KR102646646B1 - Fan filter unit including heat exhauster - Google Patents

Abstract

One embodiment includes a first filter that removes harmful substances from outside air; a heater that heats the air passing through the first filter; A blowing fan that blows heated air to the process device through a first path; and a heat exhauster that discharges residual heat from the heater through a second path different from the first path when the blowing fan is stopped.

Description

Fan filter unit including heat exhauster {FAN FILTER UNIT INCLUDING HEAT EXHAUSTER}

This embodiment relates to a fan filter unit.

A fan filter unit may be used to supply air free from contaminants into the semiconductor processing equipment.

The fan filter unit is basically a device that includes a filter and a blowing fan. The air from which contaminants have been removed through the filter can be delivered to the process equipment using the blowing fan.

The fan filter unit may further include a heater to supply air that is free from moisture as well as contaminants.

The air from which contaminants are removed as it passes through the filter is heated again by a heater, allowing moisture to be removed. And, the air from which contaminants and moisture have been removed can be delivered to the process equipment by a blowing fan.

On the other hand, when the blower fan is operated, the heat generated by the heater is spread because external air is continuously introduced, but when the blower fan is not operated, the heat generated by the heater is not spread and the internal structure - e.g. It may cause heat damage to the filter or blower fan.

The blowing fan may be stopped to not supply air into the process equipment. In this case, even if the heater is turned off, the heat stored by the heat capacity of the heater - residual heat - may affect the surrounding structure and cause thermal damage.

Against this background, the purpose of this embodiment is, in one aspect, to provide a technology that can prevent thermal damage to surrounding components due to heat from a heater. In another aspect, the purpose of this embodiment is to provide a fan filter unit capable of discharging residual heat of the heater.

In order to achieve the above-described object, one embodiment includes: a first filter that removes harmful substances from external air; a heater that heats the air passing through the first filter; A blowing fan that blows heated air to the process device through a first path; and a heat exhauster that discharges residual heat from the heater through a second path different from the first path when the blowing fan is stopped.

This fan filter unit may further include a heat discharge pipe constituting a part of the second path, the heat discharge pipe may be disposed in the heat discharge pipe, and the heat discharge pipe may be located between the heater and the blowing fan.

The operation of the heat emitter may start within a certain range from the stop time of the blower fan.

This fan filter unit may further include a thermometer disposed at a position of the first path, and when the temperature value measured by the thermometer exceeds a reference value, the heater may be stopped and operation of the heat exhauster may be started.

This fan filter unit further includes a thermometer and a controller, wherein the controller stops the heater and operates the heat exhauster when the blower fan stops or when the temperature value measured by the thermometer exceeds a reference value. You can do it.
This fan filter unit may further include a second filter disposed in the first path and filtering air passing through the blowing fan.
The second filter may remove particles smaller than the particles filtered by the first filter.
A first buffer may be disposed between the first filter and the heater, a second buffer may be disposed between the heater and the blowing fan, and a third buffer may be disposed between the blowing fan and the second filter.
The third buffer may have a larger area than the first buffer or the second buffer.
This fan filter unit may further include a thermometer disposed on a side wall of the second buffer.
This fan filter unit further includes a heat discharge pipe constituting a part of the second path, the heat discharger is disposed in the heat discharge pipe, and the heat discharge pipe may be connected to the second buffer.
The heat source of the heater may have a heat capacity of a certain size.

Another embodiment includes: a first filter that removes harmful substances from outside air; a heater that heats the air passing through the first filter; A blowing fan that blows heated air to the process device through a first path; and a heat exhauster that discharges residual heat from the heater through a second path different from the first path when the process equipment is turned off.

The heat emitter includes an external power source that supplies power from the power grid and an internal power source that supplies power from an energy storage device, and when it recognizes that the power supply from the external power source is cut off, the internal power source You can start the operation to discharge the residual heat of the heater using .

The power source of the process equipment and the external power source may be supplied with power through the same power grid.

The heat exhauster may start operating to discharge residual heat of the heater when the blowing fan stops.

The second path may be a path that passes through the first filter and the heater but does not pass through the blowing fan.

The heat exhauster may close the second path when power is supplied and open the second path when power is not supplied.

The fan filter unit further includes a heat discharge pipe that forms part of the second path, and an air supply unit that supplies air above a certain pressure may be disposed on the outside of the heat discharge pipe.

As an example, the heat exhauster may include a valve and an exhaust fan. Additionally, the heat exhauster may open a valve and operate an exhaust fan to create a flow of air from the inside of the heat discharge pipe to the outside.

As another example, the heat exhauster may have a structure without an exhaust fan and may include a valve. In this structure, an air supply unit that supplies air above a certain pressure may be disposed on the outside of the heat discharge pipe. And, depending on this arrangement, the air pressure on the outside may be higher than the air pressure on the inside. In another example, the heat exhauster may open a valve to create a flow of air from the outside to the inside of the heat discharge pipe.

The valve can close the heat exhaust pipe when power is applied and open the heat exhaust pipe when power is not supplied.

As described above, according to this embodiment, thermal damage to surrounding components due to heat from the heater can be prevented. And, according to this embodiment, when the blower fan stops, the residual heat of the heater that may accumulate inside can be discharged to the outside.

1 is a configuration diagram of a fan filter unit according to an embodiment.
Figure 2 is a first example signal flow diagram of a controller according to an embodiment.
Figure 3 is a diagram showing the ambient temperature when the heater is turned off.
Figure 4 is a diagram showing the configuration and arrangement of a heat exhauster according to an embodiment.
Figure 5 is a second example signal flow diagram of a controller according to an embodiment.
Figure 6 is a flowchart of a heat dissipation method of a fan filter unit according to an embodiment.
Figure 7 is a configuration diagram of a heat exhauster according to another embodiment.

Hereinafter, some embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail through illustrative drawings. When adding reference numerals to components in each drawing, it should be noted that identical components are given the same reference numerals as much as possible even if they are shown in different drawings. Additionally, in describing the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of a related known configuration or function may obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description will be omitted.

Additionally, when describing the components of the present invention, terms such as first, second, A, B, (a), and (b) may be used. These terms are only used to distinguish the component from other components, and the nature, sequence, or order of the component is not limited by the term. When a component is described as being “connected,” “coupled,” or “connected” to another component, that component may be directly connected or connected to that other component, but there is another component between each component. It will be understood that elements may be “connected,” “combined,” or “connected.”

1 is a configuration diagram of a fan filter unit according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 1, the fan filter unit 100 may include a first filter 110, a heater 120, a blowing fan 130, a second filter 140, and a heat exhauster 150.

The first filter 110 can remove gases harmful to the semiconductor process - for example, bases, acids, and organic substances - from the incoming air. The first filter 110 may include an activated carbon filter, and may further include a filter capable of selectively removing a gas to be removed in addition to the activated carbon filter.

The first filter 110 can remove relatively large particle size particles - for example, particles with a diameter of 10 um or more - from the incoming air using a dust filter.

In the arrangement of the dust filter and the activated carbon filter, the dust filter may be placed on the outside and the activated carbon filter may be placed on the inside.

The first filter 110 may be disposed at the boundary with the outside air, and the second filter 140 may be disposed at the boundary with the process equipment 30.

The second filter 140 can remove relatively small particle size particles - for example, ultrafine particles of 0.1 um in size - from the incoming air.

The second filter 140 includes an ultra-low particulate air (ULPA) filter and can deliver air from which ultrafine particles have been removed into the process device 30.

The blowing fan 130 can create an airflow through the first path 10 connected to external air, the first filter 110, the second filter 140, and the process device 30.

In the first path 10, external air may pass through the first filter 110, the blowing fan 130, the second filter 140, and then be delivered into the process device 30.

A heater 120 may be further disposed in the first path 10. The heater 120 may be disposed between the first filter 110 and the blowing fan 130 in the first path 10. And, the first path 10 may be formed in the order of external air, the first filter 110, the heater 120, the blowing fan 130, the second filter 140, and the process device 30.

The heater 120 can heat the air that has passed through the first filter 110. The heater 120 may have a heat source such as a heating wire or a heating rod, and the air may be heated by contact with the heat source or by radiant heat from the heat source.

The heat source of the heater 120 may be operated by electric power. The heater 120 includes a heater controller and can control the amount of power supplied to the heat source through the heater controller. The heater controller may control ON/OFF of power to the heat source.

The heat source of the heater 120 may have heat capacity. And, due to this heat capacity, heat can be dissipated while maintaining a temperature above a certain level even after the power supply is cut off.

Buffers having a certain amount of air space may be placed between each configuration.

A first buffer 112 is disposed between the first filter 110 and the heater 120, a second buffer 122 is disposed between the heater 120 and the blowing fan 130, and the blowing fan 130 A third buffer 132 may be disposed between the and second filter 140.

The first buffer 112 and the second buffer 122 may perform the function of allowing the heat generated in the heater 120 to be evenly transferred by providing a residence space for air flowing in from the outside.

The third buffer 132 may have a larger area than the first buffer 112 or the second buffer 122. The second filter 140 can create resistance to airflow because it allows relatively smaller particle sizes to pass than the first filter 110. In order to reduce this resistance and increase the air volume, the second filter 140 may have a larger area than the first filter 110, and the third buffer 132 may have a larger area than the first buffer 112 or the second buffer 132 to correspond to this. It may have a larger area than the buffer 122.

The fan filter unit 100 may further include a thermometer 121. The thermometer 121 may be placed in one of the buffers in the first path 10. For example, the thermometer 121 may be placed on the sidewall of the second buffer 122.

The fan filter unit 100 may further include a controller 160.

The controller 160 can control the operation of the heater 120 and the blowing fan 130. The controller 160 can control on and off of the heater 120 and can control on and off of the blowing fan 130.

When there is no need to supply air to the process equipment 30, the controller 160 can stop the blowing fan 130. Additionally, the controller 160 may turn off the heater 120 in response to the stoppage of the blowing fan 130.

When the temperature value measured by the thermometer 121 exceeds the reference value, the blower fan 130 stops, or the power to the process equipment 30 is turned off, the controller 160 turns off the heater 120 and turns off the blower fan. (130) can also be stopped.

At this time, while no air flow occurs in the first path 10, the air around the heater 120 may remain stagnant and be heated by the residual heat of the heater 120.

Air heated by the residual heat of the heater 120 may thermally damage the first filter 110 and the blowing fan 130.

In order to discharge the residual heat of the heater 120, the heat exhauster 150 may operate when the blowing fan 130 is stopped.

The heat exhauster 150 may discharge the residual heat of the heater 120 while forming an air flow through the second path 20, which is different from the first path 10. The second path 20 is a path that does not communicate with the processing device 30. Accordingly, the heat exhauster 150 can discharge the residual heat of the heater 120 to the outside without affecting the process equipment 30.

The fan filter unit 100 may further include a heat discharge pipe 124 that communicates the inside and the outside.

The heat exhaust pipe 120 may form part of the second path 20, and the heat exhauster 150 may be disposed in the heat discharge pipe 124.

The heat discharge pipe 124 may be located between the heater 120 and the blowing fan 130. For example, the heat discharge pipe 124 may be connected to the second buffer 122.

Figure 2 is a first example signal flow diagram of a controller according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 2, the controller 160 acquires the first input signal DI1 for the process equipment 30, the second input signal DI2 for the blowing fan 130, and the thermometer 121. ) can be obtained. The controller 160 may receive each input signal from each device, or may generate each input signal while monitoring the status of each device. For example, the controller 160 may acquire the first input signal DI1 or the second input signal DI2 while monitoring the status of the process equipment 30 or the blowing fan 130, and the thermometer ( The third input signal DI3 may be received from 121).

The first input signal DI1 may include a value for the on-off state of the power supply of the process device 30. The controller 160 can determine the on-off state of the power supply of the process device 30 through the first input signal DI1.

The second input signal DI2 may include a value for the on-off state of the blowing fan 130. The controller 160 can determine the on-off state of the blowing fan 130 through the second input signal DI2.

Additionally, the controller 160 can determine the temperature of the first path through the third input signal DI3.

When the controller 160 detects that the power of the process equipment 30 is turned off through each input signal, confirms that the blower fan 130 has stopped, and confirms that the temperature value exceeds the standard value, the heater The heater 120 can be turned off by transmitting the first output signal (DO1) to (120).

Figure 3 is a diagram showing the ambient temperature when the heater is turned off.

In the graph of Figure 3 the heater was turned off at the time indicated Toff.

Since both the heater and blower fan are operating before the Toff time, the temperature around the heater is maintained lower than the reference value (heat resistance temperature).

However, after the Toff time, the heater was turned off, but the blowing fan was also turned off, and it can be seen that the surrounding temperature rises and falls due to the residual heat of the heater.

At this time, the surrounding temperature may rise higher than the reference value (heat resistance temperature), and thermal damage may occur in the surrounding components depending on the amount of thermal fatigue 312 accumulated in the surrounding components at a temperature higher than the reference value.

This problem can be solved by operating the heat exhauster when the blower fan is turned off.

Figure 4 is a diagram showing the configuration and arrangement of a heat exhauster according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 4, the heat exhauster 150 may include a valve 152 and an exhaust fan 154.

The heat exhauster 150 opens the valve 152 within a certain range from the stop time of the blowing fan and operates the exhaust fan 154 to form a flow of air from the inside to the outside of the heat discharge pipe 124. You can.

The heat exhauster 150 can stop the blowing fan, open the valve 152, and operate the exhaust fan 154 at the same time. Alternatively, the heat exhauster 150 may start operating within a certain time after the blowing fan stops. Alternatively, the heat exhauster 150 may first start operating within a certain period of time before the blowing fan is stopped, and then the blowing fan may be stopped.

Figure 5 is a second example signal flow diagram of a controller according to an embodiment.

In contrast to the first example of FIG. 3, in the second example of FIG. 5, a fourth input signal (DI4) for the heater 120 appears, and a second output signal (DO2) that controls the heat exhauster 150 is More are appearing.

The controller 160 obtains a first input signal (DI1) for the process device 30, a second input signal (DI2) for the blowing fan 130, and a third input for the thermometer 121. The signal DI3 can be obtained, and the fourth input signal DI4 for the heater 120 can be obtained.

The controller 160 may receive each input signal from each device, or may generate each input signal while monitoring the status of each device. For example, the controller 160 monitors the status of the process equipment 30, the blowing fan 130, or the heater 120, and uses the first input signal DI1, the second input signal DI2, or the fourth input signal DI1. The input signal DI4 may be acquired, or the third input signal DI3 may be received from the thermometer 121.

The first input signal DI1 may include a value for the on-off state of the power supply of the process device 30. The controller 160 can determine the on-off state of the power supply of the process device 30 through the first input signal DI1.

The second input signal DI2 may include a value for the on-off state of the blowing fan 130. The controller 160 can determine the on-off state of the blowing fan 130 through the second input signal DI2.

The fourth input signal DI4 may include a value for the on-off state of the heater 120. The controller 160 can determine the on-off state of the heater 120 through the fourth input signal DI4.

Additionally, the controller 160 can determine the temperature of the first path through the third input signal DI3.

When the controller 160 detects that the power of the process equipment 30 is turned off through each input signal, confirms that the blower fan 130 has stopped, and confirms that the temperature value exceeds the standard value, the heater The first output signal (DO1) can be transmitted to 120 to turn off the heater 120, and the second output signal (DO2) can be transmitted to the heat radiator 150 to operate the heat radiator 150.

Alternatively, when the controller 160 confirms that the blowing fan 130 is stopped through the second input signal DI2 and the heater 120 is stopped through the fourth input signal DI4, the heat exhaust device The heat exhauster 150 can be operated by transmitting the second output signal DO2 to 150.

Figure 6 is a flowchart of a heat dissipation method of a fan filter unit according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 6, the fan filter unit can turn off the blowing fan when a specific condition is satisfied or upon a request from an external device (S600).

And, the fan filter unit can turn off the heater according to the turning off of the blowing fan (S602).

Additionally, the fan filter unit can confirm that the blower fan and heater are off and turn on the exhaust fan to operate the heat exhauster (S604).

Figure 7 is a configuration diagram of a heat exhauster according to another embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 7, the heat exhauster 700 may include a valve 152, an exhaust fan 154, a sub-controller 710, an external power source 720, and an emergency power source 730.

The sub-controller 710 may open the valve 152 and operate the exhaust fan 154 according to an external signal - for example, the second output signal DO2 in FIG. 5.

Alternatively, the sub-controller 710 may confirm that the blower fan has stopped and the heater has stopped, open the valve 152, and operate the exhaust fan 154.

The sub-controller 710 may check the on-off state of the power supply of the process equipment, and when the power of the process equipment is turned off, open the valve 152 and operate the exhaust fan 154 to discharge the residual heat of the heater.

The sub-controller 710 can check the on-off state of the process equipment power source through a signal transmitted from the controller - for example, the second output signal DO2 in FIG. 5.

The sub-controller 710 may check the status of the external power source 720 to check the on-off status of the power supply of the process equipment.

The external power source 720 can supply power from an external power grid. And, when the sub-controller 710 recognizes that the power supply from the external power source 720 is cut off, it can start an operation to discharge the residual heat of the heater using the internal power source 730.

The external power source 720 can be supplied with power through the same power grid as the power source of the process equipment. The sub-controller 710 detects abnormalities in the power grid through the external power source 720 and detects anomalies in the power grid through the internal power source 730. It can be operated using .

Since the internal power source 730 can supply power through an energy storage device included inside - for example, a battery - even if power from the external power grid is cut off, it supplies power through the valve 152 and the exhaust fan 154. can be supplied.

Figure 8 is a diagram showing a heat exhauster according to another embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 8, the heat exhauster 800 may include a valve 852.

The valve 852 can open or close the heat discharge pipe 124. The valve 852 can open the flow path of the heat discharge pipe 124 to form an air flow in the heat discharge pipe 124, and close the flow path of the heat discharge pipe 124 to block the air flow in the heat discharge pipe 124. You can.

The valve 852 may close the flow path of the heat discharge pipe 124 when power is supplied and open the flow path of the heat discharge pipe 124 when power is not supplied.

An air supply unit (not shown) that supplies air above a certain pressure may be disposed on the outside of the heat discharge pipe 124. For example, a high-pressure gas (air) supply tank may be connected to the outside.

The air pressure on the outside of the heat discharge pipe 124 may be higher than the air pressure on the inside of the heat discharge pipe 124.

The heat exhauster 800 may confirm that the blower fan has stopped and the heater has stopped, and open the valve 852. At this time, as the valve 852 is opened, air from the outside is supplied to the inside, thereby cooling the heater.

And, when the blowing fan operates, the heat exhauster 800 can receive power and close the valve 852.

According to this embodiment, even in situations such as an unexpected power outage or partial power failure, the heater can be cooled by forming an air flow to the inside through the opening of the valve 852.

Terms such as “include,” “comprise,” or “have” as used above mean that the corresponding component may be included, unless specifically stated to the contrary, and do not exclude other components. It should be interpreted that it may further include other components. All terms, including technical or scientific terms, unless otherwise defined, have the same meaning as generally understood by a person of ordinary skill in the technical field to which the present invention pertains. Commonly used terms, such as terms defined in a dictionary, should be interpreted as consistent with the contextual meaning of the related technology, and should not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless explicitly defined in the present invention.

The above description is merely an illustrative explanation of the technical idea of the present invention, and various modifications and variations will be possible to those skilled in the art without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention. Accordingly, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are not intended to limit the technical idea of the present invention, but are for illustrative purposes, and the scope of the technical idea of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. The scope of protection of the present invention should be interpreted in accordance with the claims below, and all technical ideas within the equivalent scope should be construed as being included in the scope of rights of the present invention.

Claims (12)

A first filter that removes harmful substances from the outside air;
a heater that heats the air passing through the first filter;
A blowing fan that blows heated air to the process device through a first path; and
A heat exhauster that discharges residual heat from the heater through a second path different from the first path when the blower fan is stopped,
Further comprising a heat discharge pipe constituting part of the second path,
The heat exhauster is disposed in the heat discharge pipe,
The heat discharge pipe is located between the heater and the blowing fan,
Closing or opening of the second path is determined according to the operation of the heat exhauster,
Further comprising a thermometer disposed at a position of the first path,
A fan filter unit in which when the temperature value measured by the thermometer exceeds a reference value, the heater is stopped and the heat exhauster begins to operate. delete According to paragraph 1,
A fan filter unit in which the operation of the heat exhauster starts within a certain range from the stop time of the blower fan. delete A first filter that removes harmful substances from the outside air;
a heater that heats the air passing through the first filter;
A blowing fan that blows heated air to the process device through a first path; and
A heat exhauster that discharges residual heat from the heater through a second path different from the first path when the blower fan is stopped,
Further comprising a heat discharge pipe constituting part of the second path,
The heat exhauster is disposed in the heat discharge pipe,
The heat discharge pipe is located between the heater and the blowing fan,
Closing or opening of the second path is determined according to the operation of the heat exhauster,
further comprising a thermometer and a controller;
The controller is,
A fan filter unit that stops the heater and operates the heat exhauster when the blowing fan stops or when the temperature value measured by the thermometer exceeds a reference value. According to clause 5,
The fan filter unit further includes a second filter disposed in the first path and filtering air passing through the blowing fan. According to clause 6,
The second filter is a fan filter unit that removes particles smaller than those filtered by the first filter. According to clause 6,
A fan filter unit in which a first buffer is disposed between the first filter and the heater, a second buffer is disposed between the heater and the blowing fan, and a third buffer is disposed between the blowing fan and the second filter. . According to clause 8,
The third buffer is a fan filter unit having a larger area than the first buffer or the second buffer. According to clause 8,
A fan filter unit further comprising a thermometer disposed on a side wall of the second buffer. According to clause 8,
Further comprising a heat discharge pipe constituting part of the second path,
The heat exhauster is disposed in the heat discharge pipe,
The heat discharge pipe is a fan filter unit connected to the second buffer. According to clause 5,
The heat source of the heater is a fan filter unit having a heat capacity of a certain size.

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