Fluid Temperature and Flow Rate Adjustment Device

Abstract

To provide a multifunctional and energy-saving fluid temperature / flow rate adjustment device.SOLUTION: A fluid temperature / flow rate adjustment device that supplies fluid 81 which has been heated by heating fluid 8 supplied from fluid storage means 1 to a piping system 9, comprises heating means 2 and a control module 3. The heating means 2 includes: a heating pipe 21 which is connected to the piping system 9, receives the fluid 8 supplied from the fluid storage means 1, and surrounds a heating part 210; a spiral passage 230 in communication with the fluid storage means 1; a heater 22 for producing heated fluid 81 by heating the fluid 8 in the spiral passage 230; and a check valve 25. The control module 3 controls a flow rate of the fluid 8 by outputting a flow rate signal to a flow rate control valve 20 and also controls a temperature of the heater 22 by outputting a temperature signal to the heater 22, thus providing an effect of saving energy by avoiding an unnecessary flow rate and energy consumption.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a heater for heating a fluid, and particularly to a fluid temperature and flow rate adjusting device capable of saving energy.

Background Art

[0002] In the optoelectronic industry or the semiconductor industry, waste gas is generated during the manufacturing process. When discharging the waste gas, the waste gas is sent to a waste gas treatment device via an exhaust pipe system and a vacuum pump. However, when the exhaust pipe system is long, if the waste gas passing through the exhaust pipe system adheres to the exhaust pipe system due to cooling, problems such as narrowing or clogging of the inner diameter of the exhaust path in the exhaust pipe system may occur.

[0003] To avoid such a phenomenon that waste gas adheres to the exhaust pipe system, a countermeasure method is used in which heated gas is introduced into the exhaust pipe system using a gas heating device and mixed with the waste gas to maintain the exhaust pipe system at a certain temperature and avoid solidification due to cooling of the waste gas. For example, as described in Patent Document 1, this conventional gas heating device has a housing, a spiral tube located inside the housing through which gas can pass, and heating means arranged inside the housing for heating the spiral tube. When the heating means performs heating, the gas in the spiral tube is heated by the effects of heat conduction and radiation.

[0004] However, since the fluid flow rate of the fluid heating device is fixed, the fluid flow rate and temperature cannot be adjusted to meet different process requirements, and long-term high temperature and high flow rate more than necessary cause problems of energy and flow rate waste.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a fluid temperature and flow rate adjustment device that is multifunctional and can save energy.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] The fluid temperature and flow rate adjustment device of the present invention supplies the heated fluid to the piping system by heating the fluid provided from the fluid storage means, and includes a heating means and a control module. The heating means is connected to the piping system, receives the fluid provided from the fluid storage means, and has a heating pipe surrounding the heating section, a spiral passage disposed in the heating section such that a first end to which a flow control valve is attached communicates with the fluid storage means, and a second end to which a check valve that allows only the fluid discharged from the first end to be discharged is attached communicates with the piping system, and a heater disposed in the heating section to generate the heated fluid by heating the fluid in the spiral passage. The control module is electrically connected to the flow control valve and the heater, outputs a flow signal to the flow control valve to control the flow rate of the fluid flowing into the spiral passage, and outputs a temperature signal to the heater to control the temperature of the heater.

Advantages of the Invention

[0008] In the present invention, since the control module is connected to the flow control valve and the heater, it can output a flow signal to the flow control valve to control the flow rate of the fluid, and can also output a temperature signal to control the temperature of the heater. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately control the flow rate and temperature of the fluid according to the demands of different manufacturing processes, avoid unnecessary flow rate and energy consumption, and obtain the effect of saving energy.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

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Figure 10

[0010] Hereinafter, each embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the respective drawings.

[0011] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the first embodiment of the fluid temperature and flow rate adjustment device of the present invention is suitable for injecting heated fluid into the piping system 9 by heating the fluid 8 provided by the fluid storage means 1. The piping system 9 is, for example, a system that moves the waste gas 7 generated by the reaction chamber 4 of the semiconductor manufacturing process to the waste gas treatment means 5, but is not limited thereto. The piping system 9 includes a pump 6, a connection passage 90 connecting the pump 6 and the reaction chamber 4, a first passage 91 extending from the side of the pump 6 opposite to the connection passage 90, and a second passage 92 interposed between the first passage 91 and the waste gas treatment means 5. The pump 6 extracts the waste gas 7 from the reaction chamber 4 via the connection passage 90 and sends it to the waste gas treatment means 5 in the direction from the first passage 91 to the second passage 92. The present invention can be applied not only to the semiconductor manufacturing process but also to fields such as optoelectronics and petrochemicals. The fluid temperature and flow rate adjustment device includes a heating means 2 and a control module 3.

[0012] The fluid storage means 1 is used to provide the fluid 8 and includes a fluid storage section 11 for storing the fluid 8 and a fluid supply pipe 12 connected to the fluid storage section 11 and used for supplying the fluid 8.

[0013] The heating means 2 is connected to the piping system 9 and receives the fluid 8 provided from the fluid storage means 1. It also includes a heating pipe 21 surrounding the heating section 210, a spiral passage 230 arranged in the heating section 210 such that the first end 231 to which the flow control valve 20 is attached communicates with the fluid storage means 1, and the second end 232, which is on the opposite side of the first end 231 and to which a check valve 25 that allows only the discharge of the fluid from the first end 231 is attached, communicates with the piping system 9. The heating means 2 further includes a heater 22 arranged in the heating section 210 to generate the heated fluid 81 by heating the fluid 8 in the spiral passage 230. The spiral passage 230 is hollow and surrounded by a spiral tube 23 extending in a spiral shape.

[0014] That is, one end of the spiral tube 23 communicates with the fluid supply pipe 12 as the first end 231, and the other end on the opposite side of this one end is connected to the second passage 92 of the piping system 9 as the second end 232 through the connection pipe 24.

[0015] The heating means 2 further includes the above-mentioned connection pipe 24 extending from the second end 232 of the spiral passage 230, and a temperature sensor 26 that is attached to the connection pipe 24, senses the temperature of the heated gas 81 passing through the connection pipe 24, and outputs a temperature detection signal S3 to the control module 3.

[0016] The flow control valve 20 controls the flow rate of the fluid 8 entering the spiral tube 23 from the fluid supply pipe 12. In this first embodiment, the flow control valve 20 is an electromagnetic regulating valve. However, as the flow control valve 20, other configurations can be adopted as long as the flow rate of the fluid 8 is controlled by an electronic control method. Also, the fluid 8 can be a gas or a liquid.

[0017] As shown in the figure, the heating tube 21 is provided with an outer surrounding layer 211 that surrounds the outside of the spiral tube 23 surrounding the spiral passage 230, and an inner surrounding layer 212 that is interposed between the outer surrounding layer 211 and the spiral tube 23 and surrounds the spiral tube 23. The outer surrounding layer 211 can be made of, for example, zirconia, but it is also possible to use polytetrafluoroethylene or other heat insulating materials. The zirconia material has high heat resistance and does not release toxic substances even when heated, so it is more suitable than polytetrafluoroethylene. The inner surrounding layer 212 is made of a ceramic or metal material with high thermal conductivity, such as aluminum nitride, but is not limited thereto.

[0018] In this first embodiment, the heater 22 is a lamp heater that uses a high-temperature halogen lamp or quartz lamp to generate high heat and realizes the heating effect through heat conduction and heat radiation effects. It should be noted that the heater 22 may be a high-frequency magnetic induction heater or a conventional thermal resistance heater as long as it can heat the spiral tube 23, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0019] The connecting pipe 24 extending from the second end 232 of the spiral passage 230 is connected to the piping system 9 at an acute angle θ. The acute angle θ is greater than 0° and less than 90°.

[0020] In this first embodiment, when the fluid 8 from the fluid supply pipe 12 flows into the spiral passage 230 in the spiral tube 23 via the first end 231, the heater 22 heats the spiral tube 23, causing the fluid 8 in the spiral passage 230 to change into the heated fluid 81. Then, it flows into the second passage 92 of the piping system 9 via the second end 232, mixes with the waste gas 7, and is discharged to the waste gas treatment means 5.

[0021] The control module 3 has a control chip 31 disposed on a circuit board (not shown). As shown in FIG. 2, the control chip 31 electrically connects to the temperature sensor 26, the flow control valve 20, and the heater 22, outputs a flow signal S1 to the flow control valve 20 to control the flow rate of the fluid flowing from the fluid storage means 1 into the spiral passage 230, and outputs a temperature signal S2 to the heater 22 based on the temperature detection signal S3 received from the temperature sensor 26 to control the temperature of the heater 22.

[0022] It should be noted that the fluid temperature and flow rate adjustment device of this first embodiment is installed in the second passage 92 of the piping system 9, that is, between the pump 6 and the waste gas treatment means 5 of the piping system 9, in order to mix the fluid 81 heated by the waste gas 7 generated by the reaction chamber 4 and discharge it to the waste gas treatment means 5. However, the fluid temperature and flow rate adjustment device of the present invention not only supports the discharge of waste gas, but also can be attached in front of the reaction chamber 4 to introduce the heated fluid 81 participating in or assisting the reaction into the reaction chamber 4, as shown in FIG. 3 for example. Therefore, as long as it is an application of introducing the heated fluid 81 into the piping, it should be interpreted as falling within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0023] When this first embodiment is implemented, the flow rate signal S1 from the control module 3 is output to the flow rate control valve 20, thereby controlling the opening degree of the flow rate control valve 20 and adjusting the flow rate of the fluid 8 sent from the fluid supply pipe 12 to the heating means 2. The fluid 8 flows into the spiral passage 230 from the first end 231, is heated and becomes the heated fluid 81, and then enters the piping system 9 from the second end 232, is mixed with the waste gas 7, and then discharged. Since the connecting pipe 24 is obliquely connected to the piping system 9, the heated fluid 81 can enter the piping system 9 in a tangential direction to generate a swirling effect, so that it is uniformly mixed with the waste gas 7 in the first passage 91. During the working period, the control module 3 can adjust the heating degree by the heater 22 based on the received temperature detection signal S3, and the operator can also control the flow rate of the fluid 8 by the control module 3. Therefore, it is possible to adjust the appropriate flow rate of the fluid 8 and the temperature of the heated fluid 81 according to different manufacturing processes, and the effects of suppressing the consumption of flow rate and energy and saving energy can be exerted.

[0024] FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 show a second embodiment of the fluid temperature and flow rate adjusting device of the present invention. As shown in the figures, the heating means 2 in this second embodiment further has a confluence unit 27 at the tip of the connecting pipe 24, which is different from the first embodiment in that the confluence unit 27 is attached between the first passage 91 and the second passage 92 of the piping system 9.

[0025] As shown in FIGS. 4 to 8, both ends of the confluence unit 27 are respectively attached to the first passage 91 and the second passage 92 so as to be interposed between the first passage 91 and the second passage 92 of the piping system 9, and the heated gas 81 from the check valve 25 of the spiral passage 230 is fed into it.

[0026] The confluence unit 27 is connected to the first passage 91 of the piping system 9 at the first connection port 275, and has a mounting pipe portion 271 connected to the second passage 92 at the second connection port 276. A connection opening 277 communicating with the spiral passage 230 is formed, and an outer pipe portion 272 surrounding the mounting pipe portion 271 from the outside to surround an annular flow path 270 between the outer pipe portion 272 and the mounting pipe portion 271. A plurality of injection ports 278 extending from the annular flow path 270 to the inside of the pipe of the mounting pipe portion 271 are formed in the mounting pipe portion 271.

[0027] As shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, each injection port 278 formed in the mounting pipe portion 271 is arranged in the circumferential direction of the cross section of the mounting pipe portion 271, and all the openings on the annular flow path 270 side are located on the upstream side, and the openings on the inner side of the pipe of the mounting pipe portion 271 are located on the downstream side. It has a shape that extends obliquely. Note that the specific configuration in which the injection ports 278 are formed is not limited to that shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, and the number, position, and extension direction of the injection ports 278 can be changed as necessary.

[0028] Furthermore, in this second embodiment, the confluence unit 27 further has a partition pipe portion 274 that partitions the annular flow path 270 into an outer side on the outer pipe portion 272 side and an inner side on the mounting pipe portion 271 side while being interposed between the outer pipe portion 272 and the mounting pipe portion 271, and a communication opening 273 that communicates between the outer side and the inner side is formed.

[0029] As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, when this second embodiment is implemented, the flow rate signal S1 from the control module 3 is output to the flow control valve 20, thereby controlling the opening degree of the flow control valve 20 to adjust the flow rate of the fluid 8 sent from the fluid supply pipe 12 to the heating means 2. The fluid 8 flows into the spiral passage 230 from the first end 231 and is heated to become the heated fluid 81. After that, the heated fluid 81 enters the annular flow path 270 via the connection opening 277 and then flows to the injection port 278 through the communication opening 273. Due to the configuration in which each injection port 278 formed in the attachment pipe portion 271 extends obliquely, when the heated fluid 81 ejects from the partition pipe portion 274 to each injection port 278, the pressure increases, generating a swirling effect, so that it is uniformly mixed with the exhaust gas 7 and discharged.

[0030] It should be noted that in this first embodiment and the second embodiment, the heating pipe 21 is a hollow tubular body extending linearly, and the first end 231 where the fluid 8 enters the spiral tube 23 and the second end 232 where the heated fluid 81 is discharged from the spiral tube 23 are respectively located at both ends of this tubular body. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and the shape of the heating pipe 21 and the arrangement of the inlet / discharge ends of the spiral tube 23 can be adjusted / changed according to the overall positional configuration.

[0031] Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 9, it should be noted that in the present invention, the number of the heating means 2 is not limited to one, and by arranging two or more heating means 2 in the piping system 9, the heated fluid 81 can be injected into the necessary parts of the piping system 9 that are longer than normal, thereby exerting the effect of adjusting the temperature for each part of the piping system 9.

[0032] In addition, when it is not necessary to inject the heated fluid 81 into the piping system 9, by controlling the flow control valve 20 in the control module 3 to stop the injection of the heated fluid 81, the effect of energy saving can be exerted.

[0033] FIG. 10 shows a modified example of the heating means 2 of the above embodiment. As shown in the figure, in this modified example, the heating means 2 is formed in a cup shape that extends along a predetermined axis and has an opening only on one end side in the axial direction (the vertical direction in the figure), and surrounds the spiral tube 23 that surrounds the spiral passage 230 of the heating tube 21 with an outer surrounding layer 211, and is formed in a cup shape that extends along the above axis and has an opening only on one end side in the axial direction, and is interposed between the outer surrounding layer 211 and the spiral tube 23 to surround the spiral tube 23 inside the cup with an inner surrounding layer 212, and an inner lid portion 214 attached to cover the opening of the inner surrounding layer 212, and an outer lid portion 213 attached to cover the opening of the outer surrounding layer 211 while overlapping the outside of the inner lid portion 214. The spiral tube 23 is formed such that the first end portion 231 of the spiral passage 230 is located outside the outer lid portion 213, extends in a spiral shape so as to bend in a spiral shape from the outside of the outer lid portion 213 and the inner lid portion 214 along the axial direction to the back side on the opposite side of one end side of the cup of the inner surrounding layer 212, and then extends in a spiral shape from the back side along the axial direction to the inner lid portion 214, passes through the inner lid portion 214 and the outer lid portion 213, and the second end portion 232 of the spiral passage 230 is located outside the outer lid portion 213.

[0034] Further, the heating means 2 further includes a mounting sleeve 28 that extends along the axial direction, and a first heat insulating member 215 and a second heat insulating member 216 that are arranged to overlap on the opposite side of the inner lid portion 214 and the outer lid portion 213. The spiral tube 23 extends in a spiral shape so as to surround the mounting sleeve 28 inside, and the heater 22 is removably inserted into the mounting sleeve 28. The mounting sleeve 28 can be made of a silicon dioxide material.

[0035] Here, the spaces of the respective parts partitioned by the outer lid portion 213, the inner lid portion 214, the first heat insulating member 215, the second heat insulating member 216, and the heating portion 210 in the heating means 2 are all substantially in a vacuum.

[0036] By forming a double vacuum chamber structure composed of an outer surrounding layer 211, an inner surrounding layer 212, an outer lid portion 213, an inner lid portion 214, a first heat insulating member 215, and a second heat insulating member 216 in the heating portion 210, heat consumption inside the heating pipe 21 can be suppressed and energy can be saved. Further, due to such heat preservation and heat shielding effects, humans will not be burned by contact with the heating pipe 21, so it is safer.

[0037] Furthermore, since the heater 22 is removably inserted into the mounting sleeve 28, it is possible to replace only the heater 22 instead of replacing the entire heating means 2.

[0038] Summarizing the above, the fluid temperature and flow rate adjustment device in the above embodiment of the present invention has the following advantages.

[0039] First, by having an outer surrounding layer 211 made of a zirconia material or a polytetrafluoroethylene material on the heating pipe 21 and an inner surrounding layer 212 made of a ceramic or metal material with high thermal conductivity, the heat received by the heating portion 210 of the heating means 2 becomes uniform, and an effect of avoiding unnecessary energy consumption and saving energy can be obtained.

[0040] Also, since the control module 3 is electrically connected to the flow control valve 20, it is possible to output a flow signal S1 from the control chip 31 to the flow control valve 20 to control the opening degree of the flow control valve 20 and control the flow rate of the fluid 8 entering the piping system 9. At the same time, the control module 3 outputs a temperature signal S2 from the control chip 31 to the heater 22 to control the temperature of the adjustment heater 22 and obtain an effect of avoiding unnecessary energy consumption and saving energy.

[0041] Furthermore, due to the configuration in which each injection port 278 of the attachment pipe portion 271 extends obliquely, the heated fluid 81 is sent from the outer pipe portion 272 to the annular flow path 270, and when it jets out from each injection port 278, a swirling effect is generated, increasing the pressure of the waste gas 7 and the heated fluid 81. Therefore, the flow of the waste gas 7 and the heated fluid 81 into the second passage 92 can be accelerated.

[0042] Moreover, the present invention is not only arranged between the pump 6 and the waste gas treatment means 5 to support the discharge of waste gas generated in the manufacturing process, but also can be arranged in front of the reaction chamber 4 to introduce the heated fluid 81 that participates in or assists the reaction into the reaction chamber 4. Therefore, it can meet the requirements of different manufacturing processes and has high practicality.

[0043] As described above, the embodiments of the present invention have been explained, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist thereof.

Explanation of reference numerals

[0044] 1 Fluid storage means 11 Fluid storage section 12 Fluid supply pipe 2 Heating means 20 Flow control valve 21 Heating pipe 210 Heating section 211 Outer surrounding layer 212 Inner surrounding layer 213 Outer lid portion 214 Inner lid portion 215 First heat insulation member 216 Second heat insulation member 22 Heater 23 Spiral tube 230 Helical passage 231 First end 232 Second end 24 Connecting pipe 25 Check valve 26 Temperature sensor 27 Confluence unit 270 Annular flow path 271 Mounting pipe section 272 Outer pipe section 273 Communication opening 274 Partition pipe section 275 First connection port 276 Second connection port 277 Connection opening 278 Injection port 28 Mounting sleeve 3 Control module 31 Control chip 4 Reaction chamber 5 Waste gas treatment means 6 Pump 7 Waste gas 8 Fluid 81 Heated fluid 9 Pipe system 90 Connection passage 91 First passage 92 Second passage θ Inclination angle S1 Flow rate signal S2 Temperature signal S3 Temperature detection signal

Claims

1. A fluid temperature and flow rate adjustment device that supplies a heated fluid to a piping system by heating the fluid provided from a fluid storage means, comprising a heating means and a control module, The heating means is connected to the piping system and receives the fluid provided from the fluid storage means, and has a heating pipe that surrounds a heating section, a first end to which a flow control valve is attached communicates with the fluid storage means, and a second end to which a check valve that allows only the fluid from the first end to be discharged is attached communicates with the piping system. A spiral passage disposed within the heating section, and a heater disposed within the heating section to generate a heated fluid by heating the fluid within the spiral passage. The control module is electrically connected to the flow control valve and the heater, outputs a flow signal to the flow control valve to control the flow rate of the fluid flowing into the spiral passage, and outputs a temperature signal to the heater to control the temperature of the heater. Furthermore, the spiral passage of the heating means is hollow and is surrounded by a spiral tube extending in a spiral shape. An outer surrounding layer that surrounds the outside of the spiral tube that surrounds the spiral passage is disposed on the heating pipe, and an inner surrounding layer made of aluminum nitride that surrounds the spiral tube is disposed between the outer surrounding layer and the spiral tube. The heating means is formed in a cup shape that extends along a predetermined axis and has an opening only on one end side in the axial direction, and an outer surrounding layer that surrounds the spiral tube that surrounds the spiral passage of the heating pipe inside the cup. An inner surrounding layer that extends along the axis and is formed in a cup shape with an opening only on one end side in the axial direction, and surrounds the spiral tube inside the cup so as to be interposed between the outer surrounding layer and the spiral tube. An inner lid portion attached to cover the opening of the inner surrounding layer. Furthermore, it further has an outer lid portion that is attached to cover the opening of the outer surrounding layer while overlapping the outside of the inner lid portion. The spiral tube is formed such that the first end of the spiral passage is located outside the outer lid portion, extends in a spiral shape toward the back side on the opposite side of the one end side of the cup of the inner surrounding layer along the axial direction after passing through the outer lid portion and the inner lid portion, and then extends in a spiral shape from the back side along the axial direction toward the inner lid portion, passes through the inner lid portion and the outer lid portion, and the second end of the spiral passage is located outside the outer lid portion. A fluid temperature and flow rate adjusting device characterized by this.

2. The heating means further has a mounting sleeve extending along the axial direction, the spiral tube extends in a spiral shape so as to surround the mounting sleeve inside, and the heater is removably inserted into the mounting sleeve. The fluid temperature and flow rate adjusting device according to claim 1, characterized by this.

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