JP2002208791A - Cooling device of electronic circuit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cooling device of an electronic circuit, which is mounted onto the surface of a printed circuit board, efficiently inhibits increase in the temperature of an electrical heating element such as a circuit board and a semiconductor element, and can cope with an abnormal case when one blower stops. SOLUTION: To cool the circuit board, and the electrical heating element such as the semiconductor device mounted onto the surface of the printed circuit board, the cooling device has at least one blower that blows cooling air in the direction of the circuit board, and a flow control plate that is mounted at the channel inlet comprising the circuit board and printed circuit board and guides the cooling air to the electrical heating element such as the semiconductor device. When there is a plurality of blowers at least in one blower, the flow control plate is continuously connected to the plurality of blowers.

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 an electronic circuit having a structure for efficiently removing heat generated from a heating element such as a circuit board and a semiconductor element.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, in electronic circuit devices such as computers, in order to improve the performance thereof, a circuit board for expansion is further mounted on a printed circuit board. As a circuit board for expansion, typically,
There is a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) card. As a conventional technology relating to a cooling device for a PCI card, a technology of blowing cooling air from a cooling fan to the PCI card is known (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-1246).
No. 46).

FIG. 8 shows the configuration of a conventional cooling device for an electronic circuit. In the prior art, a PCI card 51 is mounted on a printed circuit board 52 perpendicularly to its surface, and
Generally, a structure in which the PCI card 51 is cooled by 0 is used. The PCI card 51 includes a card edge connector 53 for connection to a printed circuit board 52 and a front plate 55 having an external connection connector 54. PC
The I-card 51 has a card edge connector 53 connected to a connector 56 on a printed circuit board 52, a front plate 55 having an external connection connector 54 fixed to a frame 57 with screws 58, and an opposite side of the external connection connector 54. One end of the PCI card 51 is inserted into the guide member 59 in front of the fan 60 and is mounted vertically on the surface of the printed circuit board 52.

The fan 60 is mounted in front of the PCI card 51 in a direction in which cooling air flows in a direction parallel to the surface of the printed circuit board, and sends cooling air 61 from a gap between the guide members 59 to cool the PCI card 51. . PCI card 51
A cover 63 for blocking the flow of the cooling air 61 is provided in the space between the cover 62 and the cover 62. PCI card 51
The cooling air 61 is exhausted from the space between the front plate 55 and the shielding member 63.

[0005]

In recent years, there has been a strong demand for electronic circuits to have higher performance as well as higher arithmetic processing speeds. In response to such demands, semiconductor elements mounted on a printed circuit board for controlling circuits on a circuit board for expansion (hereinafter, simply referred to as “circuit board”) inevitably increase in operation speed, Accordingly, the calorific value is increasing more and more.

Therefore, in order to operate a high-performance electronic circuit with high reliability over a long period of time, cooling air is actively induced not only in a circuit board but also in a semiconductor element mounted on a printed circuit board, and the temperature of the semiconductor element is reduced. It is becoming necessary to control the rise.

A plurality of blowers, such as a fan and a blower, for sending cooling air are often used. However, even if one of the blowers is stopped, the cooling device does not stop the system due to a temperature abnormality even when an abnormality occurs. There is a need.

In the prior art, from the following problems,
It is impossible to meet the above requirements.

First, most of the cooling air blown from the fan flows to the circuit board side in front of the fan, so that the cooling air flowing to the semiconductor element mounted on the printed circuit board is significantly reduced. No.

Second, if a cooling device is designed in consideration of the fact that most of the cooling air blown out from the fan flows to the circuit board side in front of the fan, sufficient cooling for the semiconductor element mounted on the printed circuit board is required. One of the reasons is that the blower for sending the wind must be extremely large.
As a result, an unnecessary large air volume is supplied to a portion other than the semiconductor element mounted on the printed circuit board such as a circuit board. Further, accompanying this, inconveniences such as an increase in the scale of the device, an increase in noise, and an increase in power consumption of the blower itself occur.

As a third point, the electronic circuit is composed of a plurality of circuit boards and a printed board having a plurality of semiconductor elements for controlling each circuit of the circuit boards, and a plurality of blowers are adjacent to each other. When one fan is stopped, the circuit board itself blocks the cooling air from the adjacent fan, and the semiconductor element mounted on the printed circuit board and the circuit board that is mounted in front of the stopped fan when abnormalities occur when one blower stops. Supply of cooling air to the system, and as a result, it is inevitable that the system is stopped due to abnormal temperature.

A main object of the present invention is to provide a cooling device for an electronic circuit, in which a circuit board mounted vertically on a printed circuit board and a semiconductor element mounted on the printed circuit board can be properly used without using a large-sized blower. An object of the present invention is to provide a cooling device for an electronic circuit that can efficiently cool with a large air flow.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an electronic circuit capable of cooling all the semiconductor elements mounted on a circuit board and a printed board even when one of the blowers is stopped, when a plurality of blowers are used. To provide a cooling device.

[0014]

In order to achieve the above main object, a first electronic circuit cooling device of the present invention has a printed circuit board and a circuit board mounted perpendicularly to the surface of the printed circuit board. At least one blower that blows cooling air toward the circuit board in order to cool a circuit board of an electronic circuit and a heating element such as a semiconductor element mounted on the surface of the printed circuit board; and one of blowers of the blower. And a flow control plate for covering the heat generating element such as the semiconductor element and inducing cooling air to the heating element. Such a cooling device of the present invention makes it possible to use a part of the cooling air blown out from the blower for cooling a heating element such as a semiconductor element mounted on the surface of a printed circuit board. It is possible to efficiently cool the heating element with an appropriate air flow rate without using the air.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cooling device for an electronic circuit having a printed circuit board and a circuit board mounted perpendicular to a surface of the printed circuit board. At least one blower that blows cooling air in the direction of the circuit board to cool a heating element such as a semiconductor element mounted on the surface of the printed board, and is attached to a flow path inlet formed by the circuit board and the printed board. And
A flow control plate for guiding cooling air to the heating element such as the semiconductor element. Such a cooling device of the present invention makes it possible to use a part of the cooling air blown out from the blower for cooling a heating element such as a semiconductor element mounted on the surface of a printed circuit board. The heating element can be efficiently cooled with an appropriate air volume without using a simple structure.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cooling device for an electronic circuit according to a third aspect of the present invention, wherein, when the at least one blower includes a plurality of blowers, the flow control plate includes the plurality of blowers. It is characterized by being continuously connected to the blower. With such a cooling device of the present invention, even in the event of an abnormality in which one blower stops, due to the effect of the flow control plate, a part of the cooling air blown out from the operating fan mounted next to the fan is stopped. Guided to the front,
Subsequently, the heating element can be cooled.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an electronic circuit cooling device according to the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to some embodiments of the invention shown in the drawings. The same symbols in FIGS. 1 to 7 indicate the same or similar objects.

FIGS. 1 and 2 are a cross-sectional view and a perspective view, respectively, showing a main part of a first embodiment of an electronic circuit cooling device according to the present invention. FIG. 1 shows a cross section taken along line AA in FIG.

1 and 2, the electronic circuit includes a printed circuit board 2 and a plurality of circuit boards 1 vertically mounted on the surface of the printed circuit board 2. The heating elements such as the semiconductor elements 11
Is mounted in the direction of the lower end position. Further, the cooling device has a plurality of fans 10 and a flow control plate 14 provided so as to cover a part of the lower part of the outlet of the fan 10. Heating elements such as the semiconductor elements 11 mounted on the two surfaces are cooled. This will be described in detail below.

In FIG. 2, the circuit board 1 is shown by a watermark so that the effect of the present embodiment can be easily described.
In addition, the numbers are thinned out for illustration.

The circuit board 1 is composed of a board connector 3 for connection to a printed board 2 and a sheet metal 5 having a connector 4 for external equipment connection. On the surface of the circuit board 1, a semiconductor constituting a circuit is provided. Components such as the element 9 are mounted. In the circuit board 1, the board connector 3 is connected to the connector 6 on the printed board 2, the sheet metal 5 having the external device connection connector 4 is fixed to the device housing 7 with screws 8, and is opposite to the external device connection connector 4. One end of the circuit board 1 on the side is inserted into a housing sheet metal guide (not shown) in front of the fan 10 and mounted vertically on the surface of the printed circuit board 2. The semiconductor element 11 for controlling a circuit mounted on the circuit board 1 is mounted on the printed board 2.

Further, on the printed circuit board 2, a fan 10
Is mounted with a connector 12 for supplying power. A plurality of fans 10 are mounted in parallel in a direction in which cooling air flows in a direction parallel to the surface of the printed circuit board 2 in front of the plurality of circuit boards 1 mounted in parallel. It is connected to the connector 12 above. Part 25 of the cooling air blown out of the fan 10
Are guided from the gap between the circuit boards 1 to the circuit board 1 in front of the fan 10.

On the other hand, a flow control plate 14 is provided so as to cover a part of the lower part of the outlet of the fan 10. The flow control plate 14 includes a portion for guiding a part 26 of the cooling air blown out from the fan 10 toward the printed circuit board 2 side and a portion 141 parallel to the printed circuit board surface. The parallel portion 141 is a circuit board. 1 is provided to pass underneath. At this time, the upper part of the semiconductor element 11 mounted on the printed circuit board 2 is in a state of being covered by the parallel portion 141 of the flow control plate. As a result, a part 26 of the cooling air blown out from the fan 10 is guided to the semiconductor element 11 mounted on the printed circuit board 2. Fan 1
A partition plate 16 for closing the space between the bottom surface 0 and the printed circuit board 2 is provided, and the cooling air blown from the fan 10 is guided only toward the front of the fan 10 without leaking to the rear of the fan 10.

With the above configuration, a part 25 of the cooling air blown from the fan 10 is guided from the gap between the circuit boards 1 to the surface of the circuit board 1 in front of the fan 10, and as a result, the circuit board 1 Can be cooled. At the same time, a part 26 of the cooling air blown from the fan 10 is guided to the surface of the printed circuit board 2 by the flow control plate 14, and the cooling air 26 guided to the surface of the printed circuit board 2 is parallel to the surface of the printed circuit board 2. The partition plate 16 that covers the space between the portion 141 and the bottom surface of the fan 10 and the printed circuit board 2 guides only the front surface of the fan 10 along the printed circuit board 2 surface. As a result, the semiconductor element 11 mounted on the printed circuit board 2 and whose upper part is covered by the parallel portion 141 of the flow control plate can be cooled.

In the present embodiment, the flow control plate 14 is described as covering the lower part of the outlet of the fan 10. However, the position covered by the flow control plate 14 is It may be an upper part, a central part, or a part of the left and right. Similarly, it has been described that the flow control plate 141 is provided so as to pass under the circuit board 1 in parallel with the surface of the printed circuit board 2. good. When the semiconductor element 11 is disposed near the cooling air 26 coming out of the outlet of the fan 10 and reaching the surface of the printed circuit board 2, the flow control plate 141 can be omitted. Further, although the semiconductor element 11 in the figure is drawn without a radiator (heat sink), the present invention is also applied to a case where a heat sink is attached.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a second embodiment of the electronic circuit cooling device according to the present invention. In the present embodiment, instead of the flow control plate 14 of the first embodiment, a guide plate 142 is provided at a flow path inlet formed by the circuit board 1 and the printed board 2. Other structures are the same as those of the first embodiment. With such a configuration, the fan 10
A part 26 of the cooling air blown out of the semiconductor device 11 is guided to the semiconductor element 11 mounted on the printed circuit board 2 by the guide plate 142. As a result, the semiconductor element 11 mounted on the printed circuit board 2 can be cooled.

Further, a part 25 of the cooling air blown out from the fan 10 is guided from the gap between the circuit boards 1 to the circuit board 1 surface in front of the fan 10, and as a result, the circuit board 1 can be cooled. .

According to the present embodiment, the semiconductor element 11 mounted on the printed circuit board 2 can be effectively cooled with a simple structure.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are a sectional view and a perspective view of a main part of a third embodiment of a cooling device for an electronic circuit according to the present invention, respectively. FIG. 4 shows a cross section taken along the line AA in FIG.

In the present embodiment, the circuit board 1 is disposed immediately after the cooling air outlet of the flow control plate 141 of the first embodiment.
, And an adjusting plate 17 for closing the fluid cross-sectional area of the cooling air outlet of the flow control plate 141 is provided, and a structure for adjusting the flow rate of the cooling air is employed. . Other structures are the same as those of the first embodiment.

The shape of the adjusting plate 17 is limited by the width of the fluid cross-sectional area adjusted so as to obtain the optimum heat generation amount and flow rate corresponding to the shape of each semiconductor element 19 mounted on the surface of the printed circuit board 2. Is done. The shape of the opening is a nozzle 18.

With the above configuration, a part 26 of the cooling air blown from the fan 10 is
Due to 41, each semiconductor element 19 mounted immediately after the cooling air outlet of the flow control plate 141 is guided to cool each semiconductor element 19.

Furthermore, since the cross-sectional area of the fluid at the cooling air outlet of the flow control plate 141 is blocked by the adjusting plate 17 and the nozzle 18 is formed, the cooling air 26 flowing between the flow control plate 141 and the printed circuit board 2 is formed. Can be concentrated at the outlet of the nozzle 18, and a high-speed, high-flow cooling air can be supplied to the semiconductor element 19 mounted immediately after the nozzle 18. In addition, by adjusting the opening area of each nozzle 18 with the adjustment plate 17, an appropriate air flow corresponding to the calorific value and shape of each semiconductor element 19 is supplied to each semiconductor element 19, and each semiconductor element 19 is It can be cooled efficiently.

In this embodiment, the flow control plate 141
It has been described that the cooling air outlet is closed by the adjusting plate 17 and the nozzle 18 is shaped. However, since the purpose is to obtain an optimal flow rate corresponding to the heat value and shape of each semiconductor element 19, the nozzle shape In addition, adjustment may be performed using a plate such as a punching plate having a large number of holes. Further, although the semiconductor element 19 in the figure is drawn with a heat sink attached, the present invention is also applied to a case without a heat sink.

As described above, since the cooling air 26 is intensively guided toward the cooling target on the printed circuit board, the fan 1
Even if most of the cooling air from 0 is applied to the cooling air 25 for the circuit board 1, appropriate cooling to the object to be cooled on the printed circuit board becomes possible, and an efficient cooling device can be realized. it can.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a main part of an electronic circuit cooling device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, in which a part of the device is seen through. The flow control plate 14 of the present embodiment has a shape that is continuously connected to a plurality of fans so that cooling air can be guided in the front direction of an adjacent fan. It is provided so as to cover a part of the lower part of the outlet. Other structures are the same as in the third embodiment.

In this embodiment, when one of the fans, for example, the fan 21 stops for some reason due to an accident, the flow control plate 14 causes the fan 22 mounted next to the operating fan 22 to operate. A part 27 of the blowing cooling air is guided to the front of the stopped fan 21. Thereby, a part 27 of the cooling air is sent to the semiconductor elements 11 and 19 on the printed circuit board 2 located in front of the fan 21, and the elements are cooled.

Such an effect is obtained because a part 27 of the cooling air blown from the operating fan 22 is
This is because the cooling air blocked by the flow control plate 14 covering a part of the lower part of the outlet 2 changes the wind direction and moves toward the front of the fan 21.

Thus, even in the event of an abnormality in which one fan stops, the semiconductor elements 11 mounted on the printed circuit board 2
19 can be cooled, and system stoppage due to abnormal temperature can be prevented.

In this embodiment, the flow control plate 14 has been described to cover a part of the lower part of the fan outlet. However, the position covered by the flow control plate 14 is the upper part of the fan outlet, It may be a central part or a part of the left and right.

In this embodiment, the flow control plate 14 of the third embodiment has a shape that is continuously connected to a plurality of fans. However, the flow control plate 14 of the first and second embodiments has the same structure. The control plate 14 can also have a shape continuously connected to a plurality of fans. Thus, even when one fan stops, the semiconductor elements 11 and 19 mounted on the printed circuit board 2 can be similarly cooled.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a main part of a cooling device for an electronic circuit according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention, in which a part of the device is seen through. In the present embodiment, the semiconductor device 1 mounted on the printed circuit board 2 is also used when one fan is stopped.
1, 19 can be cooled. In FIG. 7, a flow control plate 20 continuously connected to a plurality of fans is provided at one of the upper portions of the outlets of the plurality of fans so that cooling air can be guided toward the front of adjacent fans. It is provided so as to cover the part. Other structures are the same as in the third embodiment.

With this structure, a part 28 of the cooling air blown out from the operating fan 24 is guided to the front surface of the adjacent stopped fan 23, and the circuit board 1 in front of the fan 23 is cooled. You.

Such an effect is obtained because the cooling air 28 blown from the operating fan 24 adjacent to the stopped fan 23 is dammed by the flow control plate 20 covering a part of the upper part of the outlet of the fan 24. This is because the blocked cooling air changes its direction and heads toward the front of the fan 23.

Thus, even in the event of an abnormality in which one fan stops, the entire circuit board 1 can be cooled, and the system can be prevented from being stopped due to an abnormal temperature.

In the present embodiment, the flow control plate 20 is described to be provided so as to cover a part of the upper part of the outlet of the fan. It may be a central part or a part of the left and right.

In each of the above embodiments, a fan is used as a blower. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a blower having another structure such as a blower can be employed.

[0048]

According to the present invention, in a cooling device for an electronic circuit having a printed circuit board and a circuit board vertically mounted on the printed circuit board, a part of the cooling air from the blower is guided toward the printed circuit board. This makes it possible to efficiently cool a heating element such as a semiconductor element mounted on a printed circuit board without increasing the size of the cooling device.
In addition, since it is possible to intensively guide cooling air to a heating element such as a semiconductor element mounted on a printed circuit board,
Even if it is set that most of the cooling air blown out from the blower flows toward the circuit board in the front direction of the fan, the heating element can be efficiently cooled. Furthermore, even in the event of an abnormality in which one fan stops, it is possible to cool all the heating elements such as semiconductor elements mounted on the circuit board and the printed circuit board, and to operate the electronic circuit cooling device with high reliability for a long time. be able to.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view for explaining a first embodiment of a cooling device for an electronic circuit according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an essential part perspective view for explaining the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view for explaining a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view for explaining a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a main part for describing a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an essential part perspective view for explaining a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an essential part perspective view for explaining a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a conventional cooling device for an electronic circuit.

[Description of Signs] 1 ... circuit board, 2 ... printed board, 7 ... device housing, 9,
11, 19: semiconductor element, 10: fan, 14, 14
1, 142, 20: flow control plate, 16: partition plate, 17
... Fluid cross-sectional area adjustment plate, 18 ... Nozzle, 21,23 ... Fan stopped, 22,24 ... Fan in operation, 25,2
6, 27, 28 ... cooling air.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Koichi Sato 1 Horiyamashita, Hadano-shi, Kanagawa F-term in the Enterprise Server Division, Hitachi, Ltd. 5E322 BA04 BA05 BB03

Claims (6)

[Claims] An electronic circuit comprising a printed circuit board and a circuit board mounted perpendicular to the surface of the printed circuit board, and a heating element such as a semiconductor element mounted on the surface of the printed circuit board. And at least one blower that blows cooling air toward the circuit board, and a flow control plate that guides the cooling air to a heating element such as the semiconductor element. A cooling device for an electronic circuit, which covers a part of a mouth. 2. The cooling device for an electronic circuit according to claim 1, wherein a portion parallel to a surface of the printed circuit board is provided in a part of the flow control plate. 3. The cooling device for an electronic circuit according to claim 1, wherein a fluid cross section adjusting plate for adjusting a flow rate of the cooling air is provided at a cooling air outlet of the flow control plate. 4. The cooling device for an electronic circuit according to claim 3, wherein the fluid cross-sectional area adjusting plate has a shape opened only by a width adjusted for each heating element. 5. A cooling circuit for an electronic circuit having a printed circuit board and a circuit board mounted perpendicular to the surface of the printed circuit board, and a heating element such as a semiconductor element mounted on the surface of the printed circuit board. And at least one blower that blows cooling air toward the circuit board, and a flow control plate that guides cooling air to a heating element such as the semiconductor element. A cooling device for an electronic circuit, wherein the cooling device is attached to an inlet of a flow path composed of a printed circuit board. 6. The flow control plate according to claim 1, wherein when the at least one blower includes a plurality of blowers, the flow control plate is continuously connected to the plurality of blowers. Item 6. An electronic circuit cooling device according to item 5.