JP2012054444A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the passage resistance of a cooler of a semiconductor element.SOLUTION: A folding type connector 20 connecting coolant passages of a cooler of a semiconductor element comprises a coolant inlet pipe 21, a coolant outlet pipe 22 extending in the substantially same direction as the coolant inlet pipe 21 substantially in parallel therewith, and a bent pipe 23 connecting the coolant inlet pipe 21 with the coolant outlet pipe 22 and bending so as to be convex in the direction opposite from the extending direction of the coolant inlet pipe 21 and the coolant outlet pipe 22. At least a part of the bent pipe 23 has a flat shape where an interval D between a back sidewall 31 and a body sidewall 32 is narrower than an interval B between both sidewalls 33 and 34 contiguous to the back sidewall 31 or the body sidewall 32.

Description

  The present invention relates to a structure of a connection device that connects refrigerant flow paths of a semiconductor cooling device.

  In recent years, electric vehicles such as electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles have been widely used. In such an electric vehicle, a power module that controls a current to a driving motor is used. Since the power module uses a switching element that generates heat, such as an IGBT or a switching transistor, a cooling device that cools the temperature of the switching element to a predetermined temperature or less is attached.

  As an example of a power module, a semiconductor element such as an IGBT or a switching transistor is soldered on one side of an insulating substrate made of a laminate of an aluminum nitride (AlN) plate or a pure aluminum plate, and on the other side of the insulating substrate. A cooling device for radiating heat from the semiconductor element through the insulating substrate is joined by soldering or an adhesive. This cooler has a function of circulating a coolant such as cold water. And these are accommodated in the housing of resin materials, such as a plastic, and are potted with sealing resin, and the power module is formed.

  In recent years, since a large amount of power is switched by a semiconductor element and the amount of heat generated from the semiconductor element increases, a double-sided cooling type cooling device that cools the semiconductor element from both sides is often used. The cooling device includes two coolers, a first cooler that cools the lower surface of the semiconductor element and a second cooler that cools the upper surface of the semiconductor element. The cooler is connected by a connection pipe, and the refrigerant cooled by the radiator flows into the first cooler and cools the lower surface of the semiconductor element, and then flows to the second cooler by the connection pipe and flows into the semiconductor. The upper surface of the element is configured to be cooled (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  As described in Patent Document 1, the connection pipe connecting the first and second coolers often uses a simple 180-degree elbow having a circular channel cross section. In addition, many coolers for cooling semiconductor elements are thin, and a 90-degree elbow that changes the flow path in a direction perpendicular to the portion where the refrigerant flows into the cooler may be used (for example, Patent Document 2). reference).

JP 2009-164156 A JP 2003-232484 A

  On the other hand, improvement in efficiency is required for electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles. Reducing the power required for cooling the semiconductor element also leads to improved efficiency. However, in the semiconductor cooling apparatus that cools the semiconductor element from the upper and lower surfaces, the distance of the flow path through which the refrigerant flows is increased, and the flow of the refrigerant is folded back from the first flow path toward the second flow path. The road resistance increases, the power required for cooling the semiconductor elements increases, and the overall efficiency decreases.

  An object of this invention is to reduce the flow-path resistance of the cooling device of a semiconductor element.

  The connection device according to the present invention is a folded connection device for connecting a refrigerant flow path of a cooling device for a semiconductor element, and includes a refrigerant inlet portion and a refrigerant outlet extending substantially in parallel in the same direction as the refrigerant inlet portion. And a bent pipe that is connected to the refrigerant inlet part and the refrigerant outlet part and curves so as to protrude in a direction opposite to a direction in which the refrigerant inlet part and the refrigerant outlet part extend, and the bent pipe At least a part of is characterized by having a flat shape in which the distance between the back side wall and the abdominal side wall is narrower than the distance between the back side wall or both side walls adjacent to the abdominal side wall.

  In the connection device of the present invention, the distance between the back side wall and the abdominal side wall on the end side to which the refrigerant inlet portion or the refrigerant outlet portion of the bent pipe is connected is the back side wall and the abdominal side wall of the central portion of the bent pipe. It is also preferable that the bend pipe has a flat central part and an inlet side end provided with the refrigerant inlet part from the central part. It is also preferable to have an inlet connection portion in which the flatness decreases and an outlet connection portion in which the flatness decreases from the central portion toward the outlet side end portion where the refrigerant outlet portion is provided.

  In the connection device of the present invention, it is preferable that the bent pipe has a flow passage cross-sectional area larger than a flow passage cross-sectional area of the inlet refrigerant portion and a flow passage cross-sectional area of the outlet refrigerant portion.

  The present invention has an effect that the flow path resistance of a cooling device for a semiconductor element can be reduced.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of a power module provided with the connection apparatus of embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view of the connecting device in the embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing of the connection apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is an expanded sectional view of the entrance part of the connecting device in the embodiment of the present invention. It is an expanded sectional view of the entrance part of the connecting device in other embodiments of the present invention. It is an expanded sectional view of the entrance part of the connecting device in other embodiments of the present invention. It is an expanded sectional view of the entrance part of the connecting device in other embodiments of the present invention. It is a 4th page figure of the connecting device in other embodiments of the present invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Before describing the connection device of the present invention, a power module to which the connection device of the present invention is attached will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the power module 100 is provided in a housing 10 to which a semiconductor element 15 such as an IGBT is attached, a first cooler 12 attached to the lower surface of the housing 10, and an upper part of the housing 10. And a connecting device 20 for connecting the first cooler 12 and the second cooler 13 to each other. The first cooler 12, the second cooler 13, and the connection device 20 constitute a cooling device 16 for the semiconductor element 15. The semiconductor element 15 is suspended from the bottom of the housing 10, and a heat sink (not shown) is attached to the top thereof. The semiconductor element 15 and the heat sink are sealed with a potting material. The first cooler 12 is attached so as to be in contact with the surface of the bottom surface of the housing 10 opposite to the surface on which the semiconductor element 15 is attached, and the second cooler 13 is in the vicinity of the upper surface of the heat dissipation plate above the semiconductor element 15. Is attached. As shown in FIG. 1 (b), the first cooler 12 and the second cooler 13 are arranged so as to be substantially parallel across the housing 10, and as shown in FIG. The first cooler 12 is integrated with the left and right, but the second cooler 13 is arranged in two rows according to the arrangement of the semiconductor elements 15.

  As shown in FIG. 1 (b), the refrigerant flows into the first cooler 12 from the refrigerant inlet 11 a of the first cooler 12, cools the lower surface of the semiconductor element 15, and then the refrigerant of the first cooler 12. The refrigerant flows into the refrigerant inlet pipe 21 of the connection device 20 from the outlet 11b, the direction of the refrigerant flow is turned back by the connection device 20, and flows from the refrigerant outlet pipe 22 of the connection device 20 into the refrigerant inlet 14a of the second cooler. The refrigerant that has flowed through the second cooler 13 and cooled the upper surface of the semiconductor element 15 flows out from the refrigerant outlet 14 b of the second cooler 13.

  As shown in FIG. 1C, the connecting device 20 smoothly increases in width from the refrigerant inlet pipe 21 and then gradually decreases toward the refrigerant outlet pipe 22. The embodiment of this shape will be described in detail later with reference to FIG. 8, and the basic shape of the connecting device 20 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the connection device 20 includes a cylindrical refrigerant inlet pipe 21 that is a refrigerant inlet part, a refrigerant outlet pipe 22 that is a refrigerant outlet part, and a bent pipe 23. The cylindrical refrigerant inlet pipe 21 and the refrigerant outlet pipe 22 extend substantially in parallel in substantially the same direction. The bent pipe 23 extends in a direction in which the refrigerant inlet pipe 21 and the refrigerant outlet pipe 22 extend from an inlet end 24 having a rectangular cross section to which the refrigerant inlet pipe 21 is connected to an outlet end 26 to which the refrigerant outlet pipe 22 is connected. It is curved to be convex in the opposite direction. In the central portion 25 of the bent tube 23, the distance D between the convex back side wall 31 and the concave side abdominal side wall 32 is narrower than the distance B between the back side wall 31 or both side walls 33, 34 adjacent to the abdominal side wall 32. It has a flat shape. The width B of the bent pipe 23 is constant from the inlet end 24 to the outlet end 26.

Further, the height C ₁ of the inlet end 24 of the bent tube 23 or the height C ₂ of the outlet end 26 of the bent tube 23 is determined by the convex side wall 31 and the concave side wall 32 of the central portion 25 of the bent tube 23. It is longer than the interval D between the two. Therefore, in the bent pipe 23, the flow path width is the same as the width B from the inlet end 24 toward the central part 25, the flow path height gradually decreases, and conversely, the flow path extends from the central part 25 toward the outlet end 26. The shape gradually increases in height. In addition, as shown in FIG. 4 in which the portion X in FIG. 3 is enlarged, in the present embodiment, the refrigerant inlet pipe 21 is cylindrical with a diameter A ₁ and is narrower than the width B of the inlet end 24 of the bent pipe 23, and the refrigerant outlet The tube 22 has a cylindrical shape with a diameter A ₂ and is narrower than the width B of the outlet end 26 of the bent tube 23. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, an R portion is connected from the inlet end 24 toward the central portion 25, and the outlet end 26 and the central portion 25 are similarly connected by R.

The flow of the refrigerant in the connection device 20 when the refrigerant flows into the connection device 20 configured as described above will be described. 2, arrows L _1, L ₂ of FIG. 3 shows the streamlines. As shown in FIG. 2, the refrigerant flowing in from the refrigerant inlet pipe 21 is divided into left and right when entering the inside of the bent pipe 23 from the inlet end 24, and as shown by arrows L ₁ and L ₂ , the left and right side walls 33, It flows along 34. As shown in FIG. 3, the flow flows along the back side wall 31 as the flow moves toward the central portion 25. As shown in FIG. 2, as it goes from the central portion 25 toward the outlet end 26, the flow flows toward the direction of gathering toward the center in the width direction, and the refrigerant flows out from the refrigerant outlet pipe 22 to the outside. In the central region G shown in FIG. 2, the refrigerant does not flow so much, and the refrigerant flows from the refrigerant inlet pipe 21 toward the refrigerant outlet pipe 22 along the wall surface side of the bent pipe 23. For this reason, since the refrigerant flows in a larger curve than flowing along the back side wall 31 of the curved pipe 23 from the refrigerant inlet pipe 21 toward the refrigerant outlet pipe 22, the pressure loss is reduced. There is an effect that. Further, since the flow path in the central portion 25 where the flow approaches the back side wall 31 is flat in the bent pipe 23, the flow rate of the refrigerant flowing along the back side wall 31 is a refrigerant in a cylindrical elbow with a simple flow rate. Therefore, the refrigerant pressure loss can be kept low.

  Another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 shows an angle θ by changing the portion of the inlet from the refrigerant inlet pipe 21 to the bent pipe 23 to R. In this way, the direction of the flow can be easily changed by making an angle toward the flow direction. For example, when the direction of the flow is changed to a right angle as in the prior art described in Patent Document 2, In comparison, the pressure loss can be further reduced.

  In the embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4, the refrigerant inlet portion and the refrigerant outlet portion are described as the cylindrical refrigerant inlet pipe 21 and the refrigerant outlet pipe 22 connected to the inlet end 24 and the outlet end 26, respectively. However, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the inlet flange 21 a may be directly connected to the inlet end 24 and the hole 21 b of the inlet flange 21 a may be used as the refrigerant inlet portion. The outlet end 26 may have a similar structure. In this case, as shown in FIG. 6, from the inlet flange 21a toward the bent pipe 23, it may be connected by R, or between the surface of the inlet flange 21a and the bent pipe 23 as shown in FIG. May be configured to have an angle θ.

Next, a connection device 20 according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Parts similar to those of the embodiment described above with reference to FIGS. 2 to 7 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted. 8A is a front view of the connection device 20 of the present invention as viewed from the refrigerant inlet pipe 21 side, FIG. 8B is a side view thereof, and FIG. 8C is a top view thereof. FIG. 8D is a bottom view thereof. As shown in FIGS. 8 (a) and 8 (b), the connecting device 20 according to the present embodiment has a bent pipe 23 connecting a cylindrical refrigerant inlet pipe 21 and a hole 22b of the outlet flange 22a. It is. The bent pipe 23 is curved so as to protrude in the direction opposite to the direction in which the refrigerant inlet pipe 21 and the hole 22b of the outlet flange 22a extend from the inlet end 24 toward the outlet end 26. Further, the bent pipe 23 has a diameter A ₁ that is connected to the refrigerant inlet pipe 21 having a diameter A ₁ from the inlet end 24 of the width B smoothly broadens toward the center portion 25, the central portion 25 of the hole 22b with a diameter of A ₂ The width is smoothly reduced toward the outlet end 26. The portion from the inlet end 24 to the central portion 25 is an inlet connecting portion 41, and the portion from the central portion 25 to the outlet end 26 is an outlet connecting portion 42. Further, in the central portion 25 of the bent tube 23, the distance D between the convex side wall 31 and the concave side wall 32 is greater than the distance B between the side walls 33 and 34 adjacent to the back side wall 31 or the side wall 32. The height C ₁ of the inlet end 24 of the bent tube 23 is based on the distance D between the convex back side wall 31 and the concave side wall 32 of the central portion 25 of the bent tube 23. Is also getting longer.

  This embodiment has an effect that the pressure loss of the refrigerant can be reduced as in the embodiment described with reference to FIGS.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Housing, 11a, 14a Refrigerant inlet, 11b, 14b Refrigerant outlet, 12 1st cooler, 13 2nd cooler, 15 Semiconductor element, 16 Cooling device, 20 Connection apparatus, 21 Refrigerant inlet pipe, 21a Inlet flange, 21b hole, 22 refrigerant outlet pipe, 22a outlet flange, 22b hole, 23 bent pipe, 24 inlet end, 25 central part, 26 outlet end, 31 back side wall, 32 ventral side wall, 33, 34 side wall, 41 inlet connecting part, 42 Outlet connection, 100 power module.

Claims (4)

A folded connection device for connecting a refrigerant flow path of a cooling device for a semiconductor element,
A refrigerant inlet,
A refrigerant outlet portion extending substantially in parallel with the refrigerant inlet portion in substantially the same direction;
The refrigerant inlet portion and the refrigerant outlet portion are connected, and a curved pipe that curves so as to protrude in a direction opposite to the direction in which the refrigerant inlet portion and the refrigerant outlet portion extend, and
At least a part of the bent pipe has a flat shape in which the distance between the back side wall and the abdominal side wall is narrower than the distance between the back side wall or both side walls adjacent to the abdominal side wall;
A connection device characterized by. The connection device according to claim 1,
The interval between the back side wall and the abdominal side wall on the end side to which the refrigerant inlet part or the refrigerant outlet part of the bent pipe is connected is larger than the distance between the back side wall and the abdominal side wall of the central part of the bent pipe. For a long time,
A connection device characterized by. The connection device according to claim 1 or 2,
The bent pipe includes the flat central portion,
From the central portion toward an inlet side end portion where the refrigerant inlet portion is provided, an inlet connection portion having a reduced flatness, and from the central portion toward an outlet side end portion where the refrigerant outlet portion is provided. Having an outlet connection with reduced flatness,
A connection device characterized by. The connection device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The bent pipe has a flow passage cross-sectional area larger than a flow passage cross-sectional area of the inlet refrigerant portion and a flow passage cross-sectional area of the outlet refrigerant portion;
A connection device characterized by.

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