JP2017048938A - Fluid heating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To secure sealability of a tank when a lid member is formed by die casting.SOLUTION: A fluid heating device 100 includes: a tank 10 having an opening 15 and through which a fluid flows; a heater unit 20 which is inserted into the tank 10 from the opening 15 and heats hot water flowing through the tank 10; and a top plate part 23 which is attached to the tank 10 and closes the opening 15. The top plate part 23 has: an outer peripheral edge 23b which is formed in parallel to a peripheral edge part 15a of the opening 15 and joined to the peripheral edge part 15a; and gradient parts 23c, each of which is formed at an inner periphery of the outer peripheral edge 23b and inclines so as to protrude into the tank 10 as the gradient part 23 gets further away from the outer peripheral edge 23b.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to a fluid heating apparatus for heating a fluid.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a hot water heating apparatus that includes a hot water tank that stores a predetermined amount of hot water and an electric heater that heats the hot water in the hot water tank, and performs heating using the hot water supplied from the hot water tank. It is disclosed. In this hot water heater, the upper surface of the hot water tank is opened to insert the hot water heater. A thermistor for detecting the temperature in the hot water tank is provided in the upper part of the hot water tank. Therefore, it is necessary to seal the opening on the upper surface of the hot water tank so that the hot water does not enter the upper surface of the hot water tank.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-287123

  By the way, a hot water tank and the cover member which obstruct | occludes opening of a hot water tank may be formed by die-cast shaping | molding with a metal material. When forming a member by die casting, since it is necessary to provide a draft, it may be difficult to ensure the sealing between the hot water tank and the lid member by the draft.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to ensure the tightness of a tank even when a lid member is formed by die casting.

  According to an aspect of the present invention, a fluid heating apparatus that heats a fluid has an opening, a tank through which fluid flows, and a fluid that is inserted into the tank from the opening and flows through the tank. A heater unit that heats the fluid; and a lid member that is attached to the tank and closes the opening. The lid member is formed in parallel with the peripheral edge of the opening and joined to the peripheral edge. And an inclined portion that is formed on the inner periphery of the outer peripheral edge and inclines so as to protrude into the tank as the distance from the outer peripheral edge increases.

  In this aspect, the lid member has an outer peripheral edge formed in parallel with the peripheral edge portion of the opening, and a gradient portion formed on the inner peripheral edge of the outer peripheral edge. When the lid member is formed by die casting, the gradient portion is pulled out of the mold with the gradient as a draft. Further, the outer peripheral edge is removed from the mold by so-called forced removal. Since the outer periphery of the lid member is formed in parallel with the periphery of the opening, the tank can be sealed by joining the outer periphery and the periphery. Therefore, even when the lid member is formed by die casting, the tank can be sealed.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a fluid heating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side view of the heater unit and the tank of the fluid heating device, and is a view showing the tank in cross section. FIG. 3 is a front view of the heater unit and the tank of the fluid heating device, and is a view showing the tank in cross section. FIG. 4 is a front view of the heater unit of the fluid heating apparatus. FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the lid member of the fluid heating device. 6 is an enlarged view of a cross section taken along line VI-VI in FIG.

  Hereinafter, a fluid heating apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  The fluid heating device 100 is applied to a vehicle air conditioner (not shown) mounted on a vehicle such as an EV (Electric Vehicle: electric vehicle) or an HEV (Hybrid Electric Vehicle: hybrid vehicle). The fluid heating device 100 heats hot water as a fluid in order for the vehicle air conditioner to perform a heating operation.

  First, the overall configuration of the fluid heating apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the fluid heating device 100 includes a tank 10 through which water flows, a heater unit 20 accommodated in the tank 10, a bus bar module 30 for connecting various electrical components, and a heater unit 20. The control board 40 as a control part for controlling operation | movement and the cover 50 which covers the bus-bar module 30 and the control board 40 are provided.

  The tank 10 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. The tank 10 has a rectangular bottom surface 13, a wall surface 14 erected from the bottom surface 13, and an opening 15 that opens at an end of the wall surface 14 so as to face the bottom surface 13. The opening 15 is formed with a peripheral edge 15 a that is an annular flat surface formed in parallel with the bottom surface 13.

  The tank 10 has a supply port 11 through which hot water is supplied and a discharge port 12 through which hot water is discharged. The supply port 11 and the discharge port 12 open side by side on the same wall surface 14 of the tank 10. The fluid heating device 100 is disposed in the vehicle such that the discharge port 12 is positioned above the supply port 11 when in use.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the heater unit 20 includes a heater 21 and a heating unit 22 formed to cover the periphery of the heater 21. In the heater unit 20, a metal is die-cast around the heater 21 to form the heating unit 22. The heater unit 20 is formed integrally with a top plate portion 23 as a lid member that is attached to the tank 10 and closes the opening 15 of the tank 10.

  The heater 21 has a pair of terminals 21 a and 21 b to which electric power is supplied via a bus bar module 30 from a power supply device (not shown) mounted on the vehicle. The heater 21 has a spiral heat generating portion 21c protruding into the tank 10 between the pair of terminals 21a and 21b. The heater 21 may have a heat generating part that is not spiral, but is formed so as to reciprocate within the heating part 22, for example.

  The heater 21 is a sheathed heater or a PTC (Positive Temperature Coefficient) heater that generates heat from the heat generating portion 21c when energized. The heater 21 is preferably a sheathed heater in terms of cost. The heater 21 generates heat in response to a command from the control board 40 and heats the hot water flowing through the tank 10.

  The heating part 22 is formed in a small diameter compared with the inner periphery of the heat generating part 21c and has a through hole 25 penetrating along the central axis of the heat generating part 21c, and a large diameter compared with the outer periphery of the heat generating part 21c. 10 outer walls 26 facing the inner walls 17. The heating part 22 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape along the axial direction of the spiral heat generating part 21c. The heating unit 22 is formed of a metal having a lower melting point than that of the heater 21. Here, the heater 21 is formed of stainless steel, and the heating unit 22 is formed of an aluminum alloy.

  The through hole 25 is formed inside the heat generating portion 21c wound in a spiral shape. The supply port 11 of the tank 10 opens on an extension line of the through hole 25. The through-hole 25 forms an inner peripheral flow path 27 (see FIG. 3) through which hot water supplied from the supply port 11 flows.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the through hole 25 has a plurality of inner peripheral fins 25 a that protrude to the inner periphery along the flow direction of the hot water. The inner peripheral fin 25a increases the heat transfer area in the inner peripheral flow path 27 as compared with the case where the inner peripheral fin 25a is not provided. The plurality of inner peripheral fins 25 a are formed at equiangular intervals over the entire circumference of the through hole 25.

  Hot water supplied from the supply port 11 is guided to the inner peripheral flow path 27. In the inner peripheral flow path 27, hot water is heated by heat exchange with the inner periphery of the through hole 25 in which the inner peripheral fin 25a is formed. At this time, the warm water is rectified by the inner peripheral fins 25a formed along the flow direction of the warm water. The hot water that has passed through the inner circumferential channel 27 collides with the wall surface 14 facing the supply port 11 in the tank 10 and changes its direction, and is guided to the outer circumferential channel 28 described later.

  The outer wall portion 26 forms an outer peripheral flow path 28 through which the hot water flows continuously with the inner peripheral flow path 27 between the inner wall 17 of the tank 10. The outer peripheral channel 28 guides the hot water flowing from the inner peripheral channel 27 to the discharge port 12. The outer wall portion 26 has a larger heat transfer area than the through hole 25. Further, the outer peripheral channel 28 has a larger channel area than the inner peripheral channel 27.

  The outer wall portion 26 includes an outer wall main body 26a formed along the outer peripheral shape of the heater 21 and a plurality of outer peripheral fins 26b protruding outward from the outer wall main body 26a along the flow direction of hot water.

  The outer wall main body 26a is formed so as to cover the outer side of the heat generating portion 21c wound spirally. Since the outer wall main body 26a is provided, the heater 21 and the hot water are not in direct contact with each other.

  The outer peripheral fins 26b increase the heat transfer area in the outer peripheral flow path 28 as compared with the case where the outer peripheral fins 26b are not provided. The outer peripheral fin 26b protrudes in the same direction as the direction in which a later-described gradient portion 23c of the top plate portion 23 is inclined.

  The outer peripheral fins 26 b extend substantially parallel to the bottom surface 13 and the top surface 16 of the tank 10. The outer peripheral fins 26 b are formed larger as they are closer to the top surface 16 as compared with the central portion of the tank 10 in the height direction. The outer peripheral fins 26b are formed so as to face the pair of opposing wall surfaces 14 of the tank 10 with a predetermined interval.

  The hot water flowing through the outer peripheral flow path 28 is further heated by heat exchange with the outer wall main body 26a and the outer peripheral fin 26b. At this time, the warm water is rectified by the peripheral fins 26b formed along the flow direction of the warm water. And the warm water which passed the outer periphery flow path 28 is discharged | emitted from the discharge port 12. FIG.

  As described above, the heater unit 20 includes the heating unit 22 formed so as to cover the periphery of the heater 21. The heating unit 22 includes a through hole 25 that has a smaller diameter than the inner periphery of the heat generating part 21c, and an outer wall part 26 that has a larger diameter than the outer periphery of the heat generating part 21c. In the heater unit 20, the surface area of the heating unit 22 is a heat transfer area for exchanging heat with hot water, so the total surface area of the through holes 25 and the outer wall part 26 is the heat transfer area. Therefore, compared with the case where the heater 21 and warm water are made to contact directly, the heat transfer area for heat exchange with warm water can be enlarged.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the top plate 23 is formed longer in the axial direction of the heater unit 20 than the opening 15 of the tank 10. A connector (not shown) for connecting the fluid heating device 100 to a power supply device or a host controller (not shown) mounted on the vehicle is provided at a portion of the top plate portion 23 that protrudes from the tank 10.

  The top plate 23 is joined to the peripheral edge 15a of the opening 15 by welding in a state where the heater unit 20 is inserted into the tank 10. The top plate portion 23 forms the top surface 16 of the tank 10. The top surface 16 faces the bottom surface 13 of the tank 10 substantially in parallel.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the top plate 23 has a recess 24 a for attaching a bimetal switch 31 as a temperature switch, a recess 24 b for attaching a heater temperature sensor 32, and a recess 24 c for attaching a water temperature sensor 33. And are formed.

  The bimetal switch 31 detects the temperature of the heater unit 20 and switches according to the detected temperature. Specifically, the bimetal switch 31 cuts off the supply of power to the heater unit 20 when the temperature of the heater unit 20 rises above the first set temperature. When the temperature of the heater unit 20 falls below a second set temperature that is lower than the first set temperature, the bimetal switch 31 is switched again so that the supply of power to the heater unit 20 is resumed. Also good.

  The heater temperature sensor 32 detects the temperature of the heater 21 in the heater unit 20. The heater temperature sensor 32 sends an electrical signal corresponding to the detected temperature of the heater 21 to the control board 40. The control board 40 stops the supply of power to the heater 21 when the temperature of the heater 21 detected by the heater temperature sensor 32 is higher than the set temperature.

  The water temperature sensor 33 detects the temperature of hot water in the vicinity of the discharge port 12 of the tank 10. That is, the water temperature sensor 33 detects the temperature of the heated hot water discharged from the tank 10. The water temperature sensor 33 is provided inside a protrusion 23 a (see FIGS. 2 and 3) that protrudes from the top plate 23 into the tank 10. The water temperature sensor 33 sends an electrical signal corresponding to the detected temperature of the hot water to the control board 40. The control board 40 controls the supply of electric power to the heater 21 so that the temperature of the hot water detected by the water temperature sensor 33 becomes a desired temperature.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a pair of IGBTs (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors) 34 and 35 are in contact with the top plate portion 23 as switching elements.

  The IGBTs 34 and 35 are connected to a vehicle power supply device via the bus bar module 30. The IGBTs 34 and 35 are connected to the control board 40 and perform a switching operation in response to a command signal from the control board 40. The IGBTs 34 and 35 control power supply to the heater unit 20 by a switching operation. Thereby, the heater unit 20 is adjusted to a desired temperature, and the hot water discharged from the discharge port 12 is adjusted to a desired temperature.

  The IGBTs 34 and 35 generate heat by repeating the switching operation. The maximum temperature at which the IGBTs 34 and 35 can operate is higher than the temperature of hot water flowing in the tank 10. Therefore, the temperature of the hot water flowing through the tank 10 is transmitted to the IGBTs 34 and 35 through the top plate part 23 and cooled.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the bus bar module 30 is stacked on top of the top plate portion 23. The bus bar module 30 is formed in a small rectangle as compared with the top plate portion 23. The bus bar module 30 is a conductive connection member formed of a metal plate capable of supplying electric power and electric signals.

  The control board 40 is stacked on top of the bus bar module 30. The control board 40 is formed in a small rectangle as compared with the top plate part 23. The control board 40 is electrically connected to the bus bar module 30 and the IGBTs 34 and 35. The control board 40 controls the IGBTs 34 and 35 based on commands from the host controller.

  The cover 50 is provided on the upper part of the control board 40. The cover 50 is formed in the substantially same outer peripheral shape as the top plate portion 23. The cover 50 is welded to the outer peripheral edge of the top plate portion 23. The cover 50 seals the internal space between the top plate portion 23.

  Next, the configuration of the top plate portion 23 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The heater unit 20 and the top plate portion 23 are integrally die-cast with a vertical surface along the central axis of the spiral heat generating portion 14c in the heater unit 20 as a parting line PL. The heater unit 20 and the top plate portion 23 are molded using a mold (not shown) that is divided into two parts (left and right in FIGS. 4 and 5) with the parting line PL as a boundary. The arrows in FIGS. 4 to 6 indicate the direction in which the mold is pulled out during die casting.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the outer peripheral fins 26 b of the heating unit 22 are formed symmetrically with respect to the parting line PL. The outer peripheral fin 26b is provided with a draft angle for removing from the mold. Moreover, the front-end | tip of the outer periphery fin 26b is formed in the curved surface shape. Therefore, since the heating part 22 does not have the part which becomes an undercut at the time of die-cast shaping | molding, it can shape | mold only by extracting a metal mold | die to the right and left.

  The top plate part 23 has a slope part 23c having a draft for pulling out from the mold during die casting and an outer peripheral edge 23b having no draft.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the outer peripheral edge 23 b is formed in parallel with the peripheral edge 15 a of the opening 15. As shown in FIG. 5, the outer peripheral edge 23b is formed in an annular shape on the outer periphery of the gradient portion 23c. The outer peripheral edge 23b is pulled out of the mold by so-called forced punching during die casting.

  The outer peripheral edge 23 b is in surface contact with the peripheral edge 15 a in a state where the top plate 23 is placed so as to close the opening 15 of the tank 10. The peripheral edge 15a and the outer peripheral edge 23b are joined by welding. At this time, since the peripheral edge portion 15a and the outer peripheral edge 23b are in surface contact with each other, the sealing property of the tank 10 can be ensured by being joined.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the outer peripheral edge 23 b is formed from outside the outer peripheral end of the peripheral edge 15 a of the opening 15 to the inner side of the inner peripheral end in consideration of dimensional tolerance at the time of manufacture. The

  The gradient portion 23c is formed on the inner periphery of the outer peripheral edge 23b and is inclined so as to protrude into the tank 10 as the distance from the outer peripheral edge 23b increases. A pair of gradient portions 23c are provided so as to face each other across the central portion of the heating portion 22 in the axial direction (left-right direction). In other words, the pair of gradient portions 23c shown in FIG. 5 is tilted symmetrically with respect to the parting line PL.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the gradient portion 23c is inclined by an angle θ [deg] from the connecting portion with the outer peripheral edge 23b toward the parting line PL. The gradient portion 23c is pulled out of the mold when the die cast molding is performed with this gradient as a draft. Therefore, since the gradient part 23c does not have the part which becomes an undercut at the time of die-cast shaping | molding, it can shape | mold only by extracting a metal mold | die to the right and left. The gradient portion 23 c is formed so as to be inclined from the inner side toward the inner side of the tank 10 from the inner peripheral end of the peripheral edge portion 15 a of the opening 15.

  According to the above embodiment, there exist the effects shown below.

  The top plate portion 23 includes an outer peripheral edge 23b formed in parallel with the peripheral edge portion 15a of the opening 15, and a gradient portion 23c formed on the inner periphery of the outer peripheral edge 23b. When the top plate portion 23 is formed by die casting, the gradient portion 23c is pulled out of the mold with the gradient as a draft. The outer peripheral edge 23b is removed from the mold by so-called forced removal. Since the outer peripheral edge 23b of the top plate portion 23 is formed in parallel with the peripheral edge portion 15a of the opening 15, the tank 10 can be sealed by joining the outer peripheral edge 23b and the peripheral edge portion 15a. Therefore, the sealing property of the tank 10 can be ensured even when the top plate portion 23 is formed by die casting.

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described above. However, the above embodiment only shows a part of application examples of the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention is limited to the specific configuration of the above embodiment. Absent.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the hot water supplied from the supply port 11 flows through the inner peripheral flow path 27, then flows through the outer peripheral flow path 28 and is discharged from the discharge port 12. Not limited to this, hot water supplied from the supply port 11 may flow through the outer peripheral flow channel 28, then flow through the inner peripheral flow channel 27 and be discharged from the discharge port 12.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Fluid heating apparatus 10 Tank 15 Opening part 15a Peripheral part 17 Inner wall 20 Heater unit 21 Heater 21c Heat generating part 22 Heating part 23 Top plate part (lid member)
23b Outer peripheral edge 23c Gradient part 26 Outer wall part 26a Outer wall main body 26b Outer peripheral fin 27 Inner peripheral flow path 28 Outer peripheral flow path

Claims (5)

A fluid heating device for heating a fluid,
A tank having an opening and through which fluid flows;
A heater unit that is inserted into the tank from the opening and heats the fluid flowing through the tank;
A lid member attached to the tank and closing the opening,
The lid member is
An outer peripheral edge formed in parallel with the peripheral edge of the opening and joined to the peripheral edge;
A fluid heating device, comprising: a slope portion formed on an inner periphery of the outer peripheral edge and inclined so as to protrude into the tank as the distance from the outer peripheral edge increases. The fluid heating device according to claim 1,
The heater unit includes a heater and a heating part formed to cover the heater.
The fluid heating device, wherein the lid member is formed integrally with the heating unit. The fluid heating device according to claim 2,
The heater has a heat generating portion formed in a spiral shape,
The heating part is formed along the axial direction of the heat generating part,
A pair of the gradient portions are provided so as to face each other with a central portion in the axial direction of the heating portion interposed therebetween. The fluid heating device according to claim 3,
The heating part has an outer wall part that forms an outer peripheral channel through which a fluid flows between the inner wall of the tank,
The fluid heating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the outer wall portion has an outer peripheral fin that protrudes in the same direction as a direction in which the slope portion is inclined. The fluid heating device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The lid member is formed by die casting,
The fluid heating device according to claim 1, wherein the gradient portion has a draft for pulling out from the mold during die casting, and the outer peripheral edge has no draft.

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