Patent ID: 7726145

Claim:
A temperature control unit for an electronic component comprising: a cooling cycle device having a refrigerant circuit that circulates through a compressor, a condenser, an expander, and an evaporator; a thermally conductive block having an outer surface capable of coming in contact with the electronic component to be temperature-controlled, and an inner surface corresponding to the outer surface placed opposite the evaporator so as to be brought in contact with or apart from the evaporator; at least one first heater mounted in the thermally conductive block, for heating the thermally conductive block; an air supply source; a compressed air feeding circuit for feeding compressed air from the air supply source to a gap between facing surfaces of the evaporator and the thermally conductive block to part them; a flow controller for controlling feeding of the compressed air passing through the compressed air feeding circuit; at least one first temperature sensor for detecting a temperature of the thermally conductive block; and a controller for controlling the operation of the first heater and the compressed air feeding circuit, based on a detected value of the first temperature sensor.