JP2003017880A - Cooling equipment for electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cooling equipment for an electronic device which enables increase in cooling efficiency using a simple structure. SOLUTION: The cooling equipment 1 comprises a storage section 5 for storing an electronic device having electronic components, a body section 6 which surrounds the storage section 5 at a specified distance, and an air channel 7 constituted of a space formed between the storage section 5 and the body section 6. The cooling equipment cools the electronic device, by circulating the air supplied from outside the equipment and exhausted outside the equipment in the air channel 7. In the cooling equipment 1, a wall face 5a of the storage section 5 opposite to the electronic device has a radiation rate set high, and is colored with a color having high radiation rate, or is covered with a tape or film colored in a color having high radiation rate. The wall face 5a or the surface of the tape or film covering the wall face 5a is formed in a fine uneven face.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device for cooling an electronic device constructed by using electronic parts such as electronic elements, and more particularly, to allow cooling air to flow through an air passage and cool operating heat of the electronic part. The present invention relates to a device that cools an electronic device by moving it to commercial air.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, electronic devices have been used in various fields, and in response to demands for performance improvement, multi-functionality, size reduction and weight reduction in those fields, operating frequency and integration degree of electronic parts used in the electronic devices have been increased. Etc. also tend to be promoted.
Therefore, the amount of heat generated during the operation of these electronic components increases, and not only to avoid the malfunction of the electric circuit due to the temperature rise of the electronic device but also to maintain the normal operation of the electronic device, It is necessary to smoothly dissipate the heat and cool the electronic device.

As a method of cooling an electronic device or an electronic component, air cooling for diffusing heat into the atmosphere is the simplest and most common method. In order to promote heat dissipation to the atmosphere, the surroundings warmed by the electronic component are used. Of the air naturally escapes to the outside, natural cooling by so-called natural convection that draws heat from electronic components, or cooling air is generated using an air cooling fan,
BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, forced cooling is performed by applying this cooling air to electronic components and forcing convection to remove heat from the electronic components by the cooling air.

When air-cooling an electronic component, if the electronic component is directly exposed to cooling air, the mobility of heat from the electronic component to the cooling air is enhanced, so that the electronic component can be efficiently air-cooled. it can. However, when the outside air is introduced, the electronic components may be contaminated by moisture or dust contained in the cooling air, or a short circuit may occur at a connection point between the electronic component mounted circuit board and the electronic components. Therefore, when the cooling air is brought into direct contact with the electronic components, it is necessary to clean the cooling air in advance by passing it through a dustproof filter that removes moisture and dust from the cooling air. was there.

An apparatus for air-cooling electronic components while avoiding such conditions or restrictions is described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-207691. The cooling device described in this publication has a configuration in which an electronic device including electronic components is stored in a cooling box in which a passage for cooling air is partitioned and formed so as to be adjacent to the passage. The electronic device is cooled by passing air. According to this configuration, the electronic device including the electronic component or the electronic circuit is not brought into direct contact with the cooling air, so that the electronic device such as the electronic component is installed under relatively bad environmental conditions. Also, this cooling device can be preferably used.

A slight gap is provided between the electronic device and the wall surface on the cooling box side facing the electronic device so that the electronic device can be easily detached from the cooling box, thereby improving maintainability. Is improving.

[0007]

In the cooling device described in the above publication, there is still room for improvement from the viewpoint of carrying the operating heat of the electronic device to the cooling air to cool the electronic device. Was there.

That is, among the heat transfer modes in the cooling device, the efficiency of convection heat transfer in which heat convection and heat conduction coexist is considered to be secured to some extent, while that of radiant heat transfer due to heat radiation. No particular consideration was given to efficiency. That is, it is known that when an object receives heat radiation, part of it is absorbed, part of it is surface-reflected, and part of it is transmitted.

However, the members incorporated in the cooling device are
Since it is placed in a location that is not visible from the outside, the original ground color of the material is often used without being colored. That is, since the wall surface of the cooling box facing the electronic device is provided at a position that is not visible to the user, for example, when a synthetic resin material is used, it is the original ground color of the synthetic resin material. Often had a bright color scheme. In particular, in the field of the automobile industry, polypropylene has been frequently used in order to reduce the weight and cost, and the wall surface has a milky white bright ground color that the material has.

Therefore, of the entire operating heat generated, the remaining portion other than the operating heat transferred by convective heat transfer becomes radiant heat, which is radiated from the electronic device to the wall surface of the cooling box facing the electronic device. The heat is often reflected by the bright color of the wall surface, and the amount of heat absorbed by the wall surface that receives this heat radiation decreases. This means that the form of transferring all the heat existing between the electronic device and the wall surface of the cooling box is not fully used.

The present invention has been made in view of the above technical problem, and improves the cooling efficiency or the cooling efficiency of an electronic device by improving the transfer efficiency of radiant heat in the cooling device. It is intended to provide.

[0012]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention of claim 1 is to provide an accommodating portion for accommodating an electronic device having an electronic component, and to dispose the accommodating portion at a predetermined interval. A main body portion provided and surrounded is provided, an air passage formed of a space formed between the housing portion and the main body portion is provided, and air supplied from the outside of the apparatus to the air passage and discharged to the outside of the apparatus is passed through, A cooling device for cooling an electronic device is characterized in that a wall surface of a housing portion of the cooling device facing the electronic device is a wall surface having a high emissivity.

Therefore, according to the first aspect of the invention, since the wall surface of the housing portion is set to have a high emissivity, the wall surface can capture and absorb a large amount of radiant heat from the electronic device. This makes it possible to increase the operating heat of the electronic component and move the electronic component to the wall side of the housing portion.

The invention of claim 2 is characterized in that, in the invention of claim 1, the wall surface of the housing portion is colored with a color having a high emissivity.

Therefore, according to the second aspect of the present invention, since the wall surface of the housing portion is colored with a color having a high emissivity to facilitate capturing the heat radiation, the wall surface of the housing portion receives the heat radiation from the electronic device. As a result, the surface reflection and transmission of heat radiation on the wall surface is suppressed more than before, and as a result, the amount of radiation heat absorbed by the wall surface can be increased.

The invention of claim 3 is characterized in that, in the invention of claim 1, the wall surface of the housing portion is covered with a tape or film having good heat conductivity and colored in a color having a high emissivity. It is a thing.

Therefore, in the invention of claim 3, since the wall surface of the accommodating portion is covered with the tape or film colored with a color having a high emissivity to facilitate capturing the heat radiation, the wall surface of the accommodating portion is When receiving heat radiation from electronic devices,
Surface reflection and transmission of heat radiation on the tape or film is suppressed, and as a result, the amount of radiation heat absorbed by the tape or film and the wall in contact with the tape or film can be increased.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, in addition to the structure of the second or third aspect of the invention, the wall surface of the accommodating portion or the surface of the tape or film covering the wall surface is fine. It is characterized in that it is formed on an uneven surface.

Therefore, according to the invention of claim 4, in addition to the structure of claim 2 or 3, the surface area of the wall of the accommodating portion is enlarged and the wall surface is formed flat as compared with the electronic device. Since it is possible to increase the chances of trapping the thermal radiation that obliquely enters the housing portion, it becomes possible for the housing portion to trap and absorb more radiant heat from the electronic device.

[0020]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Next, specific examples of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the main configuration of a cooling device 1 of the present invention. In addition, FIG. 2 and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example in which the present device 1 is arranged in an engine room 2A of a vehicle, and an electronic component is configured to be cooled by introducing outside air. In the example shown here, the electronic unit 3 in which an electronic device including electronic components is housed in a case 3a is used as a waterproof / dustproof /
It is configured to be housed in the cooling device 1 having a heat resistant function. The cooling device 1 for the electronic unit 3 of the present invention
Will be described as an example applied to a vehicle. The electronic device of this example is a control unit that is an important part for electronically controlling the engine 2B, the transmission 2C, and the like.

This electronic device (not shown) is basically
Circuit board (not shown) printed with circuit wiring pattern
Various electric parts (not shown) and electronic parts (not shown) are arranged on the top in a predetermined manner to protect these electric parts and electronic parts against electromagnetic waves, shock resistance, and heat dissipation. It is housed in the case 3a so as to be secured. That is,
These electric components and electronic components are components that inevitably generate heat when they are energized, and each component has a temperature range that guarantees its rated operation. Therefore, depending on the operating condition of the electronic device, when the temperature in the case 3a including the components rises to the vicinity of the operation guarantee temperature of each component or exceeds the operation guarantee temperature, the electrical circuit operation becomes unsuccessful. Otherwise, there is a risk of malfunction or failure of parts.

A connection connector (not shown) is provided at a predetermined position such as the upper portion of the electronic unit 3, and an input / output line of an electronic device in the electronic unit 3 is connected to the connection connector. The electronic unit 3 is electrically connected to various external devices via a wire harness (not shown) that bundles wires connected to the connector. That is, with this wire harness, the electronic unit 3 is connected to a battery (not shown) serving as a power source to supply an operating current, and is connected to output lines of various sensors (not shown) provided at predetermined locations. A sensor signal is input, various input devices (not shown) are connected, various instruction signals are input, various actuators (not shown) are connected, command signals are output, and a display device (not shown). No.) or a notification device (not shown) to output a display or notification signal. Then, based on these sensor signals and instruction signals, the electronic device performs a predetermined determination process, and various actuators are used to perform an operation for realizing control according to the determination. In addition, the electronic device appropriately displays and informs information obtained from various sensors and the operating status of each device by using a display device and a notifying device, and gives a warning of abnormality.

The cooling device 1 includes a housing 5 for detachably housing the electronic unit 3, a body 6 surrounding the housing 5, and the housing 5 and the body 6.
And an air passage 7 that serves as a passage for passing air through the space formed between

That is, the housing portion 5 is opened at the upper side, and the inner shape thereof is formed into a box shape which is similar to the outer shape of the electronic unit 3 and is slightly larger. And detachable electronic unit 3
Are housed in the housing part 5. Therefore, the electronic unit 3 can be easily removed even after the assembling, so that the electronic unit 3 can be easily maintained and repaired. Further, the accommodating portion 5 is made of a synthetic resin such as polypropylene or polyamide having a good thermal conductivity as a material, so that it is possible to reduce the weight and cost and to secure necessary heat resistance. Reference numeral 4 is a closing member that closes the opening 5a after the electronic unit 3 is housed in the housing 5. Further, as will be described later, the wall surface facing the electronic unit 3 is configured to easily receive the operating heat of the electronic unit 3.

The main body 6 is made of metal or synthetic resin having a good thermal conductivity as a material, and is formed in a substantially identical shape with a predetermined space provided between the side surface and the bottom surface of the housing 5. ,
An opening having the same shape as the cross section of the housing portion 5 is provided on the upper surface, and the upper end of the housing portion 5 is fixed to the opening, and the housing portion 5
Are arranged and fixed in the main body 6.

The closed space defined between the accommodating portion 5 and the main body portion 6 serves as an air passage 7, and the air is provided at a predetermined position on the outer wall of the main body portion 6 which is also the side wall of the air passage 7. The inflow port 8 and the outflow port are provided, and the inflow port 8 of the air passage 7 is provided.
The air flows from the outlet 9 toward the outlet 9.

That is, the cooling device 1 includes the engine room 2A.
Forward direction of vehicle inside (indicated by arrow A in Figures 2 and 3)
Is provided at a corner portion of the engine compartment and is located near the upper side in the engine compartment 2A. The cooling device 1 is connected to a tubular suction duct 11 that supplies the outside air to the air passage 7 and a tubular exhaust duct 12 that discharges the outside air supplied from the air passage 7.

One end of the suction duct 11 is arranged under the vehicle body at the forward end of the vehicle so that the outside air can be introduced. The middle of the suction duct 11 is bent along the inner shape of the engine compartment 2A or so as to avoid other devices and piping. The other end of the suction duct 11 is connected to an inflow port 8 provided near the lower portion of the outer wall of the main body portion 6 which is also a side wall of the air passage 7, so that the suction duct 11 communicates with the air passage 7. . Therefore, while the outside air is taken in from one end of the suction duct 11 located below and the outside air is fed to the cooling device 1 located above it, the middle of the suction duct 11 is bent, Intake of a certain amount of moisture or dust into the cooling device 1 is reduced.

Further, one end of the exhaust duct 12 is opposite to the connection point of the other end of the suction duct 11 with the accommodating portion 5 in between, and near the upper portion of the outer wall of the main body portion 6 which is also the side wall of the air passage 7. It is connected to the outflow port 9 provided at the location and communicates with the air passage 7. The other end of the exhaust duct 12 is arranged near the suction side of the fan 14 provided in the radiator portion 13 in the engine compartment 2A.

Therefore, the outside air introduced from the suction duct 11 into the air passage 7 of the cooling device 1 in accordance with the rotating operation of the fan 14 provided in the radiator portion 13 is the air passage 7
That is, while coming in contact with the wall of the housing portion 5 housing the electronic unit 3 and wrapping around the wall, the air is discharged from one end of the exhaust duct 12 to the radiator portion 13 side, and the flow of the outside air is generated. The housing 5 of the cooling device 1 is sufficiently cooled by air.

When the electronic device housed in the electronic unit 3 operates, such as when the vehicle is running, the operating heat generated in the electronic component by the operation of the electronic device is the case 3a of the electronic unit 3. Go to, then case 3a
To the wall 5b forming the housing portion 5, and since the wall 5b of the housing portion 5 is also the other side wall of the air passage 7, it moves to the air flow flowing along this side wall surface, and this air flow is cooled. By being discharged to the outside of the device 1, it is finally discharged to the outside of the cooling device 1.

Then, the surface of the wall 5b of the housing 5 facing the case 3a of the electronic unit 3 is colored a matte dark black, which is a color with a high emissivity that easily captures thermal radiation, and the interior of the cooling device 1 The heat transfer efficiency of the cooling device 1 is improved to improve the cooling efficiency of the cooling device 1.

That is, the operating heat of the electronic components transmitted to the case 3a of the electronic unit 3 is the case 3a and the case 3a.
The air existing between the wall 5b of the accommodating portion 5 facing the air is used as a transfer path to convectively transfer heat to the wall surface of the accommodating portion 5, and the radiant heat from the case 3a does not directly pass through the air, but directly to the accommodating portion. The wall 5b of No. 5 reaches the wall surface on the case 3a side.

Since the wall surface of the housing portion 5 on the case 3a side is colored matte dark black, which is a color having a high emissivity that easily captures the thermal radiation, the wall 5 of the housing portion 5 is case 3a.
A larger amount of radiant heat from the wall surface of a can be captured and absorbed, and more operating heat of the electronic component can be transferred to the wall 5b side of the housing section 5. This is because when the surface of the wall 5b receives heat radiation, part of the heat radiation is absorbed, part of it is reflected on the surface, and part of it is transmitted, but the surface of the wall 5b has a high emissivity. This is because the glossy dark black color suppresses the surface reflection and transmission of thermal radiation on the wall surface of the wall 5b, and consequently increases the amount of radiant heat absorbed by the wall surface. Therefore, since the heat transfer from the electronic unit 3 can be promoted in this way, the heat dissipation effect from the electronic unit 3 is enhanced, and the cooling efficiency of the cooling device 1 can be improved accordingly.

The wall 5b of the accommodating portion 5 is colored with a high emissivity by changing the color of the material forming the accommodating portion 5 and the color of the wall surface of the wall 5b. The configuration may be changed, and these may be appropriately selected or combined, and the optimum configuration can be obtained according to the material of the housing portion 5 and the usage conditions.

That is, in the structure for changing the color of the material itself, a coloring component having a predetermined dye is added to the material forming the accommodating portion 5, and the emissivity of the color of the material itself is changed by the coloring component. It is to color in a high color.

Therefore, according to this structure, even if the wall 5a of the housing portion 5 is damaged for some reason, the material itself is colored, so that the same color is maintained on the damaged surface and the heat radiation is maintained. The effect of trapping can be sustained, and fault tolerance can be improved.

The structure for changing only the color of the wall surface of the wall 5a of the accommodating portion 5 is to attach a predetermined coloring substance to the wall surface to color it with a high emissivity. For example, a colored paint having a high emissivity may be applied, atomized and sprayed, or a coloring substance may be vapor-deposited or plated.

Therefore, according to this structure, since the coloring material having a high emissivity that easily captures the thermal radiation is added to the surface of the material, the property of the material forming the container 5 is not changed, and The performance of the material can be maintained. Further, since the coloring material is attached to the surface of the material for coloring, the coloring range can be freely set, and the entire area of the wall of the housing section 5 facing the wall of the case 3a of the electronic unit 3 or a part thereof can be set. It becomes possible to color. For example, the case 3 of the electronic unit 3 depends on the arrangement of electronic components in the electronic unit 3.
When the heat-dissipating portion of a is non-uniform and there is almost no heat-dissipating portion, coloring of the wall surface of the housing portion 5 facing the location of the case 3a can be omitted, and the coloring work can be simplified. Also,
Since the bottom area of the case 3a, which is below the electronic unit 3 in the stored state, is smaller than the area of the side surface, the heat in the case 3a tends to move upward naturally, and the heat of the wall of the case 3a tends to increase. Since heat is dissipated only by transmission, the amount of heat dissipated cannot be expected, so the case 3 of the electronic unit 3
It is also possible to omit the coloring of the wall surface of the accommodating portion 5 facing the bottom.

The surface of the wall 5b of the housing portion 5 facing the case 3a of the electronic unit 3 is covered with a good heat conductive tape or film colored with a high emissivity color that easily absorbs heat radiation. It may be configured. These tapes or films are adhered to the wall surface by being adhered to the wall surface by the adhesive force provided in itself or by covering the wall surface by pressing under pressure.

Therefore, according to this structure, the wall surface of the housing portion 5 facing the electronic unit 3 is covered with the tape or film colored with a high emissivity to be colored, so that the cooling of the conventional structure is performed. Since it can be easily added to the device 1 and applied, and the same effect can be obtained, the application range can be expanded. Also, for some reason,
Even if the surface of the tape or film becomes dirty or the tape or film is damaged and its performance deteriorates, it can be restored to the normal condition just by replacing the damaged part. The workability required for can be simplified.

Further, in addition to the above-mentioned structure, the electronic unit 3
The cooling efficiency of the cooling device 1 can be further improved by adding a configuration in which the wall surface of the housing portion 5 facing the above is formed into a fine uneven surface.

That is, by forming the wall surface of the accommodating portion 5 into a fine uneven surface, the surface area of the wall surface of the accommodating portion 5 is increased and the wall surface is formed flat. As a result, it is possible to increase the chance of capturing the heat radiation obliquely incident on the wall surface of the housing portion 5 from the electronic unit 3, so that the wall 5 of the housing portion 5 can capture and absorb more radiant heat from the case 3a. It will be possible. That is, the radiation direction of thermal radiation from the wall surface of the case 3a of the electronic unit 3 is
It is not uniform in parallel to one direction, but is radiated from each one point in multiple directions in a radial direction, and it is most efficient to receive radiation in a plane orthogonal to this radiation direction.
Therefore, by forming the wall surface of the housing portion 5 that receives radiant heat into a fine uneven surface, the surface area of the wall surface is increased and a large number of orthogonal surfaces are formed corresponding to the multidirectionality of thermal radiation. Therefore, more radiant heat can be captured and absorbed.

Therefore, according to this structure, in addition to the above structure, the wall surface of the accommodating portion 5 is formed into a fine uneven surface, whereby the cooling efficiency of the cooling device 1 can be further improved.

In the above specific example, the air blowing means for forming the air flow in the air passage 7 such as the radiator fan 14 is connected to the exhaust duct 12 which is the upper duct, but not limited to this. Intake duct 1, which is the lower duct
It may be configured to be connected to 1. Further, the inflow port 8 and the outflow port 9 may be replaced with each other so that the flow direction of the air flow passing through the air passage 7 is reversed.

Correspondence between the configuration of the above embodiment and the configuration of the present invention will be described. That is, the cooling device 1 corresponds to the cooling device of the present invention, the housing portion 5 corresponds to the housing portion of the present invention, the main body portion 6 corresponds to the main body portion of the present invention, and the air passage 7 is the air passage of the present invention. And the wall surface of the wall 5a corresponds to the wall surface of the housing portion of the present invention.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, although the air passage 7 is formed around the entire circumference of the accommodation portion 5, a part thereof may be formed in the air passage 7 or may be formed by being divided into a plurality of air passages 7. . Further, although the single case 3a storing the electronic device is housed in the single housing portion 5 provided in the cooling device 1, the plurality of electronic devices are housed in the plurality of cases 3a, respectively. Even if 3a is housed in the single housing part 5,
You may store in the several accommodating part 5 respectively provided individually.

[0048]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the wall surface of the accommodating portion is set to have a high emissivity, a large amount of radiant heat from the electronic device is trapped on the wall surface. Since it is possible to absorb the heat, the operating heat of the electronic component can be moved to the wall side of the housing portion, and the cooling capacity or the cooling efficiency of the cooling device can be improved.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, by coloring the wall surface of the housing portion with a color having a high emissivity, surface reflection and transmission of thermal radiation on the surface of the wall is suppressed, and the operation of the electronic component is suppressed. More heat can be transferred to the wall side of the housing portion, and the cooling capacity or cooling efficiency of the cooling device can be improved.

Further, according to the invention of claim 3, since the wall surface of the accommodating portion is covered with the tape or the film which is colored in a color having a high emissivity and has a good thermal conductivity, the heat radiation on the surface of the wall is prevented. Surface reflection and transmission are suppressed, more operating heat of the electronic component can be moved to the wall side of the housing portion, and the cooling capacity or cooling efficiency of the cooling device can be improved.

Further, according to the invention of claim 4, the surface area of the wall of the accommodating portion is enlarged and the wall surface is formed flat, so that the electronic device is obliquely incident on the accommodating portion. Since it is possible to increase the chances of capturing the generated heat radiation, the housing portion can capture and absorb more radiant heat from the electronic device, and further improve the cooling capacity or cooling efficiency of the cooling device.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a specific example of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a state of being arranged in an engine room of a vehicle.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a state of being arranged in an engine room of a vehicle.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Cooling device, 3 ... Electronic unit, 5 ... Storage part,
5a ... Wall of accommodating portion, 6 ... Main body portion 7 ... Air passage 8 ... Inlet port, 9 ... Outlet port.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H02G 3/38 H02G 3/28 F (72) Inventor Takehisa Ide 1440 Rosaki, Sakura City, Chiba Fujikura Ltd. Sakura Factory F-term (reference) 5E322 BA01 BA03 BB03 BB07 BC01 CA03 FA04 5G361 AA06 AC13 BC01 5G363 AA20 DC02

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A housing part for housing an electronic device having an electronic component, a body part surrounding the housing part at a predetermined interval, and a space formed between the housing part and the body part. In the cooling device for cooling the electronic device by providing the air passage, the air supplied from the outside of the device to the air passage and discharged to the outside of the device, the wall surface of the housing portion of the cooling device facing the electronic device is A cooling device for an electronic device, wherein the cooling device has a wall surface with a high emissivity. 2. The cooling device for an electronic device according to claim 1, wherein a wall surface of the housing portion is colored with a color having a high emissivity. 3. The cooling device for an electronic device according to claim 1, wherein a wall surface of the housing portion is covered with a tape or a film which is colored in a color having a high emissivity and has good heat conductivity. . 4. The wall surface of the accommodating part or the surface of the tape or film covering the wall surface is formed into a fine uneven surface.
A cooling device for an electronic device according to.