JP2001163065A - Cooling device and cooling unit for electronic component - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cooling device of electronic components capable of improving the loadability to a vehicle and reducing its weight. SOLUTION: The heat generated from a main switching circuit 253, a transformer 254 and a rectifying circuit 255 is conducted to a base plate 260, and further conducted to a radiation fin 101 mounted just under the base plate 260. Then the heat conducted to the radiation fin 101 is sent to a duct 100 by a cooling fan connected by the duct, and the heat released from the radiation fin 101 is discharged from the other opening of the duct 100. Whereby the heat generated from each electronic component is released to the external, and the electronic component is cooled.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cooling device for cooling electronic components mounted on an electrically driven vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Electronic components mounted on a vehicle include, for example, a DC-DC converter (DC converter) for converting an output voltage of a battery, and an inverter for converting a DC power supply of a battery to an AC power supply. Conventional cooling device D
A case where the present invention is applied to a C-DC converter will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 10A is a front view of the DC-DC converter 500, and FIG. 10B is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA shown in FIG. In this figure, DC-D
The C converter 500 includes a control circuit 520, an input filter 530, a main switching circuit 540, a transformer 550,
The base plate 510 includes a rectifier circuit 560 and an output filter 570, and is insulated and mounted on one surface of the base plate 510 by an insulating sheet or the like. The base plate 510 is made of a metal having good heat conductivity.

[0003] The DC-DC converter 500
Operates, heat is generated from each part.
20, the amount of heat generated from the main switching circuit 540, the transformer 550, and the rectifier circuit 560 is particularly large as compared with the input filter 530 and the output filter 570.

[0004] These components generating a large amount of heat (hereinafter referred to as "heating elements") are not uniformly arranged on one surface of the base plate 510, but are shown in FIG. 10 (b). As described above, the components are often arranged adjacent to each other and in a biased position (for example, near one side of the base plate 510).

Next, the radiation of the radiation fins 580 will be described. FIG. 10B shows a DC-DC converter 5
FIG. 10D is a side cross-sectional view taken along the line BB shown in FIG. FIG. 10E shows a bottom view of the DC-DC converter 500. When the heating element is biased on the DC-DC converter 500,
Since it is necessary to radiate heat also from the radiation fins 580 located away from the heating element, heat is transmitted by the heat transmission path L shown in FIG. The heat was radiated from the radiating fins 580 (FIGS. 10D and 10E). Then, the longer the distance of the heat transfer path L, the higher the thermal resistance in the heat transfer path L. Therefore, in order to secure cooling performance, the conventional cooling device increases the thickness of the base plate 510 (see FIG. (A)), lowering the thermal resistance of the heat transfer path L,
Further, the heat radiation fins 580 are made thick (FIG. 10D, (a)) to reduce the thermal resistance of the heat radiation fins 580. Further, the heat radiation fins 580 are made longer ((c) in FIG. 10D) to reduce the thermal resistance between the heat radiation fins 580 and the air.

[0006]

However, in the conventional cooling device, the ぺ -plate 510 and the radiation fins 580 are increased in size in order to enhance the cooling performance of the electronic components. There is a problem that the mountability is reduced. Further, as the size of the cooling device increases, the weight of the cooling device increases, and the fuel efficiency of the vehicle deteriorates. The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a cooling device for an electronic component that can be mounted on a vehicle and that can be reduced in weight.

[0007]

According to one aspect of the present invention, an electronic component mounted on a vehicle (for example, a drive motor inverter 220 according to an embodiment) is provided. , Air conditioning inverter 230, charger 240, DC-DC converter 250, etc.)
In a cooling device that performs cooling, the electronic component may be a heat sink (for example, the base plate 228 in the embodiment,
Radiation fins (e.g., in the embodiment), which are disposed on one surface of the base plate 260 and on the other surface of the heat radiating plate, directly below the heat radiating plate on which the heat-generating electronic components are disposed. , The radiating fins 101, the radiating fins 104, and the radiating fins 120 are implanted, and the ventilation ducts (for example, the duct 100, the duct 105, and the duct 1 in the embodiment) are provided at positions surrounding the radiation fins.
21, a duct 237) is provided.

[0008] According to the above configuration, since the radiating fins are provided on the radiating surface of the radiating plate in accordance with the positions where the heat-generating electronic components are arranged, the electronic components can be cooled with a small number of radiating fins. Thus, the weight can be reduced.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the radiating fins have a planting density corresponding to the amount of heat generated from the electronic component (for example, as shown in FIG. ) The radiation fin 104 indicated by the symbol (B)) or the length (for example, paragraph in [Embodiment of the invention])
[0027]). According to the above configuration, by setting the density of the radiating fins according to the amount of heat generated from the electronic component, it is possible to perform cooling according to the amount of heat radiated from each electronic component provided on the radiating plate,
In addition, by setting the length of the radiation fins to be long, reliable cooling can be performed even when the area where the electronic components that dissipate heat is arranged is small.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there are provided a plurality of electronic component cooling devices according to the first and second aspects (for example, the DC-DC converter 250 and the drive motor inverter 220 in the embodiment exist). In this case, the surfaces of the electronic component cooling device provided with the air ducts face each other, and the air flow of the other electronic component cooling device is located in a region where the air duct of the one electronic component cooling device is not arranged. It is characterized in that a duct is arranged (for example, the arrangement shown in FIG. 9 in the embodiment). According to the above configuration, the surfaces on which the ducts of the cooling device for the electronic components are provided face each other. Since they are mounted on the vehicle so that they do not hit each other, the mountability of the electronic component cooling device can be improved.

[0011]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example of a circuit in which electronic components mounted on an electric drive vehicle are used. In this figure, a battery 200
Supplies power to each unit via the switch 210.
The drive motor inverter 220 converts DC power supplied from the battery 200 into AC power and supplies the AC power to the drive motor 221. The air conditioning inverter 230 converts DC power supplied from the battery 200 to AC power and supplies the AC power to the air conditioning motor 231.

The charger 240 has an external power input terminal 241
Is supplied to the battery 200 via the power supply.
DC-DC converter 250 converts the voltage of the power supplied from battery 200 and outputs the converted voltage to power supply output terminal 251 for vehicle auxiliary equipment. In such a configuration, electronic components such as the drive motor inverter 220, the air conditioning inverter 230, the charger 240, and the DC-DC converter 250 generate heat when energized, and thus require cooling.

The case where the electronic component cooling device of the present invention is applied to the DC-DC converter 250 of FIG. 2 will be described. FIG. 3 shows the DC-DC converter 2 shown in FIG.
It is a schematic block diagram which shows the structure of 50. In this figure, a DC-DC converter 250 includes a filter 252
, A main switching unit 253, a transformer 254, a rectifier circuit 255, a filter 256, and a control circuit 257. Further, the rectifier circuit 255 includes a rectifier 258 and a choke coil 259.

The filter 252 removes noise included in the power supplied from the battery 200. Main switching section 253 converts a DC voltage input from filter 252 into an AC voltage, and outputs the AC voltage to transformer 254. Transformer 254 transforms the AC voltage output from main switching section 253, and outputs the AC voltage to rectifier circuit 255. The rectifier circuit 255 rectifies the AC voltage output from the transformer 254 by the rectifier 258, and
9 and output to the filter 256. Filter 256 removes noise of the DC voltage output from rectifier circuit 25 and outputs the noise to power supply output terminal 251 for vehicle auxiliary equipment. The control circuit 257 controls the main switching unit 253 based on the output of the rectification unit 258.

In such a configuration, the DC-DC converter 250 converts the voltage of the power supplied from the battery 200 and outputs the converted voltage to the power supply output terminal 251 for the vehicle auxiliary equipment. Transformer 2
54, heat is generated from the rectifier circuit 255.

Next, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a configuration of a DC-DC converter 250 to which a cooling device for electronic components according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. FIG. 1A is a front view of the DC-DC converter 250. In this figure, FIG. 1C shows a front sectional view at a position indicated by the line AA. In FIG. 1C, a control circuit 257, a filter 252, a main switching circuit 253, a transformer 254, a rectifier circuit 255, and a filter 256 are arranged on a base plate 260. Note that, for example, an insulating sheet or the like is provided between each electronic component and the base plate 260 to be insulated.

FIG. 1B shows a DC-DC converter 25.
FIG. 1D is a cross-sectional view of the DC-DC converter 250 taken along the line BB shown in FIG.
(E) is a bottom view. In these figures, 101
Are radiating fins formed on the base plate 260 and radiating heat transmitted from each base plate 260. As shown in FIG.
A plurality of the main switching circuits 253, a transformer 254, and a rectifier circuit 255 are formed immediately below a base plate 260 provided thereon.

In these figures, the cross-sectional shape of the radiation fin 101 is a circle, but is not limited to this, and may be a square, rectangle, hexagon, ellipse, or the like. Further, a metal having good heat conductivity is used for the radiation fins 101. For example, there is aluminum or the like. The density at which the radiation fins 101 are implanted is set in accordance with the amount of heat generated by each component that generates heat. That is, the main switching circuit 25
3. In the transformer 254 and the rectifier circuit 255, it is possible to increase the planting density for components generating a large amount of heat (details will be described later). A duct 100 is provided so as to surround the radiation fin 101. As shown in FIG. 4, a cooling fan 1 connected by a duct 102 is provided at one opening of the duct 100.
03 is provided. FIG. 1E shows the radiation fins 1.
In order to show the implanted state of No. 01, a state where the duct 100 is not provided is shown.

Next, a case where the DC-DC converter 250 having the above configuration operates will be described. After the power of the electric drive vehicle is turned on, the DC-DC converter 2
When 50 operates, heat is generated from main switching circuit 253, transformer 254, and rectifier circuit 255. And
The heat generated from each electronic component is transmitted to the base plate 260 and transmitted to the radiation fins 101 provided immediately below the base plate 260. Next, the radiation fin 101
Transmitted to the duct 100 by the cooling fan 103 connected by the duct 102 from the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. It is discharged from the other opening. Thereby, the heat generated from each electronic component is discharged to the outside, so that the electronic component is cooled. The generated heat is radiated by the radiation fins 101 provided immediately below each component.
1 is set at the position of the electronic component that generates heat,
The heat transfer path L can be designed to be short, whereby the thickness of the base plate 260 can be designed to be thin.

The rotation speed of the cooling fan 103 may be changed according to the heat generated from the DC-DC converter 250. For example, when the driver steps on the accelerator, the amount of heat generated from the DC-DC converter 250 increases. Therefore, the rotation speed of the cooling fan 103 may be increased according to the operation amount of the accelerator. Further, a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of each electronic component may be provided, and the air volume may be varied based on the detection result of the temperature sensor.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, cooling is collectively performed by one duct 100. However, a duct may be provided for each electronic component that generates heat, and cooling air may be sent to each. Furthermore, it is also possible to design such that an electronic component having a large amount of heat is arranged on the upstream side for blowing air, or an electronic component having a large change in the amount of heat is arranged on the upstream side. May be changed according to the order.

Next, a second embodiment of the cooling device for the DC-DC converter 250 in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5A shows a DC-DC converter 25.
It is an upper sectional view of OA. In this figure, parts corresponding to the respective parts in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. In this figure, the main switching circuit 253A is
The shape of the main switching circuit 253 in FIG.
It is shaped like a letter. In addition, the heat dissipation of the rectifier circuit 255A is larger than that of the main switching circuit 253A and the transformer 254. FIG. 5B shows a state in which the radiation fins 101 are provided in such a configuration. FIG. 5 (b)
Is a bottom view of the DC-DC converter 250A. In this figure, the radiation fins 101 are implanted according to the shape of the surface on which the main switching circuit 253A is arranged on the base plate.

On the other hand, a rectifying circuit 255A shown by a symbol (B)
The radiating fins 104 are formed on the base plate 260 at a position corresponding to a position directly below the base plate 260 at a higher density. The planting density is set according to the heat radiation amount of the rectifier circuit 255A. The cross-sectional area of the heat radiation fins 104 is set according to the density at which the heat radiation fins 104 are implanted, and is therefore smaller than that of the heat radiation fins 101.

FIG. 5 (c) shows a case where the duct 105 is provided in the DC-DC converter 250A in FIG. 5 (b). In this figure, the duct 105 is installed along the position where the radiation fins are planted, and the air is blown from one opening by the cooling fan 103 as in FIG. In addition, the blowing direction of the cooling fan 103 is as follows.
For example, in the direction of the arrow in FIG.

Next, a case where the DC-DC converter 250A having the configuration shown in FIG. 5 operates will be described. After the power of the electric drive vehicle is turned on, the DC-DC converter 2
When 50A operates, heat is generated from main switching circuit 253A, transformer 254, and rectifier circuit 255A, and this heat is transmitted to base plate 260. The heat generated from the main switching circuit 253A and the transformer 254 is transmitted to the radiating fins 101 provided directly below the base plate 260 according to the shapes of the main switching circuit 253A and the transformer 254 and radiated. The rectifier circuit 25
The heat generated from 5A is transmitted to the radiating fins 104 whose planting density is increased, and is radiated. The heat radiated from the radiating fins 101 and 104 is supplied to the cooling fan 103.
5C, the air is blown from the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. Accordingly, heat generated from each electronic component is discharged to the outside, so that cooling according to the shape of the component to be arranged and the amount of generated heat can be performed.

In the above embodiment, the density at which the radiating fins 104 are implanted is changed. However, the length of the radiating fins 101 may be changed according to the amount of heat generated from the electronic components to radiate heat. For example, when the amount of heat generated from the transformer 254 is larger than that of the main switching circuit 253A, the transformer 2
The length of the radiating fins 101 implanted directly below 54 is set to be longer than the length of the radiating fins 101 implanted immediately below the main switching circuit 253A. Thus, when the amount of heat generated from the transformer 254 is large, heat can be radiated in accordance with the amount of generated heat. In addition, the planting density may be further increased with respect to the radiation fins 101 whose length is set long, so that the heat generated from the transformer 254 may be radiated.

Next, a case where the above-described electronic component cooling device is applied to the drive motor inverter 220 in FIG. 2 will be described with reference to the drawings. First, the configuration of the drive motor inverter 220 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of the drive motor inverter 220 in FIG. In this figure, the switching circuit 226 is composed of a main switching semiconductor module 223 and a semiconductor module drive circuit 224. The main switching semiconductor module 223 converts a DC power supplied through the smoothing capacitor 222 into an AC power, and
Output to The semiconductor module drive circuit 224 controls the operation of the main switching semiconductor module 223. The current sensor 225 is inserted between the main switching semiconductor module 223 and the driving motor 221 and detects a load current flowing to the driving motor 221.

When the drive motor inverter 220 in the configuration of FIG. 6 operates, the main switching semiconductor module 223 generates heat. Therefore, cooling of the main switching semiconductor module 223 is required.
Here, the main switching semiconductor module 223 is
Since it is one module integrally formed with the semiconductor module drive circuit 224, the switching circuit 226 is to be cooled.

A case where a cooling device for electronic components is applied to the drive motor inverter 220 in the configuration of FIG. 6 will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram when a cooling device for electronic components is applied to the drive motor inverter 220 in the configuration of FIG. FIG. 7 (a)
5 is a front view of the drive motor inverter 220. FIG. In this figure, on one surface of the base plate 228,
A smoothing capacitor 222, a switching circuit 226, and a current sensor 225 are provided. Smoothing capacitor 222
Is fixed on a base plate 228 by a support bracket 229, and is connected to the battery 200 through an input terminal 225.
Supplies power. The switching circuit 22
6. The current sensor 225 is fixed on the base plate 228 by fixing bolts, screws and the like. The components are connected by a bus bar, and the switching circuit 226 and the driving motor 221 are connected by an output terminal on an output terminal block 227. The base plate and each component are insulated by, for example, an insulating sheet or the like.

FIG. 7B is a side view of a drive motor inverter 220 to which a cooling device for electronic parts is applied.
(C) is a top view. As shown in these drawings, a plurality of heat radiation fins 120 are formed on the other surface of the base plate 228 corresponding to a position immediately below the position where the switching circuit 226 is disposed. The planting density, shape, length, and the like of the heat radiation fins 120 are formed according to the amount of heat generated by the switching circuit 226, as in the first embodiment.

Further, a duct 121 is provided according to the position where the radiation fin 120 is implanted. As shown in FIG. 8, a cooling fan 236 connected to the duct 121 through the duct 121
And the cooling fins 120 are cooled. For example, the air blown from the cooling fan is blown in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 7C, and the amount of air blown from the cooling fan is controlled by a control circuit or the like (not shown) according to the amount of heat generated by the switching circuit 226. You. Thereby, the drive motor inverter 220 can be cooled.

Next, a case where the DC-DC converter 250 in the configuration of FIG. 1 and the drive motor inverter 220 in FIG. 7 are mounted on a vehicle will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a front view when the DC-DC converter 250 and the drive motor inverter 220 are overlapped. As shown in this figure, the DC-DC converter 250 and the drive motor inverter 220 are combined so that the surfaces on which the respective ducts are provided face each other and the respective ducts do not contact each other. As a result, even when a plurality of electronic component cooling devices according to the present invention exist and are mounted on a vehicle, they can be mounted compactly on the vehicle.

The cooling device for electronic components described above is provided with the air conditioning inverter 23 shown in FIG.
0, it is also applicable to the charger 240 and the like, and can be cooled. In addition, as an electric drive vehicle to which the present invention can be applied, even a hybrid vehicle (with an engine)
In a specific driving state, the present invention is also applied to a vehicle in which the engine is stopped and the vehicle runs only by the motor (used as an electric vehicle). The embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to the embodiments, and includes a design and the like within a range not departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0034]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since the radiating fins are provided on the radiating surface of the radiating plate according to the positions where the heat-generating electronic components are arranged,
The cooling of the electronic component is made possible by a small number of heat radiation fins. Further, since the heat transfer distance from the heating element to the radiation fin can be minimized, the heat radiation plate can be formed thin, and the radiation fin and the heat radiation plate can be miniaturized. As a result, it is possible to reduce the weight of the radiation fins and the radiation plate, thereby improving the mountability on a vehicle and suppressing the deterioration of fuel efficiency.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the density of the radiating fins is set in accordance with the amount of heat generated from the electronic components. In addition, the configuration of the radiation fins can be set to the minimum required for heat radiation, and the electronic components can be cooled. Also,
Since the length of the radiating fin is set according to the heat value of the electronic component, reliable cooling is possible even when the area where the radiating electronic component is arranged is small.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the surfaces on which the ducts of the cooling device for electronic components are provided face each other so that they do not hit each other. Thus, the cooling device for the electronic components can be combined in a compact manner, so that the mountability on the vehicle can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a configuration of a DC-DC converter 250 to which an electronic component cooling device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example of a circuit in which electronic components mounted on an electrically driven vehicle are used.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram showing a configuration of a DC-DC converter 250 in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a state in which a duct 100 and a cooling fan 103 are connected.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of a cooling device of a DC-DC converter 250 according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram showing a configuration of a drive motor inverter 220.

FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram when the cooling device for electronic components of the present invention is applied to a drive motor inverter 220;

FIG. 8 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a state in which a duct 121 and a cooling fan 236 are connected.

FIG. 9 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a state in which components mounted with a cooling device for electronic components are superimposed.

FIG. 10 is a schematic configuration diagram for explaining a cooling structure of a conventional DC converter.

[Explanation of symbols]

 220 Inverter for drive motor 250 DC-DC converter 101, 104, 120 Radiation fin 100, 102, 105, 121, 237 Duct 103, 236 Cooling fan 228, 260 Base plate L Heat transfer path

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A cooling device for cooling an electronic component mounted on a vehicle, wherein the electronic component is disposed on one surface of a radiator plate, and the electronic component is disposed on the other surface of the radiator plate. Of the parts
A cooling device for an electronic component, wherein a radiation fin is implanted directly below the radiator plate on which the heat-generating electronic component is arranged, and a ventilation duct is provided at a position surrounding the radiation fin. 2. The cooling device for an electronic component according to claim 1, wherein the radiating fins are set to a planting density or a length corresponding to an amount of heat generated from the electronic component. 3. When there are a plurality of electronic component cooling devices according to claim 1, the surfaces of the electronic component cooling devices on which the air ducts are provided face each other to cool one of the electronic components. A cooling unit, wherein the air duct of the cooling device for the other electronic component is arranged in a region where the air duct of the device is not arranged.