U.S. patent application number 09/801700 was filed with the patent office on 2002-03-21 for air-conditioning controlling system.
Invention is credited to Nakajima, Tadakatsu, Sasao, Keiji.
Application Number | 20020033252 09/801700 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 18770713 |
Filed Date | 2002-03-21 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020033252 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Sasao, Keiji ; et
al. |
March 21, 2002 |
Air-conditioning controlling system
Abstract
An air-conditioning operation management company provides
control information concerning air-conditioning equipments to a
plurality of semiconductor manufacturing factories. The
air-conditioning operation management company stores a measured
result of an outside-air condition measuring unit in a past
outside-air condition record database and obtains forecasted
maximum temperature information on that day from a weather forecast
providing system. An outside-air condition transition forecasting
unit forecasts a transition of the outside-air condition on that
day on the basis of the forecasted maximum temperature information.
Information stored in an air-conditioning thermal load database, an
air-conditioning equipment characteristic database and a
set-temperature-and-humidity-of-air-conditioning-equipment database
are employed to provide an optimum operation method of the
air-conditioning equipments to the semiconductor manufacturing
factories. Further, a forecasted result of an outside-air condition
transition, an analyzed result of an air-conditioning thermal load
and an analyzed result of a controlling method are displayed in
customer terminals.
Inventors: |
Sasao, Keiji; (Tsuchiura,
JP) ; Nakajima, Tadakatsu; (Chiyoda, JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
ANTONELLI TERRY STOUT AND KRAUS
SUITE 1800
1300 NORTH SEVENTEENTH STREET
ARLINGTON
VA
22209
|
Family ID: |
18770713 |
Appl. No.: |
09/801700 |
Filed: |
March 9, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
165/238 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F24F 6/18 20130101; F24F
11/62 20180101; F24F 2130/00 20180101; Y02P 80/10 20151101; F24F
11/30 20180101; F24F 11/54 20180101; F24F 2130/10 20180101 |
Class at
Publication: |
165/238 |
International
Class: |
F23N 005/20; F24F
011/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Sep 18, 2000 |
JP |
2000-286855 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An air-conditioning controlling system for providing a
controlling method of an air-conditioning equipment including a
number of control components to a factory or company provided with
said air conditioning equipment from an operation management
company, wherein air-conditioning loads in said factory or company
are classified into loads depending on an outside-air condition and
loads based on a product plan and said operation management company
provides said control method of controlling said control components
constituting said air-conditioning equipment with said loads
depending on the outside-air condition on the basis of a forecasted
outside-air condition on that day calculated from past outside-air
condition records on and before the previous data at least and of
controlling said control components constituting said
air-conditioning equipment with said loads based on said product
plan in substantially the same condition as on the previous day, to
said factory or company.
2. An air-conditioning controlling system according to claim 1,
wherein said operation management company includes a past
outside-air condition record database in which past records of
outside-air conditions on and before the previous day are stored
and an air-conditioning thermal load database and predicts loads
depending on outside-air conditions on that day on basis of a
forecasted maximum temperature on that day obtained from weather
forecast providing means through a network, past outside-air
condition record data and load data on and before the previous
day.
3. An air-conditioning controlling system according to claim 1,
wherein said operation management company sequentially corrects a
coefficient in a temporal variation term of a forecast equation for
outside-air temperature and humidity on the basis of a time change
rate of a measured value of an outside-air temperature on that day
when a difference between the time change rate of the measured
value of the outside-air temperature on that day and a time change
rate of a transition value of a forecasted outside-air temperature
is larger than a predetermined permissible value.
4. An air-conditioning controlling system in a semiconductor
manufacturing factory connected to an operation management company
through a network, wherein said operation management company
includes forecast means for forecasting a transition of an
outside-air condition on that day, air-conditioning thermal load
predicting means for predicting an air-conditioning thermal load,
means for analyzing an air-conditioning controlling method, means
for collecting and adding amounts of energy used, and a first local
network for connecting said above-mentioned means; and said
semiconductor manufacturing factory includes means for measuring an
outside-air condition, customer terminals, means for measuring an
amount of energy used, means for measuring an operating state of
air-conditioning equipments, a second local network for connecting
said measuring means, and air-conditioning equipments for
air-conditioning semiconductor manufacturing facilities; a past
outside-air condition record database, an air-conditioning
equipment characteristic database, a
set-temperature-and-humidity-of-air-conditioni- ng-equipment
database and an air-conditioning thermal load database being
connected to any of said first or second local network; weather
forecast providing means being connected to said first local
network through the internet or a public network; results measured
by said outside-air condition measuring means being stored in said
past outside-air condition record database; said outside-air
condition transition forecasting means forecasting a transition in
future of an outside-air condition on the basis of information
stored in said past outside-air condition record database and
information provided by said weather forecast providing means;
information of thermal loads generated in said semiconductor
manufacturing facilities being stored in said air-conditioning
thermal load database; said air-conditioning thermal load
predicting means predicting a thermal load in future in said
semiconductor manufacturing factory on the basis of information
acquired from said outside-air condition transition forecasting
means and said air-conditioning thermal load database through said
first local network; set values of temperature and humidity of said
air-conditioning equipments being stored in said
set-temperature-and-humidity-of-air-conditioning-equipment
database; said air-conditioning controlling method analyzing means
analyzing said controlling method of said air-conditioning
equipments on the basis of information acquired from said
air-conditioning thermal load predicting means, said
air-conditioning equipment characteristic database and said
set-temperature-and-humidity-of-air-conditioning-equipment
database; said customer terminals displaying at least one of
information acquired from said outside-air condition transition
forecasting means, said air-conditioning thermal load predicting
means and said air-conditioning controlling method analyzing means
through the internet or the public network; said outside-air
condition measuring means, said past outside-air condition record
database, said weather forecast providing means, said outside-air
condition forecasting means, said air-conditioning thermal load
database, said air-conditioning thermal load predicting means, said
air-conditioning equipment characteristic database, said
set-temperature-and-humidity-of-air-conditioning-equipment
database, said air-conditioning controlling method analyzing means
and said terminal units being connected through the internet or the
public network.
5. An air-conditioning controlling system according to claim 4,
wherein said semiconductor manufacturing factory includes
controlling method storing means for storing an analyzed result of
said air-conditioning controlling method analyzing means and
controlling means for acquiring information stored in said
controlling method storing means and controlling said
air-conditioning equipment, and said controlling method storing
means and said controlling means are connected to said second local
network.
6. An air-conditioning controlling system according to claim 4,
wherein said semiconductor manufacturing factory includes said past
outside-air condition record database, said air-conditioning
equipment characteristic database, and said
set-temperature-and-humidity-of-air-conditioning-equip- ment
database, and said databases are connected to said second local
database, said operation management company being connected to the
internet or the public network so that said management company can
acquire information stored in said databases.
7. An air-conditioning controlling system according to claim 4,
wherein said semiconductor manufacturing factory includes said
means for measuring an amount of energy used in said
air-conditioning equipment, and said operation management company
includes amount-of-energy-used collection and addition means for
collecting and adding a measured result of said
amount-of-energy-used measuring means, said amount-of-energy-used
measuring means and said amount-of-energy-used collection and
addition means being connected through the internet or the public
network, an amount of energy used collected and added by said
amount-of-energy-used collection and addition means being capable
of being displayed in said terminal unit.
8. An air-conditioning controlling system according to claim 4,
wherein when a difference between information forecasted by said
outside-air condition transition forecasting means and information
measured by said outside-air condition measuring means exceeds a
predetermined permissible value, said outside-air condition
transition forecasting means corrects a forecasting method.
9. An air-conditioning controlling system according to claim 4,
comprising selectively inputting means capable of changing display
contents in said terminal unit.
10. An air-conditioning controlling system according to claim 4,
wherein said semiconductor manufacturing factory pays an amount of
money obtained by multiplying a difference between an amount of
energy used in said semiconductor manufacturing factory, previously
obtained before implementation of the air-conditioning control and
an amount of energy used upon the air-conditioning control,
obtained by said amount-of-energy-used collection and addition
means by a charge rate as an operation management charge to said
operation management company.
11. An air-conditioning controlling system according to claim 4,
wherein said semiconductor manufacturing factory pays an amount of
money corresponding to a value obtained by multiplication of a
period that the air-conditioning control is implemented, the number
of air-conditioning equipments and a predetermined charge rate to
said operation management company.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to an air-conditioning
controller system, and more particularly to an air-conditioning
controlling system suitable for a semiconductor manufacturing
factory.
[0002] In the factory in which semiconductor products such as
memories and LSIs are manufactured, in order to improve the quality
of the products, the products are manufactured within a clean room
shielded from the outside environment. A high-performance filter is
used in the clean room to remove floating dust in the air and the
air-conditioning system realizes a suitable environment in
temperature and humidity for manufacturing of the products.
[0003] When the clean room is air-conditioned, a large amount of
electric power is required for the air-conditioning and generation
of air stream. In order to save energy in the air-conditioning of
the clean room, JP-A-10-292943 discloses that a condition of the
outside air is measured to calculate a temperature of a cooling
liquid required for operation of an outside air-conditioning unit
and an inside air-conditioning unit on the basis of the measured
result so that a refrigerator is operated at the calculated
temperature. Further, in order to reduce the cost of the clean room
facilities and save energy thereof, JP-A-6-159751 discloses that an
outlet for blowing an air stream covering an apparatus is disposed
opposite to the apparatus and inlets for sucking the air are
disposed around the apparatus.
[0004] In the air-conditioning system in a semiconductor
manufacturing factory, two kinds of air-conditioning loads
including a cooling load varied depending on an amount of
semiconductors to be manufactured and a cooling load varied
depending on a condition of the outside air are generated.
Accordingly, only when the condition of the outside air is measured
to control the air-conditioning or only when the air-conditioning
is controlled in accordance with the amount of semiconductors to be
manufactured, only one load is considered and accordingly the
estimation of the cooling loads is not sufficient.
[0005] In the above JP-A-10-292943, since the air-conditioning is
controlled in accordance with the condition of the outside air, the
energy can be saved to some extent but some equipment cannot be
turned on and off frequently and it is insufficient to predict
operation of such equipment. Further, in JP-A-6-159751, the stream
of air in the clean room is improved but it is not considered that
the condition of the outside air is predicted to save energy. In
addition, both of the above publications do not consider that
electric energy is utilized effectively to reduce the discrepancy
between a power generation plan of a power generation company and
an amount of actually used electric power.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to
save energy in an air-conditioning system used in a factory in
which a large amount of energy is used such as, for example, a
semiconductor manufacturing factory. Further, it is an object of
the present invention to save energy in an energy supply company
that supplies energy to such a factory.
[0007] In order to achieve the above objects, according to the
present invention, in an air-conditioning controlling system for
providing a controlling method of an air-conditioning equipment
including a number of control components to a factory or company
provided with the air conditioning equipment from an operation
management company, air-conditioning thermal loads in the factory
or company are classified into loads depending on an outside-air
condition and loads based on a product plan and the operation
management company provides the method of controlling the
components constituting the air-conditioning equipment with the
loads depending on the outside-air condition on the basis of a
forecasted outside-air condition on that day calculated from past
outside-air condition records on and before the previous data at
least and of controlling the components constituting the
air-conditioning equipment with the loads based on the product plan
in substantially the same condition as on the previous day, to the
factory or company.
[0008] Further, it is preferable that the operation management
company includes a past outside-air condition record database in
which past records of outside-air conditions on and before the
previous day are stored and an air-conditioning thermal load
database and predicts loads depending on outside-air conditions on
that day on basis of a forecasted maximum temperature on that day
obtained from weather forecast providing means through a network,
past outside-air condition record data and load data on and before
the previous day.
[0009] The operation management company may sequentially corrects a
coefficient in a temporal variation term of a forecast equation for
outside-air temperature and humidity on the basis of a time change
rate of a measured value of an outside-air temperature on that day
when a difference between the time change rate of the measured
value of the outside-air temperature on that day and a time change
rate of a transition value of a forecasted outside-air temperature
is larger than a predetermined permissible value.
[0010] In order to achieve the above objects, according to another
aspect of the present invention, in an air-conditioning controlling
system in a semiconductor manufacturing factory connected to an
operation management company through a network, the operation
management company includes forecast means for forecasting a
transition of an outside-air condition on that day,
air-conditioning thermal load predicting means for predicting an
air-conditioning thermal load, means for analyzing an
air-conditioning controlling method, means for collecting and
adding amounts of energy used, and a first local network for
connecting the above-mentioned means and the semiconductor
manufacturing factory includes means for measuring an outside-air
condition, customer terminals, means for measuring an amount of
energy used, means for measuring temperature and pressure of
air-conditioning equipments, a second local network for connecting
the measuring means, and air-conditioning equipments for
air-conditioning semiconductor manufacturing facilities. A past
outside-air condition record database, an air-conditioning
equipment characteristic database, a
set-temperature-and-humidity-of-air-conditioning-equipment database
and an air-conditioning thermal load database are connected to any
of the first or second local network. Weather forecast providing
means is connected to the first local network through the internet
or a public network. Results measured by the outside-air condition
measuring means are stored in the past outside-air condition record
database. The outside-air condition transition forecasting means
forecasts a transition in future of an outside-air condition on the
basis of information stored in the past outside-air condition
record database and information provided by the weather forecast
providing means. Information of thermal loads generated in the
semiconductor manufacturing facilities is stored in the
air-conditioning thermal load database. The air-conditioning
thermal load predicting means predicts a thermal load in future in
the semiconductor manufacturing factory on the basis of information
acquired from the outside-air condition transition forecasting
means and the air-conditioning thermal load database through the
first local network. Set values of temperature and humidity of the
air-conditioning equipments are stored in the
set-temperature-and-humidity-of-air-conditioning-equipm- ent
database. The air-conditioning controlling method analyzing means
analyzes the controlling method of the air-conditioning equipments
on the basis of information acquired from the air-conditioning
thermal load predicting means, the air-conditioning equipment
characteristic database and the
set-temperature-and-humidity-of-air-conditioning-equipment
database. The customer terminals display at least one of
information acquired from the outside-air condition transition
forecasting means, the air-conditioning thermal load predicting
means and the air-conditioning controlling method analyzing means
through the internet or the public network. The outside-air
condition measuring means, the past outside-air condition record
database, the weather forecast providing means, the outside-air
condition transition forecasting means, the air-conditioning
thermal load database, the air-conditioning thermal load predicting
means, the air-conditioning equipment characteristic database, the
set-temperature-and-humidity-of-air-conditioning-equipment
database, the air-conditioning controlling method analyzing means
and the terminal units are connected through the internet or the
public network.
[0011] Further, it is preferable that the semiconductor
manufacturing factory includes controlling method storing means for
storing an analyzed result of the air-conditioning controlling
method analyzing means and controlling means for acquiring
information stored in the controlling method storing means and
preferably controls the air-conditioning equipment, and the
controlling method storing means and the controlling means are
connected to the second local network.
[0012] Moreover, it is preferable that the semiconductor
manufacturing factory includes the past outside-air condition
record database, the air-conditioning equipment characteristic
database, and the
set-temperature-and-humidity-of-air-conditioning-equipment
database, and the databases are connected to the second local
database. It is preferable that the operation management company is
connected to the internet or the public network so that the
management company can acquire information stored in the
databases.
[0013] It is preferable that the semiconductor manufacturing
factory includes the means for measuring an amount of energy used
in the air-conditioning equipment, and the operation-management
company includes amount-of-energy-used collection and addition
means for collecting and adding a measured result of the
amount-of-energy-used measuring means. The amount-of-energy-used
measuring means and the amount-of-energy-used collection and
addition means are connected through the internet or the public
network. An amount of energy used collected and added by the
amount-of-energy-used collection and addition means can be
displayed in the terminal unit.
[0014] When a difference between information forecasted by the
outside-air condition transition forecasting means and information
measured by the outside-air condition measuring means exceeds a
predetermined permissible value, the outside-air condition
transition forecasting means preferably corrects a forecasting
method. Selectively inputting means capable of changing display
contents in the terminal unit may be provided.
[0015] The semiconductor manufacturing factory may pay an amount of
money obtained by multiplying a difference between an amount of
energy used in the semiconductor manufacturing factory, previously
obtained before implementation of the air-conditioning control and
an amount of energy used upon the air-conditioning control,
obtained by the amount-of-energy-used collection and addition means
by a charge rate as an operation management charge to the operation
management company. The semiconductor manufacturing factory may pay
an amount of money corresponding to a value obtained by
multiplication of a period that the air-conditioning is
implemented, the number of air-conditioning equipments and a
predetermined charge rate to the operation management company.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically illustrating an
embodiment of an air-conditioning controlling system according to
the present invention;
[0017] FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing air-conditioning control in
the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;
[0018] FIG. 3 is a block diagram schematically illustrating another
embodiment of an air-conditioning controlling system according to
the present invention;
[0019] FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing air-conditioning control in
the embodiment shown in FIG. 3;
[0020] FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing a collection method of
predicting section for predicting a transition of a condition of
the outside air;
[0021] FIG. 6 shows an example of a format of a database for
storing the condition of the outside air;
[0022] FIG. 7 shows a past outside-air condition record displayed
in a computer terminal as an example;
[0023] FIG. 8 shows an operation state of an air-conditioning
equipment displayed in the computer terminal as an example;
[0024] FIG. 9 shows a state of energy used in an air-conditioning
equipment displayed in the computer terminal as an example; and
[0025] FIG. 10 is a block diagram schematically illustrating an
embodiment of an air-conditioning equipment in semiconductor
manufacturing facilities according to the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
[0026] Embodiments of the present invention are now described with
reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram
schematically illustrating an embodiment of an air-conditioning
controlling system according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a
flow chart showing air-conditioning control in the embodiment shown
in FIG. 1. The air-conditioning controlling system shown in the
embodiment comprises a management company X for air-conditioning
operation and a plurality of semiconductor manufacturing factories
1A, 1B . . . which are air-conditioned using electric power and
information provided by the management company X.
[0027] The management company X is connected to the semiconductor
manufacturing factories 1A, 1B, . . . through information
transmission and reception sections 13 and a network 10 such as the
internet, for example. The management company X is also connected
to weather forecast providing section 30 through information
transmission and reception section 14 and a network 11. The
management company X includes a local network 10X, to which
sections for predicting or analyzing air-conditioning loads, such
as the information transmission and reception sections 13 and 14,
section 21 for forecasting transition of a condition of the outside
air, section 22 for predicting thermal loads of air-conditioning
operation, section 23 for analyzing an air-conditioning controlling
method and section 24 for collecting and adding amounts of energy
used are connected. The sections 21 to 24 are controlled by a
personal computer 20.
[0028] Further, connected to the local network 10X are a past
outside-air condition record database 25 in which conditions of the
outside-air are stored, an air-conditioning equipment
characteristic database 26 in which information concerning
air-conditioning equipments is stored, a
set-temperature-and-humidity-of-air-conditioning-equipment database
27 in which set values for air-conditioning are stored, and an
air-conditioning thermal load database 28 in which thermal loads of
air-conditioning are stored.
[0029] On the other hand, the semiconductor manufacturing factories
1A, 1B . . . are also provided with local networks 10A, 10B . . .
Information transmission and reception section 12A for transmitting
and receiving information between the local network 10A and the
network 10 is connected to the local network 10A. A customer
terminal 2A used by a worker in the semiconductor manufacturing
factory 1A, section 3A for measuring a condition of the outside
air, section 4A for measuring an amount of energy used, section 5A
for measuring temperature and pressure of an air-conditioning
equipment, and an air-conditioning equipment 7A are connected to
the local network 10A. Even in other semiconductor manufacturing
factories 1B . . . , the same sections as described above are
connected to the local network 10B . . . similarly.
[0030] As an example of the semiconductor manufacturing factory
included in the air-conditioning system thus structured, FIG. 10
illustrates a semiconductor manufacturing factory including a clean
room. In FIG. 10, the air-conditioning equipment measuring section
5A and the air-conditioning equipment 7A are illustrated in detail.
A duct 93 for introducing the outside air is attached to a clean
room 95 disposed to cover a semiconductor manufacturing line. A
blower 90, a humidifier 81, a cooling coil 41 and a heater 82 are
disposed in the duct 93 in order of this description from the
outside-air side. These elements are integrated to be accommodated
in one casing and named an outside air-conditioning unit.
[0031] The clean outside air having a proper humidity and
temperature led to the clean room 95 through the duct 93 flows down
into the clean room as a substantially uniform down-flow 96 from a
fan 94 disposed in an upper portion of the clean room. The
down-flow 96 cools semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses 43
disposed in the clean room 95 and then flows into a space 97 formed
under a floor from gaps of a grating formed in the floor of the
clean room 95.
[0032] Part of the flow flowing into the space 97 under the floor
is cooled by a dry-cooling coil 42 and becomes the down-flow 96 to
the clean room 95 together with the outside air again. The
remaining flow of the down-flow 96 flowing into the space 97 under
the floor is discharged to the outside from an outlet as
high-temperature exhaust air 92. Harmful gas 91 generated by the
semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses 43 is fed to a processing
unit not shown from the outlet.
[0033] In order to keep the clean room 95 to a proper temperature
and humidity environment, the clean room 95 is provided with an
air-conditioning and humidity controller additionally. The
humidifier 81 and the heater 82 disposed in the duct 93 for
introducing the outside air into the clean room 95 are fed with
high-temperature steam from a boiler 80. Further, in order to
remove or radiate heat generated by the semiconductor manufacturing
apparatuses 43, a circulation path in which circulating water flows
is disposed within the semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses 43.
A cooling water pump 62 and a heat exchanger 70 for exchanging heat
generated by the semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses 43 with
cooling water are disposed on the way of the circulation path.
[0034] In order to cool air heated by air-conditioning the inside
of the clean room 95, the circulation path in which circulating
water flows passes through the dry-cooling coil 42. A dry-coil type
cooling water pump 63 and a dry-coil cooling water type heat
exchanger 71 are disposed in the circulation path. The heat
exchanger 71 heat-exchanges the circulating water passing through
the dry-cooling coil 42 with cooling water described below.
[0035] Water stored in a cooling water pool 50 is fed to a
plurality of refrigerators 51a, 51b, . . . , 51n by a plurality of
primary cooling water pumps 60a, 60b, . . . , 60n, respectively,
and returned to the cooling water pool 50 after cooled by the
refrigerators 51a, 51b, . . . , 51n. The water cooled by the
refrigerators 51a, 51b, . . . , 51n and stored in the cooling water
pool 50 is pumped up by a plurality of secondary cooling water
pumps 61a, 61b, . . . , 61k to a header 52 for feeding cooled water
having fixed pressure to portions where the cooled water is used
for cooling.
[0036] The cooled water fed to the header 52 takes heat of air
heated by air-conditioning the clean room 95 and the semiconductor
manufacturing apparatuses 43 from the water circulating in the
semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses 43 and the dry-cooling coil
42, so that the cooled water is heated. Further, in order to cool
pure water 40 used in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses
43 and the like, the cooled water is fed to a pure-cooling-water
heat exchanger 72 from the header 52. The pure water cooled by heat
exchange with the cooled water is sent by a pure water pump 64 to
the portions where the pure water is used.
[0037] The cooled water cools the circulating water and the pure
water in the heat exchangers 70, 71 and 72 to be heated to a high
temperature and is returned to the cooling water pool 50. A return
inlet to the cooling water pool 50 of the high-temperature water
pumped up by the primary cooling water pumps is separated from an
intake to the refrigerators of the water cooled by the
refrigerators 51a, 51b, . . . , 51n so that the high-temperature
water and the cooled water are not mixed.
[0038] In the embodiment thus structured, the cooled water fed to
the cooling coil 41 is heat-exchanged with the outside air fed from
the blower 90 in the cooling coil 41 to cool the outside air and
remove humidity therefrom. When the temperature and the humidity of
the outside air are lower than a prescribed value, it is not
necessary to cool the outside air and remove humidity therefrom and
accordingly supply of the cooling water to the cooling coil 41 is
stopped. Further, when it is necessary to humidify and heat the
outside air, steam generated by the boiler 80 is led to the
humidifier 81 and the heater 82.
[0039] Moreover, when harmful gas is generated in the manufacturing
process of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses 43, the
generated harmful gas is discharged to the outside of the clean
room, while the outside air equal in quantity to the discharged gas
and the air heated by air-conditioning of the clean room and
discharged to the outside is introduced from the outside
air-conditioning unit. The reason why part of the air-conditioned
air is discharged to the outside is that it is prevented to
increase a load on the dry-cooling coil 42.
[0040] The cooled load source in the semiconductor manufacturing
factory shown in FIG. 10 includes the semiconductor manufacturing
apparatuses 43, the dry-cooling coil 42, the cooling coil 41 of the
outside air-conditioning unit and the pure water 40. The heated
load source includes the humidifier 81 and the heater 82. An amount
of heat generated in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses 43
and an amount of heat generated in the heat exchange (heat
exchanger duty) in the dry-cooling coil 42 among the cooled load
generated from the cooled load source depend on an amount of
manufactured semiconductor products, that is, the number of the
semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses 43 and the rate of
operation thereof. The amount of manufactured semiconductor
products is based on a manufacture plan and is not related to the
season.
[0041] On the contrary, the amount of heat generated in the heat
exchange in the cooling coil 41 of the outside air-conditioning
unit and the cooled load on the pure water 40 depend on the
condition of the outside air. That is, when the temperature of the
outside air and the humidity are high, the load to be cooled is
increased and when the temperature and the humidity of the outside
air are low, the load to be cooled is reduced. Accordingly, the
load is varied greatly depending on the seasons and in a day. For
the cooling coil 41, the load variation depending on the seasons
and in a day is particularly remarkable.
[0042] In order to cope with the variation of the load as minutely
as possible for the load varied depending on the temperature of the
outside air, that is, the load varied depending on the seasons, a
plurality of heat source apparatuses or heat conveying or
transmission apparatuses such as the refrigerators 51, the primary
cooling water pumps 60 and the secondary cooling water pumps 61 are
disposed. The number of the apparatuses to be installed is set so
that the ability thereof is not insufficient even for the maximum
load when all of the apparatuses are operated.
[0043] The method of controlling the apparatuses such as the heat
source apparatuses and the pumps in the embodiment shown in FIG. 10
is now described as compared with the prior art. In a conventional
semiconductor manufacturing factory, a worker decides the number of
apparatuses to be operated on that day on the basis of his past
experience and operates or stops the apparatuses by hand at the
commencement time in the morning. In this case, the number of
apparatuses to be operated is decided large so that a margin is
contained to some extent so as not to lack the amount of cooling
and heating generated by the heat source apparatuses. The reason is
that a failure of the air-conditioning system directly influences
the yield in manufacturing of semiconductors and great economical
damage is suffered.
[0044] In such an operation method, a large amount of cooling and
heating is fed as compared with the load to be cooled. That is,
since more heat source apparatuses such as the refrigerators and
more heat conveying apparatuses such as the pumps than required for
the load to be cooled are operated, energy is used vainly by an
excessive amount. Further, since the heat source apparatuses are
operated in the state of a small load factor when more heat source
apparatuses are operated than required for the load to be cooled,
the efficiency of the apparatuses is reduced and energy is used
vainly even in this aspect.
[0045] Accordingly, in the embodiment, the air-conditioning load is
controlled on the basis of information on the previous day to
thereby save energy. More particularly, as illustrated in FIGS. 1
and 2, when the air-conditioner controlling service of the
management company X for air-conditioning operation is started
(step 200), the personal computer 20 reads in past record
information such as temperature and absolute humidity on the
previous day from the past outside-air condition record database 25
(step 202). Measured values of the conditions of the outside air on
and before the previous day or information of the conditions of the
outside air obtained by the weather forecast providing section 30
on and before the previous day are stored in the past outside-air
condition record database 25.
[0046] Then, the personal computer 20 acquires the maximum
temperature forecasted on that day from the weather forecast
providing section 30 (step 204). The outside-air condition
forecasting section 21 forecasts transition of the outside-air
conditions on that day on the basis of the past record information
of the condition of the outside air on the previous day and the
forecasted maximum temperature on that day. In the two continuous
days, a difference in the absolute humidity between the first day
and the second day is small generally. Accordingly, when the
transition of the absolute humidity of the outside air on that day
is forecasted, the record of the absolute humidity of the outside
air on the previous day, for example, is used as it is.
[0047] On the other hand, a difference in the temperature of the
outside air between the first and second days is different
depending on the day. However, the tendency of variation in
temperature in a day, for example, a time that the maximum
temperature is reached, has a small difference between the first
and second days. Thus, an outside-air temperature record curve on
the previous day is corrected to be shifted by a difference between
the forecast maximum temperature on that day and the maximum
temperature on the previous day. Consequently, the transition in
temperature of the outside air on that day can be forecasted.
[0048] When the forecast of the transition of the outside-air
condition (step 206) is ended, the personal computer 20 reads in
the air-conditioning thermal load on the previous day from the
air-conditioning thermal load database 28 (step 208) and the
air-conditioning thermal load predicting section 22 predicts the
air-conditioning thermal load on that day on the basis of the
air-conditioning thermal load obtained and the forecasted result of
the transition of the outside-air condition on that day (step
210).
[0049] When the air-conditioning thermal load is predicted, the
prediction method described below is used. Records of thermal loads
of the facilities to be air-conditioned are previously stored in
the air-conditioning thermal load database 28. In the case of the
embodiment shown in FIG. 10, the load to be cooled for the
semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses 43, the dry-cooling coil
42, the cooling coil 41 and the pure water 40 and the load to be
heated for the humidifier 81 and the heater 82 are stored.
[0050] The thermal load information stored in the air-conditioning
thermal load database 28 is classified into the information
depending on the outside-air condition and the information
independent of the outside-air condition. The cooling coil 41 and
the pure water 40 are the air-conditioning thermal load sources
depending on the outside-air condition as described above. The
air-conditioning thermal load curve on the previous day for these
air-conditioning thermal loads depending on the outside-air
condition is corrected by a difference in the outside-air condition
between the forecasted result of the transition on that day and the
measured result on the previous day.
[0051] On the other hand, the semiconductor manufacturing
apparatuses 43 and the dry-cooling coil 42 are the air-conditioning
thermal load independent of the outside-air condition since the
semiconductor manufacturing line is in operation the whole year and
contents of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses are not
changed. Accordingly, the air-conditioning thermal load thereof
depends on an amount of semiconductors manufactured but the
air-conditioning load on the semiconductor manufacturing
apparatuses independent of the outside-air condition is regarded to
be the same as the air-conditioning thermal load on the previous
day in almost all days.
[0052] After the air-conditioning thermal load on that day has been
analyzed, the personal computer 20 reads in the characteristics of
the air-conditioning equipments such as partial load characteristic
of the refrigerator from the air-conditioning equipment
characteristic database 26 (step 212). Further, the personal
computer reads in information such as a set temperature and
humidity of the clean room from the
set-temperature-and-humidity-of-air-conditioning-equipment database
27 (step 214). The air-conditioning controlling method analyzing
section 23 analyzes an energy saving operation method so that an
amount of energy used in the semiconductor manufacturing factory is
minimized on the basis of the information and the set temperature
and humidity of the air-conditioning equipments read in from the
database and the predicted result of the air-conditioning thermal
load on that day (step 216).
[0053] The operation management company X transmits the various
information thus obtained, to the semiconductor manufacturing
factories 1A, 1B, . . . which are customers from the information
transmission and reception sections 13 through the internet 10. In
the customers, the information is received by the information
transmission and reception sections 12A, 12B, . . . and read in the
customer terminals 2A, 2B, . . . to be displayed (step 218).
Information including the forecasted result of transition in the
outside-air condition on that day and the analyzed result of the
method of controlling the air-conditioning equipment are displayed
in the customer terminals 2A, 2B, . . . In the semiconductor
manufacturing factories 1A, 1B, . . . , controller 6A, 6B, . . .
for the air-conditioning equipments are directly controlled from
the customer terminals 2A, 2B, . . . on the basis of the displayed
information or valves are opened or closed by hand. The worker may
operate the controllers 6A, 6B, . . . on the basis of the
information displayed in the customer terminals. In this case,
there is a merit that the controllers can be disposed near the
air-conditioning equipments. Operation portions of the controllers
6A, 6B, . . . or the air-conditioning equipments 7A, 7B, . . . are
operated to thereby complete daily operation of the
air-conditioning equipments (step 250).
[0054] The amount-of-energy-used measurement sections 4A, 4B, . . .
measures amounts of energy used in the air-conditioning equipments
7A, 7B, . . . at intervals of predetermined time and transmit the
measured results of the amounts of energy used to the
amount-of-energy-used collection and addition section 24 through
the information transmission and reception sections 12, 13
automatically or by hand. The amount-of-energy-used collection and
addition section 24 stores the measured result in an
amount-of-energy-used database 24X.
[0055] In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the outside-air condition
transition forecasting section 21, the air-conditioning thermal
load predicting section 22, the
energy-saving-operation-method-of-air-conditioning-equipm- ent
analyzing section 23 constituting the air-conditioning controlling
method analyzing section, the amount-of-energy-used collection and
addition section 24, the past outside-air temperature record
database 25, the air-conditioning equipment characteristic database
26, and the
set-temperature-and-humidity-of-air-conditioning-equipment database
27 are all connected to the local network 10x owned by the
operation management company X, although some or all of them may be
connected to a public communication network directly. Further, the
databases may be connected to the local network of the
semiconductor manufacturing factories. In this case, the security
of the customer information is apt to be kept.
[0056] Similarly, in the embodiment, the customer terminals 2A, 2B,
. . . , the outside-air condition measuring sections 3A, 3B, . . .
, the amount-of-energy-used measurement sections 4A, 4B, . . . ,
the air-conditioning equipment measuring sections 5A, 5B, . . . ,
and the air-conditioning equipments 7A, 7B, . . . are connected to
the local networks 10A, 10B, . . . provided in the semiconductor
manufacturing factories 1A, 1B, . . . , although some or all of
them may be connected to the public communication network
directly.
[0057] FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate another embodiment of the present
invention. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the
air-conditioning system. FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing processing
contents of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3. The embodiment is
different from the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 in that the
semiconductor manufacturing factories 1A, 1B, . . . include
air-conditioning equipment control databases 8A, 8B, . . . and
controllers 6A, 6B, . . . connected to the local networks 10A, 10B,
. . . The air-conditioning equipments 7A, 7B, . . . are connected
to the controllers 6A, 6B, . . . , respectively. With this
difference in the configuration, after the air-conditioning control
information has been displayed in the customer terminal 2, the
information can be outputted to the air-conditioning control
databases 8A, 8B, . . . (step 420).
[0058] More particularly, the control method of the
air-conditioning equipments obtained by using the air-conditioning
controlling method analyzing section 23 is stored in the
air-conditioning control databases 8A, 8B, . . . in step 420. The
controllers 6A, 6B, . . . obtain information of the
air-conditioning equipment control databases 8A, 8B, . . . through
the local networks 10A, 10B, . . . The air-conditioning equipments
7A, 7B, . . . are controlled on the basis of the obtained
information. According to the embodiment, the operation that the
worker controls the air-conditioning equipment manually or by using
the customer terminal after the worker has confirmed display in the
customer terminal can be omitted, so that operation of the
air-conditioning system can be automated.
[0059] Further, operation records of the apparatuses constituting
the air-conditioning system such as the refrigerators 51a, 51b, . .
. , 51n and the secondary cooling water pumps 61a, 61b, . . . , 61k
can be stored in the databases 8A, 8B, . . . and operation times of
the apparatuses can be calculated so that the apparatuses can be
operated on the average. With such measures, it can be prevented
that operation is concentrated to only a particular equipment and
the life of the equipments can be made to substantially the same.
Consequently, the apparatuses can be maintained at substantially
the same timing.
[0060] Further, the operation management company X can obtain
charges for management based on operation times from the
semiconductor manufacturing factories 1A, 1B, . . . This management
charges are calculated by multiplying a charge rate by a difference
between an amount of used energy previously obtained before
implementation of the air-controlling control and an amount of used
energy when the air-conditioning control described in the
embodiment is performed. When it is difficult to calculate the
operation time exactly, the number of days or control time that the
control described in the embodiment is performed is multiplied by
the number of controllers to thereby calculate the management
charges in brief.
[0061] FIG. 5 shows a method of correcting the outside-air
condition transition forecasting method of the outside-air
condition transition forecasting section 21. When a correction
program is executed (step 500), the outside-air condition
transition forecasting section 21 reads in the forecasted result of
the transition of the outside-air condition on that day from the
past outside-air condition record database 25 (step 502). Then, the
outside-air condition transition forecasting section reads in the
measured result of the outside-air condition on that day from the
same database 25 (step 504). A difference between the forecasted
result and the measured result of the outside-air condition is
compared with a previously set permissible value (step 506). When
the difference is larger than the permissible value, the
outside-air condition transition forecasting method of the
outside-air condition transition forecasting section 21 is
corrected automatically. Thus, the forecast accuracy for the
air-conditioning thermal load in the air-conditioning thermal load
predicting section 22 can be improved to provide the service having
high reliability.
[0062] More particularly, the outside-air temperature on that day
is measured and the temporal change rate thereof is calculated. A
difference between the temporal change rate calculated from the
measured outside-air temperature and the temporal change rate of
the transition value of the outside-air temperature forecasted is
calculated. When the difference exceeds a permissible value, a
coefficient in a temporal variation term of the outside-air
temperature and humidity in a forecast equation used to forecast
the transition of the outside-air temperature is corrected so that
the forecasted value on that day is equal to the measured value.
Thereafter, the corrected coefficient is used to forecast the
transition of the outside-air temperature.
[0063] FIG. 6 shows an example of a data format of the past
outside-air condition record database 25. A dedicated file for each
of the semiconductor manufacturing factories is provided in the
past outside-air condition record database 25. Date, time,
forecasted result of outside-air temperature, measured results of
outside-air temperature and absolute outside-air humidity and the
like are stored in each file sequentially. The dedicated file is
provided for each of the semiconductor manufacturing factories, so
that information for each of the semiconductor manufacturing
factories can be extracted promptly.
[0064] FIG. 7 shows an example of an outside-air condition record
displayed in the customer terminal. In FIG. 7, the forecasted
result and the measured result of the outside-air temperature are
displayed in each of the customer terminals 2A, 2B, . . . Further,
a record in one day is displayed in a graph having the abscissa
axis representing time and the ordinate axis representing
temperature. In FIG. 7, an outside-air humidity record is not
displayed, while it is needless to say that the outside-air
humidity record can be displayed similarly.
[0065] FIG. 8 shows an example of the air-conditioning equipment
controlling method displayed in the customer terminal. In FIG. 8,
the operation state for each of the air-conditioning equipments
constituting the air-conditioning system is displayed in each of
the customer terminals 2A, 2B, . . . The operation state is
displayed in a graph having the abscissa axis representing time and
the ordinate axis representing the number of equipments in
operation. Although the air-conditioning equipment includes a lot
of apparatuses such as the refrigerators and the pumps, when a name
of an apparatus is selectively inputted from a menu in each of the
customer terminals 2A, 2B, . . . , information concerning a desired
air-conditioning equipment is obtained. In FIG. 8, the number of
refrigerators in operation of the same kind is displayed, while an
operation condition of an apparatus itself, for example, an
operation or stop state thereof may be displayed.
[0066] FIG. 9 shows an example of a state of energy used in the
air-conditioning equipment displayed in the customer terminal. An
amount of used energy inputted previously to the
amount-of-energy-used collection and addition section 24 before
implementation of the service for providing the air-conditioning
equipment controlling method and an amount of used energy measured
by the amount-of-energy-used measurement sections 4A, 4B, . . .
after the implementation of the service are displayed in each of
the customer terminals 2A, 2B, . . . Further, the amounts are also
displayed in a graph having the abscissa axis representing date and
the ordinate axis representing an amount of energy used. In
addition, a difference of the amounts of energy used between before
and after the implementation of the service and an amount of money
for energy corresponding to the difference are also displayed
therein. Accordingly, the amount of energy used of the
air-conditioning system and the saving effect of energy can be
grasped easily.
[0067] The displayed contents shown in FIGS. 6 to 9 may be
displayed in all of the customer terminals at the same time and
only desired contents may be displayed in the customer terminal by
selective inputting by the worker. Further, even in any of
embodiments, since the air-conditioning thermal load is predicted,
the energy supply company can predict the amount of energy to be
supplied. Accordingly, the situation that an amount of electric
power generated is lacking or excessive can be avoided in the
business plan of the energy supply company, for example, when the
power generation company makes an operation plan of the power
generation apparatuses. Moreover, since the energy supply company
can supply energy stably, the reliability is improved and the
saving of energy is attained.
[0068] According to the present invention, since the
air-conditioning thermal loads are classified into loads depending
on the outside-air condition and loads varied on the basis of a
product plan and each of them is predicted separately, the amount
of energy to be supplied can be predicted. Accordingly, it can be
avoided that energy is used vainly in the factory or company such
as the semiconductor manufacturing factory which consumes a large
amount of electric power.
* * * * *