JP2010141243A - Liquid cooling type electronic apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid-cooling type electronic apparatus, wherein only a pipe is made replaceable and a pipe can be fixed in a pipe form meeting the needs while freely adjusting an attachment angle, in consideration of conventional techniques. <P>SOLUTION: The liquid cooling type electronic apparatus includes an attachment part 2 provided on a body case 1 and an adapter 4 which fixes a pipe 3 in a state where the pipe 3 is pressed to the attachment part, and is arranged separately. A slope 15 along which the adapter is slid toward the pipe when being fixed to the attachment part is formed on at least one of contact surfaces between the attachment part and the adapter. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid-cooled electronic device according to an adapter suitable for detachably connecting an electronic device such as a water-cooled inverter device to an external cooling device.

  In general, a cooling inverter device is configured to cool a semiconductor power module that generates heat by a method as disclosed in Patent Document 1 with a liquid refrigerant such as a heat sink and cooling water flowing through the heat sink.

JP 2007-135279 A

  In recent years, there is a very high demand for downsizing of an inverter device, and there are many demands for a compact and hermetically sealed structure for in-vehicle applications. When the inverter device is water-cooled and has a sealed structure, it can be downsized compared to the air-cooled type, and it is easy to have a dust- and water-resistant structure. Since the water-cooled inverter device circulates the cooling water using an external cooling water circulation device or the like, the cooling water input / output section often has a pipe structure.

  In addition, since the inverter device main body is expensive, it is desirable to have a structure that allows only the pipe portion to be replaced, not the entire inverter device, when repairing the parts of the cooling water circulation path including the pipe. In particular, in in-vehicle applications, it is considered that only the pipe portion is damaged due to an accident or the like, and therefore the necessity is high. Further, since the method of routing the cooling water path changes depending on the installation location, it is desirable to have a structure that can change the pipe shape and the direction of the pipe according to customer requirements.

  However, since the conventional pipe has an integrated structure in which the pipe portion is welded or brazed to an adapter that fixes the pipe to the water-cooled inverter device, the pipe and the adapter can be attached or replaced together. It is difficult to change the pipe shape and adjust the pipe mounting angle freely. Patent Document 1 proposes a heat sink for a water-cooled inverter device, but does not specify a detachable pipe. FIG. 6 shows an example of a conventional detachable pipe. In the prior art, since the adapter 4 and the pipe 3 are welded or brazed (welded portion 9), the work process may increase or a hole may be formed by welding, so it is necessary to check the airtightness after welding. .

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a liquid-cooled electronic device that can replace only a pipe and can be fixed by freely adjusting the mounting angle in a pipe shape that meets the needs.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a main body case, a semiconductor power module housed in the main body case, a heat sink on which the semiconductor power module is mounted to transmit heat generated by the semiconductor power module, In a liquid-cooled electronic device comprising a coolant channel for flowing coolant to a heat sink, and a detachable pipe connecting the coolant channel and the outside,
It has an attachment part provided in the main body case, and a separate adapter for fixing the pipe in a state where it is pressed against the attachment part.

  Further, in the liquid-cooled electronic device described above, when the adapter is fixed to the attachment portion, an inclined surface on which the adapter slides toward the pipe is provided on at least one of contact surfaces of the attachment portion and the adapter. It is formed.

  In the liquid-cooled electronic device described above, at least one of the contact surfaces of the attachment portion and the adapter is formed in a triangular shape, and the inclined surface is configured in this triangular shape. .

  In the liquid-cooled electronic device described above, the adapter has a recess formed along the outer shape of the pipe so as to fit into the pipe.

  Further, in the liquid-cooled electronic device described above, the adapter is fixed to the attachment portion with a bolt.

  Further, in the present invention, when the pipe and the adapter are separated and fixed to the adapter and the mounting portion with bolts or the like, the pipe is fixed by fixing the adapter by a structure that makes the adapter slide to the pipe side. .

  According to the present invention, a pipe having a shape that meets the needs can be detachably attached at an arbitrary attachment angle.

  FIG. 5 shows an overall configuration diagram of a water-cooled (using water as a liquid refrigerant) inverter device as a representative example of the liquid-cooled electronic device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  Semiconductor power modules 8a to 8e are housed in the body case 1, and the semiconductor power modules 8a to 8e are attached to the heat sink 7 in order to transmit the heat and cool it. Inside the heat sink 7 is provided a coolant flow path 10 for the flow of cooling water. A detachable circular pipe 3 that connects the coolant flow path 10 and the outside is attached to the input / output part of the main body case 1, and a cooling water circulation device (not shown) connected to the pipe 3 with an external radiator or the like. The cooling water given from the other) is drawn in by connecting a hose, and the cooling water which has been cooled in the same manner is returned to the cooling water circulation device via the pipe 3 by the hose or the like.

  Reference numeral 2 denotes an attachment portion as the input / output portion provided in the case 1, and the pipe 3 is fixed detachably using a separate adapter 4. This configuration will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. The body case 1 is provided with a mounting portion 2 having a hole 2a through which the pipe 3 passes, and a separate adapter 4 is fixed to the mounting portion 2 with a bolt 5 in a state where the pipe 3 is passed through the hole 2a. The The adapter 4 is provided with an inclined surface 15 so as to slide toward the pipe 3 along the contact surface with the attachment portion 2 when being fixed to the attachment portion 2.

  In addition, the mounting portion 2 is provided with a pipe receiving portion serving as an arc-shaped recess 18 so that the circular pipe 3 can be sandwiched, and the adapter 4 is in contact with the pipe along the outer shape of the pipe 3 (alignment). I) A holding portion of the pipe serving as the arc-shaped concave portion 17 is provided, and the pipe 3 is stably pressed by the concave portions 17 and 18 by the sliding of the adapter 4. When the pipe 3 is square, both the concave portions are also square. However, when the pipe 3 is arcuate as described above, it can be attached even if the diameter of the circular pipe changes somewhat.

  An inclined surface 16 is provided on the surface of the mounting portion 2 that contacts the inclined surface 15 of the adapter 4. In this way, by providing inclined surfaces on both contact surfaces of the adapter 4 and the attachment portion 2, the contact surface with the head of the bolt 5 which is the upper surface of the adapter 4 is made substantially horizontal, so that the bolt 5 is attached to the attachment portion 2. Therefore, the adapter 4 can be pressed stably. As shown in FIG. 2 (2), these inclined surfaces 15 and 16 are configured by forming the adapter 4 and the mounting portion 2 in triangular shapes 19 and 20 whose cross sections are opposite to each other.

  By tightening (attaching) the bolt 5, the inclined surface 15 of the adapter 4 is pressed almost perpendicularly to the inclined surface 16 of the mounting portion 2, and the adapter 4 slides on the inclined surface 16 in the direction of the pipe 3 in the direction of the arrow. 3, and the pipe 3 is pressed against the through hole 2 a of the mounting portion 2.

  Further, when the adapter 4 is tightened with the bolt 5, the bolt through hole 2a of the mounting portion 2 is formed in a slightly oval shape so that the adapter 4 slides and stably presses the side wall of the pipe 3. With this configuration, when the adapter 4 slides in the direction of the arrow along the attachment portion 2 in FIG. 2, the pipe 3 is slightly moved in the longitudinal direction of the ellipse and pressed to be stably tightened and fixed in the bolt through hole 2a. To do. Note that there is a gap between the pipe 3 and the main body case 1 (bolt through hole 2a) so that the pipe can be attached and detached, but airtightness is maintained by a sealing material 6 such as an O-ring.

  In FIG. 1, the pipe 3 is an example of a pipe attached with its tip bent and facing sideways. However, the bending angle and the bending direction of the pipe 3 need to be changed depending on the connection with the connected external hose. It is. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, when the pipe 3 is fixed at a different angle so that the tip of the pipe 3 faces downward according to the specifications and applications, the adapter 4 is temporarily loosened and the angle is arbitrarily set. The pipe 3 can be fixed by tightening again after changing.

  Further, even if the pipe 3 is changed to a part with a flange as shown in FIG. 4, if the diameter of the pipe 3 is within an allowable range, the main body case 1 and the adapter 4 need not be changed. . In the conventional detachable pipe shown in FIG. 6, since the pipe is fixed to the adapter portion by welding or the like, when it is necessary to change the angle of the pipe, it is necessary to remove not only the pipe but also the adapter portion together. Become. In addition, since welding is performed to fix the pipe, there is a concern that a hole may be formed in the pipe during welding, and a process such as an airtight test is required after processing.

  In each of the above embodiments, the inclined surfaces 15 and 16 are provided on both the adapter 4 and the mounting portion 2 respectively, but only one of the inclined surfaces may be provided. In this case, when the inclined surface 16 is provided only in the attachment portion 2, the adapter 4 is configured by a flat plate without the inclined surface, and when the bolt 5 is pressed, the flat plate of the adapter 4 is slid on the inclined surface 16, thereby the pipe 3 Can be pressed. When the inclined surface 15 is provided only on the adapter 4, a substantially horizontal surface is provided on the mounting portion 2, and when the bolt 5 is pressed, the inclined surface 15 of the adapter 4 is slid on the substantially horizontal surface. The side wall of the pipe 3 can be pressed.

  In each of the above embodiments, the pipe and the adapter have a separated structure, and the pipe is fixed by attaching the adapter to the main body case, so that the degree of freedom in the direction of the pipe tip is large. That is, the mounting angle of the pipe can be freely adjusted, and the water-cooled inverter device can be easily installed even in a narrow place. On the other hand, since the conventional pipe is integrated with the adapter, the mounting angle of the pipe is fixed.

  In addition, it is easy to respond to customer requests for pipe shape and pipe orientation, and the cooling inverter device can be individually handled by changing the shape of the pipe without changing the structure of the cooling inverter device body for each customer or application. Can do. In other words, the cooling inverter device can be standardized. Therefore, it is possible to provide an installation suitable for a use in equipment, a hybrid vehicle, an electric vehicle, and a railway vehicle that use a water-cooled inverter device.

The perspective view which shows the principal part of this invention Example. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. The perspective view of the other Example which changed the angle of the pipe. The perspective view of the other Example which changed the shape of the pipe. Explanatory drawing of the whole structure of a water-cooled inverter apparatus. The perspective view of the conventional detachable pipe.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Main body case, 2 ... Mounting part, 3 ... Pipe, 4 ... Adapter, 5 ... Bolt, 6 ... Sealing material, such as O-ring, 7 ... Heat sink, 8a-8e ... Semiconductor power module, 9 ... Welded part, 10 ... Flow path for coolant, 15, 16 ... inclined surface, 17, 18 ... concave portion, 19, 20 ... triangular shape.

Claims (5)

A main body case, a semiconductor power module housed in the main body case, a heat sink on which the semiconductor power module is mounted to transmit heat generated by the semiconductor power module, and a coolant for flowing a coolant through the heat sink In a liquid-cooled electronic device including a flow path, and a detachable pipe that connects the coolant flow path and the outside,
A liquid-cooled electronic device, comprising: an attachment portion provided in the main body case; and a separate adapter for fixing the pipe in a state of being pressed against the attachment portion.   2. The inclined surface on which the adapter slides toward the pipe when the adapter is fixed to the attachment portion is formed on at least one of the contact surfaces of the attachment portion and the adapter. Liquid-cooled electronic device.   3. The liquid-cooled electronic device according to claim 2, wherein a cross section of at least one of contact surfaces of the attachment portion and the adapter is formed in a triangular shape, and the inclined surface is formed in the triangular shape.   The liquid-cooled electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the adapter is formed with a recess along the outer shape of the pipe so as to fit into the pipe.   The liquid-cooled electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the adapter is fixed to the attachment portion with a bolt.

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