Laser welding machine and heat dissipation system

Abstract

The invention discloses a laser welding machine and a heat dissipation system, the heat dissipation system comprises a heat dissipation loop and a refrigeration loop, and the heat dissipation loop is used for exchanging heat with a gun head; the refrigerating circuit comprises a compressor, a condenser, a throttling element, a cold plate and a heat exchanger which are sequentially communicated, the cold plate is used for being in heat conduction connection with an external heat source, a refrigerant in the refrigerating circuit exchanges heat with a heat exchange medium in the heat dissipation circuit when passing through the heat exchanger, and the heat exchanger is located between the cold plate and the compressor in the flowing direction of the refrigerant. The cooling effect on the heat exchange medium can be enhanced through heat exchange between the refrigerant and the heat exchange medium, so that the heat dissipation effect of the gun head is enhanced, the heat exchanger is arranged between the cold plate and the compressor, the superheat degree of the refrigerant before the refrigerant enters the compressor can be improved, and the risk that the superheat degree of air suction of the compressor is low is reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of welding, and in particular to a laser welding and heat dissipation system. Background Art

[0002] The gun head of the laser welding machine plays a vital role in the welding process. The gun head is one of the core components of the laser welding machine, which is mainly responsible for emitting laser to ensure the smooth progress of the welding process.

[0003] In the process of implementing this application, the inventors found that there are at least the following problems in the prior art:

[0004] The gun head of the laser welding machine generates a lot of heat when performing welding work, but because the gun head itself is small in size, the existing technology mostly uses air cooling to dissipate heat. However, this heat dissipation method has low heat dissipation efficiency and is difficult to meet the heat dissipation requirements of the gun head when working. Summary of the invention

[0005] In view of this, the present invention provides a laser welding machine and a heat dissipation system, which can at least effectively solve the problem of low heat dissipation efficiency caused by using air cooling to dissipate heat from the gun head of the laser welding machine in the prior art.

[0006] On the one hand, the present application provides a heat dissipation system, comprising a heat dissipation circuit and a refrigeration circuit, wherein the heat dissipation circuit is used to perform heat exchange with the gun head;

[0007] The refrigeration circuit includes a compressor, a condenser, a throttling element, a cold plate and a heat exchanger which are connected in sequence. The cold plate is used for heat conduction connection with an external heat source. The refrigerant in the refrigeration circuit exchanges heat with the heat exchange medium in the heat dissipation circuit when passing through the heat exchanger. Along the flow direction of the refrigerant, the heat exchanger is located between the cold plate and the compressor.

[0008] In some embodiments, the heat dissipation circuit includes a container having a cavity and a heat dissipation pipe for connecting the container and the gun head, the inlet and outlet of the container are respectively connected to the heat dissipation pipe, and the heat exchanger is at least partially located in the cavity.

[0009] In some embodiments, the heat exchanger includes a coil, an inlet of the coil is connected to an outlet of the cold plate, and an outlet of the coil is connected to an inlet of the compressor.

[0010] In some embodiments, the coil is helical.

[0011] In some embodiments, the heat dissipation circuit further includes a circulation pump for driving the heat exchange medium to circulate in the heat dissipation circuit.

[0012] In some embodiments, the container is provided with a sensor for detecting the liquid level of the heat exchange medium in the cavity.

[0013] In some embodiments, the container is provided with a mounting hole communicating with the cavity, and the mounting hole is provided with a pressure relief valve.

[0014] In some embodiments, the container is provided with an observation window.

[0015] In some embodiments, the refrigeration circuit also includes a control valve, a refrigeration pipe and a bypass pipe, and the compressor, condenser, throttling element, cold plate and heat exchanger are connected in sequence through the refrigeration pipe, one end of the control valve is connected to the refrigeration pipe between the compressor and the condenser through the bypass pipe, and the other end is connected to the refrigeration pipe between the throttling element and the cold plate through the bypass pipe.

[0016] On the other hand, the present application also provides a laser welding machine, comprising a gun head and the heat dissipation system as described above, wherein the gun head is provided with a channel, and the channel is connected to the heat dissipation circuit.

[0017] Compared with the prior art, the heat dissipation system provided by the present invention has at least the following beneficial effects:

[0018] When the heat exchange medium in the heat dissipation circuit flows to the gun head, it can exchange heat with the gun head to reduce the temperature of the gun head and avoid the gun head temperature being too high to affect its normal operation and service life. When the refrigerant in the refrigeration circuit passes through the heat exchanger, it can exchange heat with the heat exchange medium in the heat dissipation circuit that has been heat exchanged with the gun head and the temperature has increased to reduce the temperature of the heat exchange medium. Compared with the natural air cooling method, the cooling effect of the heat exchange medium is improved by using the refrigerant in the refrigeration circuit to exchange heat with the heat exchange medium, which effectively guarantees the cooling effect of the heat exchange medium on the gun head to meet the long-term reliable continuous operation of the laser welding machine. At the same time, the heat dissipation effect is less affected by the ambient temperature. Secondly, by arranging a heat exchanger between the cold plate and the compressor, the refrigerant first passes through the cold plate and exchanges heat with the external heat source connected to the cold plate during the flow of the refrigerant in the refrigeration circuit, so that the temperature of the refrigerant is initially increased, and then enters the heat exchanger. After heat exchange with the heat exchange medium, the temperature is further increased, which is conducive to increasing the superheat of the refrigerant before entering the compressor, and reducing the risk of reduced compressor efficiency or even damage due to low compressor suction superheat. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] Figure 1 This is a schematic structural diagram of a heat dissipation system and a gun head provided in one embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] In the figure: 10, gun head; 12, heat dissipation circuit; 14, refrigeration circuit; 16, compressor; 18, condenser; 19, throttling element; 20, cold plate; 22, heat exchanger; 24, refrigeration pipeline; 28, control valve; 29, diversion pipeline; 30, container; 32, heat dissipation pipeline; 34, cavity; 36, circulation pump; 38, sensor; 40, pressure relief valve; 42, observation window. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] The present invention is further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific implementation methods. It should be noted that, under the premise of no conflict, the various embodiments or technical features described below can be arbitrarily combined to form a new embodiment.

[0022] It should be noted that all directional indications in the embodiments of the present invention (such as up, down, left, right, front, back, inside, outside, top, bottom...) are only used to explain the relative position relationship between the components under a certain specific posture (as shown in the accompanying drawings). If the specific posture changes, the directional indication will also change accordingly.

[0023] It should also be noted that when an element is referred to as being "fixed on" or "disposed on" another element, the element may be directly on the other element or there may be an intermediate element at the same time. When an element is referred to as being "connected to" another element, it may be directly connected to the other element or there may be an intermediate element at the same time.

[0024] See also Figure 1 A laser welding machine provided by one embodiment of the present invention includes a gun head 10 and a heat dissipation system. The gun head 10 is used for welding operations and generates heat during the operation. The heat dissipation system is connected to the gun head 10 and is used to assist the gun head 10 in dissipating heat to reduce the temperature of the gun head 10 and prevent the gun head 10 from affecting its normal operation due to excessive temperature.

[0025] The heat dissipation system includes a heat dissipation circuit 12 and a refrigeration circuit 14, wherein the heat dissipation circuit 12 is used to connect with the gun head 10, and perform heat exchange with the gun head 10 through the heat exchange medium in the heat dissipation circuit 12 to reduce the temperature of the gun head 10, and the refrigeration circuit 14 is connected to the heat dissipation circuit 12, so as to perform heat exchange with the heat exchange medium in the heat dissipation circuit 12 that has exchanged heat with the gun head 10 through the refrigerant in the refrigeration circuit 14, thereby reducing the temperature of the heat exchange medium and effectively ensuring the cooling effect of the heat exchange medium on the gun head 10. Using the refrigerant to cool the heat exchange medium can improve the cooling effect of the heat exchange medium compared to the natural air cooling method, thereby ensuring the cooling effect of the heat exchange medium on the gun head 10, so as to meet the long-term reliable continuous operation of the gun head 10 of the laser welding machine, and at the same time, the cooling effect of the heat exchange medium is less affected by the ambient temperature.

[0026] Optionally, a channel is provided on the gun head 10, and the heat dissipation circuit 12 is connected to the channel, so that the heat exchange medium can flow from the heat dissipation circuit 12 into the channel of the gun head 10 and directly contact the gun head 10, thereby improving the heat exchange efficiency between the heat exchange medium and the gun head 10.

[0027] In one embodiment, the refrigeration circuit 14 includes a compressor 16, a condenser 18, a throttling element 19, a cold plate 20, and a heat exchanger 22 which are connected in sequence, and the refrigerant can circulate among the compressor 16, the condenser 18, the throttling element 19, the cold plate 20, and the heat exchanger 22. Optionally, the throttling element 19 is an electronic expansion valve.

[0028] In this embodiment, the refrigeration circuit 14 includes a plurality of refrigeration pipes 24, and the compressor 16, the condenser 18, the throttling element 19, the cold plate 20 and the heat exchanger 22 are sequentially connected through the refrigeration pipes 24, that is, the outlet of the compressor 16 is connected to the inlet of the condenser 18 through the refrigeration pipe 24, the outlet of the condenser 18 is connected to the inlet of the throttling element 19 through the refrigeration pipe 24, the outlet of the throttling element 19 is connected to the inlet of the cold plate 20 through the refrigeration pipe 24, the outlet of the cold plate 20 is connected to the inlet of the heat exchanger 22 through the refrigeration pipe 24, and the outlet of the heat exchanger 22 is connected to the inlet of the compressor 16 through the refrigeration pipe 24, so that the refrigerant can circulate among the compressor 16, the condenser 18, the throttling element 19, the cold plate 20 and the heat exchanger 22. The heat exchanger 22 is connected to the heat dissipation circuit 12, so that the refrigerant in the refrigeration circuit 14 can cool the heat exchange medium in the heat dissipation circuit 12 when passing through the heat exchanger 22, thereby ensuring the heat dissipation effect of the heat exchange medium on the gun head 10.

[0029] The cold plate 20 is used to connect to an external heat source. The external heat source refers to a device or component other than the gun head 10 that generates heat during operation and has a need for heat dissipation. When the refrigerant flows through the cold plate 20, it can exchange heat with the external heat source that is thermally connected to the cold plate 20, thereby reducing the temperature of the external heat source, so that the heat dissipation system can not only cool the gun head 10, but also cool the external heat source.

[0030] Along the flow direction of the refrigerant, the heat exchanger 22 is located between the cold plate 20 and the compressor 16, that is, after the refrigerant is discharged from the cold plate 20, it first passes through the heat exchanger 22 and then flows back into the compressor 16. Since the refrigerant exchanges heat with the external heat source when passing through the cold plate 20, the temperature of the refrigerant rises initially, and then passes through the heat exchanger 22 and exchanges heat with the heat exchange medium, so that the temperature of the refrigerant further rises. The refrigerant is heated twice in the heat exchanger 22 and the cold plate 20 before entering the compressor 16, which can increase the superheat of the refrigerant before entering the compressor 16, and reduce the risk of the compressor 16 efficiency reduction or even damage caused by the low suction superheat of the compressor 16.

[0031] It should be noted that the gun head 10 of the laser welding machine does not need to be at a very low temperature to work normally. The temperature of the heat exchange medium at 40°~50° can meet the cooling demand of the gun head 10. Therefore, the temperature of the refrigerant for cooling the heat exchange medium does not need to be very low. The temperature of the refrigerant at 20°~30° can meet the cooling demand of the heat exchange medium. Therefore, the refrigeration circuit 14 can be provided with a heat exchanger 22 between the cold plate 20 and the compressor 16 to heat the refrigerant entering the compressor 16 twice to ensure that the superheat of the refrigerant before entering the compressor 16 is increased while meeting the cooling demand of the heat exchange medium, thereby reducing the risk of low suction superheat of the compressor 16. At the same time, the external heat source can be cooled at the cold plate 20 to make full use of the cooling capacity of the refrigerant.

[0032] The specific method of heat conduction connection between the cold plate 20 and the external heat source is not limited. The cold plate 20 and the external heat source can be directly attached to each other or indirectly contacted by a heat transfer element, as long as a heat conduction effect can be achieved.

[0033] In one embodiment, the refrigeration circuit 14 further includes a control valve 28 and a shunt pipe 29, and the throttling element 19 is disposed between the condenser 18 and the cold plate 20 to throttle the refrigerant passing through. One end of the control valve 28 is connected to the refrigeration pipe 24 between the compressor 16 and the condenser 18 through the shunt pipe 29, and the other end is connected to the refrigeration pipe 24 between the throttling element 19 and the cold plate 20 through the shunt pipe 29. After the refrigerant is discharged from the compressor 16, it can flow into the cold plate 20 through the condenser 18 and the throttling element 19, or it can flow into the cold plate 20 after passing through the control valve 28 without passing through the condenser 18 and the throttling element 19.

[0034] When the heat dissipation circuit 12 has a cooling demand, the control valve 28 is in a closed state, and the refrigerant is pressurized by the compressor 16 to become a high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant gas and then enters the condenser 18. In the condenser 18, the refrigerant gas releases heat to the air and becomes a high-temperature and high-pressure supercooled liquid. After throttling and reducing the pressure by the throttling element 19, it becomes a low-temperature and low-pressure two-phase refrigerant. The low-temperature and low-pressure two-phase refrigerant absorbs heat from the external heat source in the cold plate 20 and becomes a superheated refrigerant gas. Then, it absorbs the heat of the heat exchange medium again when passing through the heat exchanger 22, and finally flows back to the compressor 16 to complete a cycle. When the heat dissipation circuit 12 has no cooling demand, the compressor 16 can be kept running at the lowest power and the control valve 28 can be opened. After the refrigerant is pressurized by the compressor 16 and becomes a high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant gas, a part of the refrigerant gas enters the condenser 18. The refrigerant gas in the condenser 18 releases heat to the air and becomes a high-temperature and high-pressure supercooled liquid. After throttling and reducing the pressure by the throttling element 19, it becomes a low-temperature and low-pressure two-phase refrigerant. The other part of the refrigerant gas discharged from the compressor 16 passes through the control valve 28. The control valve 28 will not throttle and reduce the pressure of the refrigerant gas passing through. The refrigerant gas discharged from the control valve 28 is mixed with the low-temperature and low-pressure two-phase refrigerant discharged from the throttling element 19, flows through the cold plate 20 and the heat exchanger 22, and finally flows back to the compressor 16 to complete a cycle.

[0035] When there is no cooling demand for the heat dissipation circuit 12, since part of the refrigerant does not pass through the condenser 18 and the throttling element 19, but directly passes through the control valve 28, and the control valve 28 does not throttle the passing refrigerant, the temperature of the refrigerant discharged from the control valve 28 is relatively high, so that the overall temperature of the refrigerant flowing back into the compressor 16 is relatively high, which can reduce the power consumption of the compressor 16 and enable the compressor 16 to remain in the turned-on state with lower power consumption, thereby avoiding the problem of increased power consumption and affecting the service life of the compressor 16 due to repeated opening and closing of the compressor 16. At the same time, it also enables the refrigeration circuit 14 to more quickly cool the heat dissipation circuit 12 when there is a cooling demand for the heat dissipation circuit 12.

[0036] The specific type of the control valve 28 is not limited, for example, it can be an expansion valve, or a one-way valve, etc. In the present application, the control valve 28 is an electronic expansion valve 26 .

[0037] The specific method of connecting the heat exchanger 22 to the heat dissipation circuit 12 is not limited, as long as the heat exchange medium in the heat dissipation circuit 12 can be cooled. For example, the heat dissipation pipe 32 of the heat dissipation circuit 12 can be directly attached to the heat exchanger 22, and the heat exchange medium and the refrigerant exchange heat through the heat exchanger 22 and the heat dissipation pipe 32. Alternatively, the heat exchange medium can flow through the surface of the heat exchanger 22, and the heat exchange medium and the refrigerant exchange heat through the heat exchanger 22.

[0038] In one embodiment, the heat dissipation circuit 12 includes a container 30 and a heat dissipation pipe 32 for connecting the container 30 and the gun head 10. The container 30 is provided with a cavity 34 and an inlet and an outlet respectively connected to the cavity 34. The inlet and the outlet of the container 30 are respectively connected to the heat dissipation pipe 32, so that the cavity 34 and the heat dissipation pipe 32 are connected, and the heat exchanger 22 is at least partially located in the cavity 34. Specifically, the heat dissipation pipe 32 is connected to the channel on the gun head 10, so that the heat exchange medium in the heat dissipation circuit 12 can flow from the cavity 34 to the channel of the gun head 10 through the heat dissipation pipe 32. When the heat exchange medium flows in the cavity 34, it will pass through the surface of the heat exchanger 22, thereby exchanging heat with the refrigerant in the heat exchanger 22, and then be discharged from the container 30 after reducing the temperature and flowing to the gun head 10. Since the heat exchange medium is in direct contact with the heat exchanger 22, the heat exchange efficiency between the heat exchange medium and the refrigerant can be enhanced.

[0039] It should be noted that the heat exchange medium will not enter the heat exchanger 22 during the flow in the cavity 34 .

[0040] The heat exchanger 22 includes a coil, which is at least partially located in the cavity 34, and the inlet of the coil is connected to the outlet of the cold plate 20, and the outlet of the coil is connected to the inlet of the compressor 16. The coil is a non-straight tube, which can increase the contact area with the heat exchange medium, thereby improving the heat exchange efficiency between the refrigerant and the heat exchanger.

[0041] Preferably, the coil is spiral, that is, the heat exchanger 22 is a spiral tube heat exchanger. Compared with the vertical tube heat exchanger, it has better heat transfer performance, is easy to process, can save materials, and has a more compact structure. Under the same volume, the spiral tube heat exchanger has a larger heat transfer area, which is beneficial to increase the contact area with the heat exchange medium, thereby improving the heat exchange effect between the refrigerant and the heat exchange medium.

[0042] In one embodiment, the heat dissipation circuit 12 further includes a circulation pump 36 installed on the heat dissipation pipe 32, and the circulation pump 36 is used to provide power to the heat exchange medium to drive the heat exchange medium to circulate in the heat dissipation circuit 12. After the heat exchange medium enters the circulation pump 36, the circulation pump 36 drives the heat exchange medium to move to the gun head 10, absorbs the heat of the gun head 10, and the temperature rises, and then flows into the cavity 34 of the container 30, exchanges heat with the refrigerant in the heat exchanger 22, and then flows from the cavity 34 into the circulation pump 36 after the temperature is reduced, completing a cycle.

[0043] A sensor 38 is provided on the container 30, and the sensor 38 is used to detect the liquid level of the heat exchange medium in the cavity 34. Since the heat exchange medium will exchange heat with the refrigerant in the heat exchanger 22 in the cavity 34, the temperature of the heat exchange medium will decrease and the density will increase after the heat exchange, resulting in a smaller volume of the heat exchange medium and a lower liquid level of the heat exchange medium. When the liquid level drops to a certain level, the heat exchange medium may not be discharged from the container 30, or too little heat exchange medium is discharged from the container 30, and the circulating pump 36 may continue to work at this time. By providing a sensor 38 for detecting the liquid level on the container 30, the sensor 38 can feed back the liquid level information it detects to the control system of the laser welding machine. When the detected liquid level is lower than the preset height, the control system controls the circulating pump 36 to stop working, thereby reducing the risk of damage to the circulating pump 36.

[0044] The specific type of sensor 38 is not limited. For example, it can be a pressure type liquid level sensor 38 that determines the liquid level by detecting the liquid pressure, or an ultrasonic liquid level sensor 38 that calculates the liquid level by the time difference between ultrasonic transmission and reflection, or a float type liquid level sensor 38 that detects the liquid level by buoyancy.

[0045] The container 30 is provided with a mounting hole connected to the cavity 34, and the mounting hole is equipped with a pressure relief valve 40. During the process of heat exchange between the heat exchange medium and the refrigerant in the cavity 34, the air pressure in the cavity 34 will change. When the volume of the heat exchange medium becomes smaller, the air pressure in the cavity 34 will increase. When the air pressure is too high, the container 30 may be at risk of explosion. The pressure relief valve 40 can automatically open after the air pressure reaches a certain level, thereby achieving the effect of exhausting the air, reducing the air pressure in the cavity 34, thereby achieving the effect of stabilizing the pressure and reducing safety hazards.

[0046] Preferably, the pressure relief valve 40 can also be opened manually to add heat exchange medium into the cavity 34 .

[0047] The container 30 is provided with an observation window 42 , which may be made of a transparent material. The heat exchange medium inside the cavity 34 may be observed through the observation window 42 , so that the liquid level may be observed when adding heat exchange medium into the cavity 34 .

[0048] The above-mentioned embodiments are only preferred embodiments of the present invention and cannot be used to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. Any non-substantial changes and substitutions made by technicians in this field on the basis of the present invention shall fall within the scope of protection required by the present invention.

Claims

1. A heat dissipation system, characterized in that: Applicable to a laser welding machine including a gun head, the heat dissipation system includes a heat dissipation circuit and a refrigeration circuit, and the heat dissipation circuit is used for heat exchange with the gun head; The refrigeration circuit includes a compressor, a condenser, a throttling element, a cold plate and a heat exchanger which are connected in sequence. The cold plate is used for heat conduction connection with an external heat source. The refrigerant in the refrigeration circuit exchanges heat with the heat exchange medium in the heat dissipation circuit when passing through the heat exchanger. Along the flow direction of the refrigerant, the heat exchanger is located between the cold plate and the compressor.

2. The heat dissipation system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The heat dissipation circuit includes a container with a cavity and a heat dissipation pipe for connecting the container and the gun head. The inlet and the outlet of the container are respectively connected to the heat dissipation pipe, and the heat exchanger is at least partially located in the cavity.

3. The heat dissipation system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The heat exchanger includes a coil, an inlet of the coil is communicated with an outlet of the cold plate, and an outlet of the coil is communicated with an inlet of the compressor.

4. The heat dissipation system according to claim 3, characterized in that: The coil is in a spiral shape.

5. The heat dissipation system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The heat dissipation circuit further includes a circulation pump for driving the heat exchange medium to circulate in the heat dissipation circuit.

6. The heat dissipation system according to claim 5, characterized in that: The container is provided with a sensor, and the sensor is used to detect the liquid level of the heat exchange medium in the cavity.

7. The heat dissipation system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The container is provided with a mounting hole communicated with the cavity, and the mounting hole is provided with a pressure relief valve.

8. The heat dissipation system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The container is provided with an observation window.

9. The heat dissipation system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The refrigeration circuit also includes a control valve, a refrigeration pipeline and a bypass pipeline. The compressor, condenser, throttling element, cold plate and heat exchanger are connected in sequence through the refrigeration pipeline. One end of the control valve is connected to the refrigeration pipeline between the compressor and the condenser through the bypass pipeline, and the other end is connected to the refrigeration pipeline between the throttling element and the cold plate through the bypass pipeline.

10. A laser welding machine, characterized in that: It comprises a gun head and a heat dissipation system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the gun head is provided with a channel, and the channel is connected to the heat dissipation circuit.

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