JP2012094747A - Cooler - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cooler which cools all semiconductor modules even when an inlet pipe and an outlet pipe are attached to a lower wall.SOLUTION: An inlet pipe 4 and an outlet pipe 5 are provided at a lower wall 20 of a case 2. A semiconductor module 3 is attached to a front surface of the case 2. The case 2 has a partition wall 6 dividing a space in the case 2 into a front space S1 and a rear space S2. Further, the case 2 includes a first partition plate 11 and a second partition plate 12. The rear space S2 is divided into a first part S21, a second part S22, and a third part S23 with the first partition plate 11 and the second partition plate 12. The partition wall 6 includes an inlet side through hole 61 formed at the first part S21 so as to penetrate the first part S21 and an outlet side through hole 62 formed at the second part S22. A communication part 7 is formed along an upper wall 21 and between the second part S22 and the third part S23.

Description

  The present invention relates to a cooler for cooling a semiconductor module.

  As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, as a component for cooling a semiconductor module containing a semiconductor element, a case 92, an introduction pipe 94 for introducing the refrigerant 910 from below into the case 92, and a refrigerant 910 are led out from above. A cooler 91 provided with a lead-out pipe 95 is conventionally known (see Patent Document 1 below).

  The case 92 includes a lower wall 920, an upper wall 921 disposed above the lower wall 920, and a pair of left and right side walls 922 that connect the lower wall 920 and the upper wall 921.

  The semiconductor module 93 is attached in front of the case 92. A partition wall 96 is provided in the case 92. The partition 96 divides the space in the case 92 into a front space S91 located on the semiconductor module 93 side and a rear space S92 located behind the front space S91. In addition, a partition plate 911 that connects the lower wall 920 and the upper wall 921 is provided in the rear space S92. By this partition plate 911, the rear space S92 is partitioned into a first portion S921 in which the introduction pipe 94 is opened and a second portion S922 in which the outlet pipe 95 is opened.

  Further, the partition wall 96 includes an introduction side through hole 961 formed through in the first portion S921 and a lead-out side through hole 962 formed through in the second portion S922. When the refrigerant 910 is introduced from the introduction pipe 94, the refrigerant 910 enters the first portion S921, moves through the introduction side through hole 961 to the front space S91, cools the semiconductor module 93 in the front space S91, and then passes through the outlet side. It moves to the second portion S922 through the hole 962. Thereafter, the refrigerant 910 is led out from the lead-out pipe 95.

  As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, since the outlet pipe 95 is formed on the upper wall 921, when the refrigerant 910 is introduced, the air in the case 92 escapes from the outlet pipe 95. For this reason, air does not collect in the space in the case 92, and the space can be filled with the refrigerant 910. Therefore, all the semiconductor modules 93 attached to the case 92 can be cooled with the refrigerant 910.

JP 2006-156624 A

  In recent years, due to the relationship with other devices existing around the cooler 91, there is a demand for attaching the outlet pipe 95 to the lower wall 920. However, as shown in FIG. 15, in the conventional cooler 91, when the outlet pipe 95 is provided on the lower wall 920, when the refrigerant 910 is introduced, the air in the case 92 is difficult to escape and the case 92 is filled with the refrigerant 910. There was a problem that it was difficult to do. For this reason, there is a problem that it is difficult to cool the semiconductor modules 93a and 93b (see FIG. 12) mounted at high positions.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a cooler capable of cooling all semiconductor modules even when an introduction pipe and an outlet pipe are attached to a lower wall.

The present invention is a cooler for cooling a semiconductor module containing a semiconductor element,
A case comprising: a lower wall; an upper wall positioned above the lower wall; and a pair of left and right side walls connecting the lower wall and the upper wall;
An introduction pipe that is attached to the lower wall of the case and introduces the refrigerant into the case; and a lead-out pipe from which the refrigerant is led out.
The semiconductor module is disposed on the front surface of the case,
A partition that connects the lower wall and the upper wall is provided in the case, and the partition allows the space in the case to be separated from the front space located on the semiconductor module side and the front space with respect to the partition. It is divided into a rear space located on the opposite side,
In the rear space, a first partition plate and a second partition plate extending from the lower wall to at least the vicinity of the upper wall are provided,
The rear space is partitioned into a first portion, a second portion, and a third portion by the first partition plate and the second partition plate, and the first portion is divided into the second portion and the second portion. The introduction pipe is opened in the first part, the outlet pipe is opened in the third part, and the second part and the third part are It communicates with the communication part along the wall,
The partition wall has an introduction side through hole formed through in the first part and a lead-out side through hole formed through in the second part,
The refrigerant is introduced into the first portion through the introduction pipe, moves to the front space through the introduction side through-hole, cools the semiconductor module in the front space, and then passes through the lead-out side through hole. The cooler is configured to pass through to the second part, further to the third part through the communication part, and to be led out from the lead-out pipe (Claim 1). .

  The function and effect of the present invention will be described. When the above-mentioned cooler filled with air is first filled with the refrigerant, the refrigerant introduced from the introduction pipe enters the first portion, moves to the front space through the introduction side through hole, and then opens the outlet side through hole. Pass through to the second part. Then, the refrigerant once fills the second portion, then moves to the third portion through the communication portion, and then is led out from the outlet pipe. Therefore, the refrigerant can be stored in the second portion at least up to the height at which the communication portion is formed. Therefore, the liquid level of the refrigerant can be increased in the second portion. Along with this, the liquid level of the refrigerant in the case including the front space can be increased, and the semiconductor module mounted at a high position can be sufficiently cooled.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a cooler that can cool all the semiconductor modules even when the introduction pipe and the lead-out pipe are attached to the lower wall.

The perspective view of the cooler in Example 1. FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the cooler according to the first embodiment, which is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC in FIG. AA sectional drawing of FIG. BB sectional drawing of FIG. Sectional drawing of the semiconductor module in Example 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a state in which the refrigerant is introduced into the cooler in the first embodiment. The figure following FIG. The figure following FIG. Sectional drawing of the cooler which has arrange | positioned the 2nd part in the center in Example 1. FIG. Sectional drawing of the cooler which has arrange | positioned the 1st part in the center in Example 1. FIG. It is sectional drawing of the cooler in a prior art example, Comprising: EE sectional drawing of FIG. DD sectional drawing of FIG. Explanatory drawing of the state which introduce | transduced the refrigerant | coolant into the cooler of FIG. The figure following FIG. Sectional drawing at the time of providing a derivation | leading pipe in the lower wall in a prior art example.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention described above will be described.
In the present invention, it is preferable that the third portion is interposed between the first portion and the second portion.
If it does in this way, since the 1st portion and the 2nd portion are provided in the both ends of the case, the distance from the introduction side through hole to the discharge side through hole can be increased. Therefore, the distance in the left-right direction of the refrigerant flowing in the front space can be increased, and the area for cooling the semiconductor module can be increased.

In addition, the first partition plate is disposed obliquely with respect to the vertical direction so that the cross-sectional area of the first portion in a plane perpendicular to the vertical direction gradually decreases from the lower wall toward the upper wall. (Claim 3).
In this case, when the semiconductor module is used for cooling after completion of filling with the refrigerant, it is possible to suppress variations in the flow rate of the refrigerant in the front space at the height position. That is, when the refrigerant is introduced into the case from the introduction pipe, the refrigerant is sent to the front space through the introduction side through hole in order from the lower position of the case. Therefore, if the first partition is provided in parallel in the vertical direction, the introduction-side through hole provided in the lower position has a higher flow rate of the refrigerant, and the introduction-side through hole provided in the higher position has the lower flow rate of the refrigerant. End up. For this reason, the flow rate of the refrigerant in the front space is fast at a low position and slow at a high position, which tends to cause a problem that the semiconductor module cannot be uniformly cooled.
However, when the first partition plate is provided obliquely as described above, the cross-sectional area of the first portion in the horizontal direction becomes smaller toward the higher position, so the flow rate of the refrigerant in the front space is reduced between a low position and a high position. It becomes possible to make even. Thereby, it becomes easy to cool a semiconductor module equally.

Moreover, it is preferable that a plurality of semiconductor modules are arranged in the vertical direction on the front surface of the case.
In this case, the cooling variation of the plurality of semiconductor modules can be effectively suppressed. That is, in the cooler, since the coolant can be supplied also to a high part in the case, not only the semiconductor module mounted at a low position among the plurality of semiconductor modules mounted above and below, but also the semiconductor module mounted at a high position. Can also be cooled.

Example 1
A cooler according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the cooler 1 of this example cools the semiconductor module 3 including the semiconductor element 30. The cooler 1 includes a case 2, an introduction pipe 4, and a lead-out pipe 5.
The case 2 includes a lower wall 20, an upper wall 21 located above the lower wall 20, and a pair of left and right side walls 22 that connect the lower wall 20 and the upper wall 21. Yes.
The introduction pipe 4 and the lead-out pipe 5 are attached to the lower wall 20 of the case 2. The introduction pipe 4 is a pipe for introducing the refrigerant 10 into the case 2. The outlet pipe 5 is a pipe for leading the refrigerant 10 from the case 2.

  The semiconductor module 3 is disposed on the front surface of the case 2. As shown in FIG. 3, a partition wall 6 that connects the lower wall 20 and the upper wall 21 is provided in the case 2, so that the space in the case 2 is a front space S <b> 1 located on the semiconductor module 3 side. And a rear space S2 located on the opposite side of the front space S1 with respect to the partition wall 6.

As shown in FIG. 2, a first partition plate 11 and a second partition plate 12 extending from the lower wall 20 to at least the vicinity of the upper wall 21 are provided in the rear space S2.
The rear space S2 is partitioned into a first part S21, a second part S22, and a third part S23 by the first partition plate 11 and the second partition plate 12. The first part S21 is independent of the second part S22 and the third part S23. That is, the first part S21 does not communicate with either the second part S22 or the third part S23 in the rear space S2. The introduction pipe 4 is opened in the first part S21, and the outlet pipe 5 is opened in the third part S23. And 2nd part S22 and 3rd part S23 are connected by the communication part 7 along the upper wall 21. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, the partition wall 6 includes an introduction side through hole 61 formed through in the first portion S <b> 21 and a lead-out side through hole 62 formed through in the second portion S <b> 22.
The refrigerant 10 is introduced into the first part S21 through the introduction pipe 4, moves to the front space S1 through the introduction side through hole 61, cools the semiconductor module 3 in the front space S1, and then passes through the lead-out side through hole 62. And move to the second part S22. The refrigerant 10 is further configured to pass through the communication portion 7 to the third portion S23 and be led out from the outlet pipe 5.
The details will be described below.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the third portion S23 is interposed between the first portion S21 and the second portion S22. In addition, the introduction side through hole 61 and the outlet side through hole 62 have a vertically elongated shape, and a plurality of them are formed in the partition wall 6.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the first partition plate 11 is arranged with respect to the vertical direction so that the cross-sectional area of the first portion S <b> 21 in the plane perpendicular to the vertical direction becomes gradually smaller toward the upper wall 21 from the lower wall 20. It is arranged diagonally.
Further, in this example, the second partition plate 12 is disposed obliquely with respect to the vertical direction so that the cross-sectional area of the second portion S22 in the plane perpendicular to the vertical direction gradually increases from the lower wall 20 toward the upper wall 21. Has been.

As shown in FIG. 5, the semiconductor module 3 is obtained by sealing a plurality of semiconductor elements 30 with a synthetic resin 31. The semiconductor element 30 includes a switching element such as an IGBT element, a free wheel diode, and the like. The semiconductor module 3 includes a metal heat radiating plate 32 electrically connected to the semiconductor element 30. On the heat radiating plate 32, heat radiating fins 33 are formed so as to protrude.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a plurality of semiconductor modules 3 (3 a to 3 c) are arranged in the vertical direction on the front surface of the case 2.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the case 2 includes an opening 8 that opens forward. The semiconductor module 3 is attached so as to close the opening 8. Further, the partition wall 6 is formed with a rib portion 65 protruding forward of the case 2. The rib portion 65 divides the front space S1 of the case 2 into three parts. Further, a sealing member 13 is interposed between the semiconductor module 3 and the case 2 to prevent the refrigerant 10 from leaking out.

  As shown in FIG. 6, when the refrigerant 10 is introduced from the introduction pipe 4, the refrigerant 10 enters the first portion S <b> 21 of the rear space S <b> 2 and then the lowest position among the plurality of introduction-side through holes 61 a to 61 c formed. Is introduced into the introduction side through hole 61c. And the refrigerant | coolant 10 flows through front space S1, and cools the semiconductor module 3c attached to the lowest position here. Thereafter, the refrigerant 10 is led out from the introduction side through hole 62c formed at the lowest position among the plurality of lead-out side through holes 62a to 62c, and is accumulated in the second portion S22.

  When the refrigerant 10 is further introduced, the liquid level of the refrigerant 10 rises as shown in FIG. Then, the refrigerant 10 is introduced into the introduction side through hole 61b provided at the second height position from the bottom, and cools the semiconductor module 3b through the front space S1. Thereafter, the refrigerant 10 is led out from the lead-out side through hole 62b provided at the second height position from the bottom, and is accumulated in the second portion S22.

  When the refrigerant 10 is continuously introduced, the liquid level of the refrigerant 10 further rises as shown in FIG. Then, the refrigerant 10 is introduced into the introduction side through hole 61a formed at the highest position, and cools the semiconductor module 3a through the front space S1. Thereafter, the refrigerant 10 is led out from the lead-out side through hole 62a provided at the highest position, overflows from the second part S22, passes through the communication part 7, and moves to the third part S23. Then, the refrigerant 10 is led out from the outlet pipe 5.

  The effect of this example will be described. As shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, when the cooler 1 filled with air is first filled with the refrigerant 10, the refrigerant 10 introduced from the introduction pipe 4 enters the first portion S21, and the introduction side through hole 61 is formed. After passing through and moving to the front space S1, it moves to the second portion S22 through the outlet side through hole 62. Then, the refrigerant 10 once fills the second portion S <b> 22, moves to the third portion S <b> 23 through the communication portion 7, and is then led out from the outlet pipe 5. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, the refrigerant 10 can be stored in the second portion S22 at least up to the height at which the communication portion 7 is formed. Therefore, the liquid level of the refrigerant 10 can be increased in the second portion S22. Accordingly, the liquid level of the refrigerant 10 inside the case including the front space S1 can be increased, and the semiconductor module 3a attached at a high position can be sufficiently cooled.

In the present example, as shown in FIG. 2, the third portion S23 is interposed between the first portion S21 and the second portion S22.
If it does in this way, since the 1st portion S21 and the 2nd portion S22 are provided in the both ends of case 2, the distance from introduction side penetration hole 61 to extraction side penetration hole 62 can be lengthened. Therefore, the distance in the left-right direction of the refrigerant 10 flowing in the front space S1 can be increased, and the area for cooling the semiconductor module 3 can be increased.

Further, in this example, as shown in FIG. 2, the first partition plate 11 is arranged in the vertical direction so that the cross-sectional area of the first portion S21 in the plane perpendicular to the vertical direction becomes gradually smaller from the lower wall 20 toward the upper wall 21. It is arranged at an angle to.
In this case, when the semiconductor module is used for cooling after completion of filling with the refrigerant, it is possible to suppress variations in the height position of the flow rate of the refrigerant 10 in the front space S1. That is, when the refrigerant 10 is introduced into the case 2 from the introduction pipe 4, as shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, the refrigerant 10 is sent to the front space S <b> 1 through the introduction side through hole 61 a in order from a low position of the case 2. Therefore, if the first partition wall 11 is provided in parallel in the vertical direction, the introduction-side through hole 61c provided at a low position has a high flow rate of the refrigerant 10, and the introduction-side through hole 61a provided at a high position has the refrigerant 10 Will slow down the flow velocity. Therefore, the flow rate of the refrigerant 10 in the front space S1 is fast at a low position and slow at a high position, and a problem that the semiconductor module 3 cannot be uniformly cooled is likely to occur.
However, as shown in FIG. 8, when the first partition plate 11 is provided obliquely, the cross-sectional area of the first portion S <b> 21 in the horizontal direction decreases as it goes higher, so the flow rate of the refrigerant 10 in the front space S <b> 1 is It becomes possible to make equal in a low position and a high position. Thereby, it becomes easy to cool the semiconductor module 3 equally.

In this example, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a plurality of semiconductor modules 3 a to 3 c are arranged in the vertical direction on the front surface of the case 2.
In this case, the cooling variation of the plurality of semiconductor modules 3 can be effectively suppressed. That is, as shown in FIG. 8, in the cooler 1 of this example, the coolant 10 can be supplied also to a high portion in the case 2, so that the cooler 1 is mounted at a lower position among the plurality of semiconductor modules 3 a to 3 c mounted up and down. In addition to the semiconductor module 3c, the semiconductor modules 3a and 3b attached at a high position can be cooled.

  In the present invention, the structure of the case 2 can be changed as appropriate. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, the first portion S21 and the third portion S23 may be provided at both ends of the case 2 and the second portion S22 may be provided at the center. Further, as shown in FIG. 10, the first portion S <b> 21 may be provided at the center, and the second portion S <b> 22 and the third portion S <b> 23 may be provided at both ends of the case 2.

  As described above, according to this example, it is possible to provide a cooler that can cool all the semiconductor modules even when the introduction pipe and the lead-out pipe are attached to the lower wall.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cooler 10 Refrigerant 11 1st partition plate 12 2nd partition plate 2 Case 20 Lower wall 21 Upper wall 22 Side wall 3 Semiconductor module 4 Introducing pipe 5 Deriving pipe 6 Bulkhead 61 Introducing side through-hole 62 Deriving side through-hole 7 Communication part S1 Front space S2 Back space S21 1st part S22 2nd part S23 3rd part

Claims (4)

A cooler for cooling a semiconductor module containing a semiconductor element,
A case comprising: a lower wall; an upper wall positioned above the lower wall; and a pair of left and right side walls connecting the lower wall and the upper wall;
An introduction pipe that is attached to the lower wall of the case and introduces the refrigerant into the case; and a lead-out pipe from which the refrigerant is led out.
The semiconductor module is disposed on the front surface of the case,
A partition that connects the lower wall and the upper wall is provided in the case, and the partition allows the space in the case to be separated from the front space located on the semiconductor module side and the front space with respect to the partition. It is divided into a rear space located on the opposite side,
In the rear space, a first partition plate and a second partition plate extending from the lower wall to at least the vicinity of the upper wall are provided,
The rear space is partitioned into a first portion, a second portion, and a third portion by the first partition plate and the second partition plate, and the first portion is divided into the second portion and the second portion. The introduction pipe is opened in the first part, the outlet pipe is opened in the third part, and the second part and the third part are It communicates with the communication part along the wall,
The partition wall has an introduction side through hole formed through in the first part and a lead-out side through hole formed through in the second part,
The refrigerant is introduced into the first portion through the introduction pipe, moves to the front space through the introduction side through-hole, cools the semiconductor module in the front space, and then passes through the lead-out side through hole. The cooler is configured to pass through to the second part, further pass through the communication part to the third part, and be led out from the outlet pipe.   2. The cooler according to claim 1, wherein the third part is interposed between the first part and the second part.   3. The first partition plate according to claim 2, wherein the first partition plate is inclined with respect to the vertical direction so that a cross-sectional area of the first portion in a plane perpendicular to the vertical direction gradually decreases from the lower wall toward the upper wall. A cooler characterized by being arranged.   The cooler according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a plurality of semiconductor modules are arranged in a vertical direction on the front surface of the case.

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