating fins. In this case, means for suppressing the degree of opening of the radiation fins can be employed as the suppressing means. In addition, even if the suppression means does not completely stop the function of the heat discharging means, any means may be used as long as it suppresses at least the function.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a fluid heating control apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings showing an embodiment thereof.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a photographic processing device;
Reference numeral 2 denotes a processing liquid tank provided therein. Treatment liquid tank 2
The processing liquid inside moves from the upper outlet 21 to the sub tank 3 and is returned to the processing liquid tank 2 again from the inlet 22 near the bottom of the processing liquid tank 2 by the circulation pump 4.
It is configured to circulate. Reference numeral 5 denotes a heater provided in the sub tank 3 for heating the processing liquid. Reference numeral 6 denotes a cooling fan provided in the housing of the photographic processing apparatus 1 so that the circulating pump 4 is forcibly cooled by blowing outside air sucked from the outside of the housing of the photographic processing apparatus 1 onto the circulating pump 4. It is configured. Reference numeral 7 denotes a cooling water pipe disposed inside the processing liquid tank 2, which lowers the liquid temperature by opening a solenoid valve 71 and flowing a liquid such as tap water. Reference numeral 8 denotes a liquid temperature sensor installed in the circulation pipe.
Reference numeral 9 denotes a control device, which includes a temperature signal converter 91,
A temperature setter 92, a heater controller 93, a circulating pump controller 94, a cooling fan controller 95, an electromagnetic valve controller 96, and a control circuit 90 incorporating a microcomputer and its control program are provided. . In the drawing,
Although the control device 9 is shown outside the housing of the photo processing device 1,
Actually, they are arranged inside the housing similarly to the above-mentioned respective components.

The operation of the control program stored in the control circuit 90 will be described with reference to FIG. Prior to the start of the photo processing operation, when the set temperature in the temperature setting device 92 is set to, for example, 38.5 ° C. and the temperature adjustment control start button is pressed (step 1), the control circuit 90 sends an ON signal to the circulation pump controller 94. Is output (step 2). Then, the liquid temperature of the processing liquid detected by the liquid temperature sensor 8 is compared with the set temperature of 38.5 ° C. (step 3). If the temperature is lower than the set temperature, a heating request signal is generated inside the control circuit 90. Heater controller 9 according to heating request signal
3 and an off signal to the cooling fan controller 95 are output. This causes the heater to start heating,
The cooling fan stops and no forced cooling is performed. (Step 4) That is, when the liquid temperature is lower than the set temperature, both the heat from the heater and the heat from the circulation pump are used to heat the processing liquid. Therefore, the temperature reaches the predetermined set temperature quickly.

When the liquid temperature becomes equal to or higher than the set temperature, the temperature is controlled by a proportional control method. Therefore, accurate temperature control is performed so as to be maintained within the set proportional control band (for example, 38.5 + 0.2 ° C. to 38.5-0.3 ° C.) (step 5). If the liquid temperature exceeds the proportional control band even during the control by such a proportional control method, an ON signal is output from the control circuit 90 to the cooling fan controller 95, and the cooling fan rotates. At first, outside air is blown to the circulation pump to perform forced cooling (step 6). When the processing liquid is cooled by the cooling fan via the circulation pump and cooled to the set temperature or lower (or the proportional control band or lower), the cooling fan is turned off (step 7).

The flowchart of FIG. 2 shows a case where the liquid temperature exceeds the proportional control band during the control by the proportional control method while heating from a state where the liquid temperature is lower than the set temperature.
If the liquid temperature drops to a temperature below the proportional control band during control by the proportional control method, the cooling fan is not turned on, and the proportional control method is switched to the on / off control method and the heater is turned on. It may be turned on continuously. Also, when starting the process from a state where the liquid temperature is higher than the set temperature due to a problem or the like, operate the cooling fan and stop the cooling fan when the liquid temperature cools down to the set temperature or less. It is better to switch to the control method. In this case, it is preferable to open the solenoid valve 71 via the solenoid valve controller 96 in response to a control signal from the control circuit 90 and to allow the cooling water to flow through the cooling water pipe 7 to promote a decrease in the temperature of the processing liquid.

FIG. 3 shows the relationship between the change in the liquid temperature and the ON / OFF of the cooling fan. When heating from a state where the liquid temperature is lower than the set temperature, as shown in FIG.
The cooling fan operates only when the liquid temperature exceeds the proportional control band. When the process is started from a state where the liquid temperature is higher than the set temperature, as shown in FIG. 3B, the cooling fan is operated until the liquid temperature is cooled to the set temperature and when the liquid temperature exceeds the proportional control band. Operates.

The heating request means corresponds to a part of the liquid temperature sensor 8, the temperature signal converter 91 and a part of the control circuit 90 in FIG. The pump corresponds to the circulation pump 4, the exhaust heat means corresponds to the cooling fan 6, and the suppression means corresponds to the control circuit 90 and the cooling fan controller 95.

In this manner, the heat of the circulation pump, which has been conventionally discarded, is used as a heat source for heating the processing liquid, so that the temperature can be raised to a predetermined temperature in a short time, and the operation can be started up. Has the effect of being faster. In particular, the rise in a cold region or in winter is accelerated. As a specific example, at a room temperature of 8 ° C., a 110-liter processing solution tank built in a photographic processing apparatus is heated from 20.0 ° C.
It took 5.4 hours to heat to 8.5 ° C with the cooling fan running, but only 3.3 hours with the cooling fan stopped. Thus, the heating time can be reduced by 2.1 hours, so that the electric capacity of the heater can be reduced.

As described above, since the heat generated by the circulating pump, which has been conventionally discarded, is effectively used, the energy efficiency is improved, and the running cost is reduced. Therefore, since the electric capacity of the heater can be reduced, not only the running cost but also the initial cost can be reduced. In addition, since the cooling fan is stopped until the set temperature is reached, the operation time of the cooling fan during the operation time of the photo processing device is shorter than before, the running cost is reduced, and the life of the cooling fan is prolonged. Become. In addition, as a target to which the fluid heating control device of the present invention is applied,
Naturally, the present invention can be applied not only to a general photographic processing apparatus having a processing liquid tank for processing a film or photographic paper, but also to any apparatus that uses various fluids by heating them to a predetermined temperature.

[0016]

According to the fluid heating control apparatus of the present invention, the heat generated by the pump is suppressed by heating the fluid by suppressing the heat discharging function of the heat discharging means when the heating request signal is output. Since it is configured to be used as a heat source, energy efficiency is improved. Therefore, the rise time of the temperature control can be shortened. Further, since the capacity of the heat source used for heating can be reduced, the running cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of a fluid heating control device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic flowchart of a control program incorporated in the control device in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a relationship between a change in liquid temperature and ON / OFF of a cooling fan.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Photo processing apparatus 2 Processing liquid tank 3 Subtank 4 Circulation pump 5 Heater 6 Cooling fan 8 Liquid temperature sensor 9 Controller 90 Control circuit 91 Temperature signal converter 92 Temperature setter 93 Heater controller 94 Circulation pump controller 95 Cooling fan control Device 96 Solenoid valve controller 90 Control circuit

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A heating requesting means for outputting a heating request signal when it becomes necessary to heat a fluid, a pump for transferring the fluid, and an exhaust having a heat discharging function for eliminating heat generation in the pump. Heating means, and suppressing means for suppressing the heat discharging function of the heat discharging means when the heating request signal is output, wherein the heat generated by the pump is used as a heat source for heating the fluid. A fluid heating control device characterized by the above-mentioned.