Humidity control equipment using treatment fan that performs dehumidification and regeneration

Abstract

Humidity control equipment using a treatment fan that performs dehumidification and regeneration performs humidity control for a clean room or equipment in the clean room. The humidity control equipment comprises: a treatment fan that introduces treatment air; a desiccant rotor that adsorbs moisture of first air, which is a part of the treatment air introduced by the treatment fan through an adsorbent, and supplies dehumidified air to a transfer chamber; and a regeneration heater that generates regenerated air by heating second air, which is the remainder of the treatment air introduced by the treatment fan, and allows the regenerated air to remove moisture adsorbed by the adsorbent.

Description

Humidity control equipment using a processing fan that performs dehumidification and regeneration

[0001] The present invention relates to a humidity control device using a processing fan that performs dehumidification and regeneration, and more specifically, to a humidity control device using a processing fan that performs dehumidification and regeneration, in which a single processing fan supplies both air to be dehumidified by a desiccant rotor and air to be used for regeneration of the desiccant rotor.

[0002] Typically, cluster equipment in semiconductor processes uses various chemical gases during the process, and at this time, gases and vapors remain on the wafers after the process is completed inside the chamber.

[0003] Therefore, when unloading, if the gas or fume remaining in the FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod: semiconductor process storage container) reacts with moisture, particles or defects may occur on the wafer.

[0004] The environmental conditions inside the existing EFEM (Equipment Front End Module) are such that the air inside the FAB is supplied through the FFU (Fan Filter Unit) without humidity control, so the humidity in the air and the residual gas on the wafer can easily react, easily creating particles or defects. In addition, since the process time usually takes about an hour in certain processes, the wafer waits inside the FFU for a long time, so the residual gas on the wafer reacts with the non-humidified air inside the EFEM, creating problems such as particle generation and a decrease in yield.

[0005] Considering these points, recently, dehumidifying equipment equipped with a desiccant rotor has been used to dehumidify air and then supply the dehumidified air to the return room of the EFEM (see Korean Patent Application No. 10-2022-0040397).

[0006] However, since these dehumidifying equipments include a dehumidifying fan that introduces air into the desiccant rotor (dehumidifying area) and a regeneration fan that directs regeneration air toward the desiccant rotor (regeneration area), the size of the dehumidifying equipments increases, which limits the installation space.

[0007] In addition, there is a problem that a lot of energy is consumed in the process of heating air in a regeneration heater to generate regeneration air having a relatively high temperature to be used for regeneration of the desiccant rotor.

[0008] To solve these problems, there is a growing need for a humidity control device that uses a processing fan that performs dehumidification and regeneration, which can supply dehumidified air and regeneration air to a desiccant rotor with a single fan and recycles waste heat from the regeneration air that has undergone regeneration in the process of generating regeneration air, thereby saving energy.

[0009] The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a humidity control device using a processing fan that performs dehumidification and regeneration, in which a single processing fan supplies both air to be dehumidified by a desiccant rotor and air to be used for regeneration of the desiccant rotor, and recycles the regeneration air that has undergone regeneration to heat the air to be used for regeneration, thereby saving energy.

[0010] The problems to be solved by the present invention are not limited to the problems mentioned above, and other problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description below.

[0011] According to one embodiment of the present invention for solving the above problem, a humidity control device using a processing fan that performs dehumidification and regeneration is a humidity control device that performs humidity control for a clean room or equipment within the clean room, and the humidity control device includes a processing fan that introduces processing air, a desiccant rotor that adsorbs moisture in first air, which is a part of the processing air introduced by the processing fan, through an adsorbent and supplies dehumidified air to a return room, and a regeneration heater that heats second air, which is the remainder of the processing air introduced by the processing fan, to generate regeneration air and causes the regeneration air to remove moisture adsorbed by the adsorbent.

[0012] According to the present invention, a humidity control device can be provided that can supply dehumidified air and regeneration air to a desiccant rotor with a single fan, thereby reducing the size of the dehumidification device.

[0013] Additionally, a humidity control device can be provided that saves energy by recycling the regeneration air that has undergone regeneration and heating the air to be used for regeneration.

[0014] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a humidity control device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0015] Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of Figure 1.

[0016] Figure 3 is a drawing showing a regeneration heater combined with desiccant equipment.

[0017] Figure 4 is a drawing showing how air to be dehumidified and regeneration air are supplied to the desiccant equipment through a single fan.

[0018] Figure 5 is a drawing showing a plurality of desiccant rotors driven by one drive motor.

[0019] Figures 6 and 7 are drawings showing the desiccant rotor being drawn into or drawn out of the humidity control equipment while sliding in a drawer-like manner.

[0020] Figure 8 is a drawing showing an airflow equalization plate installed at the bottom of the humidity control equipment.

[0021] FIG. 9 is a drawing showing a state in which heat exchange is performed between air to be used for regeneration and air that has undergone regeneration through a heat exchanger in a humidity control device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0022] FIG. 10 is a drawing showing a humidity control device according to another embodiment of the present invention in which a desiccant dehumidifying rotor and a VOC rotor are combined to simultaneously perform air dehumidification and VOC filtering.

[0023] According to one embodiment of the present invention for solving the above problem, a humidity control device using a processing fan that performs dehumidification and regeneration is a humidity control device that performs humidity control for a clean room or equipment within the clean room, and the humidity control device includes a processing fan that introduces processing air, a desiccant rotor that adsorbs moisture in first air, which is a part of the processing air introduced by the processing fan, through an adsorbent and supplies dehumidified air to a return room, and a regeneration heater that heats second air, which is the remainder of the processing air introduced by the processing fan, to generate regeneration air and causes the regeneration air to remove moisture adsorbed by the adsorbent.

[0024] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but may be implemented in various different forms. These embodiments are provided only to ensure that the disclosure of the present invention is complete and to fully inform a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains of the scope of the invention.

[0025] In this specification, the singular includes the plural unless the context specifically dictates otherwise. As used herein, the terms "comprises" and / or "comprising" do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other components, steps, or operations.

[0026] Referring to FIGS. 1 to 8, a humidity control device using a processing fan that performs dehumidification and regeneration according to one embodiment of the present invention is described.

[0027] Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a humidity control device according to one embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a drawing showing a desiccant device with a regenerative heater combined therewith. Fig. 4 is a drawing showing air to be dehumidified and regenerative air being supplied to the desiccant device through a single fan. Fig. 5 is a drawing showing a plurality of desiccant rotors being driven by a single drive motor.

[0028] Figures 6 and 7 are drawings showing the desiccant rotor being drawn into or drawn out of the humidity control equipment while sliding in a drawer-like manner. Figure 8 is a drawing showing an airflow equalization plate installed at the bottom of the humidity control equipment.

[0029] Referring to FIGS. 1 to 8, a humidity control device (10) using a processing fan that performs dehumidification and regeneration according to one embodiment of the present invention is a humidity control device that performs humidity control for a clean room or equipment within a clean room.

[0030] That is, the humidity control equipment (10) of the present invention can perform humidity control for a clean room, and can also perform humidity control for various equipment installed in the clean room.

[0031] For example, the humidity control equipment (10) of the present invention can be installed in a clean room or facility to replace an existing FFU (Fan Filter Unit) and simultaneously perform humidity control and filtering functions for the clean room or facility.

[0032] Hereinafter, to help understand the present invention, the humidity control equipment (10) of the present invention will be described focusing on controlling humidity in an EFEM (Equipment Front End Module) among the facilities in a clean room.

[0033] Humidity control equipment (10) using a processing fan performing dehumidification and regeneration according to one embodiment of the present invention may be humidity control equipment applied to an EFEM including a return room, which is a space where a processing object is returned to a process module.

[0034] First, EFEM is a standard interface module of process equipment that supplies workpieces, such as wafers or masks, within a cassette in a semiconductor line to the process module.

[0035] Such an EFEM may include a transfer room, which is a space where objects to be processed, such as wafers or masks, are transferred to a process module, a transfer unit (ATM Robot) equipped with a robot gripper to transfer objects to be processed, such as wafers or masks, in a cassette to the process module, an aligner to align objects to be processed, such as wafers, in a certain direction when transferred to the process module, a fan filter unit to purify the air in the transfer room to prevent contamination of the objects to be processed, a front-opening unified pod (FOUP) to accommodate objects to be transferred to the process module, and a load port (Load Port) disposed on the lower side of the FOUP to support the FOUP.

[0036] The humidity control equipment (10) applied to the EFEM is detachable from the EFEM, particularly from the upper part of the EFEM, and can be mounted on the EFEM to control the humidity in the return room.

[0037] In addition, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 7, the humidity control device (10) may have a layered structure, and each component may be installed in each set layer. Hereinafter, each component of the humidity control device (10) will be examined.

[0038] A humidity control device (10) according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a housing (20), a processing fan (30), a desiccant device (90), a regenerative heater (50), a cooling low-humidity medium supply device (80), an airflow equalization plate (60), and a filter unit (70).

[0039] The housing (20) can form the exterior of the humidity control device (10), and the interior can have a layered structure, and each of the components described below can be arranged in each layer.

[0040] Additionally, each component placed within the housing (20) may be removable, thereby facilitating maintenance and replacement of each component.

[0041] If each component is detachable, each component can insert and withdraw the housing (20) through a storage plate or sliding rail, etc., which will be described later.

[0042] Alternatively, the housing (20) may be formed with a cover such as a car bonnet, and each component may be inserted and withdrawn after opening the cover.

[0043] In this case, a plurality of covers can be formed in the housing (20), and when a cover assigned to each configuration among the plurality of covers is opened, the corresponding configuration is exposed and can be inserted and withdrawn.

[0044] The processing fan (30) is a fan that introduces processing air (P) that performs humidity control in the return room.

[0045] As shown in FIG. 4, the processing fan (30) can send the first air (P1), which is a part of the introduced processing air (P), to the desiccant rotor (40) described later to perform dehumidification, and can cause the dehumidified air (D) exiting the desiccant rotor (40) to be introduced into the return room.

[0046] At the same time, the processing fan (30) can send the second air (P2), which is the remainder of the processing air (P), to the regeneration heater (50) described later to be used for regeneration of the desiccant rotor (40).

[0047] That is, in the case of the present invention, a single processing fan (30) can supply both air to become dehumidified air (D) and air to become regenerated air (R).

[0048] In the conventional case, there were separate dehumidifying fans that supplied air to the desiccant rotor for dehumidification and regeneration fans that supplied air to the regeneration heater for regeneration of the desiccant rotor.

[0049] In this case, multiple fans are used for desiccant dehumidification, which increases the size of the dehumidification device, making production and management difficult and increasing the constraints on installation space.

[0050] On the other hand, in the case of the present invention, since the desiccant dehumidification process can be performed with one processing fan (30), the desiccant dehumidification device can be miniaturized, so that there may be no restrictions on installation space.

[0051] In particular, the space where semiconductor manufacturing processes are performed is cramped due to various process facilities, making it difficult to transport and install conventional dehumidifying equipment. However, the present invention can solve this problem by reducing the size of the dehumidifying device.

[0052] In addition, as described above, the humidity control device (10) may have a layered structure, in which case the processing fan (30) may be placed on the upper layer of the humidity control device (10) to introduce outside air into the interior of the humidity control device (10).

[0053] In addition, as shown in FIG. 7, the processing fan (30) can be stored in a drawer-type manner in the humidity control equipment (10) through the fan storage plate (33).

[0054] Since the processing fan (30) can be stored in a drawer-type manner, the processing fan (30) can be removed in a sliding manner to take action when inspecting, maintaining, or replacing the processing fan (30), which makes management convenient.

[0055] Alternatively, instead of drawer-type storage, the housing (20) may be formed with a cover, and the cover may be opened to allow the processing fan (30) to be introduced and withdrawn.

[0056] Meanwhile, the treatment air (P) introduced by the treatment fan (30) may be outside air, inside air of the return room, or a mixture of outside air and inside air, and the treatment fan (30) may introduce these airs according to the operating situation.

[0057] Desiccant equipment (90) is equipment that controls humidity in the return room of EFEM using desiccant.

[0058] In this regard, various chemical gases are used in the semiconductor process, and at this time, gases and vapors may remain on the wafers that have completed the process inside the return room.

[0059] That is, problems such as reduced yield may occur, such as the generation of particles by the reaction between residual gas on the wafer and the non-humidified air inside the EFEM.

[0060] To solve these problems, it is necessary to control the humidity in the return room, and in the case of the present invention, a desiccant device (90) can be used to control the humidity.

[0061] Such desiccant equipment (90) may include a desiccant rotor (40), a front cassette (100), a rear cassette (110), and a duct connection (120).

[0062] The desiccant rotor (40) is a dehumidifying rotor that removes moisture from the first air (P1), which is a part of the process air (P) introduced and provided by the process fan (30), so that the dehumidified air (D) is supplied to the return room.

[0063] For this purpose, the desiccant rotor (40) may include an adsorbent, and as the first air (P1) passes through the desiccant rotor (40), moisture contained in the first air (P1) is adsorbed to the adsorbent, so that the first air (P1) may become dehumidified air (D).

[0064] This adsorption phenomenon is caused by a force greater than the attractive force that occurs between molecules during condensation, which acts on the surface of the adsorbent, generating heat greater than the heat of condensation. This is called the heat of adsorption, and is approximately 1.5 to 2 times the heat of condensation.

[0065] Therefore, the dehumidified air (D) exiting the desiccant rotor (40) can be heated by the heat of adsorption and have a relatively high temperature.

[0066] Meanwhile, adsorbents include, but are not limited to, silica gel or zeolite.

[0067] In addition, the desiccant rotor (40) can be rotated by a driving motor (55, 130), and by this rotation, the adsorption portion of the desiccant rotor (40) that has adsorbed moisture in the first air (P1) can move from the dehumidification zone to the regeneration zone, where the moisture can be removed by the regeneration air, and the adsorption portion that has been regenerated through the rotation can move to the dehumidification zone again.

[0068] The front cassette (100) is a rotor cover located in front of the desiccant rotor (40), and is a rotor cover in which one or more air inlet spaces (107) are formed by a partition wall (105).

[0069] That is, among one or more air inlet spaces (107), first air (P1) may be introduced into some air inlet spaces (107), and regeneration air (R), which is heated second air (P2), may be introduced into other air inlet spaces (107).

[0070] The rear cassette (110) is a rotor cover located at the rear of the desiccant rotor (40), and is a rotor cover in which one or more air outlet spaces are formed by a partition wall.

[0071] That is, the front cassette (100) and the rear cassette (110) are spaced apart, and a desiccant rotor (40) can be positioned between them.

[0072] Meanwhile, the desiccant equipment (90) and the regeneration heater (50) may be separated or combined, and when the desiccant equipment (90) and the regeneration heater (50) are combined, a duct connection port (120) may be used.

[0073] The duct connection (120) can be connected to one or more of the aforementioned air inlet spaces (107) and is a connector that allows the regenerative heater (50) to be integrated with the front cassette (100).

[0074] That is, one side of the duct connection (120) can be connected to the regenerative heater (50), and the other side can be connected to the air inlet space (107), so that the regenerative heater (50) can be coupled to the desiccant equipment (90) through the duct connection (120).

[0075] Looking at the way in which these regenerative heaters (50) and duct connectors (120) are combined, in one form, a single duct connector and a single regenerative heater can be used.

[0076] Specifically, a single duct connection may be connected to one or more of the aforementioned air inlet spaces (107), and a single regenerative heater may be connected to this duct connection.

[0077] Under these conditions, the aforementioned second air (P2) can be introduced into the regeneration heater, heated, and then directed to the desiccant rotor (40) through the duct connection.

[0078] In another form, multiple duct connections and multiple regenerative heaters may be used.

[0079] In particular, we will look at the case where two duct connections and two regenerative heaters are used.

[0080] Specifically, the duct connector may include a first duct connector and a second duct connector, the first duct connector may be connected to one or more of the air intake spaces described above, and the second duct connector may be connected to one or more of the air intake spaces that are not connected to the first duct connector.

[0081] Additionally, the regenerative heater may include a first regenerative heater and a second regenerative heater, and the first regenerative heater may be connected to the first duct connection port and integral with the front cassette (100), and the second regenerative heater may be connected to the second duct connection port and integral with the front cassette (100).

[0082] Under these conditions, the aforementioned second air (P2) is divided and introduced into the first regenerative heater and the second regenerative heater, respectively, and after being heated, can be directed to the desiccant rotor (40) through the first duct connection port and the second duct connection port.

[0083] In this case, there may be a difference in the degree to which the first regenerative heater and the second regenerative heater heat the air, and accordingly, the temperature of the air heated by the first regenerative heater and the temperature of the air heated by the second regenerative heater may be different.

[0084] Therefore, the temperature of the air heated in the regenerative heater and passing through the desiccant rotor can be dualized.

[0085] Meanwhile, the humidity control equipment (10) may include a plurality of desiccant rotors (40, 45), and the plurality of desiccant rotors (40, 45) may be driven by a single drive motor (130).

[0086] Specifically, the humidity control device (10) may include a desiccant rotor (40) and a desiccant rotor group including one or more desiccant rotors (45) positioned parallel to the desiccant rotor (40).

[0087] Additionally, the humidity control device (10) may further include a rotor drive structure that rotates a plurality of desiccant rotors (40, 45) within a desiccant rotor group together.

[0088] This rotor drive structure may include a drive motor (130) and a power transmission structure that transmits the power of the drive motor (130) to each of a plurality of desiccant rotors (40, 45).

[0089] In one form, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the power transmission structure may include a drive motor (130), a pulley (135) connected to the rotational axis of the drive motor (130), a rotating body (150) such as a belt or chain that rotates while wrapping the pulley (135) and a plurality of desiccant rotors (40, 45), and a roller (140, 145) positioned between the pulley (135) and the desiccant rotors (40, 45) and in contact with the rotating body (150).

[0090] Under this configuration, the drive motor (130) can rotate the pulley (135), and as the rotor (150) surrounding the pulley (135) rotates, a plurality of desiccant rotors (40, 45) wound around the rotor (150) can be rotated together.

[0091] In another form, the power transmission structure may include a drive motor, a first pulley connected to a rotational axis of the drive motor, a plurality of second pulleys connected to respective rotational axes of a plurality of desiccant rotors, and a rotating body surrounding the first pulley and the plurality of second pulleys.

[0092] Under this configuration, the drive motor can rotate the first pulley, and as the rotor surrounding the first pulley rotates, a plurality of second pulleys wound around the rotor can rotate, and as a result, a plurality of desiccant rotors can rotate together.

[0093] Meanwhile, as mentioned above, there may be a power transmission structure that allows multiple desiccant rotors to rotate individually instead of together.

[0094] Such a power transmission structure may include a drive motor, a plurality of pulleys connected to a rotational axis of the drive motor, and a plurality of rotors rotating around one of the plurality of pulleys and one of the plurality of desiccant rotors.

[0095] That is, one pulley and one desiccant rotor can be connected by one rotor, and accordingly, there are multiple connection forms (pulley, desiccant rotor, rotor).

[0096] Under this configuration, the drive motor can rotate a plurality of pulleys, each of the plurality of pulleys can rotate a respective rotor surrounding it, and each rotor can rotate a respective desiccant rotor surrounding it.

[0097] Additionally, as described above, the humidity control equipment (10) may have a layered structure, in which case the desiccant equipment (90) (or desiccant rotor (40)) may be placed lower than the processing fan (30).

[0098] In addition, as shown in FIG. 7, the desiccant equipment (90) (or desiccant rotor (40)) can be stored in a drawer-like manner through the rotor storage plate (43), and can thus be inserted and removed in a sliding manner with respect to the humidity control equipment (10).

[0099] Since the desiccant equipment (90) (or desiccant rotor (40)) can be stored in a drawer-type manner, when inspecting, servicing, or replacing the desiccant equipment (90) (or desiccant rotor (40)), the desiccant equipment (90) (or desiccant rotor (40)) can be removed in a sliding manner, thereby providing convenience in management.

[0100] Alternatively, instead of drawer-type storage, the housing (20) may be formed with a cover, and the cover may be opened to insert and withdraw the desiccant equipment (90) (or desiccant rotor (40)).

[0101] The regeneration heater (50) is a heater that heats the second air (P2), which is the remainder of the processing air (P) introduced by the processing fan (30), to generate regeneration air (R), thereby allowing the regeneration air (R) to remove moisture adsorbed by the adsorbent.

[0102] The regeneration heater (50) can heat the second air (P2) provided by the processing fan (30) to generate regeneration air (R) having a predetermined temperature to enable moisture removal from the adsorbent.

[0103] The regeneration air (R) generated in this way can pass through the desiccant rotor (40) through the regeneration zone of the desiccant rotor (40), and at this time, the regeneration air (R) can rotate to remove moisture from the adsorbent that has come to the regeneration zone.

[0104] Additionally, as described above, the regeneration heater (50) can be connected to the front cassette (100) through the duct connection (120), and accordingly, the regeneration air (R) generated by the regeneration heater (50) can move to the regeneration section of the desiccant rotor (40) through the duct connection (120).

[0105] In this way, as the regeneration heater (50) is positioned close to the desiccant rotor (40) through the duct connection (120), heat loss occurring while the regeneration air (R) is going to the desiccant rotor (40) can be minimized.

[0106] In addition, since the regeneration air (R) flows within the duct connection (120) that is blocked from the outside, it is not mixed with the surrounding air (e.g., first air (P1)), so heat loss may not occur.

[0107] Meanwhile, since the regeneration heater (50) can be connected to the front cassette (100) through the duct connection (120), the front cassette (100) may be damaged by the heat of the regeneration heater (50). To prevent the front cassette (100) from being damaged by the heat generation temperature of the regeneration heater (50), the material of the front cassette (100) may be metal, ceramic, or heat-resistant resin.

[0108] The cooling low-humidity medium supply equipment (80) is equipment that supplies the cooling low-humidity medium (C) with dehumidified air (D) flowing from the desiccant equipment (90) to the filter unit (70).

[0109] As the dehumidified air (D) is supplied with a cooling medium (C) before it enters the return room, the dehumidified air (D) having a relatively high temperature can be cooled by mixing with the cooling medium (C), thereby lowering its temperature and also lowering its humidity.

[0110] Through this cooling process, the dehumidified air (D) can be supplied to the return room (or the clean room or the interior of equipment installed in the clean room) at an appropriate temperature.

[0111] Additionally, the dehumidified air (D) has a lower humidity, which can solve process problems that may arise due to the presence of humidity.

[0112] A cooling low-humidity medium supply line can be used as the cooling low-humidity medium supply equipment (80), and a heat exchanger such as a sensible heat exchanger can also be applied.

[0113] Meanwhile, cooling low-humidity media (C) may include natural ventilation (or outside air), CDA (Clean Dry Air), nitrogen gas, cooling water, etc.

[0114] The airflow equalization plate (60) is a plate in which a plurality of holes (65) are formed, and through which the airflow of the uniformed dehumidified air passes through the holes (65) and flows to the return room.

[0115] That is, the airflow equalization plate (60) may be a perforated plate having a plurality of holes (65) formed therein.

[0116] The dehumidified air (D) coming out of the desiccant equipment (90) can be directed to the return room, and before being introduced into the return room, the air flow can be uniformed by passing through the holes (65) of the air flow uniformization plate (60) and then directed to the return room.

[0117] The filter unit (70) is a filter unit that filters the dehumidified air (D) provided by the desiccant equipment (90) and then supplies the dehumidified air (D) to the return room (or the clean room or the interior of the equipment installed in the clean room).

[0118] That is, the filter unit (70) is a filter unit that supplies filtered, clean, dehumidified air to the return room.

[0119] For this purpose, the filter unit (70) may be a particle filter or a chemical filter.

[0120] Additionally, as described above, the humidity control equipment (10) may have a layered structure, in which case the filter unit (70) may be placed lower than the desiccant equipment (90).

[0121] In addition, the filter unit (70) can be stored in a drawer-type manner, and can thus be inserted and removed in a sliding manner with respect to the humidity control equipment (10).

[0122] Since the filter unit (70) can be stored in a drawer-type manner, the filter unit (70) can be removed in a sliding manner to take action when inspecting, maintaining, or replacing the filter unit (70), thereby providing convenience in management.

[0123] Alternatively, the filter unit (70) may be detachably assembled and installed on the lower part of the housing (20).

[0124] Above, a humidity control device (10) according to one embodiment of the present invention has been described. Hereinafter, a humidity control device according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 9. FIG. 9 is a drawing showing a state in which heat exchange is performed between air to be used for regeneration and air that has undergone regeneration through a heat exchanger in a humidity control device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0125] Referring to FIG. 9, a humidity control device according to another embodiment of the present invention may include the configuration of the humidity control device (10) according to the above-described embodiment of the present invention, and may additionally include a heat exchanger (160).

[0126] The heat exchanger (160) is a device that allows heat exchange between the secondary air (P2) provided by the processing fan (30) and the regeneration air (R) from which moisture has been removed from the adsorbent.

[0127] As described above, the second air (P2) among the treatment air (P) introduced by the treatment fan (30) can flow to the regeneration heater (50) and be heated to a predetermined temperature by the regeneration heater (50) to become the regeneration air (R) used for regeneration of the adsorbent.

[0128] At this time, the regeneration heater (50) can heat the second air (P2) (or outside air) having a relatively low temperature (about 23°C) to generate regeneration air (R) having a relatively high temperature (about 50°C). In this process, a load may be generated on the regeneration heater (50), and the power consumption may increase significantly.

[0129] Considering these points, the present invention can position a heat exchanger (160) between the processing fan (30) and the regeneration heater (50), and the second air (P2) can have a relatively high temperature by performing heat exchange with the regeneration air (R) that has undergone regeneration of the adsorbent within the heat exchanger (160) before being introduced into the regeneration heater (50).

[0130] That is, the second air (P2) absorbs heat from the regenerative air (R) and reaches a temperature (t, 23℃) higher than its own temperature (approximately 23℃). <t<90℃)를 가진 후에 재생 히터(50)로 유동하여 가열될 수 있다.

[0131] In this case, since the regenerative heater (50) only needs to provide relatively less heat to the second air (P2), the load of the regenerative heater (50) can be reduced and the amount of power consumed can be reduced, i.e., the waste heat recovery effect can occur.

[0132] These heat exchangers (160) include heat exchangers having a sensible heat exchanger or a counterflow / parallel flow / crossflow piping structure.

[0133] Above, a humidity control device according to another embodiment of the present invention has been described. Hereinafter, a humidity control device according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 10. FIG. 10 is a drawing showing a humidity control device according to another embodiment of the present invention in which a desiccant dehumidifying rotor and a VOC rotor are combined to simultaneously perform air dehumidification and VOC filtering.

[0134] Referring to FIG. 10, a humidity control device according to another embodiment of the present invention may include the configuration of the humidity control device (10) according to the above-described embodiment of the present invention, but the configuration of the desiccant device may be changed.

[0135] Specifically, the desiccant equipment of the humidity control equipment according to another embodiment of the present invention may further include a VOC rotor (170).

[0136] The VOC rotor (170) can be combined with a desiccant rotor (40) and is a rotor that removes organic compounds from the air supplied to the return room.

[0137] Specifically, the VOC rotor (170) can be combined with the desiccant rotor (40), and the combined desiccant rotor (40) and VOC rotor (170) can be positioned between the front cassette (100) and the rear cassette (110).

[0138] The first air (P1) provided by the processing fan (30) can be dehumidified in the desiccant rotor (40) and then have organic compounds removed in the VOC rotor (170), and accordingly, the dehumidified air (DF) can be supplied to the return room (or the clean room or the interior of the equipment installed in the clean room) with the organic compounds removed.

[0139] When using a VOC filter (170) in this way, a separate chemical filter may not be required.

[0140] In this regard, the chemical filter requires replacement, whereas the VOC rotor (170) is regenerable like the desiccant rotor (40), so it has the effect of not requiring replacement.

[0141] In some cases, the VOC filter (170) may be positioned in front of the desiccant rotor (40), so that the first air (P1) may be introduced into the desiccant rotor (40) after passing through the VOC filter (170).

[0142] Additionally, the humidity control device according to another embodiment of the present invention may include a heat exchanger (160) of the humidity control device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0143] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the attached drawings, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention can be implemented in other specific forms without altering the technical concept or essential characteristics thereof. Therefore, the embodiments described above should be understood to be illustrative in all respects and not restrictive.

[0144] The present invention has industrial applicability as a humidity control device using a processing fan that performs dehumidification and regeneration.

Claims

1. Humidity control equipment that performs humidity control for a clean room or equipment within the clean room. The above humidity control equipment, A treatment fan that brings in treatment air; A desiccant rotor that adsorbs moisture in the first air, which is a part of the processing air introduced by the processing fan, through an adsorbent and supplies dehumidified air to the return room; and Humidity control equipment using a treatment fan that performs dehumidification and regeneration, including a regeneration heater that heats the second air, which is the remainder of the treatment air introduced by the treatment fan, to generate regeneration air and causes the regeneration air to remove the moisture adsorbed by the adsorbent.

2. In paragraph 1, The above humidity control equipment is a humidity control equipment using a treatment fan that performs dehumidification and regeneration, including a regeneration heater that performs humidity control for an EFEM (Equipment Front End Module) that includes a return room, which is a space where a processing object is returned to a process module.

3. In paragraph 1, the above desiccant rotor; and A front cassette located in front of the desiccant rotor and having one or more air inlet spaces formed by a partition wall; and Further comprising a desiccant device comprising a duct connection connecting to at least one of the above air inlet spaces, A humidity control device using a processing fan that performs dehumidification and regeneration, wherein the regeneration heater is connected to the duct connection port and is integral with the front cassette, and the regeneration air moves to the desiccant rotor through the duct connection port.

4. In paragraph 1, the above desiccant rotor; and A front cassette located in front of the desiccant rotor and having one or more air inlet spaces formed by a partition wall; a first duct connection connecting to at least one of the above air inlet spaces; and Further comprising a desiccant device comprising a second duct connection port connected to at least one of the air inlet spaces not connected to the first duct connection port; The regenerative heater includes a first regenerative heater connected to the first duct connection port and integrally formed with the front cassette, and a second regenerative heater connected to the second duct connection port and integrally formed with the front cassette. Humidity control equipment using a processing fan that performs dehumidification and regeneration, wherein the second air is divided and introduced into the first regeneration heater and the second regeneration heater, respectively.

5. In paragraph 3 or 4, Humidity control equipment using a processing fan that performs dehumidification and regeneration, the material of the upper limb front cassette being metal, ceramic or heat-resistant resin.

6. In paragraph 1, The above treatment fan and desiccant rotor are a humidity control device using a treatment fan that performs detachable dehumidification and regeneration.

7. In paragraph 6, The above desiccant rotor is a humidity control device using a processing fan that performs dehumidification and regeneration and can be inserted and removed in a sliding manner as it is stored in a drawer type.

8. In paragraph 6, The above humidity control equipment has a layered structure, The above processing fan is located in the upper layer, and the desiccant rotor is located in the lower layer below the upper layer, Humidity control equipment using a treatment fan that performs dehumidification and regeneration, wherein the treatment fan and desiccant rotor are stored in a drawer-like manner on each floor and can be introduced and withdrawn in a sliding manner.

9. In paragraph 1, Humidity control equipment using a processing fan that performs dehumidification and regeneration, further comprising an airflow equalization plate having a plurality of holes formed therein and allowing the dehumidified air, with the airflow equalized through the holes, to flow into the interior of the clean room or the equipment.

10. In paragraph 1, Further comprising a cooling low-humidity medium supply device for supplying a cooling low-humidity medium with the above dehumidified air, Humidity control equipment using a processing fan that performs dehumidification and regeneration, wherein the above cooling low-humidity medium is CDA (Clean Dry Air) or nitrogen gas.

11. In paragraph 1, Humidity control equipment using a processing fan that performs dehumidification and regeneration by filtering the dehumidified air and supplying the dehumidified air into the interior of the clean room or the facility, and further including a removable filter unit.

12. In paragraph 11, Humidity control equipment using a processing fan that performs dehumidification and regeneration, wherein the filter unit is stored in a drawer-type manner and can be inserted and removed in a sliding manner.

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