JP2014053338A - Cooling device, and electric vehicle and electronic equipment having the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cooling device and electric vehicle and electronic equipment having the cooling device in which the construction can be simplified with keeping a high heat-exchange efficiency.SOLUTION: At the back surface side of a heat receiving unit 7 are provided a heat receiving plate 14 having a heat absorbing portion (a semiconductor switching element 5 area portion) which is brought into contact with a semiconductor switching element 5 (an example of a heating member) to absorb heat, and a heat receiving plate cover 15 which covers the front surface side of the heat receiving plate 14 through a space. A narrow opening forming portion 16 is provided in proximity to the heat receiving plate 14 side between a discharge port 8 and a flow-in port 11 of the heat receiving cover 15.

Description

  The present invention relates to a cooling device for an electric vehicle or an electronic device on which a power semiconductor is mounted, for example.

  Conventionally, this type of cooling device is known to be mounted on a power conversion circuit of an electric vehicle.

  In an electric vehicle, an electric motor serving as a driving power source is switched by an inverter circuit which is a power conversion circuit.

  A plurality of power semiconductors represented by power transistors are used in the inverter circuit, and a large current of several tens of amperes flows through each power semiconductor.

  For this reason, power semiconductors generate a large amount of heat and need to be cooled.

  Therefore, for example, in the cooling device shown in Patent Document 1, in the lower heat receiver, a cycle in which the heat of the power semiconductor is taken away by the refrigerant to be vaporized, cooled by the radiator disposed at the upper part, liquefied, and dropped again at the lower part. The inverter circuit is cooled by being repeated.

  However, such a cooling device is said to be a boiling type cooling type that evaporates by boiling the refrigerant in the heat receiver, and this type receives heat with the refrigerant remaining in the heat receiver. As a conclusion, it is known that the cooling performance is low.

  On the other hand, since the refrigerant circulation type cooling type shown in Patent Document 2 receives heat in a state where the refrigerant is convected in the heat receiver, the heat transfer efficiency to the refrigerant is high, and as a conclusion, the cooling performance is remarkably high. Become.

JP-A-8-126125 JP 2009-88127 A

  As described above, the cooling performance of the refrigerant circulation cooling type is drastically improved. For this reason, in the cooling device shown in Patent Document 2, the heat receiver and the heat radiation connected to the outlet of the heat receiver via the heat radiation path are provided. And a return path connecting the radiator and the inlet of the heat receiver, and a check valve interposed in the return path.

  In addition, the tip of the return path is made to rush into the radiator, and the refrigerant is rapidly spread in a thin film state into the heat receiver at this rush portion.

  Specifically, when the refrigerant that has returned from the return path flows into the heat receiver as the check valve is opened, a part of the refrigerant rapidly evaporates in the front end (rushing part) of the return path, and the pressure returns to that temperature. The refrigerant remaining in the path tip spreads rapidly into the heat receiver in a thin film state.

  As a result, extremely effective heat reception is performed on the inner wall surface of the heat receiver (the surface of the heat receiving plate), thereby greatly improving the cooling performance.

  However, even if the cooling performance is remarkably improved as described above, further improvement is required for mounting on various devices.

  As one of them, when the tip of the return path is inserted into the radiator, the position of the tip of the return path in the radiator cannot be visually checked, so it takes time and effort to adjust this positional relationship. There is a need for simplification.

  Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to simplify the configuration.

  In order to achieve this object, the present invention provides a heat receiver, a radiator connected to the discharge port of the heat receiver via a heat dissipation path, and a feedback connecting the heat sink and the inlet of the heat receiver. A heat-reception plate having a heat-absorbing part that contacts the heat-generating body and absorbs heat on the back side thereof, and a surface side of the heat-receiving plate. And a heat receiving plate cover that covers the space through the space, a portion between the discharge port and the inflow port of the heat receiving plate cover is provided with a narrow opening forming portion that approaches the heat receiving plate side, The heat absorption part of the heat receiving plate is arranged on the outlet side and the inlet side of the narrow opening forming part, thereby achieving the initial purpose.

  As described above, the present invention includes a heat receiver, a radiator connected to the discharge port of the heat receiver via a heat dissipation path, a feedback path connecting the radiator and the inlet of the heat receiver, and the feedback path. The heat receiver has a heat receiving plate having a heat absorbing portion that contacts the heating element and absorbs heat on the back surface side, and a surface side of the heat receiving plate via a space. A heat receiving plate cover that is covered, and a narrow opening forming portion that approaches the heat receiving plate side is provided in a portion between the discharge port and the inflow port of the heat receiving plate cover, and the heat absorbing portion of the heat receiving plate is Since the narrow opening forming portion is arranged on the discharge port side and the inflow port side, the configuration can be simplified and the productivity can be increased.

  That is, the heat receiver of the present invention has, on the back side thereof, a heat receiving plate having a heat absorbing portion that contacts the heating element and absorbs heat, and a heat receiving plate cover that covers the surface side of the heat receiving plate via a space. A narrow opening forming portion that approaches the heat receiving plate side is provided in a portion between the discharge port and the inflow port of the heat receiving plate cover, and the heat absorbing portion of the heat receiving plate is the narrow opening forming portion. It is set as the structure arrange | positioned at the said discharge port side and the inflow port side.

  For this reason, a part of the refrigerant flowing into the heat receiver from the return path through the check valve is vaporized on the inlet side of the narrow opening forming portion of the heat receiving plate, and the pressure rises at this time. Refrigerant remaining on the inlet side of the narrow opening forming portion of the heat receiving plate increases in flow rate by passing through the narrow opening forming portion, and forms a thin film toward the outlet side of the heat receiving plate and spreads rapidly. It will be.

  That is, with the configuration of the present invention, the refrigerant can be rapidly spread in a thin film state on the surface of the heat receiving plate in the heat receiver without causing the tip of the return path to enter the heat receiver. This simplifies and increases productivity.

Schematic of the electric vehicle according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Front view showing the heat receiver of the cooling device Top view showing the heat receiver Side view showing the heat receiver

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
As shown in FIG. 1, the electric motor 3 that drives the axle 2 of the electric vehicle 1 is connected to an inverter circuit (not shown) that is a power conversion device disposed in the interior 4 of the electric vehicle 1.

  The inverter circuit includes a plurality of semiconductor switching elements 5 that supply power to the motor 3 as an example of a power semiconductor.

  Further, an inverter circuit (not shown), in particular, a cooling device 6 for cooling the semiconductor switching element 5 is provided.

  The cooling device 6 includes a heat receiver 7 connected to the upper surface of the semiconductor switching element 5 in a heat transferable state, a heat radiator 10 connected to the discharge port 8 of the heat receiver 7 via a heat dissipation path 9, and the heat dissipation. It has the structure provided with the return path | route 12 which connected the inlet 10 of the heat | fever 10 and the said heat receiver 7, and the non-return valve (13 of FIGS. 2-4) interposed in this return path | route 12. FIG.

  The circulation path formed by the heat receiver 7, the heat radiation path 9, the heat radiator 10, and the return path 12 is in a sealed state, and the internal atmosphere is in a negative pressure state from atmospheric pressure.

  Then, for example, about several hundred cc (an amount sufficiently smaller than the volume of the circulation path) of water (an example of a refrigerant) is injected into the negative pressure path.

  That is, in the cooling device 6 of the present embodiment, the water in the heat receiver 7 is first boiled by the heat of the semiconductor switching element 5 in the same manner as that shown in Patent Document 2 above. Although it is in a gas-liquid mixed state, it reaches the radiator 10 through the heat dissipation path 9 and then cools by blowing with a fan (not shown) to the outer surface of the radiator 10 to become a liquid phase state again. Thereafter, the return path 12 returns to the upstream side of the check valve 13.

  In this state, the pressure in the heat receiver 7 gradually decreases, and at the next moment, the pressure mainly determined by the amount of water upstream of the check valve 13 rather than the pressure in the heat receiver 7. If becomes higher, the check valve 13 is opened.

  As a result, the water upstream of the check valve 13 flows into the heat receiver 7, and at the next moment, the water is explosively vaporized in the heat receiver 7, and the semiconductor switching element 5 is caused by this heat of vaporization. It will be cooled effectively.

  The feature of this embodiment is that the heat receiver 7 is configured as shown in FIGS.

  That is, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the heat receiver 7 is brought into contact with the semiconductor switching element 5 (an example of a heating element) on the back surface side to absorb heat (semiconductor switching element 5 region). A heat receiving plate 14 and a heat receiving plate cover 15 that covers the surface side of the heat receiving plate 14 through a space, and a portion between the outlet 8 and the inlet 11 of the heat receiving plate cover 15 has a heat receiving plate. A narrow opening forming portion 16 approaching the plate 14 side is provided.

  Further, the discharge port 8 and the inflow port 11 are provided on the side wall surface of the heat receiver 7.

  Then, by providing the narrow opening forming portion 16 in the heat receiving plate cover 15, a space 17 on the inlet 11 side and a space 18 on the outlet 8 side are provided in the heat receiver 7, and both the spaces 17 and 18 are narrowed. It is in a state of being connected via the opening forming portion 16.

  The space 17 on the inlet 11 side is smaller than the space 18 on the outlet 8 side.

  Moreover, the heat absorption part (semiconductor switching element 5 area | region part) of the heat receiving plate 14 is arrange | positioned in the state connected to the discharge port 8 side and the inflow port 11 side of the narrow opening formation part 16, but this heat absorption part (semiconductor). The area of the switching element 5 region) is larger on the outlet 8 side of the narrow opening forming portion 16 than on the inlet 11 side.

  In the above configuration, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the check valve 13 is provided outside the heat receiver 7, and the return path 12 is received by the inflow port 11 in the heat receiver 7. It is in a state where it is simply connected without protruding into the vessel 7.

  The space 17 on the inlet 11 side in the heat receiver 7 to which the return path 12 is connected is smaller than the space 18 on the outlet 8 side.

  Therefore, as described above, the pressure in the heat receiver 7 gradually decreases, and at the next moment, the pressure mainly determined by the amount of water upstream of the check valve 13 rather than the pressure in the heat receiver 7. When the check valve 13 becomes higher, the check valve 13 is opened, and when water on the upstream side of the check valve 13 flows into the space 17, a part of the water boils in the space 17. As a result, the space 17 Increase the pressure inside.

  At this time, since the space 17 is smaller than the space 18, the increase in pressure in the space 17 is larger than that in the case of the same size, and the water remaining in the space 17 is reduced by the narrow opening forming portion 16. Through the space 18 in a thin film state vigorously.

  Furthermore, since the space 18 is larger than the space 17 and has a large heat absorption part (semiconductor switching element 5 region part), the thin film-like water that has entered the space 18 is rapidly vaporized, and as a result. As described above, the pressure rise at that time reaches the radiator 10 through the heat dissipation path 9 although it is in a gas-liquid mixed state, and then blows to the outer surface of the radiator 10 by a fan (not shown). If it cools by doing so, it will be in a liquid phase state again, and will return to the non-return valve 13 upstream of the return path 12 after that.

  If a plurality of grooves 19 are provided on the surface of the heat receiving plate 14 over the space 17, the narrow opening forming portion 16, and the space 18, thin film-like water is supplied from the space 17 to the space 18. It is easy to spread on the surface of the heat receiving plate 14, and the heat exchange efficiency can be increased in that respect.

  By repeating such circulation, the semiconductor switching element 5 is sufficiently cooled and can maintain the desired characteristics.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the heat receiver 7 is brought into contact with the semiconductor switching element 5 (an example of a heating element) on the back surface side to absorb heat (semiconductor switching). A heat receiving plate 14 having an element 5 region portion) and a heat receiving plate cover 15 covering the surface side of the heat receiving plate 14 with a space therebetween, and the outlet 8 and the inflow port of the heat receiving plate cover 15. 11 is provided with a narrow opening forming portion 16 that approaches the heat receiving plate 14 side.

  Then, by providing the narrow opening forming portion 16 in the heat receiving plate cover 15, a space 17 on the inlet 11 side and a space 18 on the outlet 8 side are provided in the heat receiver 7, and both the spaces 17 and 18 are narrowed. It is in a state of being connected via the opening forming portion 16.

  Moreover, the heat absorption part (semiconductor switching element 5 area | region part) of the said heat receiving plate 14 is arrange | positioned in the state connected to the said discharge port 8 side of the said narrow opening formation part 16, and the inflow port 11 side.

  For this reason, in this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the check valve 13 is provided outside the heat receiver 7, and the return path 12 is simply connected to the inlet 11 of the heat receiver 7. Therefore, when the heat receiver 7 is produced, there is no need to work up to which part the tip of the return path 12 is inserted, that is, the configuration can be simplified and the productivity can be increased.

  Also in such a configuration, by providing the narrow opening forming portion 16 in the heat receiving plate cover 15, it is possible to rapidly spread thin film-like water from the space 17 to the space 18, so that the heat receiving plate in the space 18 portion. In the 14 heat absorption part (semiconductor switching element 5 region part), extremely high heat transfer efficiency is obtained, and as a result, the cooling efficiency is also high.

  Furthermore, since the discharge port 8 and the inflow port 11 are provided on the side wall surface of the heat receiver 7, the heat receiver 7 can be reduced in height and is effective when the installation height is limited.

  As described above, the heat receiver of the present invention has a heat receiving plate having a heat absorbing portion that contacts the heating element and absorbs heat on the back surface side, and a heat receiving plate that covers the surface side of the heat receiving plate with a space interposed therebetween. A narrow opening forming portion that approaches the heat receiving plate side is provided in a portion between the discharge port and the inflow port of the heat receiving plate cover, and the heat absorbing portion of the heat receiving plate is provided with the narrow opening. It is set as the structure arrange | positioned at the said discharge port side and inflow port side of a formation part.

  For this reason, a part of the refrigerant flowing into the heat receiver from the return path through the check valve is vaporized on the inlet side of the narrow opening forming portion of the heat receiving plate, and the pressure rises at this time. The refrigerant remaining on the inlet side from the narrow opening forming portion of the heat receiving plate becomes a thin film and spreads rapidly through the narrow opening forming portion toward the outlet side of the heat receiving plate.

  That is, with the configuration of the present invention, the refrigerant can be rapidly spread in a thin film state on the surface of the heat receiving plate in the heat receiver without causing the tip of the return path to enter the heat receiver. This simplifies and increases productivity.

  Therefore, it is useful as a cooling device for a power conversion device as a drive device for an electric vehicle or a high-speed arithmetic processing device portion of an electronic device.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electric vehicle 2 Axle 3 Electric motor 4 Car interior 5 Semiconductor switching element 6 Cooling device 7 Heat receiver 8 Outlet 9 Heat radiation path 10 Heat radiator 11 Inlet 12 Return path 13 Check valve 14 Heat receiving plate 15 Heat receiving plate cover 16 Narrow opening formation part 17 space 18 space 19 groove

Claims (6)

A heat receiver, a radiator connected to the outlet of the heat receiver via a heat dissipation path, a feedback path connecting the heat sink and the inlet of the heat receiver, and a check valve interposed in the feedback path. The heat receiver has a heat receiving plate having a heat absorbing portion that contacts the heating element and absorbs heat on the back side thereof, and a heat receiving plate cover that covers the surface side of the heat receiving plate with a space interposed therebetween. A narrow opening forming portion that approaches the heat receiving plate side is provided in a portion between the discharge port and the inflow port of the heat receiving plate cover, and the heat absorbing portion of the heat receiving plate is the portion of the narrow opening forming portion. Cooling device placed on the outlet side and inlet side. The cooling device according to claim 1, wherein a space on the inlet side of the narrow opening forming portion is smaller than a space on the discharge port side of the narrow opening forming portion. The cooling device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein at least one of the discharge port and the inflow port of the heat receiver is disposed on a side of the heat receiver. The cooling device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a groove is formed on a surface of the heat receiving plate from the inlet side to the outlet side of the narrow opening forming portion. An electric vehicle that mounts the cooling device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 and that cools a power changing device that drives an electric motor that drives an axle. An electronic device that mounts the cooling device according to claim 1 and cools a heating element.

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