Method and equipment of making a length of heat conduction pipe in a vacuum environment from a semi-finished heat conduction pipe

Abstract

A method of making a length of heat conduction pipe from a long conduction pipe filled with heat transfer medium in vacuum environment comprises: a material preparation step in which a long heat conduction pipe with predetermined length sealed at both ends is prepared, a squelching and cutting step in which squelching and cutting is conducted on pre-determined point of said long heat conduction pipe in vacuum environment; a sealing step by which the cut end of said long heat conduction pipe is brazed and sealed in vacuum. There also provides an equipment for performing the method.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ACCOMPANIED DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram for manufacturing heat conduction pipe shown in Taiwanese Patent No. 1250913.

FIG. 2 (2A˜2E) are schematic views showing the flow chart of shrinking process, length determination process, squelching and shaping process etc. associated with FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of flow chart showing the 1^st length determination method of heat conduction pipe of this invention.

FIG. 4 (4A˜4D) are schematic views showing the flow chart of length determination process of heat conduction pipe of this invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of flow chart showing the 2^nd length determination method of heat conduction pipe.

FIG. 6 (6A˜6E) are schematic views showing the flow chart of length determination process of heat conduction pipe associated with FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The technical features of the present invention will become more apparent by the following detailed description of preferred embodiments in conjunction with the accompanied drawings. However, said embodiments are for illustrative purpose only, and should not be considered as limitation on the range of claims for the present invention.

Firstly, the semi-finished heat conduction pipe of this invention is prepared according to the Taiwanese Patent No. 1250913 owned by the applicant, entitled “Manufacturing Method for Heat Conduction Pipe”, in which a certain stock quantity of semi-finished heat conduction pipe with extended length longer than ordinary requirement is prepared in advance.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show the 1^st embodiment of the length determination method of heat conduction pipe of this invention, mainly including the following steps:

• • a material preparation step—in which semi-finished heat conduction pipe 20′ with a predetermined length sealed at both ends is prepared,
  • a squelching and cutting step—in which squelching and cutting is conducted on a fixed point of said semi-finished heat conduction pipe 20′ in vacuum environment 10 by a squelching and cutting device 12,
  • a sealing step—in which the cut end of said semi-finished heat conduction pipe 20′ is brazed and sealed in vacuum environment 10 by a bra zinging device 14.

FIG. 4A˜4D are schematic views showing the flow chart of length determination method of heat conduction pipe of this invention. The length determination equipment 1 for conducting said length determination method at least comprises:

• • a housing 1a having an enclosed space 10 preferably provided with a see-through type mask portion 1b which can be opened for convenience.
  • an evacuation device 16, for example a vacuum pump etc., provided outside said enclosed space 10 for evacuating said enclosed space 10 into vacuum state.
  • a squelching and cutting device 12 provided in said enclosed space 10 for conducting squelching and cutting at certain point on semi-finished heat conduction pipe.
  • a brazing device 14 provided in said enclosed space 10 for brazing and sealing the cut point of semi-finished heat conduction pipe 20′.

According to this invention, as the pressure outside the pipe is under negative pressure, the outside gas is prevented from infiltrating into pipe at the instant of breakage happened during the squelching, cutting and sealing operation on said semi-finished heat conduction pipe 20′ in the enclosed space 10. Thus, the shrinking process and heating procedure can be omitted so that the disadvantage in current length determination operation is improved. Good result is obtained even at normal temperature without heating. Thus, there is no problem with respect to vacuum failure within pipe.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show the 2^nd embodiment of the length determination method in vacuum condition for heat conduction pipe of this invention, in which residual gas generated during evacuation and liquid filling step can be expelled to the upper portion, i.e., the cut portion and removed, by heating at low temperature before squelching and cutting process so as to get better vacuum level. This embodiment mainly includes the following steps:

• • a material preparation step—in which semi-finished heat conduction pipe 20′ with a predetermined length sealed at both ends is prepared,
  • a shrinking step—in which the diameter at certain point on each semi-finished heat conduction pipe 20′ is shrunken to a diameter 20a′.
  • a heating step—in which the semi-finished heat conduction pipe 20′ after shrinking to diameter 20a is disposed vertically in a vacuum environment 10, and the bottom of the pipe 20′ is heated by a heating device 11.
  • a squelching and cutting step—in which squelching and cutting is conducted on the shrunken portion 20a′of each semi-finished heat conduction pipe 20′ in vacuum environment 10 by a squelching and cutting device 12.
  • a sealing step—in which the cut end of said semi-finished heat conduction pipe 20′ is brazed and sealed in vacuum environment 10 by a bra zinging device 14.

FIG. 6A˜6E is schematic views showing the flow chart of length determination method in vacuum condition for heat conduction pipe according to the invention. The length determination equipment 1 for conducting said length determination method at least comprises

• • a housing 1a having an enclosed space 10 preferably provided with a see-through type mask portion 1b which can be opened for convenience.
  • an evacuation device 16, for example a vacuum pump etc., provided outside said enclosed space 10 for evacuating said enclosed space 10 into vacuum state.
  • a heating device 11 provided in said enclosed space 10, which is used to heat the bottom portion of the semi-finished heat conduction pipe 20′.
  • a squelching and cutting device 12 provided in said enclosed space 10 for conducting squelching and cutting at certain point on semi-finished heat conduction pipe.
  • a brazing device 14 provided in said enclosed space 10 for brazing and sealing the cut point of the semi-finished heat conduction pipe 20′.

According to this invention, this embodiment has a shrinking step before the squelching and cutting step, i.e., to shrink partly the diameter at a certain point to be cut on the semi-finished heat conduction pipe 20′ in advance. Besides, a heating device 11 is used to heat the bottom portion of the semi-finished heat conduction pipe 20′ before the squelching and cutting step, so that residual gas generated during evacuation and liquid filling step can be expelled to the upper portion, i.e., the portion 20b′ to be cut off and removed. It is these two steps that this embodiment is different from the previous embodiment. According to this invention, the heating, if needed, at a temperature lower than boiling point 100° C. at normal pressure is conducted on the heat conduction pipe in vacuum environment. The saturated vapor pressure of the working medium, for example, water at a heating temperature, for example, 50° C. (the saturated vapor pressure at 50° C. is 0.123 kg/cm²) is only ⅛ of the saturated vapor pressure at 100° C. In this case, the working medium vapor leakage loss is quite limited, and effective control on the working medium quantity can be strictly conducted so as to increase yield rate of heat conduction pipe finished product. It is to be understood by those who are skillful in the art, that the length determination method can be conducted on a plurality of semi-finished heat conduction pipes at one time through appropriate design, so as to increase the production efficiency.

While this invention has been described by preferred embodiments mentioned above, it is to be understood these embodiments are only for illustrative purpose, and should not be considered as limitation on the range of the present invention. The equivalent variations or modifications are considered to be within the range of the present invention without departing from the spirit of this invention, which is well defined by the appended claims.

Symbol List of Main Components

• 1,1′ equipment of length determination
• 1 a housing
• 1 b mask portion
• 10 enclosed space/vacuum environment
• 11 heating device
• 12 squelching and cutting device
• 14 brazing device
• 16 evacuation device
• 20 heat conduction pipe
• 20′ heat conduction pipe
• 20 a′ shrunken portion
• 20 b′ cut portion

Claims

1. A method of making a length of heat conduction pipe in a vacuum environment from a semi-finished heat conduction pipe filled with heat transfer medium comprising: a material preparation step—for preparing semi-finished heat conduction pipe with a predetermined length sealed at both ends,a squelching and cutting step—for squelching and cutting said semi-finished heat conduction pipe on a certain fixed point in the vacuum environment by a squelching and cutting devicea sealing step—for brazing and sealing the cut end of said semi-finished heat conduction pipe in vacuum environment by a bra zinging device.

2. A method of making a length of heat conduction pipe in a vacuum environment as claimed in claim 1, wherein it further includes a shrinking step before said squelching and cutting step, for partly shrinking the diameter of said semi-finished heat conduction pipe at a point to be cut.

3. A method of making a length of heat conduction pipe in a vacuum environment as claimed in claim 1, wherein it further includes a heating step before said squelching and cutting step for heating the bottom portion of the semi-finished heat conduction pipe by a heating device.

4. A method of making a length of heat conduction pipe in a vacuum environment as claimed in claim 3, wherein said semi-finished heat conduction pipe is set in a vertical direction.

5. A method of making a length of heat conduction pipe in a vacuum environment as claimed in claim 1, wherein a plurality of semi-finished heat conduction pipes are conducted at one time.

6. An equipment for making a length of heat conduction pipe in a vacuum environment, from a semi-finished heat conduction pipe filled with heat transfer medium including a housing having an enclosed space,an evacuation device provided outside said housing for evacuating said enclosed space into vacuum state,a squelching and cutting device provided in said enclosed space for conducting squelching and cutting at a point of said semi-finished heat conduction pipe,a brazing device provided in said enclosed space for brazing and sealing the cut point of said semi-finished heat conduction pipe.

7. An equipment for making a length of heat conduction pipe in a vacuum environment as claimed in claim 6, wherein the diameter at a certain fixed point to be cut on said semi-finished heat conduction pipe is partly shrunken.

8. An equipment for making a length of heat conduction pipe in a vacuum environment as claimed in claim 6, wherein said equipment further includes a heating device provided within said enclosed space for heating the bottom portion of said semi-finished heat conduction pipe.

9. An equipment for making a length of heat conduction pipe in a vacuum environment as claimed in claim 8, wherein said semi-finished heat conduction pipe is set in a vertical direction.

10. An equipment for making a length of heat conduction pipe in a vacuum environment as claimed in claim 6, wherein said housing is provided with a mask portion that can be opened.

11. An equipment for making a length of heat conduction pipe in a vacuum environment as claimed in claim 10, wherein said mask portion is a transplant window.

12. An equipment for making a length of semi-finished heat conduction pipe in a vacuum environment as claimed in claim 6, wherein a plurality of said semi-finished heat conduction pipes are conducted at one time.