TEMPERATURE CONTROL APPARATUS

Abstract

Disclosed is a temperature control apparatus having a new structure capable of enhancing efficiency by reducing evaporation of a thermal medium at a high temperature and extending a life span of a heat exchanger. In the temperature control apparatus according to the present invention, the reserve tank (40) in which the thermal medium is stored is separately provided from the circulation pipe (10) through which the high temperature thermal medium is circulated, and the thermal medium stored in the reserve tank (40) is cooled to the low temperature using the heat exchanger (70), and then when the temperature of the thermal medium passing through the circulation pipe (10) is increased to more than the preset temperature, the low temperature thermal medium stored in the reserve tank (40) is supplied to the circulation pipe (10) so that the low temperature thermal medium is mixed with the high temperature thermal medium, and thus the temperature of the thermal medium circulated through the circulation pipe (10) may be lowered.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 2013-0073256, filed on Jun. 25, 2013, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a temperature control apparatus having a new structure capable of enhancing efficiency by reducing evaporation of a thermal medium at high temperature and extending a life span of a heat exchanger.

2. Discussion of Related Art

Generally, a temperature control apparatus is provided in various equipment including semiconductor manufacturing equipment so that the equipment may be maintained at a predetermined temperature.

A configuration of the temperature control apparatus, which cools or heats the equipment using a heat medium and thus allows the equipment to be maintained at the predetermined temperature, is disclosed in detail in a plurality of conventional technical documents including Korean Patent No. 10-0746231, and thus detailed description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a high temperature control apparatus by which equipment is controlled to a temperature of 30 to 200° C. The high temperature control apparatus includes a circulation pipe 2 connected with equipment 1, a heat exchanger 3 and a reserve tank 4 disposed at a middle portion of the circulation pipe 2, and a circulation pump 5.

A thermal medium is stored in the circulation pipe 2 and the reserve tank 4, and a heater 4a is provided in the reserve tank 4 to heat the thermal medium stored in the reserve tank 4

At this time, the heater 4a measures a temperature of the thermal medium in the reserve tank 4. When the temperature of the thermal medium is lower than a predetermined temperature, the heater 4a is operated to heat the thermal medium to the predetermined temperature.

Here, the predetermined temperature of the thermal medium is set within a temperature range of 30 to 200° C. which is proper to the equipment.

That is, when the proper operation temperature of the equipment is 150° C., the predetermined temperature of the thermal medium may be 145° C. to 155° C.

Cooled process cooling water (PCW) is circulated through the heat exchanger 3, and when the thermal medium passing through the heat exchanger 3 along the circulation pipe 2 is heated to more than the predetermined temperature, heat exchange occurs between the PCW and the thermal medium so that the thermal medium is cooled to the predetermined temperature.

Therefore, in a state in which the thermal medium is circulated along the circulation pipe 2 to the equipment 1 using the circulation pump 5, the temperature of the thermal medium is controlled using the heater 4a and the heat exchanger 3, and thus the equipment 1 may be controlled to be maintained at the predetermined temperature.

However, in such a temperature control apparatus, since the thermal medium stored in the reserve tank 4 is maintained at a high temperature, evaporation of the thermal medium occurs, and thus there is a problem of thermal loss.

In particular, to rapidly cool the high temperature thermal medium, the heat exchanger 3 maintains the PCW at a temperature of 18 to 20° C. However, the thermal medium may be heated to a maximum temperature of 200° C. or more.

Therefore, since the heat exchange between the PCW having the low temperature of 18 to 20° C. and the thermal medium having the high temperature occurs in the heat exchanger 3, a large thermal stress is generated at the heat exchanger 3, and thus a crack may be generated at a welded portion of the heat exchanger 3, and there is another problem of frequent maintenance of the heat exchanger 3.

Therefore, a new method which may solve these problems is required.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a temperature control apparatus having a new structure capable of enhancing efficiency by reducing evaporation of a thermal medium and extending a life span of a heat exchanger.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided

a temperature control apparatus which is connected with equipment (1) to control a temperature of the equipment (1), including a circulation pipe (10) of which both ends are connected to the equipment (1) and in which a thermal medium is stored, a circulation pump (20) disposed at a middle portion of the circulation pipe (10) to enable the thermal medium in the circulation pipe (10) to be circulated to the equipment (1), a heater (30) disposed at the middle portion of the circulation pipe (10) to heat the thermal medium circulated through the circulation pipe (10), a reserve tank (40) configured to store the thermal medium therein, a subsidiary circulation pipe (51, 52) of which both ends are connected to the reserve tank (40), a subsidiary circulation pump (60) disposed at a middle portion of the subsidiary circulation pipe (51, 52) so that the thermal medium stored in the reserve tank (40) is circulated through the subsidiary circulation pipe (51, 52), a heat exchanger (70) disposed at the middle portion of the subsidiary circulation pipe (51, 52) to cool the thermal medium circulated through the subsidiary circulation pipe (51, 52), a supplement pipe (80) branched from the subsidiary circulation pipe (51, 52) and connected to the circulation pipe (10), an electronic control valve (90) provided at a connection portion of the subsidiary circulation pipe (51, 52) or the supplement pipe (80) so that the thermal medium circulated through the subsidiary circulation pipe (51, 52) is supplied to the circulation pipe (10) through the supplement pipe (80), a temperature sensor (100) disposed at the middle portion of the circulation pipe (10) to measure a temperature of the thermal medium circulated through the circulation pipe (10), and a control unit (110) configured to receive a signal of the temperature sensor (100) and control an operation of the electronic control valve (90), wherein the heat exchanger (70) cools the thermal medium circulated through the subsidiary circulation pipe (51, 52) to a lower temperature than the thermal medium circulated through the circulation pipe (10), and when the temperature of the thermal medium circulated through the circulation pipe (10) is increased to more than the preset temperature, the control unit (110) controls the electronic control valve (90) so that the low temperature thermal medium circulated through the subsidiary circulation pipe (51, 52) is supplied to the circulation pipe 10 through the supplement pipe (80), and the temperature of the thermal medium circulated through the circulation pipe 10 is lowered to the preset temperature.

The temperature control apparatus may further include a connection pipe (41) configured to connect the circulation pipe (10) with the reserve tank (40), the connection pipe (41) may be connected to the circulation pipe (10) which is located at a front side of a position connected with the circulation pump (20), and the supplement pipe (80) may be connected to the circulation pipe (10) between a position connecting the circulation pump (20) and the heater (30) and a position connected with the connection pipe (41).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by describing in detail exemplary embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a conventional temperature control apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a temperature control apparatus according to the present invention; and

FIGS. 3 and 4 are views illustrating an operation of the temperature control apparatus according to the present invention.

[Detailed Description of Main Elements]
10: circulation pipe             20: circulation pump
30: heater                       40: reserve tank
51, 52: subsidiary circulation pipe 60: subsidiary circulation pump
70: heat exchanger               80: supplement pipe
90: electronic control valve     100: temperature sensor
110: control unit

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIGS. 2 to 4 illustrate a temperature control apparatus according to the present invention, which is connected to various equipment 1 and controls the equipment 1 to a temperature of about 150° C.

The temperature control apparatus according to the present invention includes a circulation pipe 10 of which both ends are connected to the equipment 1 and in which a thermal medium is stored, a circulation pump 20 disposed at a middle portion of the circulation pipe 10 to enable the thermal medium in the circulation pipe 10 to be circulated to the equipment 1, a heater 30 disposed at the middle portion of the circulation pipe 10 to heat the thermal medium circulated through the circulation pipe 10, a reserve tank 40 configured to store the thermal medium therein, a subsidiary circulation pipe 51 and 52 of which both ends are connected to the reserve tank 40, a subsidiary circulation pump 60 disposed at a middle portion of the subsidiary circulation pipe 51 and 52, a heat exchanger 70 disposed at the middle portion of the subsidiary circulation pipe 51 and 52 to cool the thermal medium circulated through the subsidiary circulation pipe 51 and 52, a supplement pipe 80 branched from the subsidiary circulation pipe 51 and 52 and connected to the circulation pipe 10, an electronic control valve 90 provided at a connection portion of the subsidiary circulation pipe 51 and 52 and the supplement pipe 80, a temperature sensor 100 disposed at the middle portion of the circulation pipe 10 to measure temperature of the thermal medium circulated through the circulation pipe 10, and a control unit 110 configured to receive a signal of the temperature sensor 100 and control an operation of the electronic control valve 90.

At this time, a preset temperature of the thermal medium is 145° C. to 155° C., and thus the thermal medium cools the equipment 1 to maintain the temperature of 145° C. to 155° C.

More specifically, both ends of the circulation pipe 10 have taps 11 connected with the equipment 1 to be connected with the equipment 1, and thus the circulation pipe 10 forms a closed loop-shaped circulation passage.

The heater 30 measures the temperature of the thermal medium flowing through the circulation pipe 10, and is operated when the temperature of the thermal medium is lower than the preset temperature of 145° C., and heats the thermal medium, such that the temperature of the thermal medium is maintained at the preset temperature of 145° C. to 155° C.

The reserve tank 40 is connected to the circulation pipe 10 through a connection pipe 41, and thus the thermal medium in the circulation pipe 10 is discharged to the reserve tank 40 through the connection pipe 41, or the thermal medium in the reserve tank 40 is supplied to the circulation pipe 10 according to a change in an amount of the thermal medium.

That is, when the temperature of the thermal medium circulated through the circulation pipe 10 is increased and the thermal medium is expanded, or the thermal medium in the reserve tank 40 is supplied to the circulation pipe 10 through a process to be described later and the amount of the thermal medium passing through the circulation pipe 10 is increased, extra thermal medium is discharged to the reserve tank 40 through the connection pipe 41.

On the other hand, when the temperature of the thermal medium is lowered and the amount of the thermal medium is reduced, or the thermal medium leaks, the thermal medium in the reserve tank 40 is supplied to the circulation pipe 10 through the connection pipe 41.

Therefore, the thermal medium circulated through the circulation pipe 10 may always be maintained in the constant amount.

Both ends of the subsidiary circulation pipe 51 and 52 are connected to the reserve tank 40, which forms a circulation passage through which the thermal medium stored in the reserve tank 40 is circulated, and includes a first circulation portion 51 in which the subsidiary circulation pump 60 and the heat exchanger 70 are provided, and a second circulation portion 52 configured to connect the first circulation portion 51 with the reserve tank 40.

The subsidiary circulation pump 60 allows the thermal medium stored in the reserve tank 40 to be continuously circulated through the subsidiary circulation pipe 51 and 52.

The heat exchanger 70 serves to perform heat exchange between the PCW having the temperature of 18 to 20° C. and the thermal medium circulated through the subsidiary circulation pipe 51 and 52 and thus to cool the thermal medium circulated through the circulation pipe 10 to a lower temperature.

The heat exchanger 70 may maintain the thermal medium circulated through the subsidiary circulation pipe 51 and 52 at a temperature of 50° C. or less.

The supplement pipe 80 is branched from the first circulation portion 51 and connected to the circulation pipe 10 so that the low temperature thermal medium circulated through the subsidiary circulation pipe 51 and 52 is supplied to the circulation pipe 10 through the supplement pipe 80.

At this time, the supplement pipe 80 is connected to the circulation pipe 10 between the circulation pump 20 and a position connected with the connection pipe 41.

As the electronic control valve 90, a 3-way valve provided at a connection portion between the subsidiary circulation pipe 51 and 52 and the supplement pipe 80 is used, which performs proportional control according to a control signal of the control unit 110 so that part of the thermal medium circulated through the subsidiary circulation pipe 51 and 52 is supplied to the circulation pipe 10 through the supplement pipe 80.

The temperature sensor 100 is provided at a rear side of the heater 30.

The control unit 110 receives a signal of the temperature sensor 100, and controls the electronic control valve 90 so that the low temperature thermal medium passing through the first circulation portion 51 is circulated to the reserve tank 40 through the second circulation portion 52 when the thermal medium circulated through the circulation pipe 10 is maintained at the temperature of 145° C. to 155° C., and controls the electronic control valve 90 so that the low temperature thermal medium passing through the first circulation portion 51 is supplied to the circulation pipe 10 through the supplement pipe 880 and mixed with the high temperature thermal medium passing through the circulation pipe 10, and thus the temperature of the thermal medium circulated through the circulation pipe 10 is lowered when the thermal medium circulated through the circulation pipe 10 is increased to the temperature of 145° C. to 155° C. or more.

An operation of the temperature control apparatus described above will be described.

Firstly, as illustrated in FIG. 3, when power is applied to the temperature control apparatus while the circulation pipe 10 is connected with the equipment 1, the circulation pump 20 is operated, and the thermal medium is circulated to the equipment 1 to control temperature of the equipment 1, and also the subsidiary circulation pump 60 is operated, and the thermal medium in the reserve tank 40 is circulated through the subsidiary circulation pipe 51 and 52 and controlled to have a temperature of about 50° C.

When the temperature of the thermal medium passing through the circulation pipe 10 is lowered to less than the preset temperature, the heater 30 is operated, and the thermal medium passing through the circulation pipe 10 is increased to the preset temperature.

At this time, the electronic control valve 90 allows the low temperature thermal medium passing through the first circulation portion 51 to be circulated to the reserve tank 40 through the second circulation portion 52.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, when the temperature of the thermal medium passing through the circulation pipe 10 is increased to more than the preset temperature, the control unit 110 controls the electronic control valve 90, and performs the proportional control so that the low temperature thermal medium passing through the first circulation portion 51 is mixed with the high temperature thermal medium passing through the circulation pipe 10, and thus the temperature of the thermal medium circulated through the circulation pipe 10 is lowered to the temperature of 145° C. to 155° C.

At this time, as the low temperature thermal medium passing through the first circulation portion 51 is supplied to the circulation pipe 10, the amount of the thermal medium in the circulation pipe 10 is increased, and the thermal medium in the circulation pipe 10 is discharged to the reserve tank 40 through the connection pipe 41 according to the increased amount, and thus the amount of the thermal medium in the circulation pipe 10 is constantly maintained.

In the temperature control apparatus described above, the reserve tank 40 in which the thermal medium is stored therein is separately provided from the circulation pipe 10 through which the high temperature thermal medium is circulated, and the thermal medium stored in the reserve tank 40 is cooled to the low temperature using the heat exchanger 70, and then when the temperature of the thermal medium passing through the circulation pipe 10 is increased to more than the preset temperature, the low temperature thermal medium stored in the reserve tank 40 is supplied to the circulation pipe 10 so that the low temperature thermal medium is mixed with the high temperature thermal medium, and thus the temperature of the thermal medium circulated through the circulation pipe 10 may be lowered.

Therefore, since the thermal medium stored in the reserve tank 40 is maintained at the relatively low temperature of about 50° C., evaporation of the thermal medium is reduced, and thus heat loss generated by the evaporation of the thermal medium may be reduced.

In particular, since the heat exchange between the PCW having the temperature of 18 to 20° C. and the thermal medium having the temperature of 50° C. is performed in the heat exchanger 70, thermal stress applied to the heat exchanger 70 is considerably reduced, compared with the conventional temperature control apparatus in which the heat exchange between the PCW having the temperature of 18 to 20° C. and the thermal medium having the temperature of 100 to 150° C. is performed, and thus a life span of the heat exchanger 70 may be extended.

Further, the reserve tank 40 is connected with the circulation pipe 10 through the connection pipe 41, and the connection pipe 41 is connected to the circulation pipe 10 which is located at a front side of the position connected with the circulation pump 20, and the supplement pipe 80 is connected to the circulation pipe 10 between a position connecting the circulation pump 20 and the heater 30 and a position connected with the connection pipe 41.

Therefore, even though the subsidiary circulation pump 60 having a small output is used, the thermal medium circulated through the subsidiary circulation pipe 51 and 52 may be effectively supplied to the circulation pipe 10, and also when the thermal medium in the subsidiary circulation pipe 51 and 52 is supplied into the circulation pipe 10, and thus the amount of the thermal medium in the circulation pipe 10 is increased, the amount of the thermal medium corresponding to the increased amount is automatically discharged to the reserve tank 40 through the connection pipe 41, and the amount of the thermal medium in the circulation pipe 10 may be constantly controlled without a separate artificial control operation.

In the embodiment, the preset temperature of the thermal medium is 145° C. to 155° C. However, the preset temperature of the thermal medium may be set within a range of 30° C. to 200° C. to be proper to the operation temperature of the equipment 1.

In the temperature control apparatus according to the present invention, the reserve tank 40 in which the thermal medium is stored is provided separately from the circulation pipe 10 through which the high temperature thermal medium is circulated, and the thermal medium stored in the reserve tank 40 is cooled to the low temperature using the heat exchanger 70, and then when the temperature of the thermal medium passing through the circulation pipe 10 is increased to more than the preset temperature, the low temperature thermal medium stored in the reserve tank 40 is supplied to the circulation pipe 10 so that the low temperature thermal medium is mixed with the high temperature thermal medium, and thus the temperature of the thermal medium circulated through the circulation pipe 10 may be lowered.

Therefore, since the thermal medium stored in the reserve tank 40 is maintained at the relatively low temperature of about 50° C., evaporation of the thermal medium is reduced, and thus heat loss generated by the evaporation of the thermal medium may be reduced.

In particular, since the heat exchange between the PCW having the temperature of 18 to 20° C. and the thermal medium having the temperature of 50° C. is performed in the heat exchanger 70, thermal stress applied to the heat exchanger 70 is considerably reduced, compared with the conventional temperature control apparatus in which the heat exchange between the PCW having the temperature of 18 to 20° C. and the thermal medium having the temperature of 100 to 150° C. is performed, and thus a life span of the heat exchanger 70 may be extended.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to the above-described exemplary embodiments of the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers all such modifications provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A temperature control apparatus which is connected with equipment (1) to control temperature of the equipment (1), comprising:

a circulation pipe (10) of which both ends are connected to the equipment (1) and in which a thermal medium is stored;

a circulation pump (20) disposed at a middle portion of the circulation pipe (10) to enable the thermal medium in the circulation pipe (10) to be circulated to the equipment (1);

a heater (30) disposed at the middle portion of the circulation pipe (10) to heat the thermal medium circulated through the circulation pipe (10);

a reserve tank (40) configured to store the thermal medium therein;

a subsidiary circulation pipe (51, 52) of which both ends are connected to the reserve tank (40);

a subsidiary circulation pump (60) disposed at a middle portion of the subsidiary circulation pipe (51, 52) so that the thermal medium stored in the reserve tank (40) is circulated through the subsidiary circulation pipe (51, 52);

a heat exchanger (70) disposed at the middle portion of the subsidiary circulation pipe (51, 52) to cool the thermal medium circulated through the subsidiary circulation pipe (51, 52);

a supplement pipe (80) branched from the subsidiary circulation pipe (51, 52) and connected to the circulation pipe (10);

an electronic control valve (90) provided at a connection portion of the subsidiary circulation pipe (51, 52) or the supplement pipe (80) so that the thermal medium circulated through the subsidiary circulation pipe (51, 52) is supplied to the circulation pipe (10) through the supplement pipe (80);

a temperature sensor (100) disposed at the middle portion of the circulation pipe (10) to measure a temperature of the thermal medium circulated through the circulation pipe (10); and

a control unit (110) configured to receive a signal of the temperature sensor (100) and control an operation of the electronic control valve (90),

wherein the heat exchanger (70) cools the thermal medium circulated through the subsidiary circulation pipe (51, 52) to a lower temperature than the thermal medium circulated through the circulation pipe (10), and when the temperature of the thermal medium circulated through the circulation pipe (10) is increased to more than the preset temperature, the control unit (110) controls the electronic control valve (90) so that the low temperature thermal medium circulated through the subsidiary circulation pipe (51, 52) is supplied to the circulation pipe 10 through the supplement pipe (80), and the temperature of the thermal medium circulated through the circulation pipe 10 is lowered to the preset temperature.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a connection pipe (41) configured to connect the circulation pipe (10) with the reserve tank (40),

wherein the connection pipe (41) is connected to the circulation pipe (10) which is located at a front side of a position connected with the circulation pump (20), and the supplement pipe (80) is connected to the circulation pipe (10) between a position connecting the circulation pump (20) and the heater (30) and a position connected with the connection pipe (41).