JP5109645B2 - Navigation device cooling device and temperature control system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a navigation device cooling device and a temperature control system including the navigation device cooling device.

  As a method of cooling electronic components in a navigation device, a method of providing a heat radiating fan and forcibly ventilating a housing with the heat radiating fan is widely known. However, due to the recent high performance and functional integration of navigation devices, the cooling method using a heat dissipating fan is becoming insufficient.

Therefore, it has been proposed to provide an air duct that branches a part of the conditioned air blown from the air conditioner, and to arrange a navigation electronic device substrate and a GPS antenna in the air duct (for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2002-52957 A

  However, in the thing of patent document 1, since it is necessary to provide the air duct which branches a part of conditioned air, a problem may arise in vehicle mounting property. Therefore, a cooling device that cools the electronic components in the navigation device with a structure different from that of Patent Document 1 has been desired.

  The present invention has been made based on this situation, and an object thereof is to provide a cooling device for a navigation device and a temperature control system having a high cooling capacity.

In order to achieve the object, the invention according to claim 1 is a cooling device for a navigation device that cools electronic components inside the navigation device mounted on a vehicle, and includes a heat conduction portion coupled to the navigation device. The heat conducting part has fins made of a heat transfer member, the tip of the fin is disposed in a duct that forms the flow passage, and the fin is in the flow direction of the adjustment air. It is characterized by a streamlined shape .

According to the present invention, since the heat conducting unit is coupled to the navigation device, heat generated from the electronic components inside the navigation device is transmitted to the heat conducting unit. On the other hand, this heat conducting part has fins made of a heat transfer member, and the tips of the fins are arranged in a duct that forms a flow passage for adjusting air. Therefore, when the adjustment air for cooling the passenger compartment is circulated through the duct and the temperature of the adjustment air is lower than the temperature at the tip of the fin, the fin whose temperature is increased by the heat from the navigation device is adjusted. It will be cooled by. As a result, the navigation device is cooled. And since this cooling device cools using the adjustment wind adjusted with the vehicle interior temperature control apparatus, its cooling capability is high.

Further, since the fins are streamlined along the air flow direction, the wind noise generated when the adjustment wind passes through the fins is reduced. As a result, the occupant in the passenger compartment also feels noisy wind noise.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the heat conducting unit is disposed between the heat transfer substrate coupled to the housing of the navigation device, the heat transfer substrate and the housing, and is in close contact with the heat transfer substrate and the housing. And a heat conductive adhesive body, wherein the fin is fixed to the heat transfer substrate. If it does in this way, a fin can be fixed easily. Moreover, since the heat conductive adhesion body is arrange | positioned between the heat-transfer board | substrate and the housing | casing of a navigation apparatus, the heat in a navigation apparatus is efficiently transmitted to a fin.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, an uneven shape is provided on the surface of the fin along the flow direction of the adjustment air. In this way, the surface area of the fins increases, so the heat dissipation efficiency improves. In addition, since the concavo-convex shape is provided along the flow direction of the adjustment air, it is possible to suppress the increase in wind noise due to the provision of the concavo-convex shape.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the color of the fin is black. In this way, the heat radiation rate of the fins is increased, so that the heat dissipation efficiency from the fins is further improved.

By the way, when the heat conduction part is arranged in the flow path of the adjustment air, the temperature of the adjustment air changes due to heat dissipation and heat absorption of the heat conduction part, and the temperature of the adjustment air blown out from the outlet does not become a desired temperature. there is a possibility. Therefore, it is preferable to use the temperature control system according to claim 5 below.

The navigation device according to claim 5 is disposed on the downstream side in the flow direction of the adjusted air with respect to the cooling device for a navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 and the heat conducting portion, and the temperature of the adjusted air is A temperature control system comprising: a temperature sensor to be detected; and a vehicle interior temperature adjustment device that adjusts the vehicle interior temperature based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor.

  In this way, it is possible to accurately control the temperature in the passenger compartment while cooling the navigation device with a high cooling capacity. Even when the navigation device is activated at a very low temperature, if the adjustment wind is warm, the heat of the warm air is transmitted to the navigation device by the heat conduction unit. The device is warmed up quickly. Further, not only the internal electronic device can be warmed up quickly, but also the liquid crystal display can be warmed up quickly if it is provided with an integral liquid crystal display.

  In general, the responsiveness of the liquid crystal display is reduced at an extremely low temperature. However, as described above, since the adjustment wind is warm, the liquid crystal display is quickly warmed, so that the responsiveness can be quickly improved.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of a temperature control system 1 to which the present invention is applied. The temperature control system 1 includes a cooling device 10, a temperature sensor 20, and a vehicle interior temperature adjustment device 30. In addition, since this vehicle interior temperature control apparatus 30 is generally called an air conditioner, it is also referred to as an air conditioner 30 in the present specification.

  The cooling device 10 is for cooling electronic components housed in the navigation system ECU 40. In the present embodiment, the navigation system ECU 40 includes a plurality of electronic components for realizing navigation system functions such as route guidance, and is entirely housed in a metal casing such as iron. ing.

  A display unit 42 is arranged adjacent to the navigation system ECU 40. The display unit 42 has a liquid crystal display, and a road map or the like is displayed on the liquid crystal display. The navigation system including the navigation system ECU 40 and the display unit 42 is a so-called built-in type, and the display unit 42 is embedded in the dashboard 50. In the dashboard 50, an adjustment air outlet 52 adjusted by the air conditioner 30 is formed immediately above the display unit 42.

  The cooling device 10 includes a cooling unit duct 11. The cooling section duct 11 is made of a material having a low thermal conductivity such as resin, and has a rectangular tube shape as can be seen from FIGS. Moreover, this cooling part duct 11 has penetrated the both sides of the axial direction. 2 is a view taken in the direction of arrow II in FIG.

  The cooling unit duct 11 constitutes a part of the adjustment air duct serving as a flow passage for the adjustment air, and is connected to an air conditioner duct 32 that is a component of the air conditioner 30. The adjusted wind that has circulated in the air conditioner duct 32 passes through the cooling section duct 11 and is blown out from the outlet 52 into the vehicle interior.

  A plurality of (seven in this embodiment) radiating fins 12 are fixed to the cooling section duct 11. The plurality of heat radiating fins 12 have the same shape, the same material and the same color as each other, the shape is a flat rectangular shape, the material is a material having high thermal conductivity such as iron, and the color is matte black. The matte black color is used to increase the heat radiation efficiency and to make it difficult for the passengers in the passenger compartment to see because the heat radiation efficiency is increased.

  The plurality of heat radiating fins 12 are arranged in parallel with each other at equal intervals, and all of them are in the direction parallel to the axial direction of the cooling unit duct 11 and the bottom plate 11a of the cooling unit duct 11 (a plate facing the navigation system ECU 40). ).

  Further, the radiating fin 12 penetrates the bottom plate 11 a of the cooling section duct 11. Accordingly, one end of the heat radiating fin 12 in the vertical direction is located in the cooling section duct 11, while the other end projects from the cooling section duct 11. In addition, the radiation fin 12 and the cooling part duct 11 are integrated by insert molding, for example.

  The end of the radiating fin 12 protruding from the cooling part duct 11 is fixed to the heat transfer substrate 13 by welding or the like. The heat transfer board 13 is a rectangular flat plate having a thickness larger than that of the heat radiation fins 12, and the heat transfer board 13 is also made of a material having high thermal conductivity such as iron.

  The heat transfer board 13 is arranged on the upper surface of the casing of the navigation system ECU 40, but the heat transfer sheet 14 is arranged between the heat transfer board 13 and the casing of the navigation system ECU 40. The heat transfer sheet 14 is made of, for example, heat conductive silicon rubber, and is in close contact with the heat transfer substrate 13 and also in close contact with the casing of the navigation system ECU 40. The heat transfer sheet 14 corresponds to the thermally conductive adhesive body recited in the claims.

  The heat transfer board 13 and the heat transfer sheet 14 are fixed to the housing of the navigation system ECU 40 by bolts 54 penetrating the heat transfer board 13 and the heat transfer sheet 14.

  In the cooling device 10 having the above-described configuration, the heat radiating fins 12, the heat transfer board 13, and the heat transfer sheet 14 function as the heat transfer unit of the claims, and the heat generated in the navigation system ECU 40 is transmitted to the heat transfer sheet 14, the heat transfer sheet 14, and the heat transfer sheet 14. The heat is transmitted in the order of the thermal substrate 13 and the radiation fins 12. Since the tips of the radiating fins 12 are arranged in the cooling unit duct 11, when the adjustment air having a low temperature for operating the air conditioner 30 to cool the passenger compartment flows through the cooling unit duct 11, the adjustment air is supplied. Thus, the heat radiation fin 12 is cooled. As a result, the navigation system ECU 40 is cooled. Thus, if it cools using the adjustment wind adjusted with the air conditioner 30, navigation system ECU40 can be cooled with high cooling capacity.

  However, since the cooling unit duct 11 is provided immediately before the adjustment air is blown into the vehicle interior, the temperature of the adjustment air rises due to the cooling of the radiating fins 12, and the adjustment air having a desired temperature is generated in the vehicle interior. May not be blown out.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the temperature sensor 20 is provided in order to measure the temperature of the adjustment air on the outlet 52 side of the radiating fin 12. The temperature detected by the temperature sensor 20 is supplied to the air conditioner ECU 34.

  The air conditioner ECU 34 controls the temperature of the adjusted air based on the temperature supplied from the temperature sensor 20 and the target temperature set by the user. Since the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 20 increases when the temperature of the adjustment wind increases due to heat radiation from the heat radiating fins 12, the air conditioner ECU 34 determines the difference between the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 20 and the target temperature. Accordingly, control is performed to reduce the temperature of the adjustment air entering the cooling unit duct 11. As a result, the temperature in the passenger compartment can be accurately controlled while cooling the navigation system ECU 40 with a high cooling capacity by using the adjusted wind.

  The air conditioner ECU 34 and the navigation system ECU 40 can transmit and receive signals to and from each other via an in-vehicle LAN. Note that external information from an external device other than the air conditioner ECU 34 is also input to the navigation system ECU 40.

  The navigation system ECU 40 transmits a signal indicating the processing load state of the navigation system ECU 40 and current position information indicating whether or not the current position is a tunnel to the air conditioner ECU 34. The air conditioner ECU 34 estimates the heat generation amount of the navigation system ECU 40 based on the processing load state of the navigation system ECU 40, and reduces the temperature of the adjustment wind according to the estimated heat generation amount. Further, when the current position is in the tunnel and the air conditioner is performing cooling, the air conditioner ECU 34 reduces the temperature of the adjusted air by a predetermined temperature.

  In addition, if the above-mentioned cooling device 10 is used, the navigation system started at an extremely low temperature can be quickly warmed. That is, when the navigation system is activated at an extremely low temperature, if the warm air is circulated as the adjustment air, the heat of the warm air is transmitted in the order of the radiation fins 12, the heat transfer substrate 13, and the heat transfer sheet 14. Since the system ECU 40 is warmed, the navigation system ECU 40 is quickly warmed.

  In addition, when the display unit 42 is provided adjacent to the navigation system ECU 40 as in the present embodiment, the display unit 42 is also quickly warmed by the heat from the navigation system ECU 40. Therefore, the responsiveness of the liquid crystal display provided in the display unit 42 is also quickly improved.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, The following embodiment is also contained in the technical scope of this invention, and also the summary other than the following is also included. Various modifications can be made without departing from the scope.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the cooling unit duct 11 is made of a material having a low thermal conductivity such as resin, but the cooling unit duct may be made of a material having a high thermal conductivity such as metal. Here, if the cooling part duct is made of the same material as that of the radiating fins 12, the cooling part duct and the radiating fins 12 can be integrally formed.

  3 and 4 are views showing an example of the cooling device 60 in which the cooling section duct 61 and the heat radiating fins 62 are integrally formed. The cooling part duct 61 and the radiation fins 62 are both made of a material having a high thermal conductivity. When a material having a high thermal conductivity is used for the cooling part duct 61, as shown in FIGS. The heat radiating fins 62 can be provided on the part duct 61 other than the bottom plate 61a. In addition, when the cooling part duct 61 is a material with high heat conductivity, a radiation fin can also be abbreviate | omitted.

  In the above-described embodiment, the cooling device 10 is disposed immediately above the navigation system ECU 40. However, when the air conditioner duct is located on the side of the navigation system ECU 40, the cooling apparatus 10 is matched to the position of the air conditioner duct. As shown in FIG. 5, the cooling device 10 may be disposed on the side of the navigation system ECU 40.

  Moreover, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the radiation fin 12 was flat plate rectangular shape. Therefore, although the thickness of the radiating fin 12 is constant, as shown in FIG. 6, a radiating fin having a streamlined cross-sectional shape along the flow direction of the adjustment air may be used. In this way, the wind noise generated when the adjustment wind passes through the radiating fin is reduced. Therefore, even if the heat dissipating fins are arranged in the vicinity of the air outlet, the passengers in the passenger compartment are less likely to feel wind noise.

  Moreover, you may provide an uneven | corrugated shape in the distribution direction of the adjustment wind in a radiation fin. FIG. 7 is a view showing an example of the heat dissipating fin provided with the uneven shape. Thus, when the uneven | corrugated shape along the distribution direction of adjustment wind is provided in a radiation fin, since the surface area of a radiation fin will increase, heat dissipation efficiency and heat absorption efficiency will improve. Moreover, since the concavo-convex shape is provided along the flow direction of the adjustment wind, it is possible to suppress the increase in wind noise due to the provision of the concavo-convex shape. In addition, you may provide uneven | corrugated shape along the distribution | circulation direction of adjustment wind to the streamline-shaped radiation fin as shown in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 described above, when heat radiation / heat absorption is also performed from the cooling unit duct 61, the cooling unit duct 61 may be provided with an uneven shape along the flow direction of the adjustment air.

  In the above-described embodiment, one end of the heat radiating fin 12 is fixed to the heat transfer board 13, but one end of the heat radiating fin 12 passes through the casing of the navigation system ECU 40. Also good.

  Moreover, it may replace with the heat-transfer sheet | seat 14 of above-mentioned embodiment, and may use a gel-like heat-transfer material.

It is a figure showing roughly composition of temperature control system 1 to which the present invention was applied. It is an II arrow directional view of FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the cooling device 60 which integrally formed the cooling unit duct 61 and the radiation fin 62. FIG. It is IV arrow line view of FIG. It is a figure which shows the example in which the cooling device 10 is arrange | positioned at the side of navigation system ECU40. It is a perspective view which shows an example of the radiation fin whose cross-sectional shape along the distribution direction of adjustment wind is streamline shape. It is a perspective view which shows an example of the radiation fin which provided the uneven | corrugated shape along the distribution direction of adjustment wind.

Explanation of symbols

1: temperature control system, 10: cooling device, 11: cooling part duct, 11a: bottom plate, 12: heat radiation fin, 13: heat transfer board, 14: heat transfer sheet (heat conductive adhesive body), 20: temperature sensor, 30: Car interior temperature control device (air conditioner), 32: Air conditioner duct, 34: Air conditioner ECU, 40: Navigation system ECU, 42: Display unit, 50: Dashboard, 52: Air outlet, 54: Bolt, 60: Cooling device 61: Cooling part duct 62: Radiating fin

Claims (5)

A navigation device cooling device for cooling electronic components inside a navigation device mounted on a vehicle,
A heat conduction part coupled to the navigation device;
The heat conducting part has fins made of a heat transfer member, and the tip part of the fin is arranged in a duct that forms the flow path ,
The cooling device for a navigation device , wherein the fin has a streamline shape along a flow direction of the adjusted air . The heat conduction part is disposed between the heat transfer substrate and the housing, and the heat conductive adhesion body is disposed between the heat transfer substrate and the case, and is in close contact with the heat transfer substrate and the case. And further comprising
The cooling device for a navigation device according to claim 1 , wherein the fin is fixed to the heat transfer substrate. The cooling device for a navigation device according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein an uneven shape is provided on a surface of the fin along the flow direction of the adjusted air. The cooling device for a navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein a color of the fin is black. The cooling device for a navigation device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 ,
A temperature sensor that is disposed downstream of the heat conduction portion in the flow direction of the adjusted air and detects the temperature of the adjusted air;
A temperature control system comprising: a vehicle interior temperature adjustment device that adjusts the vehicle interior temperature based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor.

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