EP-4737842-A1 - TEMPERATURE CONTROL SYSTEM

EP4737842A1EP 4737842 A1EP4737842 A1EP 4737842A1EP-4737842-A1

Abstract

A temperature control system, comprising a first heat exchanger, a second heat exchanger, a first bypass branch and a first valve, wherein a first interface of the first heat exchanger is in communication with a first interface of the second heat exchanger; an inlet of the first bypass branch is connected to the first interface of the first heat exchanger, and an outlet of the first bypass branch is in communication with a second interface of the second heat exchanger, such that a heat exchange medium of the first bypass branch and a heat exchange medium of the second interface of the second heat exchanger are mixed into a mixed-temperature heat exchange medium, and the mixed-temperature heat exchange medium flows into the second interface of the first heat exchanger; and the first valve can be used for adjusting the flow of the heat exchange medium of the first bypass branch. By means of the temperature control system, a first bypass branch is introduced so as to perform high-precision fine tuning on temperature, such that full use is made of heat which is wasted by a high-temperature heat exchange medium, thereby reducing a loss of the whole system, and facilitating energy saving.

Inventors

SONG, BIN
LIU, XIANG
WU, GANG
YANG, BIN
LIANG, Jianpan

Assignees

Shenzhen Envicool Technology Co., Ltd

Dates

Publication Date: 20260506
Application Date: 20240514

Claims (10)

A temperature control system, applied to an apparatus with high-precision heat dissipation requirements, wherein the temperature control system comprises: a first heat exchanger (1) and a second heat exchanger (2), wherein a first port of the first heat exchanger (1) is in communication with a first port of the second heat exchanger (2); a first bypass branch line, wherein an inlet (A) of the first bypass branch line is connected to the first port of the first heat exchanger (1), and an outlet (B) of the first bypass branch line is in communication with a second port of the second heat exchanger (2), so that a heat exchange medium flowing out of the first bypass branch line is mixed with a heat exchange medium flowing out of the second port of the second heat exchanger (2) to form a mixed-temperature heat exchange medium, which then flows into a second port of the first heat exchanger (1); and a first valve (3), which is configured to regulate a flow rate of the heat exchange medium in the first bypass branch line so as to adjust a temperature of the mixed-temperature heat exchange medium until a temperature difference between the temperature of the mixed-temperature heat exchange medium and a preset target heat exchange medium temperature is within a range of -0.3°C to 0.3°C.
The temperature control system according to claim 1, further comprising a first temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the mixed-temperature heat exchange medium, and a controller, wherein the controller is configured to control an opening degree of the first valve (3) based on a detected value from the first temperature sensor, so as to regulate the flow rate of the heat exchange medium in the first bypass branch line by controlling the opening degree of the first valve, ensuring that the flow rate of the heat exchange medium in the first bypass branch line is 0.1% to 10% of that of the heat exchange medium at the second port of the second heat exchanger (2).
The temperature control system according to claim 2, further comprising a second temperature sensor for detecting a temperature of the heat exchange medium at the second port of the second heat exchanger (2), wherein the controller is further configured to control the opening degree of the first valve (3) based on a detected value from the second temperature sensor.
The temperature control system according to claim 3, further comprising a first flow sensor for detecting a flow rate of a working medium in the first bypass branch line, wherein the controller is further configured to control the opening degree of the first valve (3) based on a detected value from the first flow sensor.
The temperature control system according to claim 4, further comprising a second flow sensor arranged at the first port of the first heat exchanger (1), wherein the second flow sensor is configured to detect a flow rate of the heat exchange medium at the first port of the first heat exchanger (1), and the controller is further configured to control the opening degree of the first valve (3) based on a detected value from the second flow sensor.
The temperature control system according to claim 5, wherein an accuracy of each of the first temperature sensor and the second temperature sensor is within +0.3°C, an accuracy of the first valve (3) is within 1%, and an accuracy of each of the first flow sensor and the second flow sensor is within 1%.
The temperature control system according to claim 2, further comprising a third temperature sensor or a first pressure sensor arranged at the first port of the first heat exchanger (1), and/or a fourth temperature sensor or a second pressure sensor arranged at the second port of the first heat exchanger (1), wherein the third temperature sensor or the first pressure sensor is configured to detect the temperature or pressure of the heat exchange medium at the first port of the first heat exchanger (1), whereas the fourth temperature sensor or the second pressure sensor is configured to detect the temperature or pressure of the heat exchange medium at the second port of the first heat exchanger (1), and the controller is further configured to adjust the preset target heat exchange medium temperature at the second port of the first heat exchanger (1) based on the temperature or pressure of the heat exchange medium at the second port of the first heat exchanger (1), and/or the temperature or pressure of the heat exchange medium at the first port of the first heat exchanger (1).
The temperature control system according to claim 1, further comprising a mixer (4), which is configured to mix the heat exchange medium coming from the first bypass branch line with the heat exchange medium coming from the second port of the second heat exchanger (2) to form the mixed-temperature heat exchange medium, wherein the mixer (4) is connected to an outlet (B) of the first bypass branch line and the second port of the second heat exchanger (2), and at least one baffle component (41) is arranged within the mixer (4), with a gap formed between the at least one baffle component (41) and an inner wall of the mixer (4).
The temperature control system according to claim 8, further comprising a thermal buffer (5), wherein the thermal buffer (5) is connected between the second port of the first heat exchanger (1) and an outlet of the mixer (4), a heater (11) is arranged between the thermal buffer (5) and the mixer (4) to regulate the temperature of the mixed-temperature heat exchange medium, a driving pump (9) is arranged between the heater (11) and the mixer (4), and a water tank (10) is arranged between the driving pump (9) and the mixer (4) to store the mixed-temperature heat exchange medium.
The temperature control system according to claim 1, further comprising a second bypass branch line that is connected to the first port and the second port of the first heat exchanger (1), wherein the second bypass branch line is configured to bypass a portion of the working medium coming from the first port of the first heat exchanger (1) to the second port of the first heat exchanger (1), and a second valve (8) is arranged in the second bypass branch line.

Description

The present application claims the priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202310789982.6, titled "TEMPERATURE CONTROL SYSTEM", filed on June 28, 2023 with the China National Intellectual Property Administration, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. FIELD The present application relates to the technical field of temperature control, and in particular to a temperature control system. BACKGROUND In terms of the existing high-precision temperature-controlled cooling field, such as high-precision temperature-controlled air conditioning cooling systems, reference is made to FIG. 1. A first port of a first heat exchanger 01 is connected to a first port of a second heat exchanger 02. A second port of a second heat exchanger 02 is connected to a second port of the first heat exchanger 01 via a heater 03 and a thermal buffer 04 in turn. The first heat exchanger 01 is configured as a terminal heat exchanger. After exchanging heat with the apparatus, the temperature of the heat exchange medium inside the first heat exchanger 01 rises. The high-temperature heat exchange medium then flows back to the second heat exchanger 02, where it is re-cooled. After passing through the heater 03 and the thermal buffer 04, it flows into the first heat exchanger 01 again to cool the external environment or the apparatus. Temperature compensation in this cooling system is achieved by the heater, which is typically an electric heating wire. That is, when the temperature approaches the critical desired temperature, the heat exchange medium is electrically heated by the heater to quickly achieve the target temperature with minimal fluctuations. However, since the heater is a power-consuming component, adopting the heater for temperature compensation increases the losses of the overall system, which leads to an increase in Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) and is not conducive to energy conservation. In summary, how to achieve temperature compensation without a heater so as to address the issue of high energy consumption of the cooling system is a challenge that needs to be solved by those skilled in the art at present. SUMMARY In view of this, an object of the present application is to provide a temperature control system, and a structural design of its system loop enables temperature compensation without a heater, thereby addressing the issue of high energy consumption in cooling systems. To achieve the above object, the following technical solutions are provided according to the present application. A temperature control system, applied to an apparatus with high-precision heat dissipation requirements, includes: a first heat exchanger, a second heat exchanger, a first bypass branch line, and a first valve. A first port of the first heat exchanger is in communication with a first port of the second heat exchanger. An inlet of the first bypass branch line is connected to the first port of the first heat exchanger, and an outlet of the first bypass branch line is in communication with a second port of the second heat exchanger, so that a heat exchange medium flowing out of the first bypass branch line is mixed with a heat exchange medium flowing out of the second port of the second heat exchanger to form a mixed-temperature heat exchange medium, which then flows into a second port of the first heat exchanger. The first valve may be configured to regulate a flow rate of the heat exchange medium in the first bypass branch line so as to adjust a temperature of the mixed-temperature heat exchange medium until a temperature difference between the temperature of the mixed-temperature heat exchange medium and a preset target heat exchange medium temperature is within a range of -0.3°C to 0.3°C. Optionally, the temperature control system described above further includes: a first temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the mixed-temperature heat exchange medium, and a controller. The controller is configured to control an opening degree of the first valve based on a detected value from the first temperature sensor, so as to regulate the flow rate of the heat exchange medium in the first bypass branch line by controlling the opening degree of the first valve, ensuring that the flow rate of the heat exchange medium in the first bypass branch line is 0.1% to 10% of the flow rate of the heat exchange medium at the second port of the second heat exchanger. Optionally, the temperature control system described above further includes a second temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the heat exchange medium at the second port of the second heat exchanger. The controller is further configured to control the opening degree of the first valve based on a detected value from the second temperature sensor. Optionally, the temperature control system described above further includes a first flow sensor for detecting the flow rate of a working medium in the first bypass branch line. The controller is further configured