KR20070008187A - Fan-driven monitoring device and method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a fan driving apparatus and a method thereof, and more particularly, to detect in real time the amount of current between the fan and the power line connecting the power supply unit applied to the fan, converts it to a voltage and amplifies the reference voltage. Fan monitoring device that can monitor fan rotation in real time without being affected by external environment such as temperature and humidity by monitoring fan's operation by operating alarm and LED when abnormality is detected It's about how.

In addition, the present invention uses a method for detecting in real time the amount of current between the fan and the power line connecting the power supply unit applied to the fan in real time, the voltage applied to the fan as well as the overload state of the fan is reduced, The condition that a disconnection occurs can also be detected quickly, which has the advantageous effect of maximizing the operating efficiency of the device by preventing the malfunction of the fan.

Description

Fan Operation Monitoring System and Method Thereof

1A and 1B are internal configuration diagrams of a conventional fan drive device and fan drive monitoring device.

2 is an overall configuration diagram of a fan driving monitoring apparatus according to the present invention.

3 is a graph showing the amount of current according to the load of the fan.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a fan monitoring process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

* Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings

10: fan drive unit 20: power supply unit

30, 100: fan drive monitoring device

32 sensor 34 logic section

36: power supply unit 38: alarm unit

110: power detector 120: current-to-voltage converter

130: amplification unit 140: reference voltage setting unit

150: comparison unit 160: alarm unit

170: relay unit 200: electronic equipment

The present invention relates to a fan driving apparatus and a method thereof, and more particularly, by detecting an amount of current between a fan and a power line connecting a power supply unit applied to the fan in real time, converting it into a voltage, and comparing the voltage with a reference range voltage. The present invention relates to a fan monitoring device and a method for monitoring fan rotation in real time without being affected by an external environment such as temperature or humidity.

In general, a machine or a facility used in a semiconductor process is sensitive to the change in operating conditions and malfunctions or down occurs. Since the heat generated from the parts itself has a fatal effect on the lifespan of the parts, in order to prevent overheating of the device and to operate a stable device, a fan is installed for the heat dissipation of the main parts or parts to generate heat. do.

Typically, the fan rotates the blades by driving the motor to protect the product or the device from heat throughout the industry, and uses the convection generated at this time to cool down the heat generated by a predetermined heating element in the product or the device. .

Fans mounted on machines or facilities for semiconductor processes to perform heat dissipation or cooling of components have a short life cycle due to the characteristics of the semiconductor industry. This is because, as the machine or equipment for the semiconductor process is operated for a long time, the lubricating oil supplied to the fan is evaporated or the parts are aged, so that the rotation speed of the fan is reduced or the operation of the fan is often down.

If the fan operates abnormally, the internal temperature rises, causing the parts to deteriorate, causing malfunctions, or in the event of severe downtime, and severe overheating, which can cause ignition and cause damage to machinery or equipment. Subsequent problems have arisen. Therefore, there is a need for monitoring the operating state of a fan installed for cooling the internal parts of a machine or facility used in a conventional semiconductor process.

Hereinafter, a fan driving apparatus of a general apparatus will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1A and 1B are internal configuration diagrams of a conventional fan drive device and fan drive monitoring device.

Referring to FIG. 1A, a conventional fan driving device includes a power supply unit 20 for supplying fan driving power, and a fan 10 driven by power supplied from the power supply unit 20.

In the conventional fan drive device configured as described above, when power is supplied to the device, the power supply unit 20 uses the power supplied to the device to supply power to each device and supplies the fan 10 to the fan 10. It will supply power. When power is supplied to the fan 10, the fan 10 is driven by the driving power to cool the device to prevent overheating of the device.

However, in the conventional fan driving apparatus as described above, when only the power is supplied without the control device for controlling the fan, the fan 10 is supplied with power to the fan 10 so that the fan 10 is driven. There was a problem in that it could not take any action to overcome the failure.

Thus, recently, as shown in FIG. 1B, the fan driving monitoring device 30 capable of monitoring the operation of the fan is mounted to detect whether the fan is driven.

Referring to FIG. 1B in more detail, the conventional fan driving monitoring apparatus 30 receives a sensor 32 for detecting a rotation state of the fan 10 and a sensing signal transmitted from the sensor 32 and receives the sensor signal from the sensor 32. Logic unit 34 for determining the operation state of the fan 10 by determining the abnormal operation of the fan, and a power supply unit 36 for supplying power to the logic unit 34 separately from the power supply unit 20 of the device and The alarm unit 38 is configured to receive a signal for the determination result of the logic unit 34 and notify the user by an alarm or a light emitting diode (LED).

The sensor 32 is a sensor for sensing the air volume according to the operation of the fan 10, a current sensing sensor for detecting the state of the current supplied to the motor of the fan 10, or the rotation of the motor inside the fan 10. Accordingly, a magnetic force sensor for sensing a change in magnetic force generated, a vibration sensor for detecting vibration generated by the rotation of the fan 10, or a rotational speed sensor or fan 10 for detecting the rotational speed of the fan 10. Sensors, such as photosensors or the like, which detect the rotation state of the light emitting device and the light receiving device, may be installed in parallel.

In addition, the operating power of the sensor 32, the logic unit 34, and the alarm unit 38 is supplied from the power supply unit 36, and the sensor 32 and the alarm unit 38 supply the necessary power to the logic unit 34. It is designed to be provided via).

In the conventional fan driving monitoring apparatus 30 configured as described above, the driving of the fan 10 is abnormally performed due to evaporation of lubricant supplied to the fan, damage of components, or supply of an unstable current. When the rotation speed is decreased or the rotation of the fan 10 is stopped, an abnormal phenomenon is sensed by the sensor 32, and a sensing signal, which is an electrical logic signal, is input to the logic unit 34.

Subsequently, the logic unit 34 amplifies the input sensing signal to a logic-determinable TTL level (Transistor Transistor Logic) to determine whether it is a high level or a low level, and the alarm unit determines the result of the determination. Output to (38). The alarm unit 38 may notify the driver of the machine or the facility of the fan 10 by driving an alarm or LED according to the input result of the determination.

When the alarm is activated or the LED is emitted as described above, the driver checks the fan 10 to take measures such as repair or replacement, and then operate the machine or facility to allow the device to perform safe operation.

In the conventional method using the fan drive monitoring device 30 using the various sensors as described above, each sensor has a problem that can be malfunctioned in accordance with the external environment changes, such as temperature or humidity during the fan operation. For example, when using the sensor at a high temperature of 100 oC or more, there is a problem that can not be used due to shortening the life of the sensor and malfunction.

In addition, in the case of the photosensor for detecting the rotation of the rotor blades by light, if the rotor blades stop in the direction of the photosensor when the fan is stopped, even if the rotor blades are stopped, the photo sensor detects that the rotor blades rotate, there is a problem Is recognized to operate normally, and when using a special fan only operates when stopped, there is a problem that real-time monitoring is impossible.

The present invention has been proposed to solve the above problems, and detects the amount of current between the fan and the power line connected to the power supply unit applied to the fan in real time, converts it to a voltage and amplifies the alarm and LED by comparing with the reference voltage The present invention relates to a fan monitoring device and a method for monitoring a fan rotation in real time without being affected by external environment such as temperature or humidity by monitoring the driving of the fan by operating the fan.

In addition, the present invention uses a method for detecting in real time the amount of current between the fan and the power line connecting the power supply unit applied to the fan in real time, the voltage applied to the fan as well as the overload state of the fan is reduced, It is also possible to detect the state of disconnection, so it can detect the malfunction of the fan quickly and maximize the operating efficiency of the device.

The present invention describes a fan drive monitoring method and also proposes a fan drive monitoring device for achieving the above processes.

Detecting the amount of current in the power line between the fan and the power supply unit and comparing it with the reference range, for the fan drive monitoring of the present invention, the step of setting the reference range, the power line between the fan and the power supply unit Disconnecting and detecting a current amount from the two power lines; converting the detected current amount into a voltage; and comparing the voltage with the set reference range.

Preferably, when the voltage is out of the set reference range is determined to be abnormal and driving the alarm unit, and delivers a contact corresponding to the output value compared with the voltage and the set reference range output to the rear end of the electronic equipment The method may further include driving the electromagnetic field contact.

In addition, the fan drive monitoring apparatus for controlling each of the steps, the current detection unit for detecting the current by disconnecting the power line between the fan and the power supply unit and the input terminal; A current-to-voltage converter converting the detected current into a voltage; A reference voltage setting unit for setting a reference range from the amount of current according to the load of the fan; And a comparison unit for comparing the converted voltage with a reference range and outputting a resultant value.

Preferably, in the present invention, the amplification unit amplifies the voltage converted by the current-to-voltage converter to increase the current change width, and receives the result value from the comparison unit, and transfers the corresponding contact point to the electronic equipment at the rear end. It may further include a relay unit for driving the electromagnetic field contact, and an alarm unit for receiving a result value output from the comparison unit to notify the user of abnormal operation of the fan.

More preferably, the reference range may be a range between a disconnection reference value and an overload reference value, wherein the disconnection reference value is a value of an off state S1 indicating a power-off state or a disconnected state in the amount of current according to the load of the fan. The overload reference value may be a threshold between an alarm state S4 in which the fan is driven but an overload state at an amount of current according to the load of the fan and an error state S5 in which the fan is not driven due to overload. Can be a value.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described an embodiment of the present invention in more detail. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but will be implemented in various forms, and only the embodiments are intended to complete the disclosure of the present invention, and to those skilled in the art to fully understand the scope of the invention. It is provided to inform you. Like numbers refer to like elements in the figures.

2 is an overall configuration diagram of a fan driving monitoring apparatus according to the present invention.

Referring to the drawings, the fan drive monitoring apparatus 100 according to the present invention includes a current detector 110 for detecting the current amount of the power line between the fan 10 and the power supply unit 20, and converts the detected current into a voltage A current-to-voltage converter 120, an amplification unit 130 for amplifying the converted voltage to greatly change the current change range, and a reference voltage setting unit for setting a reference range from a current amount characteristic graph according to the load of the fan ( 140 and the comparison unit 150 which compares the amplified voltage with the reference range set by the reference voltage setting unit 140 and outputs a result value according thereto, and receives the result value output from the comparison unit accordingly. It consists of an alarm unit 160 to notify the user by operating the alarm and LED lights. In addition, the relay unit 170 may be further provided to transmit the output value to a warning light or an equipment signal of another electronic device 200 and to use the output value.

The current detector 110 may detect a current by disconnecting a power line between the fan 10 and the power supply unit 20 and connecting it to an input terminal. In addition, in the present invention, an inductor may be provided to derive an induced current with respect to the detected current.

The reference voltage setting unit 140 has a disconnection reference value indicating a power-off state or a disconnected state in the amount of current and an overload indicating an error state in which the fan is driven but not driven due to an overload state or an overload state. The range between the reference values can be set as the reference range.

The comparison unit 150 compares the voltage with the disconnection reference value and the overload reference value set by the reference voltage setting unit 140, and when the value is less than or equal to the set disconnection reference value, determines that the disconnection is output and outputs a comparison result value accordingly. When the voltage has a value greater than or equal to the set overload reference value, it is determined as an overload and a comparison result value is output.

The alarm unit 160 may be configured as a buzzer or a visually informed light emitting diode (LED) to audibly notify the user of an abnormality of the fan, and the LED may be connected to a single wire LED and an overload one that operates when the LED is disconnected. It can be composed of an overload LED that operates when. The disconnection LED, the overload LED, and the alarm are driven to inform the user of the fan status according to the result value output from the comparator 150.

In addition, in one embodiment according to the present invention, a relay unit 170 may be provided to drive an electromagnetic field contact at a rear end using a result value output from the comparison unit 150. That is, the system may be configured to transmit a warning signal to the device by synchronizing the contact point derived from the result value with the contact point which becomes the warning condition of the device.

In more detail, Figure 3 is a graph showing the state of the current amount according to the load of the fan according to the present invention.

In general, the defect of the fan is mainly due to the aging of the rotating shaft (Bearing) inside the fan, the characteristics of each fan is the current value according to the load gradually increases according to the degree of aging, the fan operates when the reference value is higher than the standard value Will stop.

Referring to FIG. 3, the characteristics of the current amount according to the load of each fan include an OFF state S1 indicating a state in which the power is turned off or a disconnected state, and a fan after the power is turned on. A ramp-up state S2 proceeding to the normal driving state, a steady state S3 in which the fan is normally driven, and a warning state indicating an overload state in which the fan is driven ( Warning State (S4), and an Error State (S5) in which the fan does not drive due to overload.

In the present invention, for example, the disconnection reference value may be P1 representing the value of the OFF state (S1) indicating the state in which the power is OFF or the disconnected state. However, it may be set to P2 which is a threshold value between the warning state S4 indicating an overload condition and the error state S5 in which the fan does not drive due to overload.

In the present invention, the reference range can be adjusted to the range of the current desired by the user in the amount of current according to the load as well as the P1 or P2.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a fan monitoring process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to the drawings, first, the characteristics of each fan are grasped, and the overload reference value and the disconnection reference value are set accordingly from the current characteristic graph of the fan (S102). In the above description, the disconnection reference value may be P1 indicating a value of an off state S1 indicating a disconnected state or a disconnected state as in FIG. 3, and the overload reference value is driven by the fan. However, it may be set to P2, which is a threshold value between the warning state S4 indicating an overload condition and the error state S5 in which the fan does not drive due to overload.

When the fan starts to drive, according to the present invention, the current can be extracted through the monitoring device configured as shown in FIG. 2 to disconnect the power line between the fan and the power supply unit and connect therebetween to detect the current (S104). . The extracted current causes the induced current by the current detector, and thus the corresponding induced current amount can be detected (S106).

Next, the current-to-voltage converter converts the detected current amount into a voltage (S108), subtracts the converted voltage by a predetermined offset (S110), and amplifies it again so that the current change range is greatly changed (S112). Subsequently, the amplified voltage is compared with the disconnection reference value and the overload reference value set in the step (S114).

If the amplified voltage is smaller than the set disconnection reference value (S116), it is determined that the power supply line is disconnected, and accordingly, the alarm and disconnection LED of the device are driven to inform the user of the disconnection of the power supply line (S118). . If the amplified voltage is greater than the set overload reference value (S120), it is determined that the overload, and by driving the alarm and the overload LED to notify the user of the fan overload (S122) to enable real-time monitoring of the fan drive device.

In addition, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the relay unit receiving the result value output from the comparison unit may be provided with a system for transmitting a warning signal to the equipment by synchronizing the signal with the electromagnetic field contact point of the electronic equipment of the rear end.

As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated in detail using the preferable Example, the scope of the present invention is not limited to a specific Example and should be interpreted by the attached Claim. In addition, those skilled in the art should understand that many modifications and variations are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention.

As described above, the present invention detects an amount of current between a fan and a power line connecting a power unit applied to the fan in real time, converts it to a voltage, and amplifies and compares the alarm with an alarm when an abnormality is detected. By monitoring the operation of the fan by operating the LED, it is possible to monitor the fan rotation in real time without being affected by external environment such as temperature or humidity.

In addition, by using a method of detecting the amount of current between the fan and the power line connecting the power unit applied to the fan in real time using the invention as described above, not only the overload state of the fan but also the voltage applied to the fan is reduced, The disconnection between the power supply and the power supply can also be detected quickly, thereby preventing the malfunction of the fan and maximizing the operating efficiency of the device.

Claims (19)

A fan drive monitoring method comprising detecting a current amount in a power line between a fan and a power supply unit and comparing it with a reference range. A first step of setting a reference range; A second step of disconnecting a power line between a fan and a power supply unit and detecting a current amount from the two power lines; A third step of converting the detected amount of current into a voltage; A fourth step of comparing the voltage with the set reference range; Fan drive monitoring method comprising the. The method according to claim 2, And determining an abnormality when the voltage is out of a set reference range and driving an alarm unit. The method according to claim 2, And transmitting a contact corresponding to the output value compared with the voltage and the set reference range to the electronic device at the rear end to drive the electronic field contact at the rear end. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the reference range, A fan drive monitoring method, characterized in that the range between the disconnection reference value and the overload reference value. The method according to claim 5, wherein the disconnection reference value, The fan drive monitoring method, characterized in that the value of the off state (S1) indicating the state of the power off or disconnected from the amount of current according to the load of the fan. The method according to claim 5, wherein the overload reference value, Fan drive monitoring, characterized in that the threshold value between the warning state (S4) in which the fan is driven but the overload state in the current amount according to the load of the fan and the error state (S5) in which the fan does not drive due to overload Way. The method of claim 2, wherein the second step comprises: A step 2-1 of disconnecting a power line between the fan and the power unit and extracting a current amount from the two power lines; Detecting the amount of induced current with respect to the extracted current; Fan drive monitoring method comprising the. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the third step is Step 3-1 of converting the detected amount of current into a voltage; Step 3-2 subtracting a constant offset voltage from the converted voltage; A third to amplifying the voltage to greatly change the current change range; Fan drive monitoring method comprising the. A current detection unit detecting a current by disconnecting a power line between the fan and the power supply unit and connecting it to an input terminal; A current-to-voltage converter converting the detected current into a voltage; A reference voltage setting unit for setting a reference range from the amount of current according to the load of the fan; A comparison unit comparing the converted voltage with a reference range and outputting a result value according thereto; Fan drive monitoring device, characterized in that consisting of. The method according to claim 10, And amplifying unit for amplifying the voltage converted by the current-to-voltage converting unit to increase the current change width. The method according to claim 10, And receiving a result value from the comparison unit and transmitting a corresponding contact point to the electronic device at the rear end, thereby driving a relay unit for driving the electronic field contact point at the rear end. The method according to claim 10, And a warning unit for notifying a user of abnormal operation of the fan by receiving the result value output from the comparison unit. The method according to claim 13, The alarm unit, Fan-driven monitoring device comprising a buzzer (auditor) to visually notify the user of the abnormality of the fan, and the LED to visually inform. The current detecting unit according to any one of claims 10 to 14, And an inductor capable of deriving an induced current for the detected current between the fan and the power supply. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 14, wherein the comparison unit, And determining the abnormality when the voltage is out of the set reference range, and outputting a comparison result according thereto. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 14, wherein the reference range, A fan drive monitoring device, characterized in that the range between the disconnection reference value and the overload reference value. The method according to claim 17, wherein the disconnection reference value, The fan drive monitoring device, characterized in that the value of the off state (S1) indicating the state of power off or disconnected from the amount of current according to the load of the fan. The method according to claim 17, wherein the overload reference value, Fan drive monitoring, characterized in that the threshold value between the warning state (S4) in which the fan is driven but the overload state in the current amount according to the load of the fan and the error state (S5) in which the fan does not drive due to overload Device.

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