Temperature control method and system

Abstract

The invention provides a temperature control method used for a temperature control system, the temperature control system comprises a control module and a heating module, the heating module comprises N heating units, the temperature control method comprises a heat preservation process, and the heat preservation process comprises the steps that the control module outputs a first control signal to M heating units in the N heating units to control the M heating units to work; wherein M and N are integers greater than 1 and Mlt; n. In the heat preservation process, part of the multiple heating units are selected to continue to work, so that the total power output by all the heating units originally is output by part of the heating units, the output power of the heating units is improved, halogen tungsten circulation in the halogen heating lamp is promoted to be fully carried out, and the heat preservation efficiency is improved. Attenuation of the heating unit due to long-time low power output is inhibited, and the service life of the heating unit is effectively prolonged.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and in particular to a temperature control method and system. Background Art

[0002] In the semiconductor manufacturing process, many process steps have certain requirements for process temperature. Therefore, in semiconductor manufacturing equipment that needs to achieve a certain process temperature, a temperature control system needs to be equipped.

[0003] For example, in tank cleaning equipment, the cleaning liquid needs to be heated and the temperature of the cleaning liquid needs to be maintained. After the cleaning liquid is mixed, the heating module needs to output a higher power to heat the cleaning liquid. When the cleaning liquid temperature reaches the process temperature, the heating module only needs to output a lower power to maintain the temperature. The heating module is usually composed of multiple halogen heating lamps. If the halogen heating lamp works at low power for a long time, for example, the equivalent power output of the halogen heating lamp is less than 25% of its own rated power, it will cause insufficient halogen tungsten circulation inside the lamp tube, causing the halogen heating lamp to attenuate and shorten the service life of the halogen heating lamp.

[0004] In a heating module composed of multiple halogen heating lamps, all halogen heating lamps are controlled by the same solid-state relay. There are differences in the attenuation of different halogen heating lamps, and this difference will gradually increase over time. When one of the halogen heating lamps can no longer be used, the heating module controller will issue an early warning to remind you to replace it with a new one, and all halogen heating lamps need to be replaced simultaneously, but in fact some halogen lamps can still be used.

[0005] Therefore, how to provide a new temperature control method and system to extend the service life of the heating device becomes a technical problem that needs to be solved. Summary of the invention

[0006] In view of the above-mentioned shortcomings of the prior art, an object of the present invention is to provide a temperature control method and system for solving the technical problem of how to prolong the service life of a heating device.

[0007] To achieve the above-mentioned object and other related objects, one aspect of the present invention provides a temperature control method for a temperature control system, wherein the temperature control system includes a control module and a heating module, wherein the heating module includes N heating units, and the temperature control method includes a heat preservation process, wherein the heat preservation process includes: the control module outputs a first control signal to M heating units among the N heating units to control the M heating units to work; wherein M and N are integers greater than 1 and M <N。

[0008] Optionally, a detection process is also included, and the detection process includes: the control module outputs a second control signal to the N heating units to control the operation of the N heating units, obtains the first operating current of each heating unit, and compares the magnitude of the first operating current of each heating unit; the control module outputs a first control signal to M heating units among the N heating units, and the step of controlling the operation of the M heating units includes: the control module selects one or more heating units with a smaller first operating current to operate.

[0009] Optionally, it also includes an early warning process, which includes: the early warning process includes: the control module stores the correspondence between the third control signal and the early warning current, outputs the third control signal to the N heating units, controls the N heating units to operate, obtains the second working current of each heating unit, and compares the second working current of each heating unit with the early warning current. If the second working current is greater than the early warning current, the control module issues a early warning signal.

[0010] Optionally, a heating process is further included, which is performed before the insulation process. The heating process includes: the control module outputs a fourth control signal to the N heating units to control the operation of the N heating units; the detection process is performed in the heating process, and the fourth control signal is used as the second control signal in the detection process.

[0011] Optionally, a heating process is further included, and the heating process is performed before the heat preservation process, and the heating process includes: the control module outputs a fourth control signal to the N heating units to control the N heating units to work; the early warning process is performed in the heating process, and the fourth control signal is used as the third control signal in the early warning process. Optionally, if the second working current in the early warning process is less than the early warning current, the magnitude of the second working current of each heating unit is compared; the control module outputs a first control signal to M heating units among the N heating units, and the step of controlling the M heating units to work includes: selecting one or more heating units with a smaller second working current to work.

[0012] Another aspect of the present invention provides a temperature control system, comprising a control module and a heating module, wherein the heating module comprises N heating units; the control module is used to output a first control signal to M heating units among the N heating units when performing a heat preservation process, so as to control the M heating units to work; wherein M and N are integers greater than 1 and M <N。

[0013] Optionally, it also includes a feedback module for collecting the first working current of each of the heating units and feeding back the first working current to the control module; the control module is also configured to: in the detection process, output a second control signal to the N heating units to control the operation of the N heating units, obtain the first working current of each heating unit through the feedback module, and compare the magnitude of the first working current of each heating unit; and when the control module outputs a first control signal to M of the N heating units to control the operation of the M heating units, select one or more heating units with a smaller first working current to work.

[0014] Optionally, it also includes a feedback module for collecting the second working current of each of the heating units and feeding back the second working current to the control module; the control module is also configured to: store the correspondence between the third control signal and the warning current, output the third control signal to the N heating units, obtain the second working current of the N heating units through the feedback module, compare the second working current with the warning current, and if the second working current is greater than the warning current, the control module issues a warning signal.

[0015] Optionally, the control module is also used to perform a heating process before performing the insulation process, and the heating process includes: outputting a fourth control signal to the N heating units to control the operation of the N heating units; the control module and the feedback module are also configured to perform the detection process when performing the heating process, and use the fourth control signal as the second control signal in the detection process.

[0016] Optionally, the control module is also used to perform a heating process before performing the heat preservation process, and the heating process includes: outputting a fourth control signal to the N heating units to control the N heating units to work; the control module and the feedback module are also configured to perform the early warning process when performing the heating process, and use the fourth control signal as the third control signal in the early warning process. Optionally, the control module is also configured to compare the magnitude of the second working current of each heating unit if the second working current in the early warning process is less than the early warning current; and the control module outputs a first control signal to M heating units among the N heating units, and when controlling the M heating units to work, selects one or more heating units with a smaller second working current to work.

[0017] As described above, the present invention provides a temperature control method and system, which have the following beneficial effects:

[0018] 1) In the heat preservation process, some of the heating units are selected to continue to work, so that the total power originally output by all the heating units is output by some of the heating units, thereby increasing the output power of the heating units, promoting the full halogen tungsten circulation inside the halogen heating lamp, and suppressing the attenuation of the heating units due to long-term low power output, thereby effectively extending the service life of the heating units;

[0019] 2) By collecting the working current of each halogen heating lamp and comparing the attenuation difference between the halogen heating lamps, the halogen heating lamp with less attenuation is preferentially selected to work, so as to balance the attenuation difference between the halogen heating lamps and extend the overall service life of the heating module;

[0020] 3) The halogen heating lamps that need to be replaced can be detected more flexibly without replacing all the halogen heating lamps in the entire heating module, further extending the overall service life of the heating module. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] Figure 1 Shown is a circuit schematic diagram of an exemplary temperature control system;

[0022] Figure 2 Shown is a schematic diagram of an exemplary application of a temperature control system;

[0023] Figure 3 Shown is a circuit diagram of a temperature control system in Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 4 Shown is a flow chart of a temperature control method of a temperature control system in Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 5 It is a circuit diagram of a temperature control system in Embodiment 2 of the present invention; and

[0026] Figure 6 Shown is a circuit diagram of a temperature control system in Embodiment 3 of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] The following describes the embodiments of the present invention through specific examples, and those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present invention from the contents disclosed in this specification. The present invention can also be implemented or applied through other different specific embodiments, and the details in this specification can also be modified or changed in various ways based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0028] It should be noted that the drawings of the present disclosure only illustrate the basic concept of the present invention in a schematic manner. Although the drawings only show components related to the present invention rather than being drawn according to the number, shape and size of components in actual implementation, the form, quantity and proportion of each component in actual implementation may be changed arbitrarily, and the component layout may also be more complicated.

[0029] When the following description refers to the drawings, unless otherwise indicated, the same numbers in different drawings represent the same or similar elements. The embodiments described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all embodiments consistent with the present invention. Instead, they are only examples of devices consistent with some aspects of the present invention as detailed in the attached claims.

[0030] The terms used in this disclosure are for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only and are not intended to limit the disclosure. The singular forms of "a", "said" and "the" used in this disclosure and the appended claims are also intended to include plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the term "and / or" used herein refers to and includes any or all possible combinations of one or more associated listed items.

[0031] In the description of the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified and limited, it should be noted that the terms "installation", "connection" and "connection" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection, or it can be the internal connection between two elements. It can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium. For those skilled in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0032] It should be understood that although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used in the present disclosure to describe various information, such information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish the same type of information from each other.

[0033] Embodiment 1

[0034] Figure 1 A circuit diagram of an exemplary temperature control system is shown, which includes a heating module, a control module and a feedback module. The heating module includes three heating units, namely, halogen heating lamps L10, L20, and L30. The control module includes a PLC (programmable controller) and a solid-state relay SSR0. The feedback module includes a current sensor 0. The solid line indicates the power transmission line, the dotted line indicates the signal transmission line, and the halogen heating lamps L10, L20, and L30 have the same operating parameters such as rated power and rated current.

[0035] Figure 2The schematic diagram of the structure of the exemplary application of the temperature control system is shown, wherein the solid line indicates the liquid pipeline, the arrow on the liquid pipeline indicates the liquid flow direction; the dotted line indicates the signal transmission line. The temperature control system is applied to a wafer tank cleaning device, which includes a processing tank 100 and an overflow tank 200. The cleaning liquid 300 circulates between the processing tank 100 and the overflow tank 200. A heating module is set on the circulation pipeline of the cleaning liquid 300. A temperature sensor 400 is set in the processing tank 100. The temperature sensor 400 feeds back the temperature of the cleaning liquid 300 to the control module. The PLC realizes temperature control of the cleaning liquid 300 through PID (proportional-integral-differential) control. The control module controls the on-off frequency of SSR0 through PLC, and controls the actual working time of the halogen heating lamps L10, L20, and L30, so that the equivalent power output by the halogen heating lamps L10, L20, and L30 within a time period meets the temperature control requirements of the heating object (i.e., the cleaning fluid 300). For example, within a certain time period, the PLC controls SSR0 to remain on, then the halogen heating lamps L10, L20, and L30 continue to work within the time period, and the output equivalent power is their respective rated power.

[0036] The temperature control system first performs the heating process, and the control module controls the heating module to output the heating power P 0 , to heat the cleaning liquid 300. Specifically, in this example, the heating power P of the heating module 0 For their rated powers, during the heating process, the PLC controls SSR0 to remain turned on, so that the equivalent powers output by the halogen heating lamps L10, L20, and L30 are their respective rated powers.

[0037] When the temperature of the cleaning liquid 300 reaches the predetermined process temperature, the temperature control system performs the heat preservation process, and the control module controls the heating module to output the heat preservation power P 0x , so that the cleaning liquid 300 is kept at a predetermined process temperature. Specifically, in the heat preservation process, the PLC controls the on-off frequency of SSR0 so that the sum of the equivalent power output of the halogen heating lamps L10, L20, and L30 is P 0x , so that the cleaning liquid 300 is maintained at a predetermined process temperature.

[0038] It should be understood that after the cleaning solution 300 is heated from the initial temperature (e.g., room temperature 25 degrees Celsius) to the predetermined process temperature (e.g., 80 degrees Celsius), the heating module needs to output low power to maintain the process temperature of the heated cleaning solution 300, that is, the insulation power P 0x It should be much lower than the rated power of the heating module. 0x It is 25% of the rated power of the heating module, that is, in the insulation process, the conduction time of SSR0 controlled by PLC is 1 / 4 of the duration of the insulation process.

[0039] In this example, the equivalent power output by the halogen heating lamps L10, L20, and L30 is controlled by the PLC through the same SSR0. Therefore, in the same process, the equivalent power output by the halogen heating lamps L10, L20, and L30 is the same. Therefore, in the heat preservation process, in order to keep the cleaning liquid 300 at the predetermined process temperature for a long time, the sum of the equivalent power output by the halogen heating lamps L10, L20, and L30 is 25% of the rated power of the heating module, so each halogen heating lamp needs to maintain an output equivalent power of 25% of its respective rated power. This will lead to insufficient halogen tungsten circulation inside the halogen heating lamp, causing the halogen heating lamp to attenuate, and then cause a local short circuit of the halogen heating lamp, causing the current value in the loop to increase. When the current value in the loop exceeds the preset value of the control module, the temperature control system will issue a warning signal, and all halogen heating lamps need to be replaced to restore the normal operation of the temperature control system, which greatly affects the service life of the halogen heating lamp.

[0040] It should be noted that for halogen heating lamps, whether the halogen tungsten cycle is sufficient directly affects the service life of the halogen heating lamp. If the equivalent power output by the halogen heating lamp is lower than its own rated power, it will affect the normal operation of its internal halogen tungsten cycle. In particular, when the output equivalent power is lower than a certain percentage of its own rated power, the phenomenon of insufficient internal halogen tungsten cycle of the halogen heating lamp will be particularly prominent. This is determined by the working characteristics of the halogen heating lamp. Therefore, different models or types of halogen heating lamps correspond to different percentages, which can be derived by technical personnel in this field based on actual conditions. When the equivalent power output by the halogen heating lamp shown in the present disclosure is below 25% of its respective rated power, the phenomenon of insufficient internal halogen tungsten cycle of the halogen heating lamp is particularly prominent.

[0041] To at least solve the above problems, one aspect of the present invention provides a temperature control system, which can be used to implement the temperature control method of the present invention. The temperature control system includes a control module and a heating module, the heating module includes N heating units, and the temperature control method includes a heat preservation process, which includes: the control module outputs a first control signal to M heating units among the N heating units to control the M heating units to work; wherein M and N are integers greater than 1 and M <N。

[0042] It should be understood that the heat preservation process refers to the process of keeping the object to be heated at a predetermined process temperature by controlling the equivalent total power output by the heating module, that is, the process of achieving heat preservation. In other words, in the heat preservation process executed under the same temperature control system and the same working conditions, the equivalent total power output by the heating module is determined. When a temperature control system with N heating units executes the heat preservation process, if all heating units are working, the equivalent power output by each heating unit is Pn, and the equivalent total power output by the heating module is N*Pn. If the control module outputs a first control signal to M heating units among the N heating units to control the M heating units to work, and the equivalent power output by each heating unit is Pm, then Pm = (N*Pn) / M, where M and N are integers greater than 1 and M < N. This means that Pm > Pn, that is, the equivalent power output by a single heating unit is increased in the heat preservation process. It should be noted that those skilled in the art should understand that the predetermined process temperature is usually a temperature range that fluctuates up and down around a certain temperature value. As long as the actual temperature of the object to be heated is within this temperature range, it can be considered that the object to be heated maintains the predetermined process temperature.

[0043] Refer to Figure 3 , which shows a circuit schematic diagram of an exemplary temperature control system according to an embodiment disclosed in the present invention. The temperature control system includes a control module and a heating module. The control module includes a PLC (programmable controller) and three solid-state relays SSR1, SSR2, and SSR3. The heating module includes three heating units, which are halogen heating lamps L1, L2, and L3 respectively. The halogen heating lamps L1, L2, and L3 are respectively connected to SSR1, SSR2, and SSR3.

[0044] The temperature control system of this embodiment is applied to a Figure 2 shown wafer slot cleaning equipment. When the temperature of the object to be heated (i.e., Figure 2 the cleaning liquid 300 therein) reaches the predetermined process temperature, the temperature control system executes the heat preservation process.

[0045] Specifically, the PLC controls one or two of SSR1, SSR2, and SSR3 to conduct, and selectively controls one or two of the halogen heating lamps L1, L2, and L3 to work, and the remaining halogen heating lamps stop working. That is, when executing the heat preservation process, only some of the halogen heating lamps in the heating module work, and at least one halogen heating lamp stops working. For example, the PLC controls SSR1 to remain conducting or to turn on and off at a certain frequency to control the halogen heating lamp L1 to work.

[0046] It should be understood that in this embodiment, the control module controls the on-off frequency of the solid-state relay through the PLC, and controls the actual working time of the halogen heating lamp connected to the solid-state relay, so that the equivalent power output by the halogen heating lamp in a time period meets the temperature control requirements of the heating object (i.e., the cleaning liquid 300). For example, in a certain time period, if the PLC controls SSR1 to remain on, the halogen heating lamp L1 continues to work in the time period, and the output equivalent power is its own rated power; if the PLC controls SSR1 to be on and off at a certain frequency, and the actual on time of SSR1 is a certain percentage of the time period, for example, m%, then the equivalent power output by the halogen heating lamp L1 in the time period is m% of its own rated power, where m is a real number between 0 and 100.

[0047] In this embodiment, when the heat preservation process is executed, only the halogen heating lamp L1 continues to work. In other words, when the heat preservation process is executed, the equivalent total power originally output by the three halogen heating lamps L1, L2, and L3 is only output by the halogen heating lamp L1. Exemplarily, when the heat preservation process is executed, the equivalent power output by the heating module is 25% of the rated power of the heating module. If the halogen heating lamps L1, L2, and L3 are all working, then the PLC is required to control the on-off frequency of SSR1, SSR2, and SSR3 so that the equivalent power output by each halogen heating lamp is 25% of its rated power; and if only the halogen heating lamp L1 is working in this embodiment, the PLC is required to control the on-off frequency of SSR1 so that the equivalent power output by the halogen heating lamp L1 is 75% of its rated power. Therefore, the output power of a single halogen heating lamp is increased, the halogen tungsten cycle in the lamp tube is fully promoted, and the attenuation of the halogen heating lamp caused by maintaining low power output for a long time is suppressed.

[0048] Preferably, in this embodiment, the temperature control system further includes a feedback module, and the temperature control method further includes a detection process. The detection process includes: the control module outputs a second control signal to N heating units, controls the N heating units to work, obtains the first working current of each heating unit, and compares the magnitude of the first working current of each heating unit; the control module outputs a first control signal to M heating units among the N heating units, and the step of controlling the M heating units to work includes: the control module selects one or more heating units with a smaller first working current to work.

[0049] The feedback module is used to collect the first working current of each heating unit and feed the first working current back to the control module; the control module is also configured to: in the detection process, output a second control signal to the N heating units to control the N heating units to work, obtain the first working current of each heating unit through the feedback module, and compare the magnitude of the first working current of each heating unit; and the control module outputs a first control signal to M heating units among the N heating units to control the M heating units to work, and selects one or more heating units with a smaller first working current to work.

[0050] It should be noted that one or more heating units with a smaller first working current represent one or more heating units with a smaller first working current among the N heating units. Assuming that the largest first working current among the N heating units is Imax, "smaller" means a first working current that is less than Imax. Therefore, in the insulation process, at most N-1 heating units with a smaller first working current can be selected. At the same time, "smaller" can include the smallest but not limited to the smallest. When N=2, a heating unit with a smaller first working current is also a heating unit with the smallest first working current. When N is greater than 2, for example 3, assuming that the number of heating units to be selected is 1, the 1 heating unit can be a heating unit with the smallest first working current or a heating unit with the second smallest first working current.

[0051] In some embodiments, in order to obtain one or more heating units with a smaller first working current in the detection process, the first working currents of the N heating units can be sorted, for example, from small to large, so that it can be known which heating units have a smaller first working current. In other embodiments, the heating unit with the largest first working current Imax among the N heating units can be obtained, and the remaining N-1 heating units all have a smaller first working current, and any heating units can be selected from them to work. In other embodiments, a threshold can be set according to the range of the first working currents of the N heating units to obtain some heating units with a current less than the threshold, and any heating units can be selected from the part of the heating units to work.

[0052] like Figure 3As shown, in this embodiment, feedback modules are separately provided between the halogen heating lamps L1, L2, L3 and the control module. The feedback modules include current sensor 1, current sensor 2, and current sensor 3, which are used to collect the first working currents I10, I20, I30 of the halogen heating lamps L1, L2, L3 when the control module outputs the second control signal to the halogen heating lamps L1, L2, L3, and feedback the first working currents I10, I20, I30 to the control module. When the heat preservation process is executed, the control module selects one or two halogen heating lamps with smaller first working currents among the halogen heating lamps L1, L2, L3 to work. For example, in the heat preservation process, if I10 < I20 < I30, the PLC controls SSR1 to remain conductive or turn on and off at a certain frequency to control the halogen heating lamp L1 to work. Exemplarily, in this embodiment, the second control signal is that the PLC controls SSR1, SSR2, and SSR3 to remain in the conductive state, that is, the feedback module collects the working currents I10, I20, I30 when the equivalent power output by the control module to the halogen heating lamps L1, L2, L3 is their respective rated powers.

[0053] It should be understood that as the halogen heating lamp itself decays, its internal resistance will gradually decrease. The halogen heating lamps L1, L2, L3 have the same working parameters such as rated power and rated working current. When the control module outputs the same control signal to the halogen heating lamps L1, L2, L3, the magnitudes of the working currents of the halogen heating lamps L1, L2, L3 can reflect their own decay conditions. That is, compared with the halogen heating lamp with a larger working current, the halogen heating lamp with a smaller working current has relatively less decay and a relatively longer remaining service life. Prioritizing the selection of the halogen heating lamp with relatively less decay to work in the heat preservation process can balance the decay differences between the halogen heating lamps, thereby extending the overall service life of the heating module.

[0054] In this embodiment, the control module is further configured to execute a heating process before executing the heat preservation process. The heating process includes: outputting a fourth control signal to N heating units to control the N heating units to work so as to heat the heating object to a predetermined process temperature. When the heating process is executed, it is usually necessary for each heating unit to output its rated power. Therefore, in this embodiment, the fourth control signal is that the PLC controls SSR1, SSR2, and SSR3 to remain in the conductive state, so that the equivalent power output by the halogen heating lamps L1, L2, L3 is their respective rated powers. Among them, the fourth control signal refers to the control signal output by the control module to each heating unit to control the work of each heating unit during the heating process.

[0055] Preferably, in this embodiment, the control module and the feedback module are further configured to perform a detection process when performing the heating process, and use the fourth control signal as the second control signal in the detection process. That is, the control module obtains the first working current of each heating unit in the heating process, and compares the first working current of each heating unit in the heating process, and uses this as a basis for detecting the attenuation of each heating unit, without consuming additional time and energy to perform the detection process, thereby improving the working efficiency of the temperature control system.

[0056] Preferably, in this embodiment, the feedback module is also used to execute the early warning process. The early warning process includes: the control module stores the corresponding relationship between the third control signal and the early warning current, outputs the third control signal to the N heating units, controls the N heating units to work, obtains the second working current of each heating unit, and compares the second working current of each heating unit with the early warning current. If the second working current is greater than the early warning current, the control module sends a early warning signal.

[0057] The feedback module is used to collect the second working current of each heating unit and feed the second working current back to the control module; the control module is also configured to: store the corresponding relationship between the third control signal and the warning current, output the third control signal to N heating units, obtain the second working current of the N heating units through the feedback module, compare the second working current with the warning current, and if the second working current is greater than the warning current, the control module sends a warning signal.

[0058] The third control signal refers to the control signal output by the control module to each heating unit to control the operation of each heating unit during the early warning process, and the second operating current refers to the operating current of each heating unit under the control of the third control signal.

[0059] Exemplarily, in this embodiment, the third control signal is that the PLC controls SSR1, SSR2, and SSR3 to remain in the on state, and the PLC pre-stores the warning current I of the working current of the halogen heating lamp when SSR1, SSR2, and SSR3 remain on. The PLC controls SSR1, SSR2, and SSR3 to remain on, so that the equivalent power output by the halogen heating lamps L1, L2, and L3 is the rated power of each. The current sensors 1, 2, and 3 collect the second working currents I11, I22, and I33 of the halogen heating lamps L1, L2, and L3, and feed the second working currents I11, I22, and I33 back to the PLC. The PLC compares the magnitudes of I11, I22, and I33 with the warning current I respectively. If any of the second working currents I11, I22, and I33 is greater than or equal to the warning current I, a warning signal is issued to indicate that the corresponding halogen heating lamp can no longer work and needs to be replaced. For example, if I11≥I, it means that the halogen heating lamp L1 needs to be replaced; if I11≥I and I22≥I, it means that the halogen heating lamps L1 and L2 need to be replaced.

[0060] By executing the early warning process through the control module and the feedback module, the halogen heating lamp that needs to be replaced in the heating module can be detected more flexibly without the need to replace all the halogen heating lamps in the entire heating module, thereby further extending the overall service life of the heating module.

[0061] It should be understood that different third control signals correspond to different warning currents. Preferably, in this embodiment, the control module and the feedback module are also configured to execute the warning process when executing the heating process. That is, the fourth control signal of the heating process is used as the third control signal in the warning process, and the second working current of each heating unit is obtained. The second working current is compared with the warning current to determine whether there is a heating unit that needs to be replaced in each heating unit. There is no need to spend extra time and energy to execute the warning process, which improves the working efficiency of the temperature control system.

[0062] It should be understood that the second control signal, the third control signal and the fourth control signal set in the present embodiment are the same, which are control signals for PLC to control SSR1, SSR2, SSR3 to remain in the on state so that the halogen heating lamp outputs the rated power. Therefore, the working current of the halogen heating lamps L1, L2, L3 collected by the current sensor 1, the current sensor 2 and the current sensor 3 in the heating process can be used as the first working current in the detection process and as the second working current in the early warning process. Therefore, more preferably, in the present embodiment, the feedback module only needs to collect the working current of each heating unit once in the heating process, that is, the current sensor 1, the current sensor 2 and the current sensor 3 only need to collect the working currents I1, I2, I3 of the halogen heating lamps L1, L2, L3 in the heating process. The working currents I1, I2, I3 can first be used by the control module to compare with the warning current I respectively to determine whether each heating unit can work normally. If there is a heating unit that needs to be replaced, it will be replaced. Otherwise, it means that each heating unit can continue to work. The control module can continue to compare the working currents I1, I2, I3, and then when the insulation process is subsequently executed, the halogen heating lamp corresponding to the smaller one or two currents is selected to work.

[0063] In other possible embodiments, the second control signal, the third control signal and the fourth control signal may also be different, and then the corresponding detection process, early warning process and heating process need to be respectively performed in different time periods.

[0064] It should be understood that in this embodiment, the control module includes a PLC and solid-state relays SSR1, SSR2, and SSR3, but the control module is only exemplary and not a limitation of the present invention. Those skilled in the art can select the control module in accordance with the teachings of this disclosure and the common knowledge in the art. For example, in another possible implementation of this embodiment, the control module includes a PLC and a silicon controlled rectifier SCR (Silicon Controlled Rectifier).

[0065] See also Figure 4 , which shows a flow chart of a temperature control method of a temperature control system in this embodiment. An exemplary temperature control method of a temperature control system with a feedback module according to the present invention is given below:

[0066] S1, PLC stores the warning current I of the working current of the halogen heating lamp when SSR1, SSR2, and SSR3 remain turned on, that is, when the control module controls the equivalent power output of the halogen heating lamps L1, L2, and L3 to be their respective rated powers.

[0067] S2, PLC controls SSR1, SSR2, and SSR3 to remain in the on state, so that the equivalent power output by the halogen heating lamps L1, L2, and L3 is their respective rated power, so as to heat the heating object to a predetermined process temperature.

[0068] S3, during the heating process, current sensor 1, current sensor 2 and current sensor 3 respectively collect the working currents I1, I2 and I3 of the halogen heating lamps L1, L2 and L3, and feed back I1, I2 and I3 to the PLC.

[0069] S4, PLC compares the working currents I1, I2, I3 with the warning current I. If any of the working currents I1, I2, I3 is greater than or equal to the warning current I, PLC sends out a warning signal, replaces the corresponding halogen heating lamp, and returns to S2; otherwise, continue to execute S5.

[0070] S5, after the heating object is heated to the predetermined process temperature, the temperature control system executes the insulation process. When executing the insulation process, the PLC selects to control one or two corresponding halogen heating lamps with smaller values ​​among the working currents I1, I2, and I3 to work, and the other halogen heating lamps stop working.

[0071] Embodiment 2

[0072] See also Figure 5 , which shows a circuit diagram of a temperature control system according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. Compared with Embodiment 1, the control module of this embodiment includes a PLC, a solid-state relay SSR1, and switch units K1, K2, and K3. Halogen heating lamps L1, L2, and L3 are connected to the same solid-state relay SSR1, and the power transmission lines of the halogen heating lamps L1, L2, and L3 are respectively connected to switch units K1, K2, and K3, and the switch units K1, K2, and K3 are respectively connected to the PLC.

[0073] Compared with the first embodiment, in the present embodiment, the control module controls one or two of the switch units K1, K2, and K3 to be turned on through PLC, selects to control one or two of the halogen heating lamps L1, L2, and L3 to work, and controls the on-off frequency of SSR1 through PLC to realize the control of the equivalent power output by the heating module.

[0074] Embodiment 3

[0075] See also Figure 6 , which shows a circuit diagram of a temperature control system according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. Compared with Embodiment 1, this embodiment adds a halogen heating lamp L4 to the heating module, and correspondingly adds a solid-state relay SSR4 and a current sensor 4.

[0076] In this embodiment, after heating the object to be heated to a predetermined process temperature, the temperature control system performs a heat preservation process. The PLC preferentially selects two or three halogen heating lamps corresponding to the smaller values among I1, I2, I3, and I4 to work, and the remaining halogen heating lamps do not work. For example, when I1 < I2 < I3 < I4, the PLC controls SSR1 and SSR2 to conduct, and selects to control the halogen heating lamps L1 and L2 to work; or controls SSR1, SSR2, and SSR3 to conduct, and selects to control the halogen heating lamps L1, L2, and L3 to work.

[0077] As the number of halogen heating lamps in the heating module increases, taking 4 halogen heating lamps as an example, when performing the heat preservation process, if only one of the 4 halogen heating lamps is selected, for example, the halogen heating lamp L1 is selected to work, even if the halogen heating lamp L1 outputs 100% of its own rated power, the equivalent power output by the heating module is only 25% of its own rated power. If the equivalent power output by the heating module needs to be greater than 25% of its own rated power, only selecting one of the 4 halogen heating lamps will not be able to meet the temperature control requirements of the heat preservation process. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the number of halogen heating lamps working in the heat preservation process.

[0078] The above embodiments merely illustrate the principles and effects of the present invention by way of example, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Any person familiar with this technology can modify or change the above embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, all equivalent modifications or changes completed by those with ordinary knowledge in the technical field without departing from the spirit and technical idea disclosed by the present invention should still be covered by the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A temperature control method, It is characterized in that For temperature control system, The temperature control system includes a control module and a heating module, the heating module includes N heating units, and the temperature control method includes a heat preservation process. The heat preservation process includes: the control module outputs a first control signal to M heating units among the N heating units to control the M heating units to work; wherein M and N are integers greater than 1 and M <N。 2. The temperature control method according to claim 1, It is characterized in that It also includes the testing process, The detection process comprises: The control module outputs a second control signal to the N heating units to control the N heating units to operate, obtains a first operating current of each heating unit, and compares the magnitudes of the first operating currents of each heating unit; The control module outputs a first control signal to M heating units among the N heating units, and the step of controlling the M heating units to operate includes: the control module selects one or more heating units with a smaller first operating current to operate.

3. The temperature control method according to claim 1, It is characterized in that It also includes early warning process, The early warning process includes: The control module stores the correspondence between the third control signal and the warning current, outputs the third control signal to the N heating units, controls the operation of the N heating units, obtains the second working current of each heating unit, and compares the second working current of each heating unit with the warning current. If the second working current is greater than the warning current, the control module issues a warning signal.

4. The temperature control method according to claim 2, It is characterized in that It also includes a heating process. The heating process is performed before the heat preservation process. The heating process comprises: The control module outputs a fourth control signal to the N heating units to control the N heating units to operate; The detection step is performed during the heating step, and the fourth control signal is used as a second control signal in the detection step.

5. The temperature control method according to claim 3, It is characterized in that It also includes a heating process. The heating process is performed before the heat preservation process. The heating process comprises: The control module outputs a fourth control signal to the N heating units to control the N heating units to operate; The early warning process is performed during the heating process, and the fourth control signal is used as the third control signal in the early warning process.

6. The temperature control method according to claim 5, It is characterized in that If the second working current in the early warning process is smaller than the early warning current, comparing the magnitudes of the second working currents of the heating units; The control module outputs a first control signal to M heating units among the N heating units, and the step of controlling the M heating units to operate includes: selecting one or more heating units with a smaller second operating current to operate.

7. A temperature control system, It is characterized in that It includes a control module and a heating module, wherein the heating module includes N heating units; The control module is used to output a first control signal to M of the N heating units to control the N heating units to work when performing the heat preservation process, wherein M and N are integers greater than 1 and M <N。 8. The temperature control system according to claim 7, It is characterized in that It also includes a feedback module, which is used to collect the first working current of each heating unit and feed back the first working current to the control module; The control module is further configured to: In the detection process, a second control signal is output to the N heating units to control the N heating units to work, a first working current of each heating unit is obtained through a feedback module, and the magnitude of the first working current of each heating unit is compared; And the control module outputs a first control signal to M heating units among the N heating units, so as to control the M heating units to work and select one or more heating units with a smaller first working current to work.

9. The temperature control system according to claim 7, It is characterized in that It also includes a feedback module, which is used to collect the second working current of each heating unit and feed back the second working current to the control module; The control module is further configured to: The corresponding relationship between the third control signal and the warning current is stored, the third control signal is output to the N heating units, the second working current of the N heating units is obtained through the feedback module, and the second working current is compared with the warning current. If the second working current is greater than the warning current, the control module issues a warning signal.

10. The temperature control system according to claim 8, It is characterized in that The control module is further used to perform a heating process before performing the heat preservation process, and the heating process includes: outputting a fourth control signal to the N heating units to control the N heating units to work; The control module and the feedback module are further configured to execute the detection process when executing the heating process, and use the fourth control signal as the second control signal in the detection process.

11. The temperature control system according to claim 9, It is characterized in that The control module is further used to perform a heating process before performing the heat preservation process, and the heating process includes: outputting a fourth control signal to the N heating units to control the N heating units to work; The control module and the feedback module are further configured to execute the early warning process when executing the heating process, and use the fourth control signal as the third control signal in the early warning process.

12. The temperature control system according to claim 11, It is characterized in that The control module is further configured to compare the magnitudes of the second working currents of the heating units if the second working current in the early warning process is smaller than the early warning current; And the control module outputs a first control signal to M heating units among the N heating units, and when controlling the M heating units to work, selects one or more heating units with a smaller second working current to work.

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