Fan Filter Unit

Abstract

A fan filter unit capable of highly purifying drawn air while suppressing an increase in internal temperature. [Solution] The device comprises a casing (11), a fan (13), a filter (12), and a power supply unit (14) that serves as the power source for the fan (13). Inside the casing (11), an air circulation and heat dissipation path (20) having an adjacent outward path (20a) and return path (20b) is provided, independent of the path that draws in external air and purifies it using the filter (12), so as to face the inner surface of the outer wall of the casing (11), and the power supply unit (14) is arranged in the air circulation and heat dissipation path (20).

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a fan filter unit. [Background technology]

[0002] Clean rooms and clean booths are used in the manufacturing processes of precision electronic devices, food, medical products, etc., which require a clean environment. In clean rooms and clean booths, fan filter units are used to supply purified air into the room to create a clean environment inside.

[0003] When manufacturing precision electronic devices such as semiconductor devices and liquid crystal displays, the various processes for manufacturing, assembling, inspecting, etc., semiconductor elements, liquid crystal elements, etc., involve handling various elements with fine structures, and so the concentrations of dust, chemicals, etc. in the atmosphere must be reduced. For this reason, many of the above processes are generally carried out in clean rooms, that is, in sealed spaces supplied with purified air by fan filter units (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0004] Furthermore, in order to further increase the degree of cleanliness of the atmospheric air within the clean room, a clean bench equipped with a fan filter unit is installed within the clean room and semiconductors are manufactured within this clean bench, or fan filter units are provided directly on the outer wall surfaces of semiconductor manufacturing equipment installed within the clean room and semiconductors are manufactured within these devices. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 2-17220 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] The fan filter unit is equipped with a power supply section that serves as the power source for the fan. This power supply section has a control section that is made up of a power supply board, a control board, etc., but as the fan is driven, heat is generated from this control section, and the electronic components that make up the control section may deteriorate due to heat, which may cause the operation of the fan to become unstable or the product life to be shortened.

[0007] In such cases, a method is adopted in which an open area made of mesh or the like is provided adjacent to the control unit on the outer surface of the casing that houses the fan, and cooling is performed by dissipating heat through natural convection. However, because the fan filter unit has an airflow that draws in air from an air intake and expels the air that has been purified by a filter into the internal space of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment, etc., it is difficult to release the air heated inside the fan filter unit to the outside from the open area by natural convection.

[0008] One possible solution is to provide a separate cooling fan adjacent to the open portion and forcibly dissipate heat from the open portion to the outside of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment. However, this would cause fine particles and impurity gases generated from control units such as the board that constitutes the power supply unit to easily diffuse into the internal space of the clean room, affecting other processes carried out in the internal space of the clean room.

[0009] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and aims to provide a fan filter unit that can highly purify the drawn-in air while suppressing an increase in internal temperature by cooling the power supply unit. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] In order to achieve the above object, the fan filter unit of the present invention comprises: A casing; A fan provided inside the casing; a flat filter provided inside the casing for purifying the air drawn in by the fan by passing the air from one surface to the other surface; A fan filter unit including a power supply unit provided inside the casing and serving as a power source for the fan, an air circulation and heat dissipation path having an outward path and an inward path arranged adjacent to each other is provided inside the casing so as to face an inner surface of an outer wall of the casing, the air circulation and heat dissipation path being independent of the path for sucking in the air and cleaning it by the filter; The power supply unit is disposed in the air circulation heat dissipation path.

[0011] In the present invention, an air circulation and heat dissipation path is provided inside the casing so as to face the inner surface of the outer wall of the casing, and a power supply unit is provided in the air circulation and heat dissipation path, so that air heated by heat generated in the power supply unit dissipates heat while flowing from the outward path to the return path of the air circulation and heat dissipation path, and this heat-dissipated air returns to the power supply unit to cool it. Therefore, by circulating and cooling the internal air along the air circulation and heat dissipation path, it is possible to highly purify the intake air while cooling the power supply unit and suppressing an increase in the internal temperature. Furthermore, since the air circulation and heat dissipation path has an outward path and a return path disposed adjacent to each other, the air circulation and heat dissipation path can be formed compactly, and therefore the air circulation and heat dissipation path can be easily provided within the casing.

[0012] In the above-mentioned configuration of the present invention, the power supply unit is disposed at a connection between the downstream portion of the return path and the upstream portion of the forward path, A heat exhaust fan may be provided at the connection portion and downstream of the power supply portion to exhaust air heated by heat generated in the power supply portion to the outward path.

[0013] With this configuration, the air heated by the heat generated in the power supply unit is exhausted in the forward direction by the heat exhaust fan, so that the heated air can be sent into the air circulation heat dissipation path at an increased flow rate, and the dissipated air can be quickly returned to the power supply unit to cool it.

[0014] In the above-described configuration of the present invention, the casing may be formed in a rectangular box shape, and the air circulation heat dissipation path may extend along a long side of the casing.

[0015] With this configuration, the air circulation and heat dissipation path extends along the long side of the casing, so that the air circulation and heat dissipation path can be made sufficiently long, and therefore the air heated by the generated heat can be dissipated through the air circulation and heat dissipation path, thereby effectively cooling the power supply unit. Effect of the Invention

[0016] According to the present invention, it is possible to highly purify the drawn-in air while cooling the power supply unit and suppressing an increase in the internal temperature. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a fan filter unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of the inside of the fan filter unit of the first embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a front view showing a schematic internal configuration of the fan filter unit according to the first embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0018] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of a fan filter unit according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a fan filter unit of the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a schematic internal configuration of the fan filter unit of the present embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a front view showing a schematic internal configuration of the fan filter unit of the present embodiment.

[0019] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a fan filter unit 10 of this embodiment includes a casing 11, a filter 12 provided inside the casing 11, a fan 13, and a power supply unit 14. The casing 11 is formed in a rectangular box shape with its long sides extending in the up-down direction and its short sides extending in the left-right direction. The casing 11 is made of metal such as iron or aluminum.

[0020] The inside of the casing 11 is divided into three rooms 11a, 11b, and 11c, with the room 11b located directly below the room 11a and the room 11c located to the left of the rooms 11a and 11b. A partition wall 15 is provided horizontally between the rooms 11a and 11b, and a partition wall 16 is provided vertically between the rooms 11a, 11b, and 11c. A rectangular opening 15a is formed in the partition wall 15, which connects the room 11a to the room 11b. In addition, the chambers 11a and 11b are disposed on the right side and the chamber 11c is disposed on the left side in the front view of the casing 11. The chamber 11c is disposed to extend vertically from the top wall 11d of the casing 11 to the bottom wall 11e.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 1, a rectangular blow-out plate 17 and a suction plate 18 made of punched metal, wire mesh, or the like are removably attached to the front of the casing 11, and the blow-out plate 17 and the suction plate 18 close the rectangular opening on the front of the casing 11 to allow air to flow.

[0022] The blow-out plate 17 is disposed on the front side of the room 11a, and the suction plate 18 is disposed on the front side of the room 11b. The blow-out plate 17 and the suction plate 18 have a large number of through-holes, through which air can circulate between the inside and outside of the casing 11. The blow-out plate 17 constitutes a blow-out port, and blows out purified air to the outside. The suction plate 18 constitutes a suction port, and draws outside air into the casing 11.

[0023] Such a fan filter unit 10 is provided on the outer wall surface of a semiconductor manufacturing equipment installed in, for example, a clean room, with the blowing plate 17 and the suction plate 18 facing toward the inside of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and semiconductors are manufactured inside the equipment.

[0024] The filter 12 is composed of a high-performance filter (e.g., a HEPA filter) formed in a rectangular plate shape, and two of them are arranged in the room 11a spaced apart from each other, one above the other. The filters 12, 12 purify the air by passing the air that has flowed into the room 11a from the room 11b through the opening 15a from one surface (rear surface) 12a to the other surface (front surface) 12b, removing foreign matter contained in the air. For this reason, although not shown in the drawings, a partition wall is provided in the chamber 11a of the casing 11 at a predetermined distance from the rear wall of the casing 11 to the front side, and filters 12, 12 are attached to this partition wall. Air in the chamber 11b sucked in from the outside flows into the gap between the rear wall of the casing 11 and the partition wall through the opening 15a, passes through the filters 12, 12 from the rear side to the front side, and in the process, foreign matter contained in the air is captured and removed, and then blown out from the blowing plate 17 to the outside as clean air.

[0025] The fan 13 is disposed in the room 11b and rotates about its axis to draw in external air from outside the casing 11 through the suction plate 18 into the room 11b, and then blows the air out through the opening 15a in the partition wall 15 into the room 11a. As described above, the air blown into room 11a passes through filters 12, 12 from the back to the front, whereby foreign matter is removed, and the clean air from which the foreign matter has been removed is blown out from the front of filters 12, 12 and then blown out to the outside through the blowing plate 17.

[0026] The power supply unit 14 is a power source for the fan 13 and is disposed at the bottom end of the room 11c. The fan 13 includes a motor that rotates the fan 13, and the power supply unit 14 supplies current to the motor. The power supply unit 14 includes a DC power source, a control circuit, and electronic components that constitute the control circuit, and the control circuit controls the current supplied to the motor, thereby changing the rotation speed of the fan. Note that the power supply unit 14 may be provided with an AC power source instead of a DC power source. In addition, a blocking plate 19 is removably attached to the front side of the lower end of the chamber 11c on the front side of the casing 11. By removing this blocking plate 19, the power supply unit 14 can be replaced, and by attaching it, the chamber 11c can be sealed.

[0027] An air circulation heat dissipation path 20 is provided inside the casing 11. This air circulation heat dissipation path 20 is provided in the room 11c, independent of the path that draws in outside air and purifies it with the filters 12, 12. In other words, the room 11c is separated from the rooms 11a and 11b by a partition wall 16, and is independent, and the air circulation heat dissipation path 20 is provided in this independent room 11c. Also, a path that draws in outside air and purifies it with the filters 12, 12 is provided in the rooms 11a and 11b.

[0028] Moreover, the air circulation heat dissipation path 20 is provided so as to face the inner surface of the outer wall of the casing 11. That is, first, the room 11c is defined by a front wall 11f on the front side of the casing 11 facing the room 11c, a side wall 11g of the casing 11, a top wall 11d of the casing 11, a bottom wall 11e of the casing 11, a rear wall 11h of the casing 11, and the partition wall 16. The air circulation heat dissipation path 20 has an outward path 20a and a return path 20b arranged adjacent to each other. A partition wall 21 extends vertically in the approximate center of the room 11c in the left-right direction and is arranged in the center between the partition wall 16 and the side wall 11g and parallel to the partition wall 16 and the side wall 11g. The air circulation heat dissipation path 20 is provided so as to face the inner surface of the front wall 11f of the casing 11, the inner surface of the rear wall 11h of the casing 11, the inner surface of the side wall 11g of the casing 11, and the inner surface of the bottom wall 11e of the casing 11. Moreover, the air circulation heat dissipation path 20 extends along the long side direction of the casing 11 (the vertical direction in FIGS. 1 to 3).

[0029] Further, the lower end of the partition wall 21 is connected to the edge of an air passing wall 22 provided at a right angle to the partition wall 16. Although not shown, the air passing wall 22 is provided with air circulation parts formed of a large number of through holes, slits, or the like. Therefore, the air passing wall 22 allows air to pass through the air circulation parts.

[0030] A power supply unit 14 is disposed at a connection portion S3 between a downstream portion S2 of the return path 20b and an upstream portion S1 of the outward path 20a of the air circulation heat dissipation path 20. The outward path 20a extends upward from the upstream portion S1 to the upper end of the partition wall 21. The return passage 20b is connected to the outward passage 20a at the upper end side of the partition wall 21 and extends downward. The air passing wall 22 is provided in the upstream portion S1 of the outward passage 20a.

[0031] Further, a heat exhaust fan 25 that exhausts air heated by heat generated in the power supply unit 14 to the outward path 20a is provided at the connection portion S3 and downstream of the power supply unit 14, and this heat exhaust fan 25 is fixed to the lower surface of the air passage wall 22. The heat exhaust fan 25 has a motor, and a current is supplied to this motor from the power supply unit 14. When the heat exhaust fan 25 is rotated by the motor, air circulates in a counterclockwise direction in the air circulation heat dissipation path 20 when viewed from the front.

[0032] In the fan filter unit 10 of this embodiment, as the fan 13 rotates (drives), outside air is sucked into the room 11b through the suction plate 18. The sucked air from the room 11b flows into the space between the rear wall of the casing 11 and the partition wall through the opening 15a of the partition wall 15, passes through the filters 12, 12 from the rear surface of the filters 12, 12 to the front surface, and in the process, foreign matter contained in the air is captured and removed, and the air is then blown out from the blow-out plate 17 to the outside as purified air.

[0033] In this case, conventionally, when fan 13 is driven, heat is generated from the control circuit of power supply unit 14, etc., and the electronic components that make up the control circuit are thermally deteriorated, which can cause the operation of fan 13 to become unstable or shorten the product lifespan. In contrast, in the fan filter unit 10 of this embodiment, an air circulation heat dissipation path 20 is provided inside the casing 11 so as to face the inner surface of the outer wall of the casing 11, and the power supply unit 14 is arranged in the air circulation heat dissipation path 20, so that air heated by heat generated in the power supply unit 14 dissipates heat while flowing from the outward path 20a to the return path 20b of the air circulation heat dissipation path 20, and this air from which heat has been dissipated returns to the power supply unit 14 to cool it. Therefore, by circulating and cooling the internal air along the air circulation heat dissipation path 20, the power supply unit 14 can be cooled, suppressing an increase in the internal temperature, while highly purifying the intake air.

[0034] In addition, since the air circulation heat dissipation path 20 has the outward path 20a and the return path 20b arranged adjacent to each other, the air circulation heat dissipation path 20 can be formed compactly, and therefore the air circulation heat dissipation path 20 can be easily provided within the casing 11.

[0035] In addition, the power supply unit 14 is disposed at the connection point S3 between the downstream section S2 of the return path 20b of the air circulation heat dissipation path 20 and the upstream section S1 of the outward path 20a, and a heat exhaust fan 25 is provided at the connection point S3 and downstream of the power supply unit 14 to exhaust air heated by heat generated in the power supply unit 14 to the outward path 20a. Therefore, the air heated by heat generated in the power supply unit 14 is exhausted to the outward path by the heat exhaust fan 25, so that the heated air can be sent to the air circulation heat dissipation path 20 at an increased flow rate, and the heat-dissipated air can be quickly returned to the power supply unit 14 to cool the power supply unit 14.

[0036] Furthermore, since the air circulation and heat dissipation path 20 extends along the long side direction of the casing 11, it is possible to ensure a sufficiently long air circulation and heat dissipation path 20. Therefore, air heated by the generated heat can be dissipated through the air circulation and heat dissipation path 20, and the power supply unit can be effectively cooled. [Explanation of symbols]

[0037] 10 Fan filter unit 11 Casing 12 Filters 13 Fan 14 Power supply section 20 Air circulation and heat dissipation path 20a Outbound 20b Return 25 Exhaust fan S1 Upstream of outbound trip S2 Downstream of the return trip S3 Connection

Claims

1. A casing; A fan provided inside the casing; a flat filter provided inside the casing for purifying the air drawn in by the fan by passing the air from one surface to the other surface; A fan filter unit including a power supply unit provided inside the casing and serving as a power source for the fan, The casing includes a partition wall that divides the inside of the casing into two spaces, A passage for cleaning the sucked air by the filter is provided in one space within the casing, An air circulation heat dissipation path is provided in the other space within the casing so as to face the inner surface of the outer wall of the casing, The air circulation heat dissipation path is provided such that an outward path and a return path are adjacent to each other via a partition wall, The fan filter unit is characterized in that the power supply unit is disposed in the air circulation heat dissipation path.

2. the power supply unit is disposed at a connection between a downstream portion of the return path and an upstream portion of the outward path, The fan filter unit according to claim 1, characterized in that a heat exhaust fan is provided at the connection portion and downstream of the power supply portion to exhaust air heated by heat generated in the power supply portion into the outward path.

3. The casing is formed in a rectangular box shape, 3. The fan filter unit according to claim 1, wherein the air circulation and heat dissipation path extends along a long side of the casing.

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