TWI557386B - A cooling system with a defrost function - Google Patents

Description

Cooling system with defrosting function

The present invention relates to a cooling system, and more particularly to a cooling system having a defrosting function, and the cooling system can further have the function of providing a working fluid below 0 °C.

When an electronic component or an electronic device thereof (for example, a wafer, an integrated circuit, a printed circuit, or the like) is tested, the withstand temperature of the test object is usually a very important test item, that is, the test object needs to be detected at a certain Whether it works properly in a specific temperature range. It is conceivable that in the aforementioned detection process, a temperature control system is required to accurately control the temperature of the object to be tested to the set temperature as much as possible.

A temperature control system is conventionally used for cooling a working fluid in a fluid line by a cooling device, and guiding the cooled working fluid to a surrounding object to cool the object to be tested, such a temperature control system It is easy to make the temperature of the object to be tested uniform, and the temperature of the working fluid can be sensed by a temperature sensor disposed adjacent to the object to be tested, thereby controlling the temperature of the working fluid to generate a stable and good temperature. Control effect.

However, when the working fluid temperature is very low, the working fluid may begin to frost on the inner wall of the fluid pipeline. If the frosting layer is thicker and thicker, the output flow may be affected, or even completely plugged, so that the The temperature control system can not operate normally. At this time, the defrosting method is to close the system and slowly return the working fluid to 0 ° C or more in the room temperature environment, thereby making the frosted part of the fluid pipeline slow. Slow thawing, but this defrosting method is quite time consuming. Alternatively, the temperature of the working fluid can be accelerated by a heater to improve the defrosting efficiency, but the method is costly and energy consuming.

In view of the above-mentioned deficiencies, the main object of the present invention is to provide a cooling system having a defrosting function, which can perform defrosting quickly without using a heater.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a cooling system with a defrosting function. The system is for cooling a working fluid in a fluid line; the cooling system includes a cooling device, a controller, and a defrost unit. The cooling device comprises a compressor, a condenser, an expander, an evaporator, a cooling flow path, and a circulating circulation through the compressor, the condenser, and the expander in the cooling flow path. And a coolant of the evaporator, the working fluid system flowing through the evaporator in the fluid line to exchange heat with the coolant. The controller is electrically connected to the cooling device for controlling the cooling device to control the temperature of the working fluid. The defrosting unit includes a switching valve disposed on the cooling flow path between the compressor and the condenser, and a defrosting flow path connected to the switching valve, the coolant flowing through the switching valve Optionally flowing into either of the cooling flow path and the defrost flow path, the coolant flowing through the defroster flow path first flows through the evaporator and then returns to the compressor.

Thereby, when the cooling system performs the cooling action, the switching valve causes the coolant to sequentially flow through the compressor, the condenser, the expander and the evaporator in the cooling flow path, so that the working The fluid is cooled by heat exchange with a coolant flowing through the evaporator. When the fluid line needs to be defrosted, the switching valve is switched so that the coolant flows through the defroster flow path to the evaporator and then flows back to the compressor after flowing through the switching valve, thus The coolant flowing through the evaporator has a high temperature, and the temperature thereof can be controlled by the controller, so that the working fluid flowing through the evaporator can be heat-exchanged with the coolant to rapidly heat up, thereby achieving the effect of rapid defrosting. .

Preferably, the cooling device further includes at least one additional condenser, and the coolant flowing from the switching valve into the cooling flow path first flows through the condenser, the at least one additional condenser, and the expander flows in again In the evaporator, the coolant flowing out of the evaporator is first returned to the at least one additional condenser and then returned to the compressor.

More preferably, the at least one additional condenser may include a first additional condenser and a second additional condenser. The cooling device further includes a phase separator and an additional expander, and the cooling flow flows from the switching valve. The coolant of the road flows first through the condenser, the first additional condenser and the phase separator, and then a portion of the coolant flows through the additional expander and then flows back to the second additional condenser and another portion flows through The second additional condenser, the expander and the evaporator, the coolant flowing out of the evaporator is first returned to the second additional condenser and the first additional condenser is returned to the compressor.

Thereby, the cooling system can produce a better cooling effect and can be avoided The compressor produces liquid compression. In addition, the working fluid may first flow through the at least one additional condenser for heat exchange in the fluid pipeline and then flow through the evaporator for heat exchange, so that not only the cooling rate of the working fluid but also the cooling system can be further improved. The working fluid output below 0 °C can also improve the defrosting efficiency.

The detailed construction, features, assembly or use of the cooling system with defrosting function provided by the present invention will be described in the detailed description of the following embodiments. However, it should be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the present invention is not limited by the scope of the invention.

10‧‧‧Cooling system

20, 20, 20" ‧‧‧ Cooling device

21‧‧‧Compressor

212‧‧‧Motor

22‧‧‧Condenser

222‧‧‧Fan

23‧‧‧Expander

24‧‧‧Evaporator

25‧‧‧Cooling flow path

26, 26A, 26B‧‧‧ coolant

27, 28‧‧‧Inverter

30‧‧‧ Controller

31‧‧‧First output埠

32‧‧‧Second output埠

33‧‧‧ Input埠

40‧‧‧Defrost unit

41‧‧‧Switching valve

43‧‧‧Defrost flow path

50‧‧‧Power factor corrector

60‧‧‧Power supply

72‧‧‧ fluid lines

74‧‧‧Test object

76‧‧‧Working fluid

91‧‧‧Additional condenser

92‧‧‧First additional condenser

93‧‧‧ phase separator

94‧‧‧Additional expander

95‧‧‧Second additional condenser

1 is a system block diagram of a cooling system having a defrosting function according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 2 is a cooling device having a defrosting function according to the first preferred embodiment of the present invention. A cooling device and a defrosting unit of the system, and a schematic diagram of a working fluid, a fluid line and a test object, show the cooling function of the cooling system; the third figure is similar to the second figure , showing only the cooling system performing the defrosting effect; FIG. 4 is a cooling device and a defrosting unit of the cooling system having the defrosting function according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention, and a working The schematic diagram of the fluid and a fluid line shows the cooling effect of the cooling system; Figure 5 is similar to Figure 4, but shows the defrosting effect of the cooling system; Figure 6 shows A cooling device and a defrosting unit of a cooling system having a defrosting function according to a third preferred embodiment of the present invention, and a schematic diagram of a working fluid and a fluid line are shown to be cooled by the cooling system. Like Similar to the system of FIG. 7 to FIG. 6, but show the cooling system of the aspect of the defrosting effect.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, a cooling system 10 having a defrosting function according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention mainly includes a cooling device 20, a controller 30, and a defrost unit 40. The cooling system 10 can include, but is not limited to, a power factor corrector (PFC), and the power factor corrector 50 is electrically connected to a power source 60.

The cooling system 10 is configured to cool a working fluid 76 (which may be a gas or a liquid) in a fluid line 72 that is to be guided to a test object 74 to a target temperature set by a user, in other words, the work. After the fluid 76 is cooled by the system 10, it is used to adjust the temperature of the analyte 74. However, the cooling system of the present invention is not limited to cooling the object to be tested, and can be applied to other programs or systems that require a working fluid of an accurate temperature.

The cooling device 20 is in accordance with the principle of refrigeration and air conditioning, and mainly comprises a compressor 21, a condenser 22, an expander 23, an evaporator 24, a cooling flow path 25, and a cycle in the cooling flow path 25. The compressor 21, the condenser 22, the expander 23 and the coolant 26 of the evaporator 24, and the two inverters 27, 28 are passed through. The coolant 26 may be any commercially available coolant according to the use requirements, or a mixture of two types of coolants available on the market.

The compressor 21 can be a commercially available rotary variable speed compressor having a motor 212 electrically connected to the inverter 27, and the inverter 27 can control the rotation speed of the motor 212. In this embodiment, the frequency converter 27 is electrically connected to the power source 60 through the power factor corrector 50. The power factor corrector 50 can adopt a commercially available integrated circuit with a power factor correction function. The corrector 50 can receive alternating current having a large voltage range and can operate over a large frequency range and can output a fixed voltage direct current. The power source 60 can be a commercial power source in a major area of use in the world. The power factor corrector 50 can receive the alternating current provided by the power source 60 and output direct current to the frequency converter 27 to drive the motor 212. Although the embodiment uses the inverter 27 to achieve energy saving effect, the non-inverter compressor can also be applied to the cooling system without using the inverter 27; in short, the inverter 27 can be selected and set according to the situation.

As shown in Fig. 2, when the system 10 performs a cooling action, the compressor 21 compresses the low-temperature low-pressure gaseous refrigerant 26 into a high-temperature and high-pressure gaseous coolant 26 by using the motor 212 as a power, and provides power to This coolant 26 circulates. The condenser 22 uses a cooling medium (usually air) to dissipate the high temperature and high pressure gaseous coolant 26 to be cooled to a medium temperature and high pressure liquid coolant 26, and the condenser 22 has a fan that helps the coolant 26 to dissipate heat. 222. The expander 23 (e.g., capillary) is used to depressurize the medium temperature and high pressure liquid coolant 26 to a medium temperature and low pressure liquid coolant 26 such that the coolant 26 can absorb heat and evaporate as it flows through the evaporator 24. Low temperature and low pressure gaseous coolant 26. In this case, the working fluid 76 is cooled by heat exchange with the coolant 26 in the evaporator 24 as it flows through the evaporator 24 in the fluid line 72.

The controller 30 has a first output port 31, a second output port 32, and a plurality of input ports 33. The first output port 31 is electrically connected to the inverter 27, and the second output port 32 is coupled to the The inverter 28 is electrically connected, and the input ports 33 are respectively configured to receive a plurality of system parameters, such as a target temperature set by a user, a flow rate of the working fluid 60 in the fluid line 72, and the like. According to the system parameters, the first output port 31 sends a signal for controlling the rotation speed of the motor 212, and the second output port 32 sends a signal for controlling the rotation speed of the fan 222, thereby controlling the temperature of the working fluid 76. The cooling device 20 may not be provided with the frequency converter 28 as long as the fan 222 is a fan having a plurality of stages of rotation speed.

The defrosting unit 40 includes a switching valve 41 disposed between the compressor 21 and the condenser 22, and a defrosting flow path 43 connecting the switching valve 41. The coolant 26 After flowing through the switching valve 41, it can selectively flow into either of the cooling flow path 25 and the defroster flow path 43. In other words, by switching the switching valve 41, the coolant 26 can be circulated in the cooling flow path 25 as shown in FIG. 2; or, as shown in FIG. 3, the coolant 26 can also flow through The switching valve 41 is then passed through the defroster flow path 43 and then flows through the evaporator 24 and then returned to the compressor 21.

When the coolant 26 performs the defrosting operation in the defrosting flow path 43 as shown in Fig. 3 while stopping the circulation flow in the cooling flow path 25, the high temperature coolant 26 sent from the compressor 21 is not subjected to the condensing. The device 22 is cooled and fed directly to the evaporator 24, which is particularly suitable for use in frosting in the fluid line 72, since the coolant 26 flowing through the evaporator 24 has a high temperature and its temperature can be The controller 30 controls so that the working fluid 76 flowing through the evaporator 24 can be heat-exchanged with the coolant 26 to rapidly heat up, thereby achieving the effect of rapid defrosting. For example, a higher temperature coolant output may be obtained when the compressor motor speed is higher, and vice versa, so the compressor motor speed is adjusted by the controller depending on the severity of the frost.

Referring to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, a cooling system having a defrosting function according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention is similar to the cooling system 10 of the first preferred embodiment. However, the cooling device 20' of this embodiment further includes an additional condenser 91.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the cooling action is performed, the coolant 26A flowing out of the compressor 21 flows through the switching valve 41, and sequentially flows through the condenser 22 in the cooling flow path 25, The additional condenser 91 and the expander 23 flow into the evaporator 24, and the coolant 26B flowing out of the evaporator 24 is first returned to the additional condenser 91 and then returned to the compressor 21.

For convenience of explanation and simplification of the drawings, in FIGS. 4 and 6, the coolant 26A flowing from the compressor 21 to the evaporator 24 and the flow from the evaporator 24 are respectively indicated by thick solid lines and thin solid lines. The coolant 26B of the compressor 21 is also indicated as the cooling flow path 25, and the defroster flow path 43 through which the coolant does not flow is indicated by a broken line.

As shown in FIG. 4, by this, the additional condenser 91 can cool the coolant 26A cooled by the condenser 22 again, so that the coolant 26A can be cooled due to the lower temperature when flowing through the evaporator 24. The working fluid 76 is lowered to a lower temperature. In addition, the coolant 26B recirculated from the evaporator 24 to the compressor 21 can exchange heat with the coolant 26A during the flow through the additional condenser 91, so that the temperature of the coolant 26A can be lowered. To achieve a better cooling effect, the temperature of the coolant 26B flowing back to the compressor 21 can also be increased, which will help the liquid portion of the coolant 26B to be converted into a gaseous state to avoid the compressor 21 being produced. Liquid compression.

Moreover, the working fluid 76 can flow through the additional condenser 91 and the expander 23 in the fluid line 72 and then through the evaporator 24. In this way, the working fluid 76 can exchange heat with the coolant 26B therein to flow through the additional condenser 91 to achieve the effect of pre-cooling, so as to rapidly cool down to the desired flow when flowing through the evaporator 24. The temperature allows the cooling system to reach a working fluid output below 0 °C.

As shown in Fig. 5, when the defrosting action is performed, the coolant 26A flowing out of the compressor 21 flows into the evaporator 24 through the defrosting flow path 43 after flowing through the switching valve 41, and the evaporator The outflowing coolant 26B is first refluxed to the additional condenser 91 and then returned to the compressor 21, so that the coolant 26B has a high temperature when flowing through the evaporator 24 and the additional condenser 91, and The working fluid 76 or the fluid line 72 performs heat exchange to achieve rapid defrosting.

For convenience of explanation and simplification of the drawings, in FIGS. 5 and 7, the coolant 26A flowing from the compressor 21 to the evaporator 24 and the defrosting flow path 43 flowing therethrough are indicated by thick solid lines. And a part of the cooling flow path 25, and the cooling flow path 25 flowing from the evaporator 24 to the coolant 26B of the compressor 21 and a portion through which it flows, is indicated by a thin solid line, and the cooling flow path 25 is indicated by a broken line. There is no part of the coolant flowing through.

Referring to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 , a cooling system having a defrosting function according to a third preferred embodiment of the present invention is similar to the cooling system 10 of the first preferred embodiment, but the embodiment is The cooling device 20" further includes a first additional condenser 92, a phase separator 93, an additional expander 94, and a second additional condenser 95.

As shown in Fig. 6, when the cooling action is performed, the coolant 26A flowing out of the compressor 21 flows through the switching valve 41, and then flows through the condenser 22 to be cooled in the cooling flow path 25. The first additional condenser 92 is again passed through for cooling, and then a portion of the coolant 26A has been converted to a liquid state, but the other portion is still in a gaseous state, so that the gas and liquid coolant 26A are separated by the phase separator 93. The gaseous portion of the coolant 26A flowing out of the phase separator 93 flows through the second additional condenser 95 to be cooled again to be converted into a liquid state, and then flows through the expander 23 (for example, an expansion valve or a capillary tube). It is pressed into a low pressure gaseous coolant and flows into the evaporator 24. The liquid portion of the coolant 26A flowing out of the phase separator 93 flows through the additional expander 94 (for example, an expansion valve or a capillary tube) to be depressurized into a low-pressure gaseous coolant, and then returned to the second additional condenser 95 for use. The gaseous coolant 26A in the second additional condenser 95 is cooled to become liquid. The coolant 26A flowing out of the expander 23 exchanges heat with the working fluid 76 as it flows through the evaporator 24. The coolant 26B flowing out of the evaporator 24 is first returned to the second additional condenser 95 and the first additional condenser 92, and is returned to the compressor 21.

Through the recooling of the additional condensers 92, 95, the coolant 26A of the present embodiment can lower the working fluid 76 to a lower temperature as it flows through the evaporator 24 due to lower temperatures. In addition, the temperature of the coolant 26B recirculated from the evaporator 24 to the compressor 21 is relatively low (typically below -10 ° C in the first additional condenser 92; typically below -40 ° C in the second additional condenser 95) Heat exchange with the coolant 26A while flowing through the second additional condenser 95 and the first additional condenser 92 (the coolant 26A is typically slightly above ambient temperature when flowing from the condenser 22) Thus, not only can the temperature of the coolant 26A be further reduced to achieve a better cooling effect, but also the temperature of the coolant 26B flowing back to the compressor 21 can be increased, which will contribute to the liquidity of the coolant 26B. Partially converted to a gaseous state to avoid liquid compression of the compressor 21.

Moreover, the working fluid 76 can flow through the first additional condenser 92 and the second additional condenser 95 in the fluid line 72 and then through the evaporator 24, such that the working fluid 76 The effect of pre-cooling can be achieved by heat exchange between the coolant 26B and the coolant from the additional expander 94 to the second additional condenser 95 as it flows through the first and second additional condensers 92, 95. In order to flow through the evaporator 24, the temperature is lowered more rapidly to the desired temperature.

As shown in Fig. 7, when the defrosting action is performed, the coolant 26A flowing out of the compressor 21 flows into the evaporator 24 through the defrosting flow path 43 after flowing through the switching valve 41, and the evaporator The outflowing coolant 26B is first refluxed to the second additional condenser 95 and the first additional condenser 92 and then returned to the compressor 21, such that the coolant 26B is flowing through the evaporator 24, The second additional condenser 95 and the first additional condenser 92 have a high temperature and can exchange heat with the working fluid 76 to achieve rapid defrosting effect.

Finally, it is to be noted that the constituent elements disclosed in the foregoing embodiments are merely illustrative and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, and alternative or variations of other equivalent elements should also be the scope of the patent application of the present application. Covered.

20‧‧‧Cooling device

21‧‧‧Compressor

22‧‧‧Condenser

222‧‧‧Fan

23‧‧‧Expander

24‧‧‧Evaporator

25‧‧‧Cooling flow path

26‧‧‧ coolant

40‧‧‧Defrost unit

41‧‧‧Switching valve

43‧‧‧Defrost flow path

72‧‧‧ fluid lines

74‧‧‧Test object

76‧‧‧Working fluid

Claims (10)

A cooling system with a defrosting function for cooling a working fluid in a fluid line; the cooling system comprising: a cooling device comprising a compressor having a motor, a condenser, an expander, and a An evaporator, a cooling flow path, and a coolant capable of circulating through the compressor, the condenser, the expander and the evaporator in the cooling flow path, wherein the working fluid system is in the fluid line Flowing through the evaporator to cool with the coolant for cooling; a controller electrically connected to the cooling device for controlling the cooling device to control the temperature of the working fluid; and a defrost unit a switching valve disposed between the compressor and the condenser, and a defrosting flow path connected to the switching valve, the coolant being selectively flowable through the switching valve Flowing into the cooling flow path and the defroster flow path, the coolant flowing through the defroster flow path first flows through the evaporator and then back to the compressor; wherein the controller is based on Frosting of the fluid line Adjusting the motor speed. The cooling system with defrosting function according to claim 1, wherein the cooling device further comprises at least one additional condenser, and the coolant flowing from the switching valve into the cooling flow path flows first through The condenser, the at least one additional condenser and the expander then flow into the evaporator, and the coolant flowing out of the evaporator is first returned to the at least one additional condenser and then returned to the compressor, and wherein The cold that flows out of the compressor when performing the defrosting action After flowing through the switching valve, the agent flows into the evaporator through the defroster flow path, flows to the additional condenser, and then flows back to the compressor. The defrosting function cooling system of claim 2, wherein the at least one additional condenser comprises a first additional condenser and a second additional condenser, the cooling device further comprising a phase separator And an additional expander, the coolant flowing from the switching valve into the cooling flow path first flows through the condenser, the first additional condenser and the phase separator, and then a portion of the coolant flows through the additional expander Reflowing to the second additional condenser and another portion flowing through the second additional condenser, the expander and the evaporator, the coolant flowing out of the evaporator is first returned to the second additional condenser and the The first additional condenser is returned to the compressor, and wherein when the defrosting action is performed, the coolant flowing out of the compressor flows into the evaporator via the defroster flow path after flowing through the switching valve And flowing to the second additional condenser and the first additional condenser, and then returning to the compressor. A cooling system having a defrosting function according to claim 1, wherein the cooling device further comprises at least one additional condenser, wherein the working fluid flows through the cooling flow path when performing cooling The at least one additional condenser and the coolant of the evaporator are cooled by heat exchange, and wherein when the defrosting action is performed, the working fluid flows through the evaporator and the at least one additional via the defrosting flow path The coolant of the condenser is heated by heat exchange to defrost the fluid line. A cooling system having a defrosting function for cooling a working fluid in a fluid line, the cooling system comprising: a cooling device comprising a compressor having a motor, a condenser, at least one additional condenser, an expander, an evaporator, a cooling flow path, and a compressor flowing through the compressor in the cooling flow path The condenser, the at least one additional condenser, the expander and the coolant of the evaporator; a controller electrically connected to the cooling device for controlling the cooling device to control the temperature of the working fluid And a defrosting unit including a switching valve and a defrosting flow path connected to the switching valve, the coolant flowing through the switching valve selectively flowing into the cooling flow path and the defrosting flow path In one of the flows, the coolant flows through the evaporator and the at least one additional condenser and then flows back to the compressor. A cooling system having a defrosting function according to claim 5, wherein the controller adjusts the motor rotation speed according to the degree of frosting of the fluid line. A cooling system having a defrosting function according to claim 5, wherein the working fluid and the cooling flowing through the at least one additional condenser and the evaporator through the cooling flow path when performing cooling The agent is cooled by heat exchange, and wherein when the defrosting action is performed, the working fluid is heated by heat exchange with the coolant flowing through the evaporator and the at least one additional condenser through the defrosting flow path to The fluid line is defrosted. A cooling system having a defrosting function for cooling a working fluid in a fluid line, the cooling system comprising: a cooling device comprising a compressor having a motor, a condenser, an expander, an evaporator, a cooling flow path, and a fluid flowing through the compressor, the condenser, and the cooling flow path An expander and a coolant of the evaporator; a controller electrically connected to the cooling device, and controlling the motor according to a target temperature set by a user and a flow rate of the working fluid in the fluid line a speed, which in turn controls the temperature of the working fluid; and a defrost unit comprising a switching valve and a defrosting flow path, the defrost unit utilizing the coolant flowing through the evaporator after flowing through the compressor The working fluid is heat exchanged to defrost the fluid line. The cooling system with defrosting function according to claim 8 , wherein the cooling device further comprises at least one additional condenser, the cooling flowing from the switching valve into the cooling flow path when performing cooling The agent first flows through the condenser, the at least one additional condenser, the expander and the evaporator, and then flows out of the evaporator to be refluxed to the at least one additional condenser and then returned to the compressor, the working fluid Cooling by heat exchange with the coolant flowing through the at least one additional condenser and the evaporator, and wherein when the defrosting action is performed, the coolant flowing out of the compressor flows through the switching valve Flowing through the defrosting flow path to the evaporator and then flowing to the additional condenser, and then returning to the compressor, the working fluid is heat exchanged with the coolant flowing through the evaporator and the at least one additional condenser The temperature is raised to defrost the fluid line. The cooling system with defrosting function according to claim 8 , wherein the cooling device further comprises a first additional condenser, a second additional condenser, a phase separator and an additional expander. When cooling is performed, the coolant flowing from the switching valve into the cooling flow path flows through the condensation a first additional condenser and the phase separator, and then a portion of the coolant flows through the additional expander and back to the second additional condenser and another portion flows through the second additional condenser, the expander and In the evaporator, the coolant flowing out of the evaporator is first returned to the second additional condenser and the first additional condenser is returned to the compressor, and the working fluid flows through the first additional condenser. The second additional condenser and the coolant of the evaporator perform heat exchange to cool the working fluid, and wherein when the defrosting action is performed, the coolant flowing out of the compressor flows through the switching valve. Flowing through the defroster flow path to the evaporator and then to the second additional condenser and the first additional condenser, and then returning to the compressor, the working fluid flowing through the evaporator, the second additional The condenser and the coolant of the first additional condenser are heated to exchange heat to defrost the fluid line.