Air conditioning system, air conditioning method, and heat generating device installation chamber including air conditioning system

Abstract

To provide an air conditioning system which suppresses air conditioning energy of a heat generating device installation chamber where a heat generating device is installed as much as possible, to provide an air conditioning method, and to provide the heat generating device installation chamber including the air conditioning system.SOLUTION: An air conditioning system which performs replacement air conditioning of a heat generating device installation chamber in which a heat generating device is installed includes: a first air conditioner provided on a side part of the heat generating device installation chamber; a second air conditioner provided above the heat generating device installation chamber; and a cooling tower provided outdoors, and for supplying cooling water at least to the second air conditioner. The first air conditioner is the air conditioner which cools the air sucked from a first suction port provided above the heat generating device installation chamber by cold heat generated in a refrigeration machine, and blows it out of a first blowout port provided below the heat generating device installation chamber. The second air conditioner includes: a second suction port provided above the heat generating device installation chamber; a cooler for cooling using the cold water; and a second blowout port for blowing out cold air cooled by the cooler to the first suction port.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 34

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an air conditioning system, an air conditioning method, and a room equipped with an air conditioning system and in which a heat generating device is installed. [Background technology]

[0002] In a known air conditioning system, low-temperature air is supplied to an air-conditioned space, and the heated air, which is heated by a heating element in the air-conditioned space and rises, is exhausted from the top of the air-conditioned space. This system imparts a swirl component to the low-temperature air and blows it into the air-conditioned space from an air inlet located at the bottom of the air-conditioned space. This system can blow air with less of a draft than air blown without a swirl component. This prevents the air in the air-conditioned space from being disturbed, allowing for displacement air conditioning while maintaining temperature stratification. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 4006196 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In recent years, displacement air conditioning has been attracting attention as one of the means for reducing the energy required for air conditioning. Displacement air conditioning performs air conditioning while maintaining thermal stratification, which can reduce the energy loss caused by air conditioning an upper space where equipment and people are not present. In this type of displacement air conditioning, for example, if a swirl component is added to the air blown out from an air intake port located at the bottom of the air-conditioned space, the air in the air-conditioned space is not disturbed, and displacement air conditioning can be performed while more reliably maintaining thermal stratification.

[0005] Displacement air conditioning performs air conditioning while maintaining thermal stratification, and is therefore effective in factories with relatively high ceilings. In factories where heat sources such as machine tools are installed, the high-temperature air generated by the heat sources is often discharged outdoors from near the ceiling without being cooled by an air conditioner in order to reduce air conditioning energy. However, in cases where high levels of cleanliness are required for the air introduced into the room, such as in clean rooms in semiconductor manufacturing factories, the reduction in air conditioning energy achieved by discharging indoor air outdoors may be offset by the cost of purifying the outside air introduced to make up for the discharged air.

[0006] In one aspect, the present disclosure has been made in consideration of this situation, and its purpose is to provide an air conditioning system, an air conditioning method, and a heat-generating device installation room equipped with an air conditioning system that minimizes the air conditioning energy required in a heat-generating device installation room in which a heat-generating device is installed. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present disclosure employs the following configuration.

[0008] For example, an air conditioning system according to one aspect of the present disclosure is an air conditioning system that performs displacement air conditioning on a heat-generating device installation room in which a heat-generating device is installed, and includes a first air conditioner provided on a side of the heat-generating device installation room, a second air conditioner provided in an upper part of the heat-generating device installation room, and a cooling tower that is installed outdoors and supplies cooling water to at least the second air conditioner, wherein the first air conditioner is an air conditioner that sucks in air from a first intake port provided in an upper part of the heat-generating device installation room, cools the air with cold energy produced by a refrigerator, and blows the air out from a first outlet provided in a lower part of the heat-generating device installation room, and the second air conditioner is an air conditioner that has a second intake port provided in an upper part of the heat-generating device installation room and a cooler that cools using cooling water. and a second air outlet that blows out the cool air cooled by the cooler to the first air intake.

[0009] In this configuration, a second air conditioner installed above the heat-generating device room draws in air through a second air intake port installed above the heat-generating device room, cools the air in a cooler using cooling water supplied from a cooling tower, and blows the air through a second air outlet to the first air intake port of the first air conditioner. The cool air blown out from the second air outlet is drawn in through the first air intake port of the first air conditioner and cooled by the cold energy produced by the refrigerator. This reduces the amount of power consumption required to produce cold energy in the refrigerator compared to when the second air conditioner is not installed. This allows for as little air conditioning energy as possible in the heat-generating device room.

[0010] In addition, the air conditioning system according to the above aspect may further include a partition member that is arranged in a second area above the first area, which is located at a predetermined height from the floor, in the space within the room where the heat generating device is installed, and separates the rising area where the high-temperature air rising from the heat generating device rises from other areas.

[0011] With this configuration, the partition member can block the high-temperature air rising from the rising region from flowing into other regions, thereby suppressing temperature rises in other regions while maintaining an air volume that can maintain temperature stratification through displacement air conditioning.

[0012] In addition, the air conditioning system according to the above aspect may further include a plurality of first air outlets arranged vertically and horizontally at the bottom of the heat generating device installation room, and a swirling flow generator provided in each of the plurality of first air outlets that imparts a swirling component to the air and blows it into the heat generating device installation room.

[0013] This configuration allows the air in the heat generating device room around the first air outlet to be attracted. This increases the amount of air attracted by the cool air blown out from the first air outlet (the attraction ratio) in the heat generating device room around the first air outlet, increasing the volume of cool air and allowing it to be diffused throughout the heat generating device room. This allows the cool air to be blown out without a drafty feeling compared to when no swirling component is given to the cool air.

[0014] In the air conditioning system according to the above aspect, the amount of air blown out from the second air outlet may be less than the amount of air blown out from the first air outlet.

[0015] According to this configuration, the temperature stratification caused by displacement air conditioning can be sufficiently maintained with almost no disruption. [Effects of the Invention]

[0016] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to minimize the energy required for air conditioning in a heat generating device installation room in which a heat generating device is installed. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a top view showing the configuration of a clean room to which the air conditioning system according to the first embodiment is applied. [Figure 2] FIG. 2(A) is a side view showing the configuration of a part of the clean room when viewed in the row direction of the equipment rows, and FIG. 2(B) is a side view showing the configuration when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the row direction of the equipment rows. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the external configuration of the air conditioning unit. [Figure 4] 4(A) and 4(B) are diagrams illustrating the flow of cold air and hot air in a clean room to which the air conditioning system of the first embodiment is applied. [Figure 5] Figure 5(A) is a diagram showing an outline of the configuration of a clean room when a first partition plate is provided, and Figure 5(B) is a cross-sectional view showing the temperature distribution in the clean room in the vertical direction at a predetermined position in the column direction in that case. [Figure 6] 6(A) and 6(B) are cross-sectional views showing the temperature distribution in the horizontal direction in the clean room at a predetermined position in the height direction when the first partition plate is provided. [Figure 7] Figure 7(A) is a diagram showing an outline of the configuration of a clean room when the first partition plate is not provided, and Figure 7(B) is a cross-sectional view showing the temperature distribution in the clean room in the vertical direction at a predetermined position in the column direction in that case. [Figure 8] 8(A) and 8(B) are cross-sectional views showing the temperature distribution in the horizontal direction in the clean room at a predetermined position in the height direction when the first partition plate is not provided. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a top view showing the configuration of a clean room to which the air conditioning system according to the second embodiment is applied. [Figure 10] Figure 10(A) is a side view showing the configuration of a part of the clean room when viewed in the row direction of the equipment rows, and Figure 10(B) is a side view showing the configuration when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the row direction of the equipment rows. [Figure 11] FIG. 11(A) is a diagram showing an outline of the configuration of a clean room when first and second partition plates are provided, and FIG. 11(B) is a cross-sectional view showing the temperature distribution in the clean room in the vertical direction at a predetermined position in the column direction in that case. [Figure 12] 12(A) and 12(B) are cross-sectional views showing the temperature distribution in the horizontal direction in the clean room at a predetermined position in the height direction when first and second partition plates are provided. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a top view showing the configuration of a clean room to which the air conditioning system according to the third embodiment is applied. [Figure 14] Figure 14(A) is a side view showing the configuration of a part of the clean room when viewed in the row direction of the equipment rows, and Figure 14(B) is a side view showing the configuration when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the row direction of the equipment rows. [Figure 15] Figure 15(A) is a diagram showing an outline of the configuration of a clean room when first, second, and third partition plates are provided, and Figure 15(B) is a cross-sectional view showing the temperature distribution in the clean room in the vertical direction at a predetermined position in the column direction in this case. [Figure 16] 16(A) and 16(B) are cross-sectional views showing the horizontal temperature distribution in the clean room at a predetermined position in the height direction when first, second, and third partition plates are provided. [Figure 17] FIG. 17 is a top view showing the configuration of a clean room to which the air conditioning system according to the fourth embodiment is applied. [Figure 18] Figure 18(A) is a side view showing the configuration of a part of the clean room when viewed in the row direction of the equipment rows, and Figure 18(B) is a side view showing the configuration when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the row direction of the equipment rows. [Figure 19] Figure 19(A) is a diagram showing an outline of the configuration of a clean room when a third partition plate is provided, and Figure 19(B) is a cross-sectional view showing the temperature distribution in the clean room in the vertical direction at a predetermined position in the column direction in that case. [Figure 20] 20(A) and 20(B) are cross-sectional views showing the temperature distribution in the horizontal direction in the clean room at a predetermined position in the height direction when a third partition plate is provided. [Figure 21] Figure 21(A) is a diagram showing an outline of the configuration of the clean room when the third partition plate is extended toward the device side, and Figure 21(B) is a cross-sectional view showing the temperature distribution in the clean room in the vertical direction at a predetermined position in the column direction in this case. [Figure 22] 22(A) and (B) are cross-sectional views showing the temperature distribution in the horizontal direction inside the clean room at a predetermined position in the height direction when the third partition plate is extended toward the apparatus side. [Figure 23] FIG. 23 is a top view showing the configuration of a clean room to which the air conditioning system according to the fifth embodiment is applied. [Figure 24] Figure 24(A) is a side view showing the configuration of a part of the clean room when viewed in the row direction of the equipment rows, and Figure 24(B) is a side view showing the configuration when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the row direction of the equipment rows. [Figure 25] FIG. 25(A) is a diagram showing an outline of the configuration of a clean room when equipped with a fan, and FIG. 25(B) is a cross-sectional view showing the temperature distribution in the clean room in the vertical direction at a predetermined position in the column direction in that case. [Figure 26] 26(A) and 26(B) are cross-sectional views showing the temperature distribution in the horizontal direction in a clean room at a predetermined position in the height direction when a fan is provided. [Figure 27]Figure 27(A) is a diagram showing an outline of the configuration of a clean room when it is equipped with only a fan without a third partition plate, and Figure 27(B) is a cross-sectional view showing the temperature distribution in the clean room in the vertical direction at a predetermined position in the column direction in that case. [Figure 28] 28(A) and (B) are cross-sectional views showing the temperature distribution in the horizontal direction in the clean room at a predetermined position in the height direction when the third partition plate is not provided and only a fan is provided. [Figure 29] FIG. 29 is a top view showing the configuration of a clean room to which the air conditioning system according to the sixth embodiment is applied. [Figure 30] Figure 30(A) is a side view showing the configuration of a part of the clean room when viewed in the row direction of the equipment rows, and Figure 30(B) is a side view showing the configuration when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the row direction of the equipment rows. [Figure 31] FIG. 31 is a diagram illustrating the internal configuration of the air conditioning unit. [Figure 32] FIG. 32 is a perspective view showing the external configuration of the upper air conditioning unit. [Figure 33] FIG. 33 is a diagram illustrating the internal configuration of the upper air conditioning unit. [Figure 34] FIG. 34 is a diagram illustrating the air flow in a clean room. [Figure 35] FIG. 35 is a top view showing the configuration of a clean room to which the air conditioning system according to the seventh embodiment is applied. [Figure 36] Figure 36(A) is a side view showing the configuration of a part of the clean room when viewed in the row direction of the equipment rows, and Figure 36(B) is a side view showing the configuration when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the row direction of the equipment rows. [Figure 37] FIG. 37 is a perspective view showing the external configuration of the air supply chamber. [Figure 38] FIG. 38 is a diagram illustrating the internal configuration of the air supply chamber. [Figure 39] FIG. 39 is a diagram illustrating the internal configuration of the outdoor air-conditioning unit. [Figure 40]FIG. 40 is a diagram illustrating the air flow in a clean room. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] Hereinafter, an embodiment according to one aspect of the present disclosure (hereinafter also referred to as "the present embodiment") will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the present embodiment described below is merely an example of the present disclosure in all respects. Needless to say, various improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, when implementing the present disclosure, specific configurations according to the embodiment may be appropriately adopted.

[0019] [First embodiment] The air conditioning system of this embodiment is, for example, an air conditioning system that uses an air conditioning unit installed in a room to condition the room by displacement air conditioning. The room to which this air conditioning system is applied is, for example, a clean room in a semiconductor manufacturing factory that is equipped with multiple semiconductor manufacturing devices and an automatic transfer system for transferring intermediate and final semiconductor device products to and from the semiconductor manufacturing devices. The semiconductor manufacturing devices are, for example, etching devices, CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) devices, etc.

[0020] Fig. 1 is a top view showing the configuration of a clean room to which the air conditioning system according to the first embodiment is applied. Fig. 2(A) is a side view showing the configuration of a part of the clean room as viewed in the direction of the rows of equipment, and Fig. 2(B) is a side view showing the configuration as viewed in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the rows of equipment.

[0021] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a clean room 1 is a room surrounded by a floor 2, four side walls 3 to 6, and a ceiling 7. A plurality of semiconductor manufacturing devices 8 (an example of a "heat-generating device" in the present disclosure) are installed on the floor 2 within the clean room 1. A load port 9 is installed in front of each of the plurality of semiconductor manufacturing devices 8. The load port 9 is an interface unit that transfers products housed in containers 10 to the semiconductor manufacturing devices 8. That is, in front of the semiconductor manufacturing devices 8, products are transported from the containers 10 to the semiconductor manufacturing devices 8, and the products processed in the semiconductor manufacturing devices 8 are transported from the semiconductor manufacturing devices 8 to the containers 10. For this reason, predetermined temperature conditions are defined in front of the semiconductor manufacturing devices 8 according to the products. In this embodiment, semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 is used as an example of the "heat-generating equipment" of the present application, and therefore the "condition specifying unit" of the present application specifies the temperature conditions of the products handled by the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 at the front portion of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 where the products are loaded and unloaded. However, in the case of a heat-generating equipment that is responsible for the manufacture of various products other than semiconductors, the temperature conditions of the products handled by the heat-generating equipment are specified as the thermal environment conditions of the "condition specifying unit." For example, in the case of laboratory equipment or processing equipment that handles pharmaceuticals or high-performance materials, the temperature conditions of the items handled by the equipment are specified in the "condition specifying unit" as the thermal environment conditions of the parts of the equipment where the items are loaded and unloaded (such as the front, side, or rear of the equipment). Furthermore, the predetermined temperature conditions according to the products are not only specified for a condition specifying unit such as the front portion of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8, but are also specified at the parts where the products are handled. In this way, because products are handled in and out of semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8, areas where the same thermal environment conditions as those specified by the condition specifying unit are specified (hereinafter referred to as "condition specifying areas") include the space near the front of semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 and the space above the front of semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 where the products are transported by a transport device, which will be described later. In clean room 1 of a semiconductor manufacturing factory, various conditions are specified for the thermal environment in areas where products are automatically transported and areas where workers enter, so the condition specifying areas are set as spatial areas according to these various conditions.

[0022] Above the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8, a lattice-shaped ceiling frame 12 is installed, suspended from the ceiling 7 by hanging members 11. The spaces between the lattices of the ceiling frame 12 are openings, allowing air to circulate between the top and bottom of the ceiling frame 12.

[0023] Rails 14 are installed below the ceiling frame 12, along which a conveying device 13 of an automated conveying system travels. The conveying device 13 travels while suspended from the rails 14, holding a container 10 below. The conveying device 13 also has a hoist that moves up and down between itself and the load port 9, and the hoist moves up and down to deliver the container 10 containing a product to and from the load port 9. That is, the conveying device 13 holds the container 10 and travels along the rails 14, thereby transporting the container 10 in the direction in which the rails 14 extend, i.e., the width direction (X direction in FIGS. 1 and 2) and length direction (depth direction: Y direction in FIGS. 1 and 2), i.e., horizontally. Furthermore, the conveying device 13 uses the hoist to raise and lower the container 10 between itself and the load port 9, thereby transporting the container 10 in the height direction (Z direction in FIG. 2), i.e., vertically, of the clean room 1. Since the conditions of the thermal environment are set for the products handled by the conveying device 13, the area where the conveying device 13 is installed corresponds to the above-mentioned condition-specifying area.

[0024] On the other hand, above the ceiling frame 12, a passage is provided for the maintenance of the automatic transport system, lighting, etc.

[0025] Hereinafter, the area in the space of the clean room 1 extending from the floor 2 to a predetermined height, for example, up to the top of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8, will be referred to as the first area. Furthermore, the area extending in the height direction from the top of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 to the ceiling frame 12 will be referred to as the second area. And the area extending in the height direction from the ceiling frame 12 to the ceiling 7 will be referred to as the third area. In this embodiment, the room in which semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 is installed is assumed to be subjected to displacement air conditioning while maintaining temperature stratification. Therefore, the lower part of the room in which semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 is installed can be considered as the first region, the portion where support members such as ceiling frame 12 that allow the installation of a partition plate (described later) are located can be considered as the second region, and the upper part of the room where heat rising from semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 accumulates can be considered as the third region. However, the first, second, and third regions referred to in this application are not limited to the concept of being defined by components such as semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 and ceiling frame 12 as boundaries. For example, in the case of an indoor space in which other equipment is installed instead of semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8, the lower part of the room in which the other equipment is installed would be considered as the first region. Furthermore, in the case in which the partition plate is supported by other support members rather than ceiling frame 12, the portion where the partition member is provided by the other support members would be considered as the second region. The lower limit of the height at which the partition member can be installed, in other words, the height of the lower end of the second region, is determined depending on the amount of heat generated by heat-generating devices such as semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 and the temperature conditions required by semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8, and it is desirable to ensure that the first region is secured so as not to impede the supply of cool air to semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 by displacement air conditioning. Therefore, in this embodiment, the position of the upper end of semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 is exemplified as the position of the lower limit of the second region, but the boundaries of each of the first to third regions are not limited to this form and may be set at appropriate positions depending on, for example, the work area of ​​a worker performing maintenance or the external shape of semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8.

[0026] As described above, a plurality of semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses 8 are installed in the first area of ​​the first to third areas. Some of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses 8 (four semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses 8 in FIG. 1) are arranged in a line along the length of the clean room 1 with gaps between them, forming a row of semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses 8 (hereinafter referred to as an "apparatus row"). Furthermore, a plurality of such apparatus rows (four in FIG. 1) are arranged in a line along the width of the clean room 1 with gaps between them. Hereinafter, the direction in which the apparatus row is formed by the plurality of semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses 8 will be referred to as the "row direction." In this embodiment, the row direction is the same direction as the length of the clean room 1 (the X direction in FIG. 1).

[0027] In each of the multiple equipment rows, the front of each of the multiple semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 on which the load port 9 is installed faces in one direction (for example, in the second equipment row from the left in FIG. 1, the right direction) perpendicular to the row direction (in this embodiment, the same direction as the width direction of the clean room 1; in FIG. 1, the Y direction) and therefore the rear face faces in the other direction (in the above-mentioned equipment row, the left direction) perpendicular to the row direction.

[0028] In adjacent rows of equipment, for example, the first and second rows from the left in FIG. 1 , the rear face of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 in the first row faces the rear face of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 in the second row. In the second and third rows from the left in FIG. 1 , the front face of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 in the first row faces the front face of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 in the second row. The area between adjacent rows of equipment where the front faces of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 face each other (hereinafter referred to as the "area between rows where the front faces face each other") is a section where containers 10 containing products are transported. Meanwhile, the area between adjacent rows of equipment where the rear faces of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 face each other (hereinafter referred to as the "area between rows where the rear faces face each other") is a section where the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 is maintained. The front side of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8, located between the side walls 4 and 6 where the air conditioning units (described later) are not installed, is also a section where containers 10 containing products are transported.

[0029] From the first area to a part of the third area, a plurality of air conditioning units (six in FIG. 1) are installed on each of the side walls 3 and 5, which have a surface direction perpendicular to the row direction, among the four side walls 3 to 6, so as to sandwich the plurality of device rows from both sides in the row direction. Each unit has an air supply section 15 located at the bottom of the side walls 3, 5 and an air intake section 16 located above the air supply section 15.

[0030] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the external configuration of the air conditioning unit.

[0031] The intake section 16 of the air conditioning unit is equipped with a fan therein. As shown in FIG. 3, a rectangular intake port 17 is provided on the upper surface 16a of the intake section 16 (the side surface on the ceiling 7 side). The intake section 16 uses a fan to draw air from the upper part of the clean room 1 through the intake port 17 and supplies it to the air supply section 15. Note that the intake port 17 is not limited to being provided on the upper surface 16a of the intake section 16, but may also be provided on the side surface, etc. Also, while FIG. 3 illustrates the intake section 16 integrated with the air supply section 15, the intake section 16 and the air supply section 15 may be separate bodies connected to a duct or the like, and internal components such as a built-in fan and a cooling coil may also be located in appropriate locations.

[0032] The air supply section 15 includes a cooling coil and a filter therein. As shown in FIG. 3, a front surface 15a (the side surface facing the device row) of the air supply section 15 is provided with a plurality of (eight in FIG. 3) circular air outlets 18. The plurality of air outlets 18 are arranged side by side in the height and width directions of the air supply section 15 with gaps between them. In the air supply section 15, the cooling coil cools the air supplied from the air intake section 16 to form cold air, and after removing dust and other particles from the cold air using a filter, the cold air is blown out in the row direction from the air outlets 18. The height of the first air outlet 18 from the top in the air supply section 15 is set to a height for forming temperature stratification under predetermined temperature conditions, and is slightly higher than the height of the containers 10 held by the conveying device 13 suspended from the rails 14.

[0033] Each of the plurality of air outlets 18 has a plurality of fins 19 (an example of the "swirl flow generator" of the present disclosure) attached radially and at equal intervals in the circumferential direction around the center of the air outlet 18. Furthermore, each of the plurality of fins 19 is arranged at an angle with respect to the central axis of the air outlet 18. As a result, when cool air is blown out from the air supply section 15 into the clean room 1, a swirl component around the central axis is imparted to the cool air, thereby attracting air in the clean room 1 around the air outlet 18.

[0034] Furthermore, among the multiple air outlets 18, adjacent air outlets 18 in the height direction of the air supply section 15 have fins 19 with their inclination directions opposite to each other, so that the swirling components they impart to the cool air are opposite to each other. For example, as shown by the thin arrows in FIG. 3, when the first air outlet 18 from the top imparts a counterclockwise swirling component to the cool air, the second air outlet 18 from the top imparts a clockwise swirling component to the cool air. As a result, between these air outlets 18, the swirling components of the first air outlet 18 from the top and the second air outlet 18 from the top are in the same direction (to the right in FIG. 3), and the swirling components mutually enhance each other. In this case, the third air outlet 18 from the top imparts a counterclockwise swirling component to the cool air. As a result, between the second air outlet 18 from the top and the third air outlet 18 from the top, the swirl component due to the second air outlet 18 from the top and the swirl component due to the third air outlet 18 from the top are in the same direction (leftward in Figure 3), and the swirl components mutually enhance each other.

[0035] As a result, the amount of air attracted (attraction ratio) in the clean room 1 around the air outlet 18 by the cool air blown out from the air outlet 18 increases, and the volume of the cool air can be increased and diffused in the clean room 1, as shown by the thick arrows in Fig. 3. This allows the cool air to be blown out without a drafty feeling compared to when no swirling component is given to the cool air.

[0036] 1 and 2, the plurality of air supply sections 15 are arranged at one end of the side wall 3 and the side wall 5 in the direction perpendicular to the row direction (for example, the first one from the left in FIG. 1). They are arranged side by side with gaps between them in a range corresponding to the range from the first end (the first device row from the right in FIG. 1) to the other end (for example, the first device row from the right in FIG. 1).

[0037] As described above, when cold air is blown out in the row direction from the air outlets 18 of the air intake section 15, the air in the clean room 1 around the air outlets 18 is attracted, increasing the mass of the cold air. For this reason, the cold air quickly decelerates after being blown out from the air outlets 18 in accordance with the law of conservation of momentum. Furthermore, because the cold air has a relatively high density, it descends and sinks to the floor 2. As a result, the cold air builds up in layers from the floor 2 in the clean room 1, forming thermal stratification. At this time, the arrangement of the air intake sections 15 of the multiple air conditioning units described above allows the cold air to efficiently build up in the portions of the first area between the device rows.

[0038] As described above, the air conditioning system of this embodiment has an air conditioning unit (air supply section 15 and air intake section 16) as its basic configuration. Moreover, fins 19 are attached to the air outlet 18 of the air supply section 15 to impart a swirling component to the blown-out cool air. This air conditioning unit performs displacement air conditioning on the clean room 1 while forming temperature stratification. In addition to this air conditioning unit, the air conditioning system of this embodiment further has a first partition plate 20.

[0039] 1 and 2, the first partition plate 20 is a plate-like member such as a resin plate, and is suspended from the ceiling frame 12 by a suspender attached to its upper end. As a result, the first partition plate 20 is arranged in an upright position relative to the floor 2 on the front portion of the upper surface of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 in the second area for each of the multiple equipment rows. Furthermore, the first partition plate 20 extends in the row direction, i.e., in the same direction as the blowing direction of cool air, from the front of the multiple semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 in the equipment row (in FIG. 1, the first semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 from the top) to the rear (in FIG. 1, the first semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 from the bottom).

[0040] Furthermore, first partition plate 20 has a mounting fixture at its lower end and is attached to the top of each of the plurality of semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses 8 in the equipment row. This makes it possible to suppress shaking of first partition plate 20. Note that the mounting fixture may be replaced with a weight attached to the bottom of first partition plate 20. This also makes it possible to suppress shaking of first partition plate 20.

[0041] In the clean room 1 to which the air conditioning system of this embodiment configured as described above is applied, cold air and hot air flow as follows.

[0042] 4(A) and 4(B) are diagrams illustrating the flow of cold air and hot air in a clean room to which the air conditioning system of the first embodiment is applied.

[0043] As shown by the thin arrows in Figure 4, cool air is blown out in the row direction from the outlets 18 provided on the front surface 15a of the air supply section 15 of the air conditioning unit. As described above, the fins 19 of the outlets 18 give the cool air a swirling component, so the cool air blown out from the outlets 18 attracts the surrounding air and quickly decelerates. Furthermore, because the cool air has a relatively high density, it descends and sinks to the floor 2. As a result, for example, the cool air is piled up in layers from the floor 2 in the portion of the first area between the rows of devices whose front surfaces face each other.

[0044] On the other hand, the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 emits heat from the top, rear and sides, except for the front where the decorative panel is installed. In particular, the top of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 emits more heat than the rear and sides. The piled up cold air is heated by the heat of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 and becomes hot air. Since the hot air has a lower density than the cold air, it rises slowly while diffusing through the second area due to buoyancy as shown by the white arrows in Figure 4, and passes over the ceiling frame 12 above the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8, accumulating in the upper part of the clean room 1 in the third area. Note that this When the temperature rises, dust particles generated in the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 and the like also rise together with the high-temperature air and are carried to the upper part of the clean room 1, where they accumulate as suspended fine particles.

[0045] As the temperature of the cool air gradually increases with increasing height, it accumulates not only in the areas between the rows of equipment whose front faces face each other in the first region, but also in the areas above the areas between the rows of equipment whose front faces face each other in the second region above. If first partition plate 20 were not installed, the high-temperature air above semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 in the second region would flow into the areas above the areas between the rows of equipment whose front faces face each other, which are relatively cooler. This would further increase the temperature above the areas between the rows of equipment whose front faces face each other.

[0046] In this embodiment, the first partition plate 20 separates the second region into a region above the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 and a region above the space between the rows of equipment whose front faces face each other. This prevents high-temperature air from the region above the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 (an example of an "upward region where high-temperature air rises" in the present disclosure) from flowing into the region above the rows of equipment whose front faces face each other (an example of an "other region" in the present disclosure), as shown in the rectangular region enclosed by the dashed line in FIG. 4. This prevents the temperature rise of the accumulated cool air in the region above the rows of equipment whose front faces face each other.

[0047] In addition, the first partition plate 20 separates the portion of the second area above the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 from the portion above the front side of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8, which is located between the side walls 4, 6 where no air conditioning unit is installed and the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8. This prevents the high-temperature air in the portion above the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 from flowing into the portion above the front side of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 (an example of the "other area" in the present disclosure) as shown in the rectangular area surrounded by the dashed line in FIG. 4. This prevents the temperature rise of the accumulated cool air even in the portion above the front side of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8.

[0048] Incidentally, the upper part of the second area between the rows of equipment whose front faces face each other and the upper part of the area on the front side of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 include a vertical conveying area in which containers 10 containing products are conveyed vertically between the load port 9 and the conveying device 13 by the raising and lowering of the hoist of the conveying device 13. Furthermore, it also includes a horizontal conveying area in which the containers 10 are conveyed horizontally by the travel of the conveying device 13 on the rails 14.

[0049] In recent years, the products of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 have become increasingly miniaturized, and include extremely fine wiring of, for example, 20 nm, so there is a possibility that defects may occur due to heat.

[0050] As described above, the air conditioning system of this embodiment can suppress temperature increases above the areas between rows of equipment whose front faces face each other and above the areas on the front side of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8, thereby suppressing heat-induced defects in products being transported.

[0051] Some of the hot air accumulated in the upper part of the clean room 1 descends along the side walls 3 and 5 and is drawn in through the air intake port 17 provided on the upper surface 16a of the air intake section 16 of the air conditioning unit. The hot air is then supplied from the air intake section 16 to the air supply section 15, where it is cooled to become cold air. After dust and other particles are removed from the cold air in the air supply section 15, the cold air is blown out again from the air outlet 18.

[0052] A simulation was performed to determine the temperature distribution in the clean room 1 when the first partition plate 20 was provided. For comparison, a simulation was also performed to determine the temperature distribution in the clean room when the first partition plate 20 was not provided.

[0053] Fig. 5(A) is a diagram showing the outline of the configuration of a clean room when a first partition plate is provided, and Fig. 5(B) is a cross-sectional view showing the vertical temperature distribution in the clean room at a predetermined position in the column direction in that case. Furthermore, Figs. 6(A) and (B) are cross-sectional views showing the horizontal temperature distribution in the clean room at a predetermined position in the height direction in the same case when a first partition plate is provided.

[0054] 7(A) is a diagram showing the outline of the configuration of the clean room when the first partition plate is not provided, and FIG. 7(B) is a cross-sectional view showing the temperature distribution in the vertical direction in the clean room at a predetermined position in the column direction in that case. Furthermore, FIGS. 8(A) and 8(B) are cross-sectional views showing the temperature distribution in the horizontal direction in the clean room at a predetermined position in the height direction in the same case when the first partition plate is not provided.

[0055] The conditions used in these simulations were as follows: the clean room floor area was 36 m wide (length perpendicular to the row direction) x 35 m deep (length in the row direction) = 1,260 m 2 The ceiling height was set to 8m. The number of semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 was set to 64, and the load (heat generation) from equipment 8 was set to 19,687.5W / unit. The breakdown of the load was set to 50% on the top of equipment 8, 0% on the front, 30% on the back, and 10% on the sides x 2 = 20%. As a result, the total load from equipment 8 was 1,260,000W, and the load density in the clean room was 1,000W / m 2 Furthermore, the number of air conditioning units (air supply section 15, air intake section 16) was set to 24, and the air volume of each air conditioning unit was set to 12,000 m 3 As a result, the total air volume was 288,000 m 3 / h. Furthermore, the air conditioning unit's cold air outlet temperature was set to 20°C, and the air conditioning unit's circulation rate was set to 65 times / h. Note that this circulation rate is the circulation rate at the guaranteed height (3.5 m), i.e., the height of the container held by the conveying device suspended from the rail. The guaranteed height is understood to be the height set as the condition specification region described above.

[0056] Furthermore, the first partition plate 20 is suspended from the ceiling frame to cover the area from the top of the device (height 2.5 m) to the ceiling frame (height 4.5 m). The height of the ceiling frame is roughly equivalent to the upper limit of the part where cool air is blown out by the air outlet 18 of the air intake section 15.

[0057] The simulation results also show the temperature distribution at a predetermined position in the row direction, 19.25 m from the side wall where the air conditioning unit is installed. Furthermore, the temperature distribution at a height of 1.5 m from the floor in the first area and at a height of 3.5 m in the second area are shown as predetermined positions in the height direction. In the simulation results, the white areas indicate device 8. Furthermore, among the sections between device rows, the longer distance between devices indicates the section between device rows where the fronts face each other, and the shorter distance between devices indicates the section between device rows where the backs face each other.

[0058] For example, in the portion between rows of equipment in the first region where the front faces of the equipment face each other, the predetermined position in the row direction mentioned above is a position near the center of the depth of the clean room. This position is where the temperature is highest in the row direction, as shown in Figures 6(A) and 8(A), because heat from the sides and rear of the equipment 8 flows in from each of the portions between the equipment 8 in the row. Focusing on the upper portion of the portion between rows of equipment in the second region where the front faces of the equipment face each other at such a predetermined position in the row direction, the temperature distribution at the guaranteed height is as follows. That is, when the first partition plate 20 is not provided, as shown in Figures 7(B) and 8(B), the guaranteed height includes a mixture of a region with a temperature range of 30°C to 32°C and a region with a temperature range of 32°C to 34°C. In contrast, when the first partition plate 20 is provided, as shown in Figures 5(B) and 6(B), for example, the region with a temperature range of 30°C to 32°C becomes higher, and the guaranteed height includes a region with a temperature range of 32°C to 34°C. There is no longer any area where the temperature is between 30°C and 32°C, and only an area with a temperature range of 30°C to 32°C remains. This indicates that the provision of the first partition plate 20 suppresses the temperature rise of the cool air in the area of ​​interest. Similarly, it was also found that the temperature rise of the cool air is suppressed in the upper part of the front side of the device in the second area.

[0059] As described above, in the air conditioning system of this embodiment, for example, first partition plate 20 is arranged in the second area on the front side of the upper surface of semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 in an upright position relative to floor 2, separating the upper portion of the upper surface of semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 from the upper portion between the rows of equipment whose front faces face each other. This makes it possible to block hot air from the upper portion of semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 from flowing into the upper portion between the rows of equipment whose front faces face each other. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the temperature rise of cool air in the upper portion between the rows of equipment whose front faces face each other while maintaining an air volume that can maintain temperature stratification by displacement air conditioning.

[0060] As described above, this embodiment employs an air conditioning system based on displacement air conditioning, in which heat from semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 is processed by air conditioning while maintaining temperature stratification within the room. Therefore, first partition plate 20 and other partition plates described below do not completely separate the indoor space. That is, this embodiment is based on the realization of efficient air conditioning using displacement air conditioning, which gradually pushes air up from floor 2 to ceiling 7 while maintaining temperature stratification within the room. Air conditioning based on forced circulation, which completely separates cold aisles and hot aisles with partitions as used in data centers, is not employed. Therefore, a gap exists between semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 and first partition plate 20. This allows workers to pass through and items to be taken in and out through this gap, facilitating inspection of semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8. This is also true for other embodiments described below.

[0061] In this embodiment, the first partition plate 20 arranged above each equipment row is composed of a single plate-shaped member, but may be composed of multiple plate-shaped members. Furthermore, while the first partition plate 20 covers the area from the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 to the ceiling frame 12, this is not limiting. For example, a gap may be provided between the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 and the first partition plate 20, or between the first partition plate 20 and the ceiling frame 12, or both, so that the area from the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 to the ceiling frame 12 is partially covered.

[0062] [Second embodiment] Fig. 9 is a top view showing the configuration of a clean room to which the air conditioning system according to the second embodiment is applied. Also, Fig. 10(A) is a side view showing the configuration of a part of the clean room when viewed in the direction of the rows of equipment, and Fig. 10(B) is a side view showing the configuration when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the rows of equipment.

[0063] The air conditioning system of the first embodiment described above is provided with a first partition plate 20. The air conditioning system of this embodiment is further provided with a second partition plate in addition to the first partition plate 20. In the air conditioning system of this embodiment, the configuration other than the second partition plate is the same as the air conditioning system of the first embodiment, so detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0064] 9 and 10, the second partition plate 21 is a plate-like member such as a resin plate, and is hung from the ceiling frame 12 with a hanger attached to its upper end. As a result, the second partition plates 21 are arranged as follows for adjacent rows of equipment whose rear surfaces face each other (for example, the first and second rows of equipment from the left in FIG. 9). That is, the second partition plates 21 are arranged upright relative to the floor 2 next to the outer side of the row of semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 at the front and next to the outer side of the row of semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 at the rear in the rows of equipment in the first and second areas. Furthermore, the second partition plates 21 are The cooling system extends from the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 in one equipment row through the area between the equipment rows where the rear surfaces face each other to the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 in the other equipment row in a direction perpendicular to the row direction, i.e., perpendicular to the direction in which the cool air is blown out.

[0065] Therefore, in the second region, the first and second partition plates 20 and 21 surround the periphery of the portion above the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 in the adjacent equipment rows.

[0066] In the clean room 1 to which the air conditioning system of this embodiment configured as described above is applied, the flow of cold air and hot air is basically the same as that of the first embodiment. However, due to the placement of the second partition plate 21, the following points are different.

[0067] First, regarding the cold air, if the second partition plate 21 is not arranged, the cold air blown out in the row direction from the air outlet 18 of the air intake section 15 will pile up, for example, in both the parts between the rows of devices in the first area, i.e., the parts between the rows of devices where the front faces face each other, and the parts between the rows of devices where the rear faces face each other.

[0068] In contrast, in this embodiment, the second partition plate 21 covers the portions of the first region between adjacent rows of devices where the rear faces face each other at both ends of the rows. As a result, the cool air blown out from the air outlet 18 of the air supply unit 15 does not accumulate much in the portions between the rows of devices where the rear faces face each other, but instead concentrates and accumulates in the portions between the rows of devices where the front faces face each other. This allows the temperature of the accumulated cool air to be lowered overall in the portions of the first region between the rows of devices where the front faces face each other, and in the portion above the portions of the second region between the rows of devices where the front faces face each other.

[0069] Furthermore, with regard to high-temperature air, if second partition plate 21 is not provided, in the first region, high-temperature air from the lateral portions of the sides and rear of semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 at both ends of adjacent equipment rows in the row direction flows into the portion between semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 and side walls 3, 5, and further flows into the portion between equipment rows where the front faces face each other. Furthermore, in the second region, high-temperature air from the portion above semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 flows into the portion above the portion between semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 and side walls 3, 5, and further flows into the portion above the portion between equipment rows where the front faces face each other.

[0070] In contrast, in the present embodiment, the second partition plate 21 separates the first region from the side of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8, via the portion between the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 and the sidewalls 3 and 5 on the side of the side. This prevents high-temperature air from the lateral portions of the side and rear of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 (an example of an "upward region where high-temperature air rises" in the present disclosure) from flowing into the portion between the rows of equipment whose front faces face each other (an example of an "other region" in the present disclosure). Furthermore, the second region separates the portion above the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 from the portion above the portion between the rows of equipment whose front faces face each other, via the portion above the portion between the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 and the sidewalls 3 and 5. This prevents high-temperature air from the portion above the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 (an example of an "upward region where high-temperature air rises" in the present disclosure) from flowing into the portion above the portion between the rows of equipment whose front faces face each other (an example of an "other region" in the present disclosure).

[0071] As a result, the temperature rise of the piled up cool air can be further suppressed above the section between the rows of devices where the front faces face each other.

[0072] In addition, the second partition plate 21 prevents the cool air blown out from the air outlet 18 of the air supply section 15 from concentrating and piling up in the front side of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 in the first area. Therefore, the temperature of the piled up cool air can be lowered overall in the portion on the front side of semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 and in the portion above that in the second area on the front side of semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8.

[0073] Furthermore, the second partition plate 21 separates the first region between the sides and rear of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 and the front of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 via the portions between the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 and the side walls 3 and 5. This prevents high-temperature air from the lateral portions of the sides and rear of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 from flowing into the front of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 (an example of "other regions" in the present disclosure). Furthermore, the second region separates the top of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 from the portion above the front of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 via the portion above the portions between the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 and the side walls 3 and 5. This prevents high-temperature air from the top of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 from flowing into the portion above the front of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 (an example of "other regions" in the present disclosure).

[0074] As a result, the temperature rise of the piled up cool air can be further suppressed even above the front side of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8.

[0075] The temperature distribution in the clean room 1 when the first and second partition plates 20 and 21 are provided was simulated.

[0076] Fig. 11(A) is a diagram showing the outline of the configuration of a clean room when first and second partition plates are provided, and Fig. 11(B) is a cross-sectional view showing the vertical temperature distribution in the clean room at a predetermined position in the column direction in that case. Furthermore, Fig. 12(A) and (B) are cross-sectional views showing the horizontal temperature distribution in the clean room at a predetermined position in the height direction when first and second partition plates are provided.

[0077] The conditions used in this simulation include all of the conditions used in the simulation of the first embodiment. In addition to those conditions, in this embodiment, the second partition plate 21 is suspended from the ceiling frame to cover from the floor (height 0 m) to the ceiling frame (height 4.5 m).

[0078] For example, at a given position in the row direction, focusing on the upper portion of the second region between rows of devices whose front faces face each other, the temperature distribution at the guaranteed height is as follows. That is, when the first and second partition plates 20 and 21 are provided, as shown in FIGS. 11(B) and 12(B), the region with a temperature range of, for example, 28°C to 30°C becomes higher. As a result, the region with a temperature range of 30°C to 32°C that existed when only the first partition plate 20 was provided (see FIGS. 5 and 6) disappears, and only the region with a temperature range of 28°C to 30°C remains. This indicates that the addition of the second partition plate 21 further suppresses the temperature rise of the cool air in the focused region. Similarly, it was also found that the temperature rise of the cool air is further suppressed in the region above the front side of the devices in the second region.

[0079] As described above, in the air conditioning system of this embodiment, in addition to the arrangement of the first partition plate 20, second partition plates 21 are arranged in an upright position relative to the floor 2, next to the outer side of the row of the first semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 in adjacent rows of equipment whose rear surfaces face each other in the first and second areas, and next to the outer side of the row of the last semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8.

[0080] The second partition plate 21 covers the area between the adjacent device rows where the rear surfaces of the device rows face each other at both ends in the row direction of the adjacent device rows. The released cool air is concentrated and piled up, for example, in the area between rows of devices in the first area where the front faces face each other. This allows the temperature of the piled up cool air to be lowered overall in the area between rows of devices where the front faces face each other and in the area above that, in the second area, above the area between rows of devices where the front faces face each other.

[0081] Furthermore, the second partition plate 21 separates the area lateral to the side of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 from the area between the rows of equipment whose front faces face each other, via the area between the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 on that side of the side and the side walls 3 and 5. This prevents high-temperature air from the lateral areas of the side and rear of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 from flowing into the area between the rows of equipment whose front faces face each other. Furthermore, the second region is separated from the area above the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 by the area above the area between the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 and the side walls 3 and 5. This prevents high-temperature air from the area above the area between the rows of equipment whose front faces face each other.

[0082] As a result, it is possible to further suppress the temperature rise of the cool air above the section between the rows of devices whose front faces face each other, while maintaining an air volume that can maintain the temperature stratification achieved by displacement air conditioning.

[0083] In this embodiment, the second partition plate 21 arranged at each end of adjacent device rows in the column direction is made up of a single plate-shaped member, but it may be made up of multiple plate-shaped members. Also, the second partition plate 21 is described as covering from the floor 2 to the ceiling frame 12, but is not limited to this. For example, a gap may be provided between the floor 2 and the second partition plate 21, or between the second partition plate 21 and the ceiling frame 12, or both, so that the second partition plate 21 covers part of the area from the floor 2 to the ceiling frame 12. [Third embodiment]

[0084] Fig. 13 is a top view showing the configuration of a clean room to which an air conditioning system according to the third embodiment is applied. Fig. 14(A) is a side view showing the configuration of a part of the clean room as viewed in the direction of the rows of equipment, and Fig. 14(B) is a side view showing the configuration as viewed in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the rows of equipment.

[0085] The air conditioning system of the second embodiment described above includes first and second partition plates 20, 21. The air conditioning system of this embodiment further includes a third partition plate in addition to the first and second partition plates 20, 21. The configuration of the air conditioning system of this embodiment, except for the third partition plate, is the same as that of the air conditioning system of the second embodiment, so detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0086] As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 , the third partition plate 22 is a plate-like member, such as a resin plate, and is installed on the ceiling frame 12 as a partial ceiling panel with fasteners on its underside. As a result, the third partition plate 22 is arranged as follows for adjacent rows of semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 (the second and third rows from the left in FIG. 13 ) where the front faces of the equipment face each other. That is, a part of the third partition plate 22 (hereinafter referred to as the “first portion”) is arranged in a reclined position relative to the floor 2 above the upper portion of the second area, between the rows of equipment where the front faces face each other. Furthermore, the first portion of the third partition plate 22 extends linearly in the row direction from the front to the rear of the row of equipment. In addition, the third partition plate 22 is also arranged as follows around multiple rows of equipment. That is, the third partition plate 22 is disposed in a frame-like manner in the remaining portion (hereinafter referred to as the "second portion") of the upper portion of the second area, in the portion between the four side walls 3 to 6 and the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8, while being tilted down against the floor 2. The second portion of the third partition plate 22 is connected to both ends of the first portion of the third partition plate 22 near the center of the side walls 3 and 5 on which the air conditioning units are installed.

[0087] In the clean room 1 to which the air conditioning system of this embodiment configured as described above is applied, the flow of cold air and hot air is basically the same as that of the second embodiment. However, due to the placement of the third partition plate 22, the following points are different.

[0088] As described above, the third zone is filled with rising, high-temperature air heated by the heat of semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8. If third partition plate 22 were not provided, the hot air from the third zone would flow into the relatively cooler areas of the second zone above the areas between the rows of equipment whose front faces face each other.

[0089] In contrast, in this embodiment, the first portion of the third partition plate 22 separates the third region from the portion of the second region above the portion between the rows of devices whose front faces face each other. This prevents the high-temperature air in the third region (an example of the "rising region where high-temperature air rises" in this disclosure) from flowing into the portion above the portion between the rows of devices whose front faces face each other (an example of the "other region" in this disclosure). This further suppresses the temperature rise of the accumulated cool air in the portion above the portion between the rows of devices whose front faces face each other.

[0090] Furthermore, the second portion of the third partition plate 22 separates the third area from the portion of the second area above the portion of the front side of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8. This prevents the high-temperature air from the third area from flowing into the portion above the portion of the front side of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 (an example of the "other area" in the present disclosure). This further suppresses the temperature rise of the piled-up cool air in the portion above the portion of the front side of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8.

[0091] The temperature distribution in the clean room 1 when the first, second and third partition plates 20, 21 and 22 are provided was simulated.

[0092] Fig. 15(A) is a diagram showing the outline of the configuration of a clean room when first, second, and third partition plates are provided, and Fig. 15(B) is a cross-sectional view showing the vertical temperature distribution in the clean room at a predetermined position in the column direction in that case. Furthermore, Fig. 16(A) and (B) are cross-sectional views showing the horizontal temperature distribution in the clean room at a predetermined position in the height direction when first, second, and third partition plates are provided.

[0093] The conditions used in this simulation include all of the conditions used in the simulation of the second embodiment. In addition to those conditions, in this embodiment, the third partition plate 22 is installed above a ceiling frame (height 4.5 m).

[0094] For example, at a given position in the row direction, focusing on the upper portion of the second region between rows of devices whose front faces face each other, the temperature distribution at the guaranteed height is as follows. That is, when the first, second, and third partition plates 20-22 are provided, as shown in FIGS. 15(B) and 16(B), the temperature range of 28°C to 30°C that existed when only the first and second partition plates 20, 21 were provided (see FIGS. 11 and 12) disappears, and only the temperature range of 20°C to 22°C remains. This indicates that the addition of the third partition plate 22 further suppresses the temperature rise of the cool air in the focused region. Similarly, it was also found that the temperature rise of the cool air is further suppressed in the upper portion of the second region on the front side of the devices.

[0095] As described above, in the air conditioning system of this embodiment, in addition to the arrangement of the first and second partition plates 20 and 21, for example, the first member of the third partition plate 22 is arranged in a tilted state against the floor 2 in the upper part of the second region above the portion between the rows of device whose front faces face each other, separating the third region from the portion of the second region above the portion between the rows of device whose front faces face each other. This makes it possible to prevent hot air from the third region from flowing into the portion above the portion between the rows of device whose front faces face each other. This makes it possible to further suppress the temperature rise of the cool air above the portion between the rows of device whose front faces face each other while maintaining an airflow volume sufficient to maintain temperature stratification by displacement air conditioning.

[0096] In this embodiment, the third partition plate 22 is installed on the ceiling frame 12, but this is not limiting. For example, the third partition plate may be made up of a plurality of plate-shaped members, and the plurality of plate-shaped members may be fitted into openings between the lattices of the lattice-shaped ceiling frame 12.

[0097] [Fourth embodiment] Fig. 17 is a top view showing the configuration of a clean room to which an air conditioning system according to the fourth embodiment is applied. Fig. 18(A) is a side view showing the configuration of a part of the clean room as viewed in the direction of the rows of equipment, and Fig. 18(B) is a side view showing the configuration as viewed in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the rows of equipment.

[0098] In the air conditioning system of the first embodiment described above, only the first partition plate 20 is provided. In the air conditioning system of this embodiment, the first partition plate 20 is replaced with only the third partition plate 22 used in the air conditioning system of the third embodiment. In the air conditioning system of this embodiment, the configuration is the same as that of the air conditioning system of the first embodiment except that the first partition plate 20 is replaced with only the third partition plate 22, so detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0099] 17 and 18, the third partition plate 22 of this embodiment is the same member as the third partition plate 22 of the third embodiment, so a detailed description of the third partition plate 22 will be omitted.

[0100] In the clean room 1 to which the air conditioning system of this embodiment configured as described above is applied, the flow of cold air and hot air is basically the same as that in the first embodiment. However, by replacing the first partition plate 20 with a third partition plate 22, the following points are different.

[0101] If the third partition plate 22 is not provided, the high-temperature air from the third area will flow into the area above the rows of devices in the second area where the front surfaces are facing each other and where the temperature is relatively low.

[0102] In contrast, in this embodiment, the third region is separated from the portion of the second region above the portion between the rows of apparatus whose front faces face each other by the first portion of the third partition plate 22. This makes it possible to block hot air from the third region from flowing into the portion of the second region above the portion between the rows of apparatus whose front faces face each other.

[0103] Furthermore, the first portion of the third partition plate 22 covers the boundary between the upper portion of the portion between the rows of equipment whose front faces face each other in the second area and the upper portion of the portion between the rows of equipment whose front faces face each other in the third area above. As a result, the cold air that has accumulated in the upper portion of the portion between the rows of equipment whose front faces face each other in the second area flows not above it but to the area above the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 next to it. This flow of cold air As a result, cooler air rises from the portion between the rows of devices whose front faces face each other in the first region below to the portion above the portion between the rows of devices whose front faces face each other.

[0104] As a result, it is possible to suppress a rise in temperature of the piled up cool air in the portion above the section between the rows of devices in the second area where the front faces face each other.

[0105] Furthermore, the second portion of third partition plate 22 separates the third area from the portion of the second area above the front side of semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8. This prevents high-temperature air from the third area from flowing into the portion above the front side of semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8.

[0106] Furthermore, the second portion of third partition plate 22 covers the boundary between the upper portion of the front side of semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 in the second area and the upper portion of the front side of semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 in the third area above. As a result, the cold air that has accumulated in the upper portion of the front side of semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 in the second area flows to the area above semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 beside it. As this cold air flows, cold air with a lower temperature rises up to the upper portion of the front side of semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 from the front side of semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 in the first area below.

[0107] As a result, the temperature rise of the piled up cool air can be suppressed even above the portion of the second area on the front side of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8.

[0108] The temperature distribution in the clean room 1 when only the third partition plate 22 is provided was simulated.

[0109] Fig. 19(A) is a diagram showing the outline of the configuration of a clean room when a third partition plate is provided, and Fig. 19(B) is a cross-sectional view showing the vertical temperature distribution in the clean room at a predetermined position in the column direction in that case. Furthermore, Fig. 20(A) and (B) are cross-sectional views showing the horizontal temperature distribution in the clean room at a predetermined position in the height direction in the case where a third partition plate is provided.

[0110] The conditions used in this simulation are basically the same as those used in the simulation of the first embodiment. However, in this embodiment, the condition used in the first embodiment, that the first partition plate 20 covers the equipment from the height of the top end to the height of the ceiling frame, is changed to a condition in which the third partition plate 22 is installed above the ceiling frame (height 4.5 m).

[0111] For example, at a given position in the row direction, focusing on the upper portion of the second region between rows of devices whose front faces face each other, the temperature distribution at the guaranteed height is as follows. That is, when only the third partition plate 22 is provided, as shown in FIGS. 19(B) and 20(B), the guaranteed height does not include the region with a temperature range of 30°C to 34°C that exists when none of the first to third partition plates 20-23 are provided (see FIGS. 7 and 8). Instead, the region with a temperature range of 26°C to 28°C and the region with a temperature range of 28°C to 30°C coexist. This indicates that the provision of the third partition plate 22 suppresses the temperature rise of the cool air in the focused region. Similarly, it was also found that the temperature rise of the cool air is suppressed in the region above the front side of the devices in the second region.

[0112] As described above, in the air conditioning system of this embodiment, for example, the third partition plate 22 The first member is placed in a tilted state against the floor 2 in the upper part of the second area above the section between the rows of equipment whose front faces face each other, separating the third area from the section of the second area above the section between the rows of equipment whose front faces face each other. This makes it possible to block hot air from the third area from flowing into the section above the section between the rows of equipment whose front faces face each other. This makes it possible to suppress the temperature rise of cool air in the section above the section between the rows of equipment whose front faces face each other while maintaining an air volume that can maintain temperature stratification by displacement air conditioning. [Modification of the fourth embodiment]

[0113] In the air conditioning system of the fourth embodiment described above, the first portion of the third partition plate 22 is disposed in the upper portion of the second region above the portion between the rows of devices whose front faces face each other. In other words, the width of the first portion of the third partition plate 22 is the same as the width of the portion between the rows of devices whose front faces face each other. However, the width of the first portion of the third partition plate 22 is not limited to being the same as the width of the portion between the rows of devices whose front faces face each other.

[0114] For example, in this modification, both ends of the first portion of the third partition plate are extended toward the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 in the adjacent equipment rows so as to cover a portion of the upper surface of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8, and the width of the first portion is wider than the width of the portion between the equipment rows whose front faces face each other. Furthermore, one end of the second portion of the third partition plate on the side of the side walls 4 and 6 where no air conditioning units are installed is also extended toward the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 in the equipment row so as to cover a portion of the upper surface of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8, and the width of the second portion is wider than the width of the portion between the side walls 4 and 6 and the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8. Note that the width of the second portion of the third partition plate on the side of the side walls 3 and 5 where air conditioning units are installed is the same as the width of the portion between the side walls 3 and 5 and the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8, as in the fourth embodiment.

[0115] The temperature distribution in the clean room 1 when the third partition plate is extended to the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 side was simulated.

[0116] Fig. 21(A) is a diagram showing the outline of the configuration of the clean room when the third partition plate is extended toward the equipment side, and Fig. 21(B) is a cross-sectional view showing the vertical temperature distribution in the clean room at a predetermined position in the column direction in that case. Furthermore, Fig. 22(A) and (B) are cross-sectional views showing the horizontal temperature distribution in the clean room at a predetermined position in the height direction when the third partition plate is extended toward the equipment side.

[0117] The conditions used in this simulation were basically the same as those used in the simulation of the fourth embodiment. However, in this modification, the third partition plate 22 used was a partition plate in which both ends of the first portion were extended by 2 m toward the device, and one end of the second portion on the side wall where the air conditioning unit was not installed was extended by 2 m toward the device, compared to the third partition plate 22 of the fourth embodiment.

[0118] For example, at a predetermined position in the row direction described above, focusing on the upper portion of the second region between rows of devices whose front faces face each other, the temperature distribution at the guaranteed height is as follows. That is, when the third partition plate 22 is extended toward the device, only a region with a temperature range of 26°C to 28°C exists at the guaranteed height, as shown in Figures 21(B) and 22(B). This indicates that even when the third partition plate 22 is extended 2 m toward the device, the temperature rise of the cool air in the focused region is suppressed to the same extent as when the third partition plate 22 is not extended. Similarly, it was also found that the temperature rise of the cool air in the upper portion of the second region on the front side of the device is suppressed to the same extent as when the third partition plate 22 is not extended.

[0119] Note that extending the third partition plate 22 increases the amount of plate-shaped members used, which increases the cost of the third partition plate 22. From the viewpoint of cost-effectiveness, it may be decided whether or not to extend the third partition plate 22 toward the device, and if it is to be extended, it may be decided to what length up to 2 m.

[0120] [Fifth embodiment] Fig. 23 is a top view showing the configuration of a clean room to which an air conditioning system according to the fifth embodiment is applied. Also, Fig. 24(A) is a side view showing the configuration of a part of the clean room as viewed in the direction of the rows of equipment, and Fig. 24(B) is a side view showing the configuration as viewed in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the rows of equipment.

[0121] The air conditioning system of the fourth embodiment described above is provided with only the third partition plate 22. The air conditioning system of this embodiment is further provided with a fan in addition to the third partition plate 22. The configuration of the air conditioning system of this embodiment other than the fan is the same as that of the air conditioning system of the fourth embodiment, so detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0122] 23 and 24, fans 23 are provided to blow air upward and are attached to ceiling frame 12 with fasteners. Fans 23 are also placed above each of the semiconductor manufacturing devices 8 in the upper part of the second area. Fans 23 are set to have an airflow rate that is sufficient to maintain temperature stratification through displacement air conditioning.

[0123] In the clean room 1 to which the air conditioning system of this embodiment configured as described above is applied, the flow of cold air and hot air is basically the same as that of the fourth embodiment. However, due to the presence of the fan 23, the following points are different.

[0124] As described above, the third partition plate 22 allows the cool air that has accumulated above the area between the rows of equipment whose front faces face each other in the second area to flow to the area above the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 next to it.

[0125] On the other hand, even if fan 23 is not installed, the high-temperature air in the part of the second area above semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 rises to the third area, but by installing fan 23, the high-temperature air in the part of the second area above semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 can be forced to rise to the third area.

[0126] In this embodiment, as the high-temperature air is forcibly raised by the fan 23, the cool air piled up in the area above the rows of equipment whose front faces face each other in the second region flows more strongly to the area above the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 beside it. Furthermore, as this cool air flows, cooler cool air rises up to the area above the rows of equipment whose front faces face each other in the first region below. Therefore, the temperature rise of the piled-up cool air can be suppressed above the area above the rows of equipment whose front faces face each other.

[0127] Furthermore, as the high-temperature air is forcibly raised by the fan 23, the cool air piled up above the front portion of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 in the second area flows more strongly to the area above the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 beside it. Furthermore, as this cool air flows, cooler air rises from the front portion of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 in the first area below it to the area above the front portion of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8. Therefore, the temperature rise of the piled-up cool air can be suppressed even above the front portion of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8.

[0128] The temperature distribution in the clean room 1 when the fan 23 is installed was simulated.

[0129] Fig. 25(A) is a diagram showing the outline of the configuration of a clean room when a fan is provided, and Fig. 25(B) is a cross-sectional view showing the vertical temperature distribution in the clean room at a predetermined position in the column direction in that case. Furthermore, Fig. 26(A) and (B) are cross-sectional views showing the horizontal temperature distribution in the clean room at a predetermined position in the height direction when a fan is provided.

[0130] The conditions used in this simulation include all of the conditions used in the simulation of the fourth embodiment. In addition to those conditions, in this embodiment, the fan 23 is installed under the ceiling frame (height 4.5 m) above each of the multiple devices. Furthermore, the air volume of the fan 23 is 4,500 m 3 / h.

[0131] For example, at a given position in the row direction, focusing on the upper portion of the second region between rows of devices whose front faces face each other, the temperature distribution at the guaranteed height is as follows. That is, when the fan 23 is provided, the region of the temperature range of 28°C to 30°C that existed when the fan 23 is not provided (see FIGS. 21 and 22) disappears, and a region of the temperature range of 24°C to 26°C and a region of the temperature range of 26°C to 28°C coexist. This indicates that the provision of the fan 23 further suppresses the temperature rise of the cool air in the focused region. Similarly, it was also found that the temperature rise of the cool air is further suppressed in the region above the front side of the devices in the second region.

[0132] For comparison, a simulation was also carried out on the temperature distribution in the clean room when the third partition plate 22 was not provided and only the fan 23 was provided.

[0133] Fig. 27(A) is a diagram showing the outline of the configuration of a clean room equipped only with a fan without a third partition plate, and Fig. 27(B) is a cross-sectional view showing the temperature distribution in the vertical direction in the clean room at a predetermined position in the column direction in that case. Furthermore, Fig. 28(A) and (B) are cross-sectional views showing the temperature distribution in the horizontal direction in the clean room at a predetermined position in the height direction in the same case equipped only with a fan without a third partition plate.

[0134] The conditions used in this simulation are basically the same as those used in the simulation of the fourth embodiment. However, instead of the condition used in the fourth embodiment that the third partition plate 22 is installed above the ceiling frame (height 4.5 m), the fan 23 is installed below the ceiling frame (height 4.5 m) above each of the multiple devices. Furthermore, the air volume of the fan 23 is 4,500 m 3 / h.

[0135] For example, at a predetermined position in the row direction described above, focusing on the upper portion of the second region between rows of devices whose front faces face each other, the temperature distribution at the guaranteed height is as follows. That is, when the third partition plate is not provided and only the fan 23 is provided, as shown in FIGS. 27(B) and 28(B), the guaranteed height includes a region with a temperature range of 32°C to 34°C and a region with a temperature range of 34°C to 36°C, which does not exist when neither the first to third partition plates 20-22 nor the fan 23 are provided (see FIGS. 7 and 8). This indicates that providing the fan 23 together with a partition plate such as the third partition plate 22 is more preferable than providing the fan 23 alone. Similarly, it has been found that providing the fan 23 together with a partition plate is also preferable in the upper portion of the second region on the front side of the devices.

[0136] As described above, in the air conditioning system of this embodiment, in addition to the third partition plate 22, the fan 23 is further provided above each of the plurality of semiconductor manufacturing devices 8 in the upper part of the second area. This allows for the high-temperature air in the portion of the second region above the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 to be forced up to the third region. As a result, for example, lower-temperature cool air rises from the portion of the first region below between the rows of equipment whose front faces face each other to the upper portion of the second region between the rows of equipment whose front faces face each other. This makes it possible to suppress the temperature rise of the cool air above the portion between the rows of equipment whose front faces face each other while maintaining an air volume that can maintain the temperature stratification achieved by displacement air conditioning.

[0137] In this embodiment, the fans 23 are arranged above each of the plurality of semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses 8 in the upper part of the second area, but this is not limiting. For example, the fans may be arranged above a portion of the upper part of the second area between rows of apparatuses whose rear surfaces face each other. Alternatively, the fans may be arranged above each of the plurality of semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses 8 and above a portion of the upper part of the second area between rows of apparatuses whose rear surfaces face each other.

[0138] The first to fifth embodiments and their modifications described above can be combined with each other.

[0139] For example, the fan 23 used in the air conditioning system of the fifth embodiment may be added to each of the air conditioning systems of the first to third embodiments.

[0140] Furthermore, the second partition plate 21 used in the air conditioning system of the second embodiment may be added to each of the air conditioning systems of the fourth and fifth embodiments.

[0141] Moreover, the air conditioning system of the first embodiment is provided with only the first partition plate 20, and the air conditioning system of the fourth embodiment is provided with only the third partition plate 22. Similarly, the air conditioning system may be provided with only the second partition plate 21.

[0142] [Sixth embodiment] Fig. 29 is a top view showing the configuration of a clean room to which an air conditioning system according to the sixth embodiment is applied. Also, Fig. 30(A) is a side view showing the configuration of a part of the clean room when viewed in the direction of the device rows, and Fig. 30(B) is a side view showing the configuration when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the device rows.

[0143] The air conditioning system of the fourth embodiment described above is equipped with an air conditioning unit including an air supply section 15 and an air intake section 16. The air conditioning system of this embodiment is equipped with an upper air conditioning unit in addition to the air conditioning unit. The configuration of the air conditioning system of this embodiment, other than the upper air conditioning unit, is basically the same as that of the air conditioning system of the fourth embodiment, so detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0144] As shown in FIGS. 29 and 30, a passageway (walkway 24) is provided above the third partition plate 22 for maintenance and repair of the automatic conveyance system, lighting, etc. In FIG. 29, the walkway 24 is hatched for ease of understanding. The walkway 24 is arranged so as to overlap with the third partition plate 22 above the portion between adjacent rows of semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 where the front faces of the equipment face each other (the second and third rows from the left in FIG. 29), and above the portion between the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 and the four side walls 3 to 6. In addition, the walkway 24 is arranged near the air intake section 16 and on the inside of the air intake section 16 of the air conditioning unit in the row direction (the Y direction in FIG. 29), when viewed from above, so that maintenance and repair of the air intake section 16 can also be performed.

[0145] An upper air conditioning unit 25 is installed on the ceiling 7 of the clean room 1 above the third partition plate 22. The upper air conditioning unit 25 is installed between the side walls 3 and 5 on which the air conditioning units are installed. A plurality of units (five in FIG. 29) are arranged in a line along each side. Furthermore, the upper air conditioning unit 25 is arranged near the walkway 24, on the inner side of the walkway 24 in the row direction when viewed from above. In other words, the upper air conditioning unit 25 and the air conditioning unit are arranged on either side of the walkway 24 in the row direction.

[0146] FIG. 31 is a diagram illustrating the internal configuration of the air conditioning unit.

[0147] As shown in Figure 31, the air conditioning unit 26 is equipped with the air supply section 15 and the air intake section 16 as described above. The air intake section 16 has a fan 27 installed therein, which draws in air from the upper part of the clean room 1 through the air intake port 17 on the top surface 16a and supplies it to the air supply section 15. The air supply section 15 is equipped with a cooling coil 28 and a filter 29. In the air supply section 15, the cooling coil 28 cools the air supplied from the air intake section 16 to form cold air, and after removing dust and the like from the cold air using the filter 29, the cold air is blown out from the air outlet 18 on the front surface 15a.

[0148] Fig. 32 is a perspective view showing the external configuration of the upper air conditioning unit, and Fig. 33 is a diagram illustrating the internal configuration of the upper air conditioning unit.

[0149] As shown in Figures 32 and 33, an air intake 30 is provided on a side surface 25a of the upper air conditioning unit 25, and an air outlet 31 is provided on a bottom surface 25b. The upper air conditioning unit 25 also includes a filter 32, a cooling coil 33, and a fan 34 inside. In the upper air conditioning unit 25, the fan 34 draws air from the vicinity of the ceiling 7 of the clean room 1 through the air intake 30 (see Figure 30(B)). Then, after dust and the like in the air is removed by the filter 32, the air is cooled by the cooling coil 33 to form cool air, which is then blown out from the air outlet 31.

[0150] The cooling coil 28 of the air conditioning unit 26 and the cooling coil 33 of the upper air conditioning unit 25 are cooled by cold water and cooling water supplied from outside the clean room 1, respectively, thereby cooling the air passing through the cooling coils 28, 33 to form cold air.

[0151] Fig. 34 is a diagram illustrating the air flow within the clean room. Fig. 34 also illustrates the flow of chilled water supplied to the cooling coil 28 of the air conditioning unit 26 and the flow of cooling water supplied to the cooling coil 33 of the upper air conditioning unit 25. To facilitate the explanation, Fig. 34 omits illustration of the hanging material 11, the conveying device 13, the rails 14, the filter 29 of the air conditioning unit 26, the filter 32 of the upper air conditioning unit 25, and the like within the clean room 1.

[0152] 34, the semiconductor manufacturing factory includes a clean room 1 and a machine room 35 outside the clean room 1. A refrigerator 36 is installed in the machine room 35 to generate chilled water to be supplied to the cooling coil 28 of the air conditioning unit 26. In addition, a cooling tower 37 is installed outside the semiconductor manufacturing factory to generate chilled water to be supplied to the cooling coil 33 of the upper air conditioning unit 25.

[0153] The cooling tower 37 is, for example, a forced draft cooling tower, and is equipped with a fan, a sprinkler pipe, a filler, a water tank, etc. The cooling tower 37 uses the heat of vaporization to cool the water supplied to the cooling tower 37 and generate cooling water. A portion of the cooling water generated in the cooling tower 37 is supplied to the refrigerator 36 by a pump 38.

[0154] The refrigerator 36 is, for example, a compression type refrigerator, and includes a condenser 39, an evaporator 40, a compressor, an expansion valve, etc. The condenser 39 receives refrigerant vapor that has been heated to a high temperature and pressure by the compressor, Heat is given to the cooling water supplied from the cooling tower 37, which liquefies the refrigerant to form a low-temperature, high-pressure refrigerant liquid. The refrigerant liquid then passes through an expansion valve to become a gas-liquid mixture and is supplied to the evaporator 40. Meanwhile, the cooling water is heated by the refrigerant vapor in the condenser 39 and returned to the cooling tower 37. In the evaporator 40, the gas-liquid mixture of refrigerant is evaporated by cold water heated by the cooling coil 28 of the air conditioning unit 26 to become low-temperature, low-pressure refrigerant vapor. The refrigerant vapor is then transported to the compressor. Meanwhile, the heated cold water loses heat as the refrigerant evaporates, becoming cold water. The cold water generated in the evaporator 40 is supplied to the cooling coil 28 by the pump 42 when the valve 41 is on. As the cold water passes through the cooling coil 28, it cools the relatively warm air (cold air CA2) in the upper part of the clean room 1, which is supplied by the fan 27 from the intake section 16 to the supply section 15. On the other hand, the cold water is heated by the heat from the air and returns to the evaporator 40 .

[0155] The remaining part of the cooling water produced in the cooling tower 37 is supplied to the cooling coil 30 of the upper air conditioning unit 25. When passing through the cooling coil 30, the cooling water cools the high-temperature air HA near the ceiling 7 of the clean room 1 that has been sucked in by the fan 34. Meanwhile, the high-temperature air HA gives heat to the cooling water, warming it and returning it to the cooling tower 37.

[0156] Next, the air flow in the clean room 1 will be described with reference to Figure 34. In this embodiment, the air conditioning in the clean room 1 is basically performed by the air conditioning unit 26 using a circulation system.

[0157] In the air conditioning unit 26, air from the upper part of the clean room 1 is drawn in through the intake port 17 by the fan 27 and cooled by the cooling coil 28 to become cool air CA1. Then, as shown by the thin arrow in FIG. 34, the cool air CA1 is blown out laterally (in the column direction) from the outlet 18 provided at the bottom of the clean room 1. At this time, as described above, the fins 19 of the outlet 18 impart a swirling component to the cool air CA1, so that the cool air CA1 blown out from the outlet 18 attracts the surrounding air and quickly decelerates. Furthermore, because the cool air has a relatively high density, it descends and sinks to the floor 2. As a result, the cool air CA1 is piled up in layers from the floor 2 in the first region (see FIG. 4).

[0158] On the other hand, the piled up cold air CA1 is heated by the heat of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 and becomes high-temperature air HA. Since the high-temperature air HA has a lower density than the cold air CA1, it rises slowly while diffusing through the second region due to buoyancy as shown by the white arrow in Fig. 34, passes over the ceiling frame 12 above the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8, and accumulates in the upper part of the clean room 1 in the third region.

[0159] In recent years, semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 has become larger, resulting in the emission of a large amount of heat. In this embodiment, a third partition member 22 is installed on top of the ceiling frame 12 as a partial ceiling panel. This prevents the high-temperature air HA from flowing into the upper portion of the second area between rows of semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 where the front faces of the equipment face each other, where the temperature is relatively low, and into the upper portion of the front side of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 facing the side walls 4 and 6. On the other hand, since the high-temperature air HA from the third area does not flow into the second area, the high-temperature air HA accumulates in the third area. As a result, the third area becomes hot. For example, when the first area is maintained at a temperature range of 23±3°C due to the cool air CA1, the third area may be in the temperature range of 40°C to 60°C.

[0160] In this embodiment, an upper air conditioning unit 25 is installed in the upper part of the clean room 1. In the upper air conditioning unit 25, high-temperature air HA near the ceiling 7 of the clean room 1 is sucked in from an intake port 30 by a fan 34 and cooled by cooling water passing through a cooling coil 33. The cooled air CA2 is generated by the cooling water at 32°C. For example, when using cooling water at 32°C, the cooled air CA2 at 37°C can be generated. The cooled air CA2 is then blown downward from the air outlet 31 provided above the air intake 17 of the air conditioning unit 26. This allows the temperature of the portion of the third region between the air outlet 31 and the air intake 17 to be lowered.

[0161] The cool air CA2 blown out from the air outlet 31 toward the air intake 17 of the air conditioning unit 26 is taken in through the air intake 17 of the air conditioning unit 26. The cool air CA2 is then supplied from the air intake section 16 to the air supply section 15 by the fan 27, and cooled by the cooling coil 28 to become the cool air CA1. The cool air CA1 is then blown out again from the air outlet 18.

[0162] At this time, the cold air CA2 has a lower temperature than the high-temperature air HA, and therefore the amount of cold heat required for cooling by the cooling coil 28 is smaller than when cold air CA1 is formed from the high-temperature air HA. Furthermore, the cold air CA2 is cooled by the cooling coil 33 of the upper air conditioning unit 25, through which cooling water cooled in the cooling tower 37 flows, and therefore the energy required to obtain the cold air CA2 from the high-temperature air HA is only a small amount of power for auxiliary equipment such as the pump 38 and the electric fan in the cooling tower 37, and no large power source such as a refrigerator is required. This makes it possible to reduce the amount of power consumption required to generate cold water in the refrigerator 36 (for example, the amount of power consumption required to compress the refrigerant in a compressor).

[0163] As a result, it is possible to minimize the energy required for air conditioning in the clean room 1 in which the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 is installed.

[0164] Furthermore, a walkway 24 is provided in the third area, and workers may be present on the walkway 24 to perform maintenance and repairs on the air conditioning unit 26 and the like. In this embodiment, the cool air CA2 is blown downward from the outlet 31 of the upper air conditioning unit 25, which is provided above the walkway 24, so that the temperature in the portion of the third area between the outlet 31 and the walkway 24 can also be lowered. This reduces the thermal burden on workers on the walkway 24. Furthermore, it also reduces the thermal burden on equipment such as lighting installed in the upper part of the clean room 1.

[0165] The fan 34 of the upper air conditioning unit 25 has a smaller air volume than the fan 27 of the air conditioning unit 26. This makes it possible to sufficiently maintain the temperature stratification caused by displacement air conditioning with almost no disruption.

[0166] As described above, in the air conditioning system of this embodiment, the upper air conditioning unit 25 is installed in the upper part of the clean room 1. In the upper air conditioning unit 25, high-temperature air HA in the upper part of the clean room 1 is drawn in through the air intake 30 and cooled by the cooling coil 33 using cooling water supplied from the cooling tower 37 to become cool air CA2. The cool air CA2 is then blown out from the air outlet 31 to the air intake 17 of the air conditioning unit 26. The cool air CA2 is then drawn in through the air intake 17 of the air conditioning unit 26 and cooled by the cooling coil 28 using chilled water supplied from the chiller 36 to become cool air CA1. This reduces the amount of power consumption required to generate chilled water in the chiller 36 compared to when the upper air conditioning unit 25 is not present. This allows the air conditioning energy of the clean room 1 in which the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 is installed to be minimized.

[0167] In this embodiment, the third partition member 22 is provided as a partition member that separates the rising region where the high-temperature air HA rises from the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 from other regions, but this is not limiting. For example, the first partition member 20 or the second partition member 21 may be provided instead of the third partition member 22. Also, any one or all of the first partition member 20, the second partition member 21, and the third partition member 22 may be provided.

[0168] [Seventh embodiment] Fig. 35 is a top view showing the configuration of a clean room to which an air conditioning system according to the seventh embodiment is applied. Also, Fig. 36(A) is a side view showing the configuration of a part of the clean room as viewed in the direction of the device rows, and Fig. 36(B) is a side view showing the configuration as viewed in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the device rows.

[0169] The air conditioning system of the sixth embodiment described above is equipped with an upper air conditioning unit 25. The air conditioning system of this embodiment is further equipped with an air supply chamber, an outdoor air conditioning unit, and a heat exchanger in addition to the upper air conditioning unit 25. In the air conditioning system of this embodiment, the configuration other than the air supply chamber, the outdoor air conditioning unit, and the heat exchanger is basically the same as the air conditioning system of the sixth embodiment, so detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0170] As shown in Figures 35 and 36, an air supply chamber 43 is installed on the floor 2 of the clean room 1 to supply fresh air from outside into the clean room 1. In this embodiment, like the first to sixth embodiments, a circulation-type air conditioning system is basically used, but fresh air is introduced to provide the minimum necessary ventilation in order to ensure an appropriate working environment for workers. The location where the air supply chamber 43 is located is not particularly limited. For example, in this embodiment, the air supply chamber 43 is located in the center of the clean room 1.

[0171] Figure 37 is a perspective view showing the external configuration of the air supply chamber, and Figure 38 is a diagram illustrating the internal configuration of the air supply chamber.

[0172] As shown in Figures 37 and 38, each of the side surfaces 43a, 43b of the air supply chamber 43 is provided with a plurality of circular air outlets 44 (eight in Figures 38 and 39). The plurality of air outlets 44 are arranged side by side with gaps in the height and width directions of the air supply chamber 43. Each of the plurality of air outlets 44 is fitted with a plurality of fins 45 that impart a swirling component to the air blown out of the air outlet 44, similar to the air outlet 18 of the air conditioning unit 26. This allows the air to be blown out without a drafty feeling. The air supply chamber 43 also has a filter 46 inside. Outside air conditioned by an outdoor air-conditioning unit is supplied to the air supply chamber 43 via a duct 47. After dust and other particles in the outside air are removed by the filter 46, the air is blown out from the air outlet 44.

[0173] FIG. 39 is a diagram illustrating the internal configuration of the outdoor air-conditioning unit.

[0174] As shown in FIG. 39 , a duct 47 is connected to one side of an outdoor air-conditioning unit 48, and an air intake 49 for introducing outside air is provided on the opposite side. The outdoor air-conditioning unit 48 also includes a filter 50, a cooling coil 51, a heating coil 52, a humidifier 53, a heating coil 54, a humidifier 55, a cooling coil 56, a heating coil 57, a fan 58, and a filter 59, arranged in this order from the air intake 49 toward the duct 47. The outdoor air-conditioning unit 48 draws outside air through the air intake 49 via a prefilter using the fan 58, and removes dust and other particles from the air using the filter 50. Thereafter, in the case of high-temperature, high-humidity outdoor air in summer, the air is cooled by the cooling coil 51 or the cooling coil 56 (or both the cooling coils 51 and 56) and reheated by the heating coil 57 to form the supply air to be supplied to the clean room 1. Furthermore, for low-temperature, low-humidity outdoor air in winter, two-stage humidification is performed using heating coil 52, humidifier 53, heating coil 54, and humidifier 55, and the air is reheated by heating coil 57 to form the supply air to be supplied to clean room 1. By performing two-stage humidification in this way, it is possible to humidify to the target humidity even when one-stage humidification is not sufficient, and it is also possible to use relatively low-temperature hot water as the hot water to be supplied to heating coils 52 and 54. Then, dust particles and the like in the supply air are filtered out by filter 59. After removal, the air is supplied to the air supply chamber 43 in the clean room 1 through the duct 47.

[0175] Figure 40 is a diagram illustrating the flow of air in a clean room. Figure 40 also illustrates the flow of chilled water supplied to the cooling coil 28 of the air conditioning unit 26, the chilled water supplied to the cooling coil 33 of the upper air conditioning unit 25, and the chilled water supplied to the cooling coil 51 and heating coil 52 of the outdoor air conditioning unit 48. To simplify the explanation, Figure 40 only illustrates the cooling coil 51 and heating coil 52 of the outdoor air conditioning unit 48, and omits the illustration of the other cooling coils 56 and heating coils 54 and 57.

[0176] As shown in FIG. 40, in addition to a refrigerator 36, an outdoor air-conditioning unit 48 and a heat exchanger 60 are installed in a machine room 35 of a semiconductor manufacturing factory.

[0177] When valves 41 and 61 are on, a portion of the chilled water generated in the evaporator 40 of the chiller 36 is supplied by the pump 42 to the cooling coil 28 of the air conditioning unit 26, and the remaining portion is supplied to the cooling coil 51 of the outdoor air-conditioning unit 48. As the chilled water passes through the cooling coil 51, it cools the outside air OA introduced by the fan 58. Meanwhile, the chilled water is heated by the outside air OA and becomes chilled water, which returns to the evaporator 40. The chilled water generated in the evaporator 40 is also supplied to the cooling coil 56 of the outdoor air-conditioning unit 48, where it is heated by the outside air OA and becomes chilled water, which returns to the evaporator 40.

[0178] Furthermore, the chilled water generated in the evaporator 40 becomes warmed chilled water as it passes through the cooling coil 28, receiving heat from the air (cold air CA2) above the clean room 1. A portion of this warmed chilled water returns to the evaporator 40, and the remaining portion is supplied to the heating coil 52 of the outdoor air-conditioning unit 48 by the pump 65 when the valve 62 is off and the valves 63 and 64 are on. The warmed chilled water heats the outside air OA as it passes through the heating coil 52. Meanwhile, the warmed chilled water loses heat to the outside air OA and returns to the evaporator 40. The warmed chilled water is also supplied to the heating coils 54 and 57 of the outdoor air-conditioning unit 40, and returns to the evaporator 40 after losing heat to the outside air OA.

[0179] Furthermore, when valves 62 and 63 are off and valve 64 is on, the cold water heated by cooling coil 28 is supplied to heating coil 52 through heat exchanger 60. When valve 66 is on, hot water is supplied to heat exchanger 60 from auxiliary equipment in the semiconductor manufacturing plant. The heated cold water is heated by the heat from the hot water as it passes through heat exchanger 60, and is then supplied to heating coil 52.

[0180] Next, the air flow in the clean room 1 will be described with reference to Figure 40. The circulation type air conditioning performed by the air conditioning unit 26 and the upper air conditioning unit 25 is the same as in the sixth embodiment, so in this embodiment, the air conditioning performed by the outdoor air conditioning unit 48 will be described.

[0181] In the outdoor air-conditioning unit 48, outside air OA is drawn in through the intake port 49 by the fan 58 and is conditioned by the cooling coils 51, 56, the heating coils 52, 54, 56, and the humidifiers 53, 55 to become supply air SA. Then, as shown by the white arrow in Figure 40, the supply air SA is supplied to the supply air chamber 43 via the variable damper 67 and blown out from the outlet 44. At this time, a swirling component is imparted to the supply air SA by the fins 45 of the outlet 44, so that the supply air SA blown out from the outlet 44 attracts the surrounding air and quickly decelerates.

[0182] For example, when air conditioning low-temperature, low-humidity outdoor air in winter, the first stage of humidification is performed by heating and humidifying the outdoor air using the heating coil 52 and the humidifier 53. The second stage of humidification is performed by heating and humidifying the outside air OA using the heating coil 54 and the humidifier 55. Then, the outside air OA is reheated using the heating coil 57. As a result, the supply air SA to be supplied to the clean room 1 is formed. In this embodiment, cold water heated by the cooling coil 28 of the air conditioning unit 26 is used as the hot water supplied to the heating coils 52, 54, and 57. For example, when the temperature of the cold water supplied to the cooling coil 28 is 14°C, the temperature of the cold water heated by the cooling coil 28 becomes 26°C. This makes it possible to sufficiently generate supply air SA under predetermined temperature and humidity conditions (e.g., a temperature range of 23±3°C and a humidity range of 45±15%) from the outside air OA in winter, without using hot water supplied from auxiliary facilities of the semiconductor manufacturing plant.

[0183] However, due to reasons such as the relatively low temperature of the air (cold air CA2) in the upper part of the clean room 1, the temperature of the cold water heated by the cooling coil 28 may be 1 to several degrees Celsius lower than 26°C. In this embodiment, an auxiliary heat exchanger 60 to which hot water is supplied from ancillary equipment of the semiconductor manufacturing factory is provided between the cooling coil 28 and the heating coil 52. For example, the temperature of the hot water supplied from the ancillary equipment of the semiconductor manufacturing factory is 40°C. By exchanging heat in the heat exchanger 60, the temperature of the cold water heated by the cooling coil 28 can be made 26°C.

[0184] Furthermore, when conditioning high-temperature, high-humidity outdoor air OA in the summer, the supply air SA is formed, for example, by cooling the outdoor air OA with the cooling coil 51 and reheating it with the heating coil 57. In this embodiment, cold water heated by the cooling coil 28 of the air conditioning unit 26 is used as the hot water supplied to the heating coil 57. This makes it possible to sufficiently form supply air SA of predetermined temperature and humidity conditions from the outdoor air OA in the summer, without using hot water supplied from ancillary equipment in the semiconductor manufacturing factory.

[0185] As described above, in the air conditioning system of this embodiment, cold water heated by the cooling coil 28 of the air conditioning unit 26 is used as the hot water supplied to the heating coils 52, 54, and 57 of the outdoor air conditioner 48. This makes it possible to sufficiently generate supply air SA with predetermined temperature and humidity conditions from the outside air OA without using hot water supplied from auxiliary facilities in the semiconductor manufacturing factory. This makes it possible to efficiently generate supply air SA with predetermined temperature and humidity conditions from the outside air OA.

[0186] [Variations] In the above-described embodiment, plate-like members such as resin plates are used for the partition plates 20-22, but thin flexible members such as transparent vinyl sheets may also be used. Transparent, flexible, thin members make it easier to see the state of the equipment through the partition plates 20-22. Furthermore, flexibility allows the member to deform when contacted by people or objects, preventing it from interfering with work, etc. When a flexible member is used, it is preferable that the lower end be detachably attached to the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 to suppress loose movement.

[0187] In addition, in the above-described embodiment, an air conditioning system that performs displacement air conditioning is described in which a swirl flow generator that imparts a swirling component to cool air, such as fins 19, is attached to the air outlet 18 of the air intake section 15 of the air conditioning unit 26, but the present invention can also be applied to an air conditioning system that performs displacement air conditioning without attaching a swirl flow generator to the air outlet.

[0188] In the above embodiment, an air conditioning system that performs displacement air conditioning is described in which an air conditioning unit 26 equipped with an air supply section 15 and an air intake section 16 is installed inside the clean room 1, but the form of an air conditioning system that performs displacement air conditioning is not limited to this. For example, the air supply section may generate cold air outside the clean room and supply it to an air supply chamber installed at the bottom of a side wall inside the clean room, whereby the cold air is blown out from the air supply chamber's outlet. Also, the air intake section may be provided with an air intake port at the top of a side wall or on the ceiling inside the clean room, and the air intake port may be provided at the top of the side wall or on the ceiling inside the clean room. The high-temperature air in the clean room may be exhausted to the outside by installing a fan outside the clean room. In the above-described embodiment, the air-conditioning unit 26 is described in which the intake section 16 is equipped with a fan and the supply section 15 is equipped with a cooling coil and a filter, but the configuration of the air-conditioning unit is not limited to this. For example, the air-conditioning unit may be equipped with a fan and a cooling coil in the intake section and a filter in the supply section.

[0189] In the above-described embodiment, the air conditioning system performing displacement air conditioning is described as being applied to a clean room 1 in which multiple semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 are installed. However, the system may also be applied to a clean room 1 in which only one semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 is installed. In this case, a first partition plate may be arranged upright relative to the floor on the front portion of the upper surface of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 in the second area. In addition, second partition plates may be arranged upright relative to the floor next to the side and rear surfaces of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 in the first and second areas. In addition, a third partition plate may be arranged inclined relative to the floor 2 above the front portion of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 in the upper part of the second area. Alternatively, only the third partition plate may be arranged as described above. Furthermore, in addition to the partition plate, a fan may be arranged above the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 in the upper part of the second area.

[0190] In the above-described embodiment, the air conditioning system that performs displacement air conditioning is described as being applied to a clean room 1 in which semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 is installed, but the application is not limited to clean rooms 1 in which semiconductor manufacturing equipment 8 is installed. For example, the system may be applied to clean rooms in which manufacturing equipment for chemicals or the like that requires strict temperature control is installed, or to rooms other than clean rooms. [Explanation of symbols]

[0191] 1. Clean Room 2 beds 3~6 side wall 7. Ceiling 8. Semiconductor manufacturing equipment 9 Loading Port 10 containers 11 Hanging material 12 Ceiling frame 13. Conveying equipment 14 Rail 15 Air intake section of air conditioning unit 15a Front of air intake 16 Air conditioning unit intake 16a Top of intake section 17 Air conditioning unit intake 18 Air conditioning unit outlet 19 Air conditioning unit fins 20 First partition 21 Second partition 22 Third partition 23 Fans 24 Corridor 25 Upper air conditioning unit 25a Side of upper air conditioning unit 25b Underside of upper air conditioning unit 26 Air Conditioning Unit 27 Air conditioning unit fan 28 Cooling coil of air conditioning unit 30 Upper air conditioning unit intake 31 Upper air conditioning unit outlet 33 Cooling coil of upper air conditioning unit 34 Upper air conditioning unit fan 35 Machine room 36 Refrigeration Machine 37 Cooling Tower 39 Condenser 40 Evaporator 43 Air supply chamber 44 Air supply chamber outlet 45 Fins of air intake chamber 47 Duct 48 Outside conditioning machine 51, 56 Cooling coil of outdoor air conditioner 52, 54, 57 Outdoor air conditioner heating coil 53, 55 Humidifier 58 Outdoor air conditioner fan 60 heat exchanger

Claims

1. An air conditioning system that performs displacement air conditioning on a heat generating device installation room in which a heat generating device is installed, a first air conditioner provided on a side of the heat generating device installation room; a second air conditioner provided in an upper portion of the heat generating device installation room; a cooling tower installed outdoors and supplying cooling water to at least the second air conditioner; Equipped with the first air conditioner is an air conditioner that sucks in air from a first air intake port provided in an upper part of the heat generation device installation room, cools the air with cold energy produced by a refrigerator, and blows the air out from a first air outlet provided in a lower part of the heat generation device installation room, The second air conditioner is a second air intake provided at an upper portion of the heat generating device installation chamber; a cooler that cools using the cooling water; a second air outlet that blows the cool air cooled by the cooler to the first air intake; Including air conditioning systems.

2. a partition member disposed in a second region above a first region from the floor to a predetermined height in the space within the heat generating device installation room, the partition member separating an ascending region where high-temperature air ascends from the heat generating device from other regions; The air conditioning system of claim 1 further comprising:

3. a plurality of the first air outlets are arranged vertically and horizontally at a lower portion of the heat generating device installation chamber, a swirl flow generator provided in each of the plurality of first air outlets, which gives a swirl component to the air and blows the air into the heat generating device installation chamber; The air conditioning system according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising:

4. The air conditioning system according to claim 1 , wherein the amount of air blown out from the second air outlet is smaller than the amount of air blown out from the first air outlet.

5. An air conditioning method for performing displacement air conditioning on a heat generating device installation room in which a heat generating device is installed, comprising: a first air conditioner provided on the side of the heat generating device installation room, which cools air drawn in from a first air intake provided in an upper part of the heat generating device installation room using cold energy produced by a refrigerator, and blows the air out from a first air outlet provided in a lower part of the heat generating device installation room; In a second air conditioner provided in the upper part of the heat generating device installation room, air is drawn in through a second air intake provided in the upper part of the heat generating device installation room, cooled in a cooler using cooling water generated in a cooling tower provided outdoors, and then blown out from a second air outlet to the first air intake. Air conditioning method.

6. A room in which a heat generating device is installed and which is equipped with an air conditioning system that performs displacement air conditioning, The air conditioning system includes: a first air conditioner provided on a side of the heat generating device installation room; a second air conditioner provided in an upper portion of the heat generating device installation room; a cooling tower installed outdoors and supplying cooling water to at least the second air conditioner; Equipped with the first air conditioner is an air conditioner that sucks in air from a first air intake port provided in an upper part of the heat generation device installation room, cools the air with cold energy produced by a refrigerator, and blows the air out from a first air outlet provided in a lower part of the heat generation device installation room, The second air conditioner is a second air intake provided at an upper portion of the heat generating device installation chamber; a cooler that cools using the cooling water; a second air outlet that blows the cool air cooled by the cooler to the first air intake; A heating device installation room, including:

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