Cooling device, control method, and storage medium related to a plurality of evaporators and a plurality of evaporator condensers

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11428442-B2
Application number	US-201916975918-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 19, 2019
Priority date	Mar 23, 2018
Publication date	Aug 30, 2022
Grant date	Aug 30, 2022

Abstract

A cooling device includes a first evaporation unit, a second evaporation unit, a first condensation unit, a second condensation unit, common piping, a compressor, an expansion valve, a first valve, and a second valve. The common piping combines liquid-phase refrigerant flowing from the first condensation unit and liquid-phase refrigerant flowing from the second condensation unit. The first valve adjusts the liquid-phase refrigerant amount flowing into the first evaporation unit. The second valve adjusts the liquid-phase refrigerant amount flowing into the second evaporation unit. In addition, the pressure inside the common pipe is greater than the respective pressures inside the first evaporation unit and the second evaporation unit.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A cooling device comprising:
a first evaporator receiving heat of a heat generator, evaporating an internally stored liquid-phase coolant by heat of the heat generator, and causing a gas-phase coolant to flow out;
a second evaporator receiving heat of the heat-generator, evaporating an internally stored liquid-phase coolant by heat of the heat-generator, and causing a gas-phase coolant to flow out;
a first condenser being connected to the first evaporator, condensing a gas-phase coolant flowing out from the first evaporator, and causing a liquid-phase coolant to flow out;
a second condenser being connected to the second evaporator, condensing a gas-phase coolant flowing out from the second evaporator, and causing a liquid-phase coolant to flow out;
a common pipe being provided between the first evaporator and the first condenser and also between the second evaporator and the second condenser and causing a liquid-phase coolant flowing out from the first condenser and a liquid-phase coolant flowing out from the second condenser to join;
a compressor being connected to the second evaporator and the second condenser and compressing a gas-phase coolant flowing out from the second evaporator;
an expansion valve being connected to the second condenser and the common pipe and expanding a liquid-phase coolant flowing out from the second condenser;
a first valve being connected to the first evaporator and the common pipe and adjusting an amount of liquid-phase coolant flowing into the first evaporator; and
a second valve being connected to the second evaporator and the common pipe and adjusting an amount of liquid-phase coolant flowing into the second evaporator, wherein
pressure inside the common pipe is greater than pressure inside the first evaporator and pressure inside the second evaporator.

2. The cooling device according to claim 1 , wherein
the first condenser and the second condenser are provided on an upper side of the first evaporator and the second evaporator in a vertical direction and also at positions making pressure inside the common pipe greater than pressure inside the first evaporator and pressure inside the second evaporator.

3. The cooling device according to claim 2 , further comprising:
a first pump being provided between the first condenser and the common pipe and conveying a liquid-phase coolant flowing out from the first condenser to the common pipe in such a way that pressure inside the common pipe is greater than pressure inside the first evaporator and pressure inside the second evaporator; and
a second pump being provided between the second condenser and the common pipe and conveying a liquid-phase coolant flowing out from the second condenser in such a way that pressure inside the common pipe is greater than pressure inside the first evaporator and pressure inside the second evaporator.

4. The cooling device according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a first pump being provided between the first condenser and the common pipe and conveying a liquid-phase coolant flowing out from the first condenser to the common pipe in such a way that pressure inside the common pipe is greater than pressure inside the first evaporator and pressure inside the second evaporator; and
a second pump being provided between the second condenser and the common pipe and conveying a liquid-phase coolant flowing out from the second condenser in such a way that pressure inside the common pipe is greater than pressure inside the first evaporator and pressure inside the second evaporator.

5. The cooling device according to claim 4 , further comprising
a first tank being provided between the first condenser and the common pipe and also on an upper side of the first pump in a vertical direction and storing a liquid-phase coolant caused to flow out by the first condenser.

6. The cooling device according to claim 5 , wherein
the first pump conveys, to the common pipe, a liquid-phase coolant flowing out from the first condenser, according to a surface level of a liquid-phase coolant in the first tank.

7. The cooling device according to claim 4 , further comprising
a second tank being provided between the second condenser and the common pipe and also on an upper side of the second pump in a vertical direction and storing a liquid-phase coolant caused to flow out by the second condenser.

8. The cooling device according to claim 7 , wherein
the second pump conveys a liquid-phase coolant flowing out from the second condenser to the common pipe, according to a surface level of a liquid-phase coolant in the second tank.

9. The cooling device according to claim 7 , further comprising
a bypass pipe guiding a gas-phase coolant contained in the second tank to the compressor.

10. The cooling device according to claim 1 , further comprising
a controller configuring:
a free-cooling refrigeration cycle circulating a liquid-phase or gas-phase coolant among the first evaporator, the first condenser, and the common pipe; and
a compression refrigeration cycle circulating a liquid-phase or gas-phase coolant among the second evaporator, the second condenser, the compressor, the expansion valve, and the common pipe, and

controlling either one or both of the compressor and the expansion valve, based on a differential heat value being a heat value acquired by subtracting a heat recovery amount by the free-cooling refrigeration cycle from a heat value of the heat generator.

11. The cooling device according to claim 1 , further comprising
a controller controlling either one or both of the compressor and the expansion valve, based on temperature around heat generator.

12. The cooling device according to claim 1 , wherein
the first valve adjusts an amount of liquid-phase coolant flowing into the first evaporator, based on a heat recovery amount of the first evaporator, and
the second valve adjusts an amount of liquid-phase coolant flowing into the second evaporator, based on a heat recovery amount of the second evaporator.

13. A control method for a cooling device including:
a first evaporator receiving heat of a heat generator, evaporating an internally stored liquid-phase coolant by heat of the heat generator, and causing a gas-phase coolant to flow out;
a second evaporator receiving heat of the heat-generator, evaporating an internally stored liquid-phase coolant by heat of the heat-generator, and causing a gas-phase coolant to flow out;
a first condenser being connected to the first evaporator, condensing a gas-phase coolant flowing out from the first evaporator, and causing a liquid-phase coolant to flow out;
a second condenser being connected to the second evaporator, condensing a gas-phase coolant flowing out from the second evaporator, and causing a liquid-phase coolant to flow out;
a common pipe being provided between the first evaporator and the first condenser and also between the second evaporator and the second condenser and causing a liquid-phase coolant flowing out from the first condenser and a liquid-phase coolant flowing out from the second condenser to join;
a compressor being connected to the second evaporator and the second condenser and compressing a gas-phase coolant flowing out from the second evaporator;
an expansion valve being connected to the second condenser and the common pipe and expanding a liquid-phase coolant flowing out from the second condenser;
a first valve being connected to the first evaporator and the common pipe and adjusting an amount of liquid-phase coolant flowing into the first evaporator; and
a second valve being connected to the second evaporator and the common pipe and adjusti

Assignees

• Nec Corp

Inventors

• Sakuma Hisato
• TODOROKI Koichi
• Chiba Masaki
• NATSUMEDA Takafumi
• Yoshikawa Minoru

Classifications

• H05K7/20827 Primary

  within rooms for removing heat from cabinets, e.g. air conditioning devices · CPC title

• H05K7/20318

  Condensers · CPC title

• F25B2600/2513

  Expansion valves · CPC title

• F25B6/02

  arranged in parallel · CPC title

• F25B2400/19

  Pumping down refrigerant from one part of the cycle to another part of the cycle, e.g. when the cycle is changed from cooling to heating, or before a defrost cycle is started · CPC title