Electrically isolated rotary cooling plate assembly

Abstract

The invention is an electrically isolated rotary cooling plate assembly being an assembly of components in a closed system, having: a cooling plate having a top side for affixing a workpiece to be worked on, the cooling plate having a coolant channel therein for coolant flow; a layer of non-conductive material attached to an underside of the cooling plate, a side opposite to the top side; a coolant tube assembly connected to the underside of the cooling plate for transporting coolant to and from the coolant channel in the cooling plate; a rotary union block connected to an end of the coolant tube assembly, opposite from an end connected to the cooling plate, for transporting coolant to and from the coolant tube assembly; an anti-rotation block connected to the rotary union block to prevent the rotary union block from rotating; and a rotary ground connected to the coolant tube assembly.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An electrically isolated rotary cooling plate assembly being an operable assembly of components in a single closed system, comprising:
 a cooling plate having a top side for affixing a workpiece to be worked on, the cooling plate having a coolant channel therein for coolant flow;   a layer of non-conductive material attached to an underside of the cooling plate, a side opposite to the top side;   a coolant tube assembly connected to the underside of the cooling plate for transporting coolant to and from the coolant channel in the cooling plate;   a rotary union block connected to an end of the coolant tube assembly, opposite from an end connected to the cooling plate, for transporting coolant to and from the coolant tube assembly;   an anti-rotation block connected to the rotary union block to prevent the rotary union block from rotating; and   a rotary ground connected to the coolant tube assembly.   
     
     
         2 . The electrically isolated rotary cooling plate assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the cooling plate is a material selected from the group consisting of: metal such as aluminum (Al), various aluminum alloys, various steels, various stainless steels, other alloys, copper, metals and composite materials. 
     
     
         3 . The electrically isolated rotary cooling plate assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the coolant channel is a single, continuous coolant channel. 
     
     
         4 . The electrically isolated rotary cooling plate assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the thin layer of non-conductive material is selected from the group consisting of: insulating material is a material such as silicone; various ceramics; various rubbers; polyamide/nylon; and various plastics, including Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), Nylon, Polyamides (PA), Polyimides (PI), Polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), Polycarbonates (PC), Polyetheretherketone (PEEK), Polyetherketone (PEK), Low Density Polyethylene (PDPE), High Density Polyethylene (HDPE), Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), Polyimides, Polyoxymethylene plastic (POM/Acetal), Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), Polyphenylene oxide (PPO), Polysulphone (PSU), Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE/Teflon®), Ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE/UHMW), and Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), and mixtures thereof. 
     
     
         5 . The electrically isolated rotary cooling plate assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the thin layer of non-conductive material has a thickness in the rage of 100 μm to 10 mm. 
     
     
         6 . The electrically isolated rotary cooling plate assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the thin layer of non-conductive material is physically deposited on an underside of cooling plate. 
     
     
         7 . The electrically isolated rotary cooling plate assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the rotary union block is a material selected from the group consisting of: metal such as aluminum (Al), various aluminum alloys, various steels, various stainless steels, other alloys, metals and composite materials. 
     
     
         8 . The electrically isolated rotary cooling plate assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the rotary union block has three annular ring grooves to accommodate three annular rings made of a material which can form a tight, leak-proof, sealed connection between each internal flow path to allow coolant to flow. 
     
     
         9 . The electrically isolated rotary cooling plate assembly according to  claim 8 , wherein each of three annular rings are positioned above, below or in-between two annular flow paths in each of the three annular ring grooves. 
     
     
         10 . An electrically isolated rotary cooling plate assembly being an operable assembly of components in a single closed system, comprising:
 a cooling plate having a top side for affixing a workpiece to be worked on, the cooling plate having a coolant channel therein for coolant flow;   a layer of non-conductive material attached to an underside of the cooling plate, a side opposite to the top side;   a coolant tube assembly connected to the underside of the cooling plate for transporting coolant to and from the coolant channel in the cooling plate;   a rotary union block connected to an end of the coolant tube assembly, opposite from an end connected to the cooling plate, for transporting coolant to and from the coolant tube assembly from a cooling system for coolant;   an anti-rotation block connected to the rotary union block to prevent the rotary union block from rotating;   a rotary ground connected to the coolant tube assembly; and   the cooling system for coolant connected in a closed loop arrangement to the rotary union block.   
     
     
         11 . The electrically isolated rotary cooling plate assembly according to  claim 10 , wherein the cooling plate is a material selected from the group consisting of: metal such as aluminum (Al), various aluminum alloys, various steels, various stainless steels, other alloys, copper, metals and composite materials. 
     
     
         12 . The electrically isolated rotary cooling plate assembly according to  claim 10 , wherein the coolant channel is a single, continuous coolant channel. 
     
     
         13 . The electrically isolated rotary cooling plate assembly according to  claim 10 , wherein the thin layer of non-conductive material is selected from the group consisting of: insulating material is a material such as silicone; various ceramics; various rubbers; polyamide/nylon; and various plastics, including Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), Nylon, Polyamides (PA), Polyimides (PI), Polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), Polycarbonates (PC), Polyetheretherketone (PEEK), Polyetherketone (PEK), Low Density Polyethylene (PDPE), High Density Polyethylene (HDPE), Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), Polyimides, Polyoxymethylene plastic (POM/Acetal), Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), Polyphenylene oxide (PPO), Polysulphone (PSU), Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE/Teflon®), Ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE/UHMW), and Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), and mixtures thereof. 
     
     
         14 . The electrically isolated rotary cooling plate assembly according to  claim 10 , wherein the thin layer of non-conductive material has a thickness in the rage of 100 μm to 10 mm. 
     
     
         15 . The electrically isolated rotary cooling plate assembly according to  claim 10 , wherein the thin layer of non-conductive material is physically deposited on an underside of cooling plate. 
     
     
         16 . The electrically isolated rotary cooling plate assembly according to  claim 10 , wherein the rotary union block is a material selected from the group consisting of: metal such as aluminum (Al), various aluminum alloys, various steels, various stainless steels, other alloys, metals and composite materials. 
     
     
         17 . The electrically isolated rotary cooling plate assembly according to  claim 10 , wherein the rotary union block has three annular ring grooves to accommodate three annular rings made of a material which can form a tight, leak-proof, sealed connection between each internal flow path to allow coolant to flow. 
     
     
         18 . A system for an electrically isolated rotary cooling plate assembly with feedback control, the system comprising:
 an operable assembly, in a single closed system, comprising:
 a cooling plate having a top side for affixing a workpiece to be worked on, the cooling plate having a coolant channel therein for coolant flow and having a cooling plate isolation sensor to determine if the cooling plate is electrically isolated; 
 a layer of non-conductive material attached to an underside of the cooling plate, a side opposite to the top side; 
 a coolant tube assembly connected to the underside of the cooling plate for transporting coolant to and from the coolant channel in the cooling plate; 
 a rotary union block connected to an end of the coolant tube assembly, opposite from an end connected to the cooling plate, for transporting coolant to and from the coolant tube assembly from a cooling system for coolant; 
 an anti-rotation block connected to the rotary union block to prevent the rotary union block from rotating; 
 a rotary ground connected to the coolant tube assembly; and 
 the cooling system for coolant connected in a closed loop arrangement to the rotary union block; and 
   a processor, the processor being configured to:
 receive data from the cooling plate isolation sensor; 
 determine whether or not the cooling plate is electrically isolated; 
 generate an alarm if the cooling plate is not electrically isolated; and 
 send a signal to a device working on the workpiece to halt operation so that all work is terminated and no external electrical energy is transmitted to the cooling plate. 
   
     
     
         19 . The system for the electrically isolated rotary cooling plate assembly with feedback control according to  claim 18 , further comprising:
 a coolant flow senor to determine coolant flow rate and/or coolant flow volume; and   the processor further being configured to:
 receive data from the coolant flow sensor; 
 determine the flow rate and/or flow volume of coolant; 
 determine if the coolant flow rate and/or flow volume falls below a pre-determined minimum flow rate and/or flow volume; 
 generate an alarm if the coolant flow rate and/or flow volume falls below a pre-determined minimum flow and/or flow volume; and 
 send a signal to a device working on the workpiece to halt operation so that all work is terminated and no external electrical energy is transmitted to the cooling plate if the coolant flow rate and/or flow volume falls below a pre-determined minimum flow rate and/or flow volume. 
   
     
     
         20 . The system for the electrically isolated rotary cooling plate assembly with feedback control according to  claim 18 , further comprising:
 a temperature senor in the cooling plate or coolant tube assembly to determine the temperature of the cooling plate near the workpiece and/or the temperature of the coolant in the cooling plate; and   the processor further being configured to:
 receive data from the temperature sensor; 
 determine the temperature; 
 determine if the temperature exceeds a maximum allowed pre-determined temperature; 
 generate an alarm if the temperature exceeds a maximum allowed pre-determined temperature; and 
 send a signal to a device working on the workpiece to halt operation so that all work is terminated and no external electrical energy is transmitted to the cooling plate if the temperature exceeds a maximum allowed pre-determined temperature.