Vacuum Pump Controller Cooling via Temperature Estimation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vacuum pump control devices face issues with accurately determining dew condensation due to potential erroneous detection by temperature and humidity sensors, leading to unreliable operation and increased risk of malfunction.
Innovation Solution
A vacuum pump control device with a temperature estimator that calculates the temperature at different positions within the housing using detected temperature and humidity data, and a cooling controller that adjusts cooling operations based on these estimates to prevent dew condensation, reducing the number of required sensors and improving detection reliability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If three detection units (temperature sensors and humidity sensor) are used to determine dew condensation state, then the detection accuracy is improved, but the probability of erroneous detection increases when any one sensor fails
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the temperature detection function from multiple sensors and consolidates it into a single temperature sensor. By using one temperature sensor and one humidity sensor instead of three sensors, the system reduces the number of potential failure points while maintaining the ability to calculate relative humidity and determine dew condensation state through the temperature-humidity combination approach.
Solution Approach 2:
The single temperature sensor serves multiple functions: it directly provides temperature data for dew condensation determination and contributes to calculating relative humidity when combined with humidity sensor data. This multi-functional use of fewer sensors improves system reliability while maintaining detection accuracy.
2Measurement precision
If multiple sensors are installed to improve detection accuracy, then the measurement precision is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes redundant temperature sensors from the system, keeping only one temperature sensor and one humidity sensor. This extraction of unnecessary components simplifies the device structure while maintaining the capability to accurately determine dew condensation state through the coordinated use of the remaining sensors.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the temperature measurement function with the humidity measurement function to jointly determine dew condensation state. By merging these detection functions and using their combined data for relative humidity calculation and dew condensation determination, the system achieves accurate detection with fewer sensors, thereby reducing device complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution reduces the probability of erroneous detection, enhances the reliability of dew condensation state determination, and prevents malfunctions by accurately controlling cooling operations, thereby maintaining stable temperature distribution and preventing dew condensation.
Implementation Method 1
a temperature sensor configured to detect, in the housing, a temperature at one of a first position or a second position
Implementation Method 2
a humidity sensor configured to detect a humidity at the second position in the housing
Implementation Method 3
a cooling device configured to cool the pump controller
Implementation Method 4
a metal substrate is connected to the flow path formation body so that heat can be transferred
Implementation Method 5
a temperature estimator configured to estimate a temperature at the other one of the first position or the second position based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor
Data Source
AI summary
A vacuum pump control device comprises: a pump controller configured to control a vacuum pump; a cooling device configured to cool the pump controller; a housing configured to house the pump controller; a temperature sensor configured to detect, in the housing, a temperature at one of a first position or a second position having a higher temperature than that at the first position; a humidity sensor configured to detect a humidity at the second position in the housing; a temperature estimator configured to estimate a temperature at the other one of the first position or the second position based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor; and a cooling controller configured to control execution and stop of cooling operation by the cooling device based on the temperature estimated by the temperature estimator, the temperature detected by the temperature sensor, and the humidity detected by the humidity sensor.