Blister forming apparatus with high efficiency cooling system and refrigeration method thereof

Abstract

This invention provides a thermoforming equipment with a cooling system and its refrigeration method, including a main body, a forming cooling zone, a refrigeration mechanism, and an outer ring cooling mechanism. The outer ring cooling mechanism consists of a displacement drive component, a side ring cooling component, a top ring cooling component, and a linkage unit. The side wall of the main body is also equipped with a recovery preheating mechanism. The supporting refrigeration system is equipped with a control module, multiple cooling circuits, a heat storage tank, and a heating circuit, which rationally allocates cold and heat energy and effectively reduces overall production energy consumption. This refrigeration method utilizes off-peak electricity periods to store cold in the cold storage tank through the refrigeration unit. During non-off-peak periods, the cold energy from the cold storage tank is used to cool the liquid cooling tank through a heat exchanger, and then low-temperature cooling water is supplied to the thermoforming equipment. This invention integrates an energy-saving cooling system, uniform cooling, waste heat recovery, and dust-free operation through the coordinated cooperation of multiple mechanisms. It features fast cooling, high forming quality, wide applicability, energy saving and reliability, and outstanding practicality and economic benefits, making it suitable for industrial production.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of vacuum forming cooling technology, and in particular to a vacuum forming equipment with a high-efficiency cooling system and its cooling method. Background Technology

[0002] Vacuum forming equipment (also known as thermoforming machine) is a machine that uses heated and plasticized thermoplastic plastic rolls such as PVC, PE, PP, PET, and HIPS to form various shapes of high-end packaging boxes, frames, and other products. It uses the vacuum suction generated by a vacuum pump to vacuum form various shapes of vacuum covers, blister trays, and blister packs from heated and softened thermoplastic plastic sheets such as PVC and PET through molds. In recent years, the industrial sector has put forward higher requirements for energy conservation and carbon reduction, and the industry urgently needs equipment that can reduce equipment energy consumption and achieve green emission reduction.

[0003] In related technologies, a utility model patent with patent publication number CN219236124U discloses a fully automatic vacuum forming machine vacuum forming mechanism, including an adsorption platform, a hydraulic cylinder fixedly connected to the top of the adsorption platform, a moving plate fixedly connected to the bottom of the output end of the hydraulic cylinder, an upper vacuum forming mechanism fixedly connected to the bottom of the moving plate, a lower vacuum forming mechanism fixedly connected to the bottom of the adsorption platform, a refrigeration unit fixedly connected to the top of the adsorption platform, four mounting rods fixedly connected to the outside of the adsorption platform, a rotating rod rotatably connected inside the front mounting rod, a cooling box fixedly connected to the outside of the rotating rod, and a rotating assembly fixedly connected to the outside of the rotating rod.

[0004] Based on the aforementioned prior art, the inventors, through analysis of industry practices, discovered that this utility model, like most existing equipment, adopts a direct-connection cooling mode for the refrigeration unit. Under continuous production conditions, the refrigeration unit needs to operate at full load for extended periods in line with the production rhythm, resulting in high basic energy consumption in the cooling process. Furthermore, in order to dissipate the waste heat generated by the refrigeration unit, additional heat dissipation equipment must continue to operate, generating significant additional energy consumption and further exacerbating the overall energy consumption of the thermoforming cooling process. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To address the high energy consumption during the real-time operation of the cooling process in existing thermoforming equipment, this invention provides a thermoforming device with a cooling system and its cooling method. A vacuum forming equipment, comprising: The main body of the equipment has a forming and cooling zone and a heating zone. The heating zone has a recycling and preheating mechanism, which preheats the sheet material of the thermoformed workpiece. The refrigeration mechanism is located on the outside of the main body of the equipment and is set up independently in a separate compartment from the main body of the equipment. The refrigeration system includes a refrigeration unit, a cold storage tank, and a liquid cooling tank. The cold storage tank is connected to the refrigeration unit to store cold energy. The liquid cooling tank is connected to the cold storage tank through a heat exchanger to exchange cold energy. The condensation waste heat generated by the operation of the refrigeration unit is supplied to the recovery preheating mechanism as a heat source for heating. The outer ring cooling mechanism is assembled on the outer wall of the main body of the equipment and corresponds to the forming cooling zone; The outer ring cooling mechanism has a cooling channel inside, which is in fluid communication with the liquid cooling pool to receive the low-temperature cooling medium; The outer ring cooling mechanism works in conjunction with the refrigeration mechanism to complete energy-saving cooling operations by storing cold during off-peak hours and stopping cold storage during peak hours; The outer ring cooling mechanism includes a displacement drive assembly, a side ring cooling assembly, and a top ring cooling assembly; The displacement drive assembly is used to drive both the side ring cooling assembly and the top ring cooling assembly to move longitudinally and laterally to complete the position alignment; The side ring cooling assembly is driven by the displacement drive assembly to get close to the thermoformed workpiece and perform circumferential cooling on the side wall of the thermoformed workpiece, reducing the cooling gap to reduce the loss of cold energy. The top ring cooling assembly is driven by the displacement drive assembly to approach the thermoformed workpiece. The top ring cooling assembly and the side ring cooling assembly work together to perform annular telescopic cooling on the top of the thermoformed workpiece. Together, they form an overall encapsulated cooling structure for the workpiece, which reduces cooling energy consumption.

[0006] Furthermore, the displacement driving component includes: A cooling support frame is fixedly connected to the outer wall of the main body of the equipment. A cooling servo cylinder is fixedly connected to the top surface. The output end of the cooling servo cylinder passes through the cooling support frame and is fixedly connected to a mounting plate. A slide cylinder is fixedly connected to the bottom of the mounting plate. An outer ring cooling chamber is fixedly connected to the output end of the slide cylinder. The outer ring cooling chamber has a transmission cavity, and the side wall of the transmission cavity has a through hole. The side ring cooling assembly and the top ring cooling assembly are located inside the outer ring cooling chamber and are driven to the top of the formed workpiece by a cooling servo cylinder and a slide cylinder.

[0007] Furthermore, the side ring cooling assembly includes: The support ring block is fixedly connected to the top of the transmission cavity; The rotating connecting block is rotatably connected to the bottom of the support ring block; Double-layer heat exchange sleeves are fixedly connected to the side wall of the rotating connecting block; A dual-channel rotary joint is located inside the support ring block, and the coaxial connection port at the bottom of the dual-channel rotary joint is connected to the end of the double-layer heat exchange sleeve. The inner tube is fixedly connected to the side wall of the support ring block. The inner tube passes through the side wall of the support ring block. One end of the inner tube is connected to the inner tube interface of the double-pass rotary joint. A first circulation chamber is opened on one side of the transmission cavity, and the other end of the inner tube is connected to the first circulation chamber. The outer tube is fixedly connected to the side wall of the support ring block. The outer tube passes through the side wall of the support ring block. One end of the outer tube is connected to the outer tube interface of the dual-channel rotary joint, and the other end of the outer tube is connected to the first circulation chamber. A cooling circulation pump is fixedly connected to the end of the inner tube located in the first circulation chamber, and is used to circulate the liquid in the first circulation chamber; The surrounding cooling rod is fixedly connected to the side wall of the rotating connecting block. The surrounding cooling rod has several cooling ports, and the double-layer heat exchange sleeve extends into the interior of the surrounding cooling rod. The fan is fixedly connected to the top of the surrounding cooling rod; The collection box is detachably attached to the bottom of the surrounding cooling rod; The external gear ring block is fixedly connected to the side wall surrounding the cooling rod; The drive motor is fixedly connected to the side wall of the transmission cavity; The drive gear is fixedly connected to the output end of the drive motor. The drive gear meshes with the external gear ring block to make the cooling rod rotate by the drive motor.

[0008] Furthermore, the top ring cooling assembly includes: The connecting block is fixedly connected to the side wall of the through hole of the transmission cavity; The guide plate is fixedly connected to the side wall of the connecting block. The guide plate has guide holes, which are distributed in a ring array along the center of the guide plate. A limiting gear is rotatably connected to the top of the guide plate. The limiting gear has a limiting hole corresponding to the guide hole, and the limiting hole has an arc. The connecting slider is slidably connected to the side wall of the guide hole, and the connecting slider is located inside the limiting hole; The cooling ring tube is fixedly connected to the bottom of the connecting slider. The cooling ring tube is provided with several segments, and the segments of the cooling ring tube are correspondingly set with the connecting slider. The cooling expansion tube is fixedly connected at both ends to the ends of two adjacent cooling ring tubes, and several cooling ring tubes and the cooling expansion tube form a ring tube; The collection hoppers are detachably connected to the bottom of several connecting sliders; The cooling connection pipe is fixedly connected to one end of the cooling ring pipe; The anti-collision block is fixedly connected to the side wall of the transmission cavity and is located between the double-layer heat exchange sleeve and the limiting gear. The cooling circulation hose has one end fixedly connected to the end of the cooling connection pipe, and a second circulation chamber is opened on the side of the transmission chamber away from the first circulation chamber. The other end of the cooling circulation hose is connected to the second circulation chamber.

[0009] Furthermore, it also includes a linkage unit, which is disposed between the surrounding cooling rod and the limiting gear. The linkage unit includes: an internal gear ring block fixedly connected to the side wall of the surrounding cooling rod, and a transmission gear rotatably connected to the top of the guide plate. The transmission gear meshes with the limiting gear and the internal gear ring block. The internal gear ring block rotates around the cooling rod, which in turn drives the limiting gear to rotate through the transmission gear. The arc-shaped limiting hole of the limiting gear drives the connecting slider to slide by using the arc travel distance, thereby realizing the radial extension and retraction of the top ring cooling component and completing the synchronous linkage action of the side ring cooling component and the top ring cooling component.

[0010] Furthermore, the recycling preheating mechanism is located on the side wall of the main body of the equipment and is positioned corresponding to the feed end of the heating zone. The recycling preheating mechanism includes: A thermal storage tank, connected to a refrigeration unit, is used to collect and store the waste heat generated by the refrigeration unit during condensation. The preheating support plate is fixedly connected to the side wall of the main body of the equipment; The support cylinder is fixedly connected to the bottom of the preheating support plate; The preheating circulation box is fixedly connected to the bottom of the preheating support plate and is located on one side of the support cylinder; The preheating hose is sleeved on the side wall of the support cylinder, and there are two preheating hoses. The two preheating hoses are respectively connected to the water inlet and water outlet of the preheating circulation tank. A preheating circulation pump is installed on the side wall of one of the preheating hoses; The drive cylinder is fixedly connected to the top of the preheating support plate, and the output end of the drive cylinder passes through the preheating support plate. The drive tube is fixedly connected to the output end of the drive cylinder and is located inside the support cylinder. The threaded rod is slidably connected inside the drive tube; The rotating block is fixedly connected to the end of the threaded rod away from the drive tube; A heat radiation plate is fixedly connected to the end of the rotating block located outside the support cylinder, and the heat radiation plate has heat conduction grooves. The heat pipe is fixedly connected inside the heat-conducting groove, and its two ends are connected to two preheating hoses. The heat transfer plate is fixedly connected to the bottom of the heat radiation plate.

[0011] Furthermore, two sliding grooves are provided on the inner side wall of the support cylinder, and rotating grooves are provided at both ends of the two sliding grooves; The rotating block has two sliding protrusions fixedly connected to its two opposite sidewalls, and the two sliding protrusions are respectively slidably engaged with the corresponding sliding grooves. The inner wall of the drive tube is fixedly connected to a mating protrusion, and the outer wall of the threaded rod has a thread corresponding to the mating protrusion. The mating protrusion and the thread of the outer wall of the threaded rod engage with each other so that the two rotating blocks slide along the corresponding transmission grooves and reach the top of the workpiece to be preheated and rotate in one of the rotating grooves. After preheating, they retract to the other rotating groove and rotate to reset. When the preheating hose rotates with the rotating blocks and moves axially, the tube body remains in a state of not twisting or tangling.

[0012] On the other hand, a refrigeration system includes: At least one of the above-mentioned vacuum forming equipment; The control module is electrically connected to the refrigeration unit; Air conditioning units are connected to the refrigeration system; The first cooling circuit is connected between the liquid cooling pool and the outer ring cooling mechanism. The first cooling circuit is used to supply the cooling capacity required by the thermoforming equipment. The second cooling circuit connects the cold storage tank and the air conditioning unit, and can draw on the stored cold energy as needed to achieve intelligent cooling of the environment. The heating circuit is connected to the recovery and preheating mechanism. The heating circuit is used to transfer waste heat and is uniformly scheduled by the control module to achieve intelligent heating. The control module divides the operating periods according to peak and valley electricity prices, and manages the cold storage and cooling periods in a time-sharing manner and adjusts the flow rate of cold energy delivery.

[0013] On the other hand, a cooling method, applied to the vacuum forming equipment described above and employing the cooling system described above, includes the following steps: Control decision-making steps: The control module receives external signals and determines the operating mode based on the electricity price time signal; Cold storage step: When the cold storage mode is determined, the refrigeration unit is started to produce stored cold energy; Waste heat recovery and preheating steps: In cold storage mode, the heat storage tank collects the condensation waste heat of the refrigeration unit. The waste heat is transported to the recovery and preheating mechanism through the heating circuit. The recovery and preheating mechanism preheats the plastic sheet before it enters the heating zone of the equipment. Cooling steps: When the cooling mode is determined, the refrigeration unit is kept stopped and the stored cold energy produced by the refrigeration unit is delivered to the outer ring cooling mechanism of the thermoforming equipment. Linked cooling steps: The drive component drives the side ring cooling component to rotate around the workpiece, and the top ring cooling component extends and retracts radially in conjunction with it. The top ring retracts to open the cooling path, which works in conjunction with the side ring cooling path to cover and cool the workpiece.

[0014] Furthermore, the external signals include time-period signals, and the control module is configured as follows: When the signal is within the preset first time period, it is determined to be in cold storage mode; When the signal is in the preset second time period, it is determined to be in cooling mode; Among them, the first time period is preset to correspond to the off-peak period of the grid time-of-use electricity price, and the second time period is preset to correspond to the peak period of the grid time-of-use electricity price; Waste heat recovery preheating step: Recover waste heat from refrigeration condensation to replace external heating heat sources; Linked cooling steps: The workpiece is cooled simultaneously by the side ring and top ring cooling components, which shortens the cooling time and reduces the loss of cooling capacity.

[0015] In summary, the beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: In this invention, by uniformly arranging the main body of the equipment, the refrigeration mechanism, the outer ring cooling mechanism, the displacement drive component, the side ring cooling component, the top ring cooling component, the linkage unit, and the recovery and preheating mechanism, the overall structure is compact and orderly, the assembly and matching of each component is simple and convenient, the overall modification of the equipment is low, it can adapt to various different specifications of vacuum forming processing conditions, and has strong versatility. At the same time, by independently separating the refrigeration mechanism from the main body of the equipment, and cooperating with the time-sharing cold storage and cooling operation mode, it can effectively reduce the loss of cold energy during transportation and use, optimize the overall cooling operation mode of the equipment, and significantly reduce the overall energy consumption of the equipment's daily cooling operation. Refrigeration Mechanism: By adding a two-stage cold storage and heat exchange structure consisting of a cold storage tank and a liquid cooling tank, centralized storage of cold energy and stable heat exchange and delivery can be achieved. It can precisely switch between cold storage and cold release operating modes according to peak and off-peak electricity consumption periods, and stably output low-temperature cooling media that meet the standards of thermoforming process. This effectively reduces the working time of refrigeration equipment during peak electricity consumption periods, and makes reasonable use of off-peak electricity to complete cold energy storage, significantly saving the overall power consumption of the equipment and reducing the company's production electricity costs. At the same time, the refrigeration unit is arranged in an independent room, which can completely avoid the interference of refrigeration operation on the main thermoforming operation of the equipment. During the production period, the refrigeration equipment does not need to run continuously in real time, which greatly reduces the dissipation of excess heat generated by the unit into the production workshop and prevents hot air from carrying workshop dust and adhering to the surface of the formed workpiece, effectively improving the overall cleanliness of thermoformed products and the quality of production and processing. Displacement drive component: By adopting a combined drive structure of cooling servo cylinder and slide cylinder, the outer ring cooling chamber can be driven to complete the longitudinal lifting and lateral translation of precise multi-directional position adjustment, which can quickly complete the workstation alignment between the cooling structure and the formed workpiece, effectively simplifying the on-site equipment debugging process. The position adjustment is flexible and precise, which can meet the cooling positioning needs of vacuum forming workpieces of different sizes and shapes. Side ring cooling assembly: Equipped with a gear meshing rotary drive structure and a double-layer heat exchange sleeve circulating cooling pipeline, it can drive the surrounding cooling rod to closely fit the side wall of the workpiece for all-round surrounding cooling operation. The integrated layout of the double-layer heat exchange sleeve can greatly simplify the external pipeline layout structure, effectively shorten the overall pipeline length, and reduce the cooling loss during the transportation of cooling medium. With the dual-channel rotary joint, it can ensure that the cooling water path is always smooth and stable during the rotation operation of the equipment, and comprehensively improve the overall cooling uniformity and cooling efficiency of the workpiece side wall. Top Ring Cooling Assembly: By adopting a telescopic and splicable cooling ring tube structure, it can adaptively adjust the radial expansion and contraction according to the actual top shape of the workpiece, flexibly change the overall cooling coverage, and achieve full-coverage and close-fitting cooling of the top of the workpiece. Adjacent cooling ring tubes are flexibly connected by cooling expansion tubes. With the expansion and contraction characteristics of the cooling expansion tubes, they adapt to the radial opening and closing of the ring tubes. While achieving adaptive size adjustment, multiple pipe sections form a complete and connected closed water circulation channel, ensuring that low-temperature cooling water flows smoothly and circulates stably inside the cooling ring tubes and cooling expansion tubes. This ensures that the cooling medium is supplied evenly and sufficiently to all parts of the top of the workpiece. At the same time, the inclined pipe structure combined with the detachable collection structure can automatically guide and collect the condensate generated during the operation, effectively preventing condensate dripping and contaminating the molded workpiece and production equipment, and ensuring a clean and tidy workshop production environment. Linkage Unit: By setting up a gear meshing linkage transmission structure, the side ring cooling component can rely on its own rotational power to synchronously drive the top ring cooling component to complete the extension and retraction adjustment action. There is no need to add an additional independent drive power component, which effectively simplifies the internal power transmission structure and control circuit of the equipment, reduces the overall control difficulty of the equipment, and keeps the actions of the cooling structures on both sides highly synchronized, so as to complete the overall wrapping cooling and shaping operation of the workpiece. Waste heat recovery and preheating mechanism: By building a waste heat recovery and heat exchange conveying structure, the condensation waste heat generated during the operation of the refrigeration unit can be collected and recovered in a unified manner. The waste heat resources are fully utilized to perform preheating treatment of plastic sheets at a constant temperature, which effectively reduces the workload of the main heating area of ​​the subsequent equipment and reduces the energy consumption of the main heating process. At the same time, relying on the anti-torsion pipeline design, it can ensure that the pipeline will not be twisted, tangled, or damaged in various motion states such as lifting and rotating, which greatly improves the operational stability and service life of the preheating mechanism. Refrigeration System: By deploying a dual-loop integrated pipeline structure for cooling and waste heat recovery heating, it is possible to coordinate and utilize cooling and heating resources. One loop is dedicated to cooling equipment and production processes, while the other loop can meet the cooling needs of the factory environment, making it applicable to a wider range of scenarios. Combined with a seepage-proof and heat-insulating structure for the liquid storage tank and a temperature monitoring device, it can monitor the operating temperature of the medium in real time, further improving the comprehensive utilization rate of cold and heat energy and reducing the long-term operation and maintenance costs of the entire system in all aspects. Cooling method: By setting standardized operating procedures for time-sharing temperature control, cold storage, heat exchange and cooling, and linkage wrapping and cooling, the entire set of equipment can automatically adjust its operating status according to the actual electricity price period, stably achieving an energy-saving production mode of storing cold and heat during off-peak hours and releasing cold energy during peak hours. The entire operating process is simple, clear, and smoothly connected, and can orderly complete the entire process of sheet preheating, vacuum forming, and all-round cooling and shaping. On the basis of effectively saving production energy consumption, it further improves the overall production and processing efficiency and the final molding quality of vacuum-formed products. Attached Figure Description

[0016] Figure 1 This is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the overall system equipment of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the main structure of the device of the present invention; Figure 3 This is a schematic cross-sectional view of the molding and cooling zone of the present invention; Figure 4 For the present invention Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the AA section; Figure 5 This is an exploded schematic diagram of the outer ring cooling mechanism of the present invention; Figure 6 For the present invention Figure 3 Enlarged diagram of part A in the middle; Figure 7 For the present invention Figure 4 Enlarged diagram of section B; Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the explosion of the preheating mechanism for recycling in this invention; Figure 9 This is a schematic cross-sectional view of the recycling preheating mechanism of the present invention; Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of the structure and flow of the refrigeration system of the present invention.

[0017] As shown in the figure: 1-Refrigeration unit, 2-Cold storage tank, 3-Liquid cooling tank, 4-Condensation tank, 5-Heat storage tank, 6-Evaporator-condenser, 7-Air conditioning unit, 8-Equipment body, 9-Feeding area, 10-Heating area, 11-Forming cooling area, 12-Rotating support arm, 13-Control box, 14-Lower mold base, 15-Lower mold drive device, 16-Cooling support frame, 17-Cooling servo cylinder, 18-Mounting plate, 19-Slide cylinder, 20-Outer ring cooling chamber, 21-Transmission chamber, 22-First circulation chamber, 23-Second circulation chamber, 24-Guide plate, 25-Connecting block, 26-Limit gear, 27-Guide hole, 28-Limit hole, 29-Transmission gear, 30-Internal gear ring block, 31-External gear ring block, 32-Connecting slider, 33-Collection hopper, 34-Double-layer heat exchange sleeve 35-Dual-channel rotary joint, 36-Inner tube, 37-Outer tube, 38-Collection box, 39-Circulating cooling rod, 40-Cooling port, 41-Fan, 42-Anti-collision block, 43-Cooling circulation hose, 44-Cooling connection pipe, 45-Cooling ring pipe, 46-Cooling telescopic pipe, 47-Support ring block, 48-Rotating connection block, 49-Preheating support plate, 50-Preheating circulation box, 51-Preheating hose, 52-Preheating circulation pump, 53-Support cylinder, 54-Sliding groove, 55-Rotating groove, 56-Rotating block, 57-Sliding protrusion, 58-Heat conduction pipe, 59-Heat radiation plate, 60-Heat conduction groove, 61-Heat transfer plate, 62-Threaded rod, 63-Drive pipe, 64-Matching protrusion, 65-Drive cylinder, 66-Cooling circulation pump, 67-Drive motor, 68-Drive gear. Detailed Implementation

[0018] The following is in conjunction with the appendix Figure 1-10 The present invention will be further described in detail below: This invention discloses a vacuum forming equipment, such as... Figure 1 , Figure 2 As shown, a thermoforming equipment includes: a main body 8, a refrigeration mechanism, a refrigeration unit 1, a cold storage tank 2 and a liquid cooling tank 3, an outer ring cooling mechanism, and a recovery preheating mechanism; The main body 8 of the equipment has a molding cooling zone 11 and a heating zone 10. The heating zone 10 has a recovery preheating mechanism to preheat the sheet material of the thermoformed workpiece. The refrigeration mechanism is located on the outside of the main body 8 and is set up independently in a separate compartment. The refrigeration mechanism includes a refrigeration unit 1, a cold storage tank 2, and a liquid cooling tank 3. The cold storage tank 2 is connected to the refrigeration unit 1 to store cold energy. The liquid cooling tank 3 is connected to the cold storage tank 2 through a heat exchanger to exchange cold energy. The condensation waste heat generated by the operation of the refrigeration unit 1 is supplied to the recovery preheating mechanism as a heat source. The outer ring cooling mechanism is assembled on the outer wall of the main body 8 and corresponds to the molding cooling zone 11. The outer ring cooling mechanism has a cooling channel inside, which is in fluid communication with the liquid cooling tank 3 to receive the low-temperature cooling medium. The outer ring cooling mechanism works in conjunction with the refrigeration mechanism to complete energy-saving cooling operations by storing cold during off-peak hours and stopping cold storage during peak hours. The outer ring cooling mechanism includes a displacement drive component, a side ring cooling component, and a top ring cooling component. The displacement drive component is used to drive the side ring cooling component and the top ring cooling component to move longitudinally and laterally to complete the position alignment. The side ring cooling component is driven by the displacement drive component to get close to the vacuum forming workpiece and perform circumferential cooling on the side wall of the vacuum forming workpiece, reducing the cooling gap to reduce the loss of cold energy. The top ring cooling component is driven by the displacement drive component to get close to the vacuum forming workpiece, and the top ring cooling component and the side ring cooling component work together to perform annular telescopic cooling on the top of the vacuum forming workpiece. Together, they form an overall encapsulated cooling structure for the workpiece, which reduces cooling energy consumption. Preferably, the evaporator condenser 6 is connected to the refrigeration unit 1 to dissipate the waste heat discharged after the refrigeration unit 1 supplies cooling to the cold storage tank 2 and stores it in the heat storage tank 5. The condensation tank 4 is connected to the evaporator condenser 6 to collect condensate. Preferably, each heat exchange location is equipped with a heat exchanger, which is used to realize heat exchange between different media, and each fluid loop is equipped with a corresponding circulation pump; Preferably, the total volume of the cold storage tank 2 is set to 800-1200 tons, and the volumes of the liquid cooling tank 3 and the heat storage tank 5 are both set to 30-50 tons; the cold storage tank 2, liquid cooling tank 3 and heat storage tank 5 all adopt a hexahedral insulated water tank structure, and ethylene glycol solution is used as the cold storage and heat exchange medium inside the cold storage tank 2; the tank walls of the cold storage tank 2, liquid cooling tank 3 and heat storage tank 5 are all provided with a seepage-proof layer and a heat insulation layer, and the tank structure of the cold storage tank 2 from the inside out is as follows: an inner 20cm cement seepage-proof layer + an outer 20cm polyethylene layer. The urethane insulation layer forms a six-sided full-wrap insulation protection for the cold storage tank 2, liquid cooling tank 3 and heat storage tank 5. It can effectively prevent water leakage and significantly reduce the external transfer loss of cold and heat, thereby improving the efficiency of cold storage, heat storage and heat exchange. The cold storage tank 2, liquid cooling tank 3 and heat storage tank 5 are all equipped with temperature monitoring devices, which can collect the temperature data of the medium inside each tank in real time. This allows the control system to accurately adjust the cooling, heat exchange and cold release operation status, and ensure that the system is always in the optimal temperature control condition. Preferably, the temperature of the cold storage tank 2 is -15℃. This temperature can achieve the maximum cold storage density and cold energy quality while ensuring that the cold storage medium does not freeze. The temperature of the liquid cooling tank 3 is set at 13℃. This temperature has been verified through practical application and can accurately meet the cooling process requirements of the thermoforming mold, taking into account the cooling rate and effectively avoiding product molding defects. Compared with traditional cooling methods, the overall energy saving efficiency of this system can reach about 60%. In this embodiment, by adding an outer ring cooling mechanism and independently arranging it outside the main body 8 of the equipment, the cooling structure can be kept away from the equipment body, effectively reducing the interference of the cooling mechanism's operation on the working conditions of the main body 8. Assembly can be completed solely by precise alignment of the pipelines with the main body of the equipment, without altering the original main frame structure. Simultaneously, relying on the matching assembly process of the outer ring cooling mechanism and the time-sharing cold storage system, all-round enveloping cooling of the workpiece's sidewalls and top can be achieved, significantly reducing the cooling operation gap, effectively minimizing cold loss, further optimizing the vacuum forming cooling process, and effectively reducing equipment costs. The overall cooling operation energy consumption is reduced, and the overall cooling uniformity of the products is improved. Furthermore, by adding a two-stage cold storage and heat exchange structure of cold storage tank 2 and liquid cooling tank 3, the refrigeration unit 1 can independently complete the refrigeration operation in separate compartments. The excess cold energy is first uniformly stored in the cold storage tank 2, and then the cold energy is transported to the liquid cooling tank 3 after stable heat exchange through the heat exchanger. This assembly layout simplifies the cold energy transfer and transportation assembly process, and can flexibly complete the cold energy storage and on-demand distribution and transportation according to the peak and off-peak electricity consumption periods. It realizes the time-sharing cooling operation mode of storing cold energy during off-peak hours and releasing cold energy during peak hours, which not only stabilizes the output temperature of the cooling medium, but also significantly reduces the operating power consumption of the refrigeration equipment during peak hours, thereby improving the overall energy efficiency of the refrigeration system.

[0019] like Figure 2 , Figure 4 As shown, the displacement drive assembly includes: a cooling support frame 16, a cooling servo cylinder 17, a mounting plate 18, a slide cylinder 19, and an outer ring cooling chamber 20. The cooling support frame 16 is fixedly connected to the outer wall of the main body 8 of the equipment. The top surface is fixedly connected to the cooling servo cylinder 17. The output end of the cooling servo cylinder 17 passes through the cooling support frame 16 and is fixedly connected to the mounting plate 18. The bottom of the mounting plate 18 is fixedly connected to the slide cylinder 19. The output end of the slide cylinder 19 is fixedly connected to the outer ring cooling chamber 20. The outer ring cooling chamber 20 has a transmission cavity 21. The side wall of the transmission cavity 21 has a through hole. The side ring cooling assembly and the top ring cooling assembly are located inside the outer ring cooling chamber 20 and are driven to the top of the forming workpiece by the cooling servo cylinder 17 and the slide cylinder 19. In this embodiment, by adding a combined displacement drive structure of cooling servo cylinder 17 and slide cylinder 19, the outer ring cooling chamber 20 can achieve precise two-way displacement adjustment of longitudinal lifting and lateral translation. During overall assembly, it is only necessary to fix the drive components to the preset installation positions of the cooling support frame 16 in sequence to complete the assembly. It can quickly and accurately transfer the side ring cooling component and the top ring cooling component to the designated cooling station of the molded workpiece, simplify the alignment and debugging process of the cooling station, effectively improve the docking accuracy and position adjustment flexibility of the cooling station, and adapt to the cooling positioning requirements of different specifications of vacuum-formed workpieces.

[0020] like Figure 1 , Figure 2 As shown, the side ring cooling assembly includes: a support ring block 47, a rotating connecting block 48, a double-layer heat exchange sleeve 34, a double-pass rotary joint 35, an inner tube 36, an outer tube 37, a cooling circulation pump 66, a surrounding cooling rod 39, a fan 41, a collection box 38, an external gear ring block 31, a drive motor 67, and a drive gear 68. A support ring block 47 is fixedly connected to the top of the transmission cavity 21, a rotating connecting block 48 is rotatably connected to the bottom of the support ring block 47, a double-layer heat exchange sleeve 34 is fixedly connected to the side wall of the rotating connecting block 48, a double-channel rotary joint 35 is disposed inside the support ring block 47, and the coaxial connection port at the bottom of the double-channel rotary joint 35 is connected to the end of the double-layer heat exchange sleeve 34. An inner tube 36 is fixedly connected to the side wall of the support ring block 47, and the inner tube 36 penetrates the side wall of the support ring block 47. One end of the inner tube 36 is connected to the inner tube interface of the double-channel rotary joint 35. A first circulation cavity 22 is opened on one side of the transmission cavity 21, and the other end of the inner tube 36 is connected to the first circulation cavity 22. An outer tube 37 is fixedly connected to the side wall of the support ring block 47, and the outer tube 37 penetrates the side wall of the support ring block 47. One end of the outer tube 37 is connected to the outer tube interface of the double-channel rotary joint 35. The other end of the pipe 37 is connected to the first circulation chamber 22. The cooling circulation pump 66 is fixedly connected to the end of the inner pipe 36 located in the first circulation chamber 22 and is used to circulate the liquid in the first circulation chamber 22. The surrounding cooling rod 39 is fixedly connected to the side wall of the rotating connecting block 48. The surrounding cooling rod 39 has several cooling ports 40. The double-layer heat exchange sleeve 34 extends into the interior of the surrounding cooling rod 39. The fan 41 is fixedly connected to the top of the surrounding cooling rod 39. The collection box 38 is detachably connected to the bottom of the surrounding cooling rod 39. The external gear ring block 31 is fixedly connected to the side wall of the surrounding cooling rod 39. The drive motor 67 is fixedly connected to the side wall of the transmission chamber 21. The drive gear 68 is fixedly connected to the output end of the drive motor 67. The drive gear 68 meshes with the external gear ring block 31 so that the surrounding cooling rod 39 is driven to rotate by the drive motor 67. In this embodiment, by adding a gear meshing rotary drive structure and a double-layer heat exchange sleeve 34 circulating cooling pipeline, the surrounding cooling rod 39 can achieve a circumferential rotational motion relying on the drive motor 67. During the assembly process, only the gear meshing alignment and the connection of the double-pass rotary joint 35 pipeline need to be completed to complete the layout. The integrated layout of the double-layer heat exchange sleeve 34 can greatly simplify the layout of the external independent inlet and outlet liquid pipelines, effectively reduce the overall pipeline length, and reduce pipeline laying consumables and assembly processes. At the same time, the nested inner and outer pipe integrated heat exchange and conveying structure can reduce the leakage of cold energy and the heat exchange loss along the way during the transportation of cooling medium, and significantly improve the utilization rate of cold energy transportation. It can circulate liquid cooling and heat dissipation around the side wall of the thermoformed workpiece in all directions. Combined with the top air supply structure, it can enhance the heat dissipation rate of the side wall. The dual-pass pipeline structure ensures stable circulation of cooling medium, completely solving the problems of uneven heat dissipation and limited coverage of traditional fixed side cooling, and comprehensively improving the cooling quality of the workpiece side wall forming.

[0021] like Figure 5 , Figure 6 , Figure 7 As shown, the top ring cooling assembly includes: a connecting block 25, a guide plate 24, a limiting gear 26, a connecting slider 32, a cooling ring pipe 45, a cooling telescopic pipe 46, a cooling connecting pipe 44, an anti-collision block 42, and a cooling circulation hose 43. Connecting block 25 is fixedly connected to the side wall of the through hole of transmission cavity 21. Guide plate 24 is fixedly connected to the side wall of connecting block 25. Guide plate 24 has guide holes 27, which are distributed in a ring array around the center of guide plate 24. Limiting gear 26 is rotatably connected to the top of guide plate 24. Limiting gear 26 has a limiting hole 28 corresponding to guide hole 27, and the limiting hole 28 has an arc. Connecting slider 32 is slidably connected to the side wall of guide hole 27. Connecting slider 32 is located inside limiting hole 28. Cooling ring pipe 45 is fixedly connected to the bottom of connecting slider 32. Cooling ring pipe 45 is provided with several segments, and the segments of cooling ring pipe 45 are correspondingly arranged with connecting slider 32. The two ends of the shrink tube 46 are fixedly connected to the ends of two adjacent cooling ring tubes 45. Several cooling ring tubes 45 and cooling shrink tubes 46 form a ring tube. The collection hopper 33 is detachably connected to the bottom of several connecting sliders 32. The cooling connecting tube 44 is fixedly connected to one end of the cooling ring tube 45. The anti-collision block 42 is fixedly connected to the side wall of the transmission cavity 21. The anti-collision block 42 is located between the double heat exchange sleeve 34 and the limiting gear 26. One end of the cooling circulation hose 43 is fixedly connected to the end of the cooling connecting tube 44. A second circulation cavity 23 is opened on the side of the transmission cavity 21 away from the first circulation cavity 22. The other end of the cooling circulation hose 43 is connected to the second circulation cavity 23. Preferably, both the collection box 38 and the collection hopper 33 adopt a detachable structure, which can be flexibly disassembled and used according to the actual production conditions. The system precisely controls the temperature difference between the cooling water and the workpiece surface to minimize the generation of condensate during the cooling process. Only when the ambient humidity is high or the process is special and condensate does occur, the collection box 38 and the collection hopper 33 can be installed and used as optional equipment. At the same time, they can conduct cold energy to assist in the cooling of the workpiece. The cooling ring pipe 45 is designed with both ends slightly inclined towards the cooling telescopic pipe 46. When the cooling telescopic pipe 46 moves synchronously with the cooling ring pipe 45, the condensate generated on the pipe surface can flow naturally along the inclined pipe wall to the position of the cooling telescopic pipe 46. The condensate is collected and collected by the collection hopper 33 below, which avoids the condensate dripping and contaminating the workpiece or equipment, and ensures a clean and dry production environment. In this embodiment, by adding a retractable and splicable cooling ring pipe 45 and an arc-shaped limiting guide structure, multiple sets of cooling ring pipes 45 can adaptively adjust their radial extension and retraction according to the top size of the workpiece. During assembly, the connecting slider 32 and the cooling pipe are arranged sequentially according to the guide hole 27 of the guide plate 24 to complete the assembly. It can closely fit the top of workpieces with different outer diameter specifications to complete the full-coverage cooling operation. At the same time, relying on the inclined pipeline structure and the detachable collection hopper 33, the condensate generated during the cooling operation can be automatically guided and collected, preventing condensate from dripping and contaminating the molded workpiece and the equipment table, thus optimizing the clean production conditions in the molding workshop.

[0022] like Figure 5 , Figure 6 As shown, it also includes a linkage unit, which is set between the surrounding cooling rod 39 and the limiting gear 26. The linkage unit includes: an inner gear ring block 30 fixedly connected to the side wall of the surrounding cooling rod 39, and a transmission gear 29 rotatably connected to the top of the guide plate 24. The transmission gear 29 meshes with the limiting gear 26 and the inner gear ring block 30. The internal gear ring block 30 rotates around the cooling rod 39, which in turn drives the limiting gear 26 to rotate through the transmission gear 29. The arc-shaped limiting hole 28 of the limiting gear 26 drives the connecting slider 32 to slide by using the arc stroke distance, thereby realizing the radial extension and retraction of the top ring cooling component and completing the synchronous linkage action of the side ring cooling component and the top ring cooling component. In this embodiment, by adding a transmission gear 29 linkage transmission structure, the side ring cooling assembly can simultaneously drive the limit gear 26 to operate in coordination through gear transmission while rotating. There is no need to add an additional independent drive control program, simplifying the overall machine drive control assembly circuit. The side ring circumferential cooling and top ring tube extension and retraction alignment can be completed synchronously by relying on the mechanical linkage structure, realizing the integrated synchronous operation of the two cooling assemblies, simplifying the equipment power drive components, reducing the difficulty of linkage control debugging, and improving the coordination consistency of the overall machine cooling action.

[0023] like Figure 2, Figure 8 , Figure 9 As shown, the recovery and preheating mechanism is set on the side wall of the main body 8 of the equipment and is set at the feed end of the heating zone 10. The recovery and preheating mechanism includes: a heat storage tank 5, a preheating support plate 49, a support cylinder 53, a preheating circulation box 50, a preheating hose 51, a preheating circulation pump 52, a drive cylinder 65, a drive pipe 63, a threaded rod 62, a rotating block 56, a thermal radiation plate 59, a heat conduction pipe 58, and a heat transfer plate 61. The heat storage tank 5 is connected to the refrigeration unit 1 to collect and store the waste heat generated by the refrigeration unit 1. The preheating support plate 49 is fixedly connected to the side wall of the main body 8. The support cylinder 53 is fixedly connected to the bottom of the preheating support plate 49. The preheating circulation box 50 is fixedly connected to the bottom of the preheating support plate 49 and located on one side of the support cylinder 53. The preheating hose 51 is sleeved on the side wall of the support cylinder 53, and there are two preheating hoses 51. The two preheating hoses 51 are respectively connected to the inlet and outlet of the preheating circulation box 50. The preheating circulation pump 52 is installed on the side wall of one of the preheating hoses 51. The drive cylinder 65 is fixedly connected to the preheating support plate 49. At the top of plate 49, the output end of drive cylinder 65 passes through preheating support plate 49, drive tube 63 is fixedly connected to the output end of drive cylinder 65, drive tube 63 is located inside support cylinder 53, threaded rod 62 is slidably connected inside drive tube 63, rotating block 56 is fixedly connected to the end of threaded rod 62 away from drive tube 63, heat radiation plate 59 is fixedly connected to the end of rotating block 56 outside support cylinder 53, heat radiation plate 59 has heat conduction groove 60, heat conduction pipe 58 is fixedly connected inside heat conduction groove 60, both ends of heat conduction pipe 58 are interconnected with two preheating hoses 51, heat transfer plate 61 is fixedly connected to the bottom of heat radiation plate 59; Preferably, the heating zone 10 of the thermoforming equipment is a conventional forming heating structure in the art, and it is preferably equipped with an infrared heating lamp or heating wire (not shown in detail in the figure) to further heat and soften the preheated sheet to meet the process requirements of subsequent thermoforming. Preferably, the preheating temperature is around 50°C. This temperature can effectively reduce the temperature difference when the plastic sheet enters the main heating zone 10, saving about 30% of the main heating energy consumption, while preventing the plastic sheet from softening and deforming prematurely due to excessively high preheating temperature. Preferably, the preheating hose 51 is made of high-temperature resistant braided reinforced silicone hose or EPDM rubber hose. The outer wall of the hose is made of multi-layer braided reinforced structure, which has good anti-torsion and bending resistance, and can withstand high temperature. In long-term use of hot water, the hose body will not be twisted, tangled or aged and damaged during the rotation and axial movement with the rotating block 56, ensuring that the circulation pipeline is smooth and durable. Preferably, when the rotating block 56 rotates around the axis of the support cylinder 53, the preheating hose 51 rotates synchronously under the guidance of the sliding groove 54, and its body always moves along the axial path without twisting; when the preheating distance needs to be adjusted, the drive mechanism drives the rotating block 56 to move axially, and the preheating hose 51 extends and retracts accordingly, and the length of the hose changes but does not cause tangling; this structure ensures that the preheating hose 51 maintains a controllable path in multi-degree-of-freedom motion, effectively avoiding the problems of knotting, wear or breakage caused by disordered rotation of traditional hoses; In this embodiment, by adding a waste heat recovery and preheating linkage structure, the waste heat generated by the operation of the refrigeration unit 1 can be uniformly transported to the preheating circulation box 50 through the heating circuit. During assembly, the preheating pipeline can be connected to the preset interface at the feeding end of the molding equipment to complete the layout. The preheating treatment can be completed before the sheet enters the main heating zone 10. The waste heat recovery replaces the traditional independent electric preheating structure, simplifies the sheet preheating process, and effectively reduces the electric heating energy consumption of the main heating zone 10. At the same time, the rotatable and retractable preheating adjustment structure can flexibly adapt to the preheating operation of plastic sheets of different thicknesses and widths, and improve the sheet preheating uniformity and molding processing adaptability.

[0024] like Figure 2 , Figure 8 , Figure 9 As shown, two sliding grooves 54 are provided on the inner side wall of the support cylinder 53, and rotating grooves 55 are provided at both ends of the two sliding grooves 54. Two opposite sidewalls of the rotating block 56 are fixedly connected with sliding protrusions 57, and the two sliding protrusions 57 are respectively slidably engaged with the corresponding sliding grooves 54. The inner wall of the drive tube 63 is fixedly connected to the mating protrusion 64. The outer wall of the threaded rod 62 has a thread corresponding to the mating protrusion 64. The mating protrusion 64 and the thread of the outer wall of the threaded rod 62 are engaged with each other so that the two rotating blocks 56 slide along the corresponding transmission grooves and reach the top of the workpiece to be preheated and rotate in one of the rotating grooves 55. After preheating, they retract to the other rotating groove 55 and rotate to reset. When the preheating hose 51 rotates and moves axially with the rotating block 56, the hose body remains in a non-twisted and non-entangled state. In this embodiment, by adding a sliding groove 54 with rotating grooves 55 at both ends, a sliding protrusion 57 that matches the sliding groove 54, and a threaded meshing transmission structure, the preheating mechanism can complete a series of continuous actions, including axial telescopic feeding, station rotation positioning, and post-processing rotary reset. During assembly, the sliding protrusion 57 only needs to be inserted into the sliding groove 54 to complete the guide and limit assembly. The threaded structure simultaneously realizes the switching between linear pushing and rotation, which not only accurately adjusts the preheating distance between the heat radiation plate 59 and the sheet, but also constrains the preheating hose 51 to follow the movement without tangling or twisting, continuously and stably delivering residual heat, and greatly improving the sheet preheating uniformity and equipment operation reliability.

[0025] like Figure 2 , Figure 3 As shown, this vacuum forming equipment also includes a feeding area 9, a rotating support arm 12, a control box 13, a lower mold base 14, and a lower mold drive device 15; The feeding area 9 is located on one side of the thermoforming equipment; one end of the rotating support arm 12 is rotatably mounted on the top of the thermoforming equipment and is located above the forming and cooling area 11; the lower mold drive device 15 is fixedly mounted on the side wall of the forming and cooling area 11 of the thermoforming equipment, and the lower mold base 14 is fixedly mounted on the top of the lower mold drive device 15, and the lower mold drive device 15 drives the lower mold base 14 to complete the lifting action; the control box 13 is rotatably connected to the end of the rotating support arm 12 away from the thermoforming equipment, and is used to coordinate and control the operation of the entire thermoforming equipment, realize the action control of each transmission cylinder and drive motor 67, and the recycling preheating mechanism is located between the feeding area 9 and the heating area 10. Preferably, the lower mold base 14 is equipped with conventional mold cooling pipes inside the mold, which can be connected to liquid cooling pipes for heat exchange and cooling. It can work synchronously with the outer ring cooling mechanism to jointly cool the thermoformed product, further enhancing the overall cooling efficiency of the mold and improving the product molding quality. This invention discloses a refrigeration system, such as... Figure 1 , Figure 10 As shown, a refrigeration system includes: at least one of the above-mentioned vacuum forming equipment, a control module, an air conditioning unit 7, a first cooling circuit, a second cooling circuit, and a heating circuit; The control module is electrically connected to the refrigeration unit; Air conditioning unit 7 is connected to the refrigeration mechanism; The first cooling circuit is connected between the liquid cooling pool 3 and the outer ring cooling mechanism. The first cooling circuit is used to supply the cooling capacity required by the thermoforming equipment. The second cooling circuit connects the cold storage tank 2 and the air conditioning unit 7, and draws on the stored cooling capacity as needed to achieve intelligent environmental cooling. The heating circuit is connected to the recovery and preheating mechanism. The heating circuit is used to transfer waste heat and is uniformly scheduled by the control module to achieve intelligent heating. The control module divides the operating periods according to peak and valley electricity prices, and manages the cold storage and cooling periods in a time-sharing manner and adjusts the cold energy delivery flow rate. Preferably, the second cooling circuit connects the cold storage tank 2 and the air conditioning unit 7. The circuit is equipped with an intermediate heat exchange unit, which draws on the cold energy stored in the cold storage tank 2 as needed and generates 7-12℃ cold water to supply the air conditioning unit 7, realizing intelligent cooling of the workshop environment. The second cooling circuit is equipped with an intermediate heat exchange unit, with ethylene glycol-side heat exchange pipelines and air conditioning cold water-side heat exchange pipelines formed on both sides of the intermediate heat exchange unit. The ethylene glycol-side heat exchange pipeline is connected to the cold storage tank 2 and uses -15℃ ethylene glycol refrigerant for heat exchange. The air conditioning cold water-side heat exchange pipeline is filled with clean water and produces 7-12℃ ambient temperature cold water after heat exchange. The cold water-side pipeline is connected to the air conditioning unit 7. The air conditioning unit 7 is equipped with a temperature controller, which monitors the cold water supply temperature in real time and adjusts the circulation pump flow rate to stably supply cooling to the workshop environment. In this embodiment, by adding a dual-loop branch cooling and waste heat recovery heating integrated pipeline system, the entire system can rely on the control module to coordinate and manage the time-sharing allocation of cooling and heating. During system assembly, the layout can be completed by dividing the system into production cooling loops, factory environment cooling loops, and waste heat heating loops. It can not only make priority use of off-peak electricity to complete large-scale cold storage, but also recover the refrigeration waste heat for sheet preheating processing, realizing bidirectional recycling of cooling and waste heat, optimizing the energy allocation process of the entire thermoforming production line, maximizing the reduction of production electricity costs, and comprehensively improving the overall energy-saving benefits and overall operational stability of the entire molding refrigeration system.

[0026] This invention discloses a refrigeration method, such as... Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 10 As shown, a cooling method, applied to the vacuum forming equipment described above and employing the cooling system described above, includes the following steps: Control decision-making steps: The control module receives external signals and determines the operating mode based on the electricity price time signal; Cold storage step: When the cold storage mode is determined, the refrigeration unit 1 is started to operate and produce stored cold energy; Waste heat recovery and preheating steps: In cold storage mode, the heat storage tank 5 collects the condensation waste heat of the refrigeration unit 1. The waste heat is transported to the recovery and preheating mechanism through the heating circuit. The recovery and preheating mechanism preheats the plastic sheet before it enters the heating zone 10 of the equipment. Cooling steps: When the release mode is determined, keep the refrigeration unit 1 stopped running and deliver the stored cold energy produced by the refrigeration unit 1 to the outer ring cooling mechanism of the thermoforming equipment. Linked cooling steps: The drive component drives the side ring cooling component to rotate around the workpiece, and the top ring cooling component extends and retracts radially in conjunction with it. The top ring retracts to open the cooling path, which works in conjunction with the side ring cooling path to cover and cool the workpiece. In this embodiment, the workflow of the refrigeration method of the present invention, using the above-described equipment and system, is as follows: Energy storage phase during off-peak electricity hours at night: Cold storage: The control module automatically starts the refrigeration unit 1 and runs it at full capacity to cool the ethylene glycol solution in the cold storage tank 2 to the target low temperature of -15°C and store it. Heat storage: At the same time, the condensation heat generated by the operation of the refrigeration unit 1 is recovered through the heat exchanger of the heat storage pool 5. The obtained heat energy is transported through the circulation pipeline and stored in the heat storage pool 5 as the heat source for the preheating process of the recovery preheating mechanism. Excess or unrecoverable heat is dissipated by the evaporator condenser 6. During the production and cooling phase, outside of off-peak electricity hours: The control module shuts down refrigeration unit 1, relying entirely on the cold energy stored in the cold storage tank 2 for cooling; Workshop environment cooling: When the workshop temperature is too high, the second cooling circuit is started. Low-temperature ethylene glycol in the cold storage tank 2 enters the intermediate heat exchange unit to exchange heat with clean water, and then prepares 7-12℃ cold water and sends it to the air conditioning unit 7. The air conditioning unit 7 has a built-in temperature controller to adjust the water supply flow in real time to provide stable cooling for the workshop. Equipment cooling process: When the thermoforming equipment starts production: Start the heat exchanger, such as a plate heat exchanger, and the circulating pump between the cold storage tank 2 and the liquid cooling tank 3. The low-temperature ethylene glycol in the cold storage tank 2 flows through the heat exchanger and exchanges heat with the pure water in the liquid cooling tank 3, cooling the pure water to the process required temperature of 13℃. The first cooling circuit pumps the low-temperature water in the liquid cooling pool 3 to each thermoforming device. One path of the low-temperature water enters the first circulation chamber 22 of the outer ring cooling chamber 20 to provide a cold source for the side ring cooling components; the other path enters the second circulation chamber 23 to provide a cold source for the top ring cooling components. At the equipment end, the operator sets the program through the control box 13. The outer ring cooling mechanism moves to the position of the vacuum-formed workpiece above the lower mold base 14 under the drive of the displacement drive component. The side ring cooling component is activated, and the drive unit drives the surrounding cooling rod 39 to rotate. The side ring coolant supply unit and the fan 41 work at the same time to perform water cooling + air cooling composite cooling on the side of the workpiece. At the same time, through the linkage unit, the annular cooling channel of the top ring cooling component expands and contracts radially in sync with the rotation of the side surrounding cooling rod 39, and cools the top of the workpiece.

[0027] like Figure 1 , Figure 10 As shown, the external signals include time-period signals, and the control module is configured as follows: When the signal is within the preset first time period, it is determined to be in cold storage mode; When the signal is in the preset second time period, it is determined to be in cooling mode; Among them, the first time period is preset to correspond to the off-peak period of the grid time-of-use electricity price, and the second time period is preset to correspond to the peak period of the grid time-of-use electricity price; Waste heat recovery preheating step: Recover waste heat from refrigeration condensation to replace the external heating source. When the heat storage tank 5 is insufficient, the control module automatically switches to an auxiliary heat source to complete the preheating. Linked cooling steps: The workpiece is cooled simultaneously by the side ring and top ring cooling components, which shortens the cooling time and reduces the loss of cooling capacity. In this embodiment, by adding a dual-mode judgment logic based on time period signals, a waste heat reuse process, and a double-ring full-area wrapping cooling process, the system can automatically identify the working state of the grid electricity price time period switching, without the need for manual start and stop of the refrigeration unit 1. The waste heat recovery eliminates the independent preheating heat source assembly and wiring process. The double-ring bonding cooling reduces the leakage of cold energy, taking into account production automation, assembly simplicity and energy saving effect. At the same time, when the equipment is in the cold storage operation mode, the heat storage tank 5 collects and stores the condensation waste heat generated by the operation of the refrigeration unit 1. Before the plastic roll is transported from the feeding area 9 to the heating area 10, the waste heat recovery preheating mechanism is started. The control module prioritizes the hot water stored in the heat storage tank 5, which is transported to the heat conduction pipe 58 for circulation through the circulation pump in the preheating circulation box 50. The drive cylinder 65 moves the heat radiation plate 59 and the heat conduction pipe 58 down to a position close to the plastic sheet. During the downward movement, the screw drive structure enables slow rotation, allowing the heat radiation structure to uniformly preheat the plastic preform to about 50°C. This method fully recovers and utilizes waste heat, which can reduce the energy consumption of the subsequent main heating zone 10 by about 30%. The preheated and softened preform enters the heating zone 10 to complete the final heating, followed by vacuum forming and the aforementioned cooling process.

[0028] The implementation principle of this invention is as follows: First, the control module prioritizes the current electricity price period and executes a time-sharing intelligent control strategy: During off-peak electricity price periods, the control module starts the chiller unit 1 to cool and store the ethylene glycol refrigerant in the cold storage tank 2. The condensation heat generated by the chiller unit 1 is simultaneously recovered to the heat storage tank 5 for storage. Excess heat is dissipated by the evaporator condenser 6, and the generated condensate is collected in the condensation tank 4. During non-off-peak electricity price periods, the control module directly shuts down the chiller unit 1, and the cold storage tank 2 continuously releases cold energy to the liquid cooling tank 3 through the heat exchanger to meet the cooling needs of subsequent cooling processes. Next, the operator places the plastic roll blank in the feeding area 9 of the thermoforming equipment, starts the equipment and sets the process parameters through the control box 13, and then the recirculation preheating mechanism is activated. The drive cylinder 65 drives the drive tube 63 to move downward to the preheating station. The mating protrusion 64 on the inner side of the drive tube 63 forms a threaded engagement with the threaded rod 62, converting linear motion into rotational motion. The sliding protrusion 57 on the rotating block 56 moves along the sliding groove 54 and the rotating groove 55 of the support cylinder 53, driving the heat radiation plate 59 and the heat transfer plate. 61 rotates smoothly to expand the preheating range. The preheating circulation pump 52 drives the waste heat medium in the heat storage tank 5 to circulate between the preheating circulation box 50, the preheating hose 51 and the heat conduction pipe 58. The heat is transferred to the heat transfer plate 61 through the heat radiation plate 59. By controlling the thickness of the heat transfer plate 61, local overheating of the plastic preform is avoided, and the preheating is completed. The preheated preform is sent to the heating zone 10 for heating and softening, and then enters the molding and cooling zone 11. The lower mold drive device 15 drives the lower mold base 14 to rise and fall to complete the vacuum forming action. Next, the formed thermoformed workpiece enters the cooling process. The side ring cooling component and the top ring cooling component in the outer ring cooling mechanism work synchronously. In the side ring cooling component, the cooling servo cylinder 17 and the slide cylinder 19 work together to adjust the position of the outer ring cooling chamber 20 so that the surrounding cooling rod 39 is aligned with the side of the workpiece. The cooling circulation pump 66 drives the low-temperature pure water in the first circulation chamber 22 to circulate inside the double-layer heat exchange sleeve 34 through the inner pipe 36 and the double-pass rotary joint 35, and then flows back to the first circulation chamber 22 through the outer pipe 37. The water path remains unobstructed and unclogging during rotation. The drive motor 67 drives the surrounding cooling rod 39 to rotate around the side of the workpiece once through the drive gear 68 meshing with the outer gear ring block 31. The fan 41 blows cold air from the cooling port 40 to uniformly cool the side of the workpiece in combination with the cooling capacity of the double-layer heat exchange sleeve 34. The system controls the temperature of the cooling water and the workpiece. The cooling ring reduces condensate production, with a small amount of condensate collected by a detachable collection box 38. Simultaneously, the top ring cooling assembly moves synchronously with the surrounding cooling rod 39. The inner gear ring block 30 drives the limiting gear 26 to rotate via the transmission gear 29. The arc-shaped limiting hole 28 on the limiting gear 26 drives the connecting slider 32 to slide along the guide hole 27 of the guide plate 24, allowing the multi-segment cooling ring pipe 45 to open and close radially under the expansion and contraction of the cooling telescopic pipe 46, adapting to the top of workpieces of different sizes. Low-temperature pure water circulates from the second circulation chamber 23 through the cooling circulation hose 43 and cooling connecting pipe 44 within the cooling ring pipe 45. The two ends of the cooling ring pipe 45 are slightly inclined towards the cooling telescopic pipe 46, and a small amount of condensate generated in the pipeline is collected by the collection hopper 33. The anti-collision block 42 blocks the double-layer heat exchange sleeve 34 from the limiting gear 26, preventing structural interference during movement and ensuring the safe operation of the mechanism. Finally, during continuous operation of the system, the liquid cooling pool 3 continuously exchanges heat with the cold storage pool 2 through a heat exchanger to maintain a low temperature. The second cooling circuit synchronously delivers low-temperature pure water to multiple parallel thermoforming equipment to achieve centralized and efficient cooling. The first cooling circuit extracts low-temperature refrigerant from the cold storage pool 2 to provide a cold source for the outdoor air conditioning unit 7 to regulate the temperature and humidity of the indoor production environment. Temperature monitoring devices inside the cold storage pool 2, liquid cooling pool 3, and heat storage pool 5 monitor the medium temperature in real time. The cement anti-seepage layer and polyurethane insulation layer of the cold storage pool 2 effectively reduce the loss of cold energy. The control module controls the recovery preheating mechanism to prioritize the use of the recovered waste heat in the heat storage pool 5 to preheat the plastic blank, and only switches to other heat sources when the waste heat is insufficient to achieve secondary utilization of heat energy. This invention significantly improves the cooling efficiency and molding quality of thermoforming through the coordinated operation of off-peak cold storage, dual-circuit independent cooling, side and top double-ring synchronous cooling, and waste heat recovery preheating throughout the entire process, while reducing electricity costs and production energy consumption, thus achieving energy-saving, efficient, and stable continuous production.

[0029] The foregoing has shown and described the basic principles, main features, and advantages of the present invention. The various components mentioned in this invention are common technologies in the existing field. Those skilled in the art should understand that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. The embodiments and descriptions in the specification are merely illustrative of the principles of the invention. Various changes and modifications can be made to the invention without departing from its spirit and scope, and all such changes and modifications fall within the scope of the present invention as claimed. The scope of protection of this invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A vacuum forming equipment, characterized in that, include: The main body of the equipment (8) has a molding cooling zone (11) and a heating zone (10). The heating zone (10) has a recycling preheating mechanism, which preheats the sheet of the thermoformed workpiece. The refrigeration mechanism is located on the outside of the main body of the equipment (8) and is set up independently in a separate compartment from the main body of the equipment (8); The refrigeration mechanism includes a refrigeration unit (1), a cold storage tank (2) and a liquid cooling tank (3). The cold storage tank (2) is connected to the refrigeration unit (1) to store cold energy. The liquid cooling tank (3) is connected to the cold storage tank (2) through a heat exchanger to exchange cold energy. The condensation waste heat generated by the operation of the refrigeration unit (1) is supplied to the recovery preheating mechanism as a heat source. An outer ring cooling mechanism is assembled on the outer side wall of the main body of the equipment (8) and corresponds to the molding cooling zone (11); The outer ring cooling mechanism is provided with a cooling channel inside, which is in fluid communication with the liquid cooling pool (3) to receive low-temperature cooling medium; The outer ring cooling mechanism works in conjunction with the refrigeration mechanism to complete energy-saving cooling operations by storing cold during off-peak hours and stopping cold storage during peak hours. The outer ring cooling mechanism includes a displacement driving assembly, a side ring cooling assembly, and a top ring cooling assembly; The displacement driving component is used to drive both the side ring cooling component and the top ring cooling component to move longitudinally and laterally to complete the position alignment. The side ring cooling assembly is driven by the displacement drive assembly to get close to the thermoformed workpiece and perform circumferential cooling on the side wall of the thermoformed workpiece, thereby reducing the cooling gap and reducing the loss of cold energy. The top ring cooling assembly is driven by the displacement drive assembly to approach the vacuum-formed workpiece, and the top ring cooling assembly and the side ring cooling assembly work together to perform annular telescopic cooling on the top of the vacuum-formed workpiece. Together, they form an overall encapsulated cooling structure for the workpiece, which reduces cooling energy consumption.

2. The vacuum forming equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The displacement driving component includes: A cooling support frame (16) is fixedly connected to the outer wall of the main body (8) of the equipment. A cooling servo cylinder (17) is fixedly connected to the top surface. The output end of the cooling servo cylinder (17) passes through the cooling support frame (16) and is fixedly connected to a mounting plate (18). A slide cylinder (19) is fixedly connected to the bottom of the mounting plate (18). An outer ring cooling chamber (20) is fixedly connected to the output end of the slide cylinder (19). The outer ring cooling chamber (20) has a transmission cavity (21). A through hole is opened on the side wall of the transmission cavity (21). The side ring cooling assembly and the top ring cooling assembly are located inside the outer ring cooling chamber (20) and are driven above the formed workpiece by the cooling servo cylinder (17) and the slide cylinder (19).

3. The vacuum forming equipment according to claim 2, characterized in that, The side ring cooling assembly includes: The support ring block (47) is fixedly connected to the top of the transmission cavity (21); Rotate the connecting block (48), which is rotatably connected to the bottom of the support ring block (47); A double-layer heat exchange sleeve (34) is fixedly connected to the side wall of the rotating connecting block (48); A dual-channel rotary joint (35) is disposed inside the support ring block (47), and the coaxial connection port at the bottom of the dual-channel rotary joint (35) is connected to the end of the double-layer heat exchange sleeve (34). The inner tube (36) is fixedly connected to the side wall of the support ring block (47). The inner tube (36) passes through the side wall of the support ring block (47). One end of the inner tube (36) is connected to the inner tube interface of the double-pass rotary joint (35). A first circulation chamber (22) is opened on one side of the transmission cavity (21). The other end of the inner tube (36) is connected to the first circulation chamber (22). The outer tube (37) is fixedly connected to the side wall of the support ring block (47). The outer tube (37) penetrates the side wall of the support ring block (47). One end of the outer tube (37) is connected to the outer tube interface of the dual-channel rotary joint (35), and the other end of the outer tube (37) is connected to the first circulation chamber (22). A cooling circulation pump (66) is fixedly connected to the end of the inner tube (36) located in the first circulation chamber (22) and is used to circulate the liquid in the first circulation chamber (22); A surrounding cooling rod (39) is fixedly connected to the side wall of the rotating connecting block (48). The surrounding cooling rod (39) has several cooling ports (40). The double-layer heat exchange sleeve (34) extends into the interior of the surrounding cooling rod (39). A fan (41) is fixedly connected to the top of the surrounding cooling rod (39); The collection box (38) is detachably connected to the bottom of the surrounding cooling rod (39); The external gear ring block (31) is fixedly connected to the side wall of the surrounding cooling rod (39); The drive motor (67) is fixedly connected to the side wall of the transmission cavity (21); A drive gear (68) is fixedly connected to the output end of the drive motor (67). The drive gear (68) meshes with the external gear ring block (31) so that the surrounding cooling rod (39) is driven to rotate by the drive motor (67).

4. The vacuum forming equipment according to claim 3, characterized in that, The top ring cooling assembly includes: The connecting block (25) is fixedly connected to the side wall of the through hole in the transmission cavity (21); A guide plate (24) is fixedly connected to the side wall of the connecting block (25). The guide plate (24) has guide holes (27) arranged in a ring-shaped array along the center of the guide plate (24). A limiting gear (26) is rotatably connected to the top of the guide plate (24). The limiting gear (26) has a limiting hole (28) corresponding to the guide hole (27), and the limiting hole (28) has an arc. A connecting slider (32) is slidably connected to the side wall of the guide hole (27), and the connecting slider (32) is located inside the limiting hole (28); A cooling ring tube (45) is fixedly connected to the bottom of the connecting slider (32). The cooling ring tube (45) is provided with several segments, and the several segments of the cooling ring tube (45) are correspondingly provided with the connecting slider (32). The cooling telescopic tube (46) is fixedly connected at both ends to the ends of two adjacent cooling ring tubes (45), and a plurality of cooling ring tubes (45) and cooling telescopic tubes (46) form a ring tube; The collection hopper (33) is detachably connected to the bottom of several of the connecting sliders (32); Cooling connecting pipe (44) is fixedly connected to one end of the cooling ring pipe (45); Anti-collision block (42) is fixedly connected to the side wall of the transmission cavity (21). The anti-collision block (42) is located between the double heat exchange sleeve (34) and the limiting gear (26). A cooling circulation hose (43) is fixedly connected at one end to the end of the cooling connection pipe (44). A second circulation chamber (23) is provided on the side of the transmission chamber (21) away from the first circulation chamber (22). The other end of the cooling circulation hose (43) is connected to the second circulation chamber (23).

5. The vacuum forming equipment according to claim 4, characterized in that, It also includes a linkage unit, which is disposed between the surrounding cooling rod (39) and the limiting gear (26). The linkage unit includes: an internal gear ring block (30) fixedly connected to the side wall of the surrounding cooling rod (39), and a transmission gear (29) rotatably connected to the top of the guide plate (24). The transmission gear (29) meshes with the limiting gear (26) and the internal gear ring block (30). The surrounding cooling rod (39) drives the internal gear ring block (30) to rotate, and drives the limiting gear (26) to rotate through the transmission gear (29). The arc-shaped limiting hole (28) opened by the limiting gear (26) drives the connecting slider (32) to slide by using the arc stroke distance, so as to realize the radial extension and retraction of the top ring cooling component and complete the synchronous linkage action of the side ring cooling component and the top ring cooling component.

6. The vacuum forming equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The recycling preheating mechanism is disposed on the side wall of the main body (8) of the equipment and is disposed corresponding to the feed end of the heating zone (10). The recycling preheating mechanism includes: A heat storage tank (5) is connected to the refrigeration unit (1) to collect and store the condensation waste heat generated by the refrigeration unit (1); A preheating support plate (49) is fixedly connected to the side wall of the main body (8) of the equipment; The support cylinder (53) is fixedly connected to the bottom of the preheating support plate (49); The preheating circulation box (50) is fixedly connected to the bottom of the preheating support plate (49) and located on one side of the support cylinder (53); A preheating hose (51) is sleeved on the side wall of the support cylinder (53), and there are two preheating hoses (51), which are respectively connected to the water inlet and water outlet of the preheating circulation tank (50); A preheating circulation pump (52) is disposed on the side wall of one of the preheating hoses (51); A drive cylinder (65) is fixedly connected to the top of the preheating support plate (49), and the output end of the drive cylinder (65) passes through the preheating support plate (49). The drive tube (63) is fixedly connected to the output end of the drive cylinder (65), and the drive tube (63) is located inside the support cylinder (53); The threaded rod (62) is slidably connected inside the drive tube (63); The rotating block (56) is fixedly connected to the end of the threaded rod (62) away from the drive tube (63); A heat radiation plate (59) is fixedly connected to the end of the rotating block (56) located outside the support cylinder (53), and the heat radiation plate (59) is provided with heat conduction grooves (60). A heat-conducting pipe (58) is fixedly connected inside the heat-conducting groove (60), and both ends of the heat-conducting pipe (58) are connected to two preheating hoses (51); The heat transfer plate (61) is fixedly connected to the bottom of the heat radiation plate (59).

7. The vacuum forming equipment according to claim 6, characterized in that, The inner wall of the support cylinder (53) has two sliding grooves (54), and the two sliding grooves (54) have rotating grooves (55) at both ends; The rotating block (56) has two opposite sidewalls fixedly connected with sliding protrusions (57), and the two sliding protrusions (57) are respectively slidably engaged with the corresponding sliding grooves (54); The inner wall of the drive tube (63) is fixedly connected to the mating protrusion (64), and the outer wall of the threaded rod (62) has a thread corresponding to the mating protrusion (64). The mating protrusion (64) and the thread of the outer wall of the threaded rod (62) are mutually engaged so that the two rotating blocks (56) slide along the corresponding transmission groove and reach the top of the workpiece to be preheated and rotate in one of the rotating grooves (55). After preheating, they return to the other rotating groove (55) and rotate to reset. When the preheating hose (51) rotates and moves axially with the rotating block (56), the hose body remains in a non-twisted and non-entangled state.

8. A refrigeration system, characterized in that, include: At least one thermoforming device as described in any one of claims 1 to 7; The control module is electrically connected to the refrigeration mechanism; Air conditioning unit (7) is connected to the refrigeration mechanism; The first cooling circuit is connected between the liquid cooling pool (3) and the outer ring cooling mechanism. The first cooling circuit is used to supply the cooling capacity required by the thermoforming equipment. The second cooling circuit connects the cold storage tank (2) and the air conditioning unit (7) to extract the stored cold energy as needed to achieve intelligent cooling of the environment. A heating circuit is connected to the recovery and preheating mechanism. The heating circuit is used to transmit waste heat and is uniformly scheduled by the control module to achieve intelligent heating. The control module divides the operating periods according to peak and valley electricity prices, and manages the cold storage and cooling periods in a time-sharing manner and adjusts the flow rate of cold energy delivery.

9. A refrigeration method, characterized in that, An application to a vacuum forming apparatus as described in any one of claims 1 to 7, and employing the refrigeration system as described in claim 8, comprises the following steps: Control decision-making steps: The control module receives external signals and determines the operating mode based on the electricity price time signal; Cold storage steps: When the cold storage mode is determined, the refrigeration unit (1) is started to run and produce stored cold energy; Waste heat recovery and preheating steps: In the cold storage mode, the heat storage tank (5) collects the condensation waste heat of the refrigeration unit (1), and the waste heat is transported to the recovery and preheating mechanism through the heating circuit. The recovery and preheating mechanism preheats the plastic sheet before it enters the equipment heating zone (10). Cooling steps: When the release mode is determined, the refrigeration unit (1) is kept running and the stored cold energy produced by the refrigeration unit (1) is delivered to the outer ring cooling mechanism of the thermoforming equipment. Linked cooling steps: The drive component drives the side ring cooling component to rotate around the workpiece, and the top ring cooling component extends and retracts radially in conjunction with it. The top ring retracts to open the cooling path, which works in conjunction with the side ring cooling path to cover and cool the workpiece.

10. A refrigeration method according to claim 9, characterized in that, The external signal includes a time signal, and the control module is configured to: When the time period signal is within a preset first time period, it is determined to be in cold storage mode; When the time period signal is within a preset second time period, it is determined to be in cooling mode; Wherein, the preset first time period corresponds to the off-peak period of the grid time-of-use electricity price, and the preset second time period corresponds to the peak period of the grid time-of-use electricity price; Waste heat recovery preheating step: Recover waste heat from refrigeration condensation to replace external heating heat sources; Linked cooling steps: The workpiece is cooled simultaneously by the side ring and top ring cooling components, which shortens the cooling time and reduces the loss of cooling capacity.

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