JP6204048B2 - Cooler - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cooler used for heat dissipation of various electronic parts such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an integrated circuit, and a semiconductor element, an electronic device, and other various electric devices.

  In a heating element such as an electronic component such as a CPU, an integrated circuit, and a semiconductor element, an electronic device, and various electronic devices, a cooler may be provided for heat dissipation (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Conventionally, air-cooled coolers have been used to dissipate heat from these heating elements, but in recent years, water-cooled coolers have come to be used because the amount of heat generation and heat density of the heating elements tend to increase. .

  For example, many hybrid vehicles have been produced from the standpoint of energy saving. However, the inverter that controls the drive motor of this hybrid vehicle has a heating element such as an IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor) element. A water-cooled cooler is provided for cooling the heating element.

  In addition, a lithium ion battery or the like mounted on a hybrid vehicle or the like may be provided with a cooler in order to prevent a decrease in performance due to a temperature increase during operation.

  When the heating element is efficiently cooled by a cooler, the heating element and the cooler are generally brought into contact with each other via grease or a heat conductive sheet. Since the contact resistance between the heating element and the cooler interface can be reduced by bringing the grease and the sheet into contact with each other as much as possible, the cooler is required to have sufficient strength to withstand the applied pressure. For this reason, the cooler for a heating element having a high energy density needs to improve the strength of the cooler without deteriorating the cooling performance.

  Moreover, the structure of the cooler is usually provided with fins in the case, and the heating element contacts the case. The cooler cools in surface contact with the heating element, and it is desirable that the surface of the cooler contacting the heating element be flat in order to eliminate variations in temperature within the surface. This is because if a gap is formed between the cooler and the heating element due to local distortion or deformation of the cooler, the thermal resistance increases.

International Publication No. 2011/016221

  Due to the miniaturization of heating elements such as inverters, thin coolers have been used. As the thickness of the cooler is reduced, the thickness of the case is also reduced, so that the strength of the case is lowered, and the strength of the cooler is a problem.

  Although the cooler described in Patent Document 1 has good cooling performance, there are cases where the crosspieces left after being cut and raised are weak in strength. If the strength of the cooler is low, sufficient pressure cannot be applied when attaching the cooler, and cooling performance may not be ensured.

  Further, in the cooler described in Patent Document 1, when the crosspiece is deformed, there is a possibility that the flow path becomes narrow and the pressure loss increases. Further, since the cooler is thin, if the crosspiece is deformed, the case connected to the crosspiece may be deformed. When the case is deformed, the heat generating surface is not cooled uniformly, and the cooling performance cannot be secured.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a cooler that can be easily manufactured, has excellent cooling performance, and can be in good thermal contact with a heating element. Objective.

In order to solve the above-described problem, a cooler according to the first aspect of the present invention includes:
A cooler that transfers heat of a heating element to a cooling fluid;
A case member in which the cooling fluid is circulated and the heating element is thermally connected to the outside;
A fin member disposed inside the case member,
The fin member is
There are a plurality of fin rows in which a plurality of fins cut and raised in the same direction from the plate material are arranged at intervals, and the plurality of fin rows are arranged in a direction from the upstream side to the downstream side of the cooling fluid. A group of fins formed by being disposed; and
A crosspiece remaining without being cut and raised from the plate material,
In the plurality of fin rows, the plurality of fins in adjacent fin rows are cut and raised in directions opposite to each other,
The base of the fin and the crosspiece are thermally joined to one inner surface of the case member,
The cut and raised the tip of the fins are thermally bonded to the other of the inner surface of the case member,
The case member is in contact with the heating element on the outer surface on the one inner surface side,
The case member includes a first member formed of a plate material and provided with a first recess, and a second member formed of a plate material and provided with a second recess,
The first member and the second member are stacked so that the first concave portion and the second concave portion face each other, and store the fin member,
The one inner surface is a bottom surface of the first recess, and the other inner surface is a bottom surface of the second recess.
It is characterized by that.

Further, the plurality of fins in the fin row have the same cut and raised inclination angle and shape,
It is preferable that the plurality of fin rows are arranged at equal intervals in a direction from the upstream side to the downstream side of the cooling fluid.

  The plurality of fins and the crosspieces are preferably formed to have the same width in a direction from the upstream side to the downstream side of the cooling fluid.

  According to the present invention, when the case member and the fin member are joined, when the two are overlapped and assembled and a load is applied, the rotation in the opposite direction from each of the fins connected to both sides of one crosspiece Receives a moment of direction. As a result, the moment received by the crosspiece is eventually canceled out and hardly deformed. Therefore, the crosspiece and the case member can be brought into contact with each other without any gap, and a cooler excellent in cooling performance can be easily manufactured.

It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the outline of a structure of the cooler which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which expands and shows the fin unit which concerns on this embodiment. (A) is the figure which looked at the fin unit which concerns on this embodiment from the Z direction, (b) is the figure which looked at one fin group of the fin unit which concerns on this embodiment along the distribution route direction. is there. It is a figure which simulates and shows a deformation | transformation of the crosspiece part when a load is added to a fin unit. It is a figure which shows a mode when a load is added to the fin unit. (A) is a figure which shows the fin of a single direction cut and raised. (B) is a figure which shows the fin of a reverse direction raising. (A), (b) is a figure which shows the deformation | transformation of a fin unit. It is a figure which shows the deformation | transformation of a case.

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

  FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an outline of a configuration of a cooler 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The cooler 10 is configured to cool a heating element (not shown) such as a semiconductor element or a battery using a cooling fluid. As shown in FIG. 1, the cooler 10 includes cooling fluid inlet / outlet portions 11 a and 11 b, a case (path member) 12, and a fin unit (heat exchanger) 16. In this embodiment, the cooling fluid is a liquid such as water or antifreeze. The cooling fluid is pumped by a pump (not shown) driven by a motor or the like, for example, and circulates inside the inlet / outlet portions 11a and 11b and the case 12.

  Each of the entrance / exit portions 11a and 11b and the case 12 is formed of a material having high thermal conductivity such as copper, aluminum, or iron, and constitutes a part of the flow path of the cooling fluid. In this embodiment, the entrance / exit portions 11a and 11b are formed in a pipe shape, and the case 12 is composed of two members, an upper case 12a and a lower case 12b. Each of the upper case 12a and the lower case 12b includes semi-cylindrical concave portions 14a and 14b for connecting to the entrance / exit portion 11a, semi-cylindrical concave portions 13a and 13b for connecting to the entrance / exit portion 11b, and fins. A rectangular parallelepiped recess 15a, 15b for housing the unit 16 is formed. The recesses 15a and 15b for storing the fin unit 16 are formed so that their bottom surfaces (first wall surface and second wall surface) face each other. Such upper case 12a and lower case 12b can be formed (prepared) by, for example, pressing a metal plate. Hereinafter, the flow path direction that is the direction connecting the entrance / exit portions 11a and 11b is referred to as “X direction”, the direction along the bottom surface of the recesses 15a and 15b and perpendicular to the X direction is referred to as “Y direction”, and the X direction. A direction perpendicular to the Y direction is defined as a “Z direction”.

  FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing the fin unit 16 according to this embodiment. FIG. 3A is a view of the fin unit 16 according to this embodiment as viewed from the Z direction, and FIG. 3B is a flow path through one fin group of the fin unit 16 according to this embodiment. It is the figure seen along the direction. The fin unit 16 is formed of a material having high thermal conductivity such as copper, aluminum, or iron. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the fin unit 16 is configured such that fin rows 18 a and 18 b and crosspieces 17 are alternately formed along the flow path direction (X direction) of the cooling fluid. .

  The crosspiece 17 has a plate surface along the bottom surface (X direction and Y direction) of the recesses 15a and 15b of the case 12, and has a rectangular parallelepiped shape that is long in the direction (Y direction) perpendicular to the flow path direction of the cooling fluid. It is formed in a plate shape. The crosspieces are spaced apart from each other along the flow path direction (X direction) of the cooling fluid.

  The fin rows 18 a and 18 b are formed between the adjacent crosspieces 17 so as to connect (crosslink) the adjacent crosspieces 17. As an example, in the fin unit 16 of this embodiment, a total of 17 crosspieces 17 are formed along the flow path direction (X direction) of the cooling fluid, and fin rows 18a, A total of 16 18b are formed.

  Each of the plurality of fin rows 18a and 18b includes a plurality of fins 19a and 19b arranged in a direction (Y direction) perpendicular to the flow path direction of the cooling fluid. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the plurality of fins 19 a and 19 b are inclined with respect to the bottom surfaces of the recesses 15 a and 15 b of the case 12 and have plate surfaces along the flow path direction (X direction) of the cooling fluid. It has a rectangular parallelepiped plate shape, and a gap is formed between the fins 19a and the fins 19b. Here, the plurality of fins 19a in the fin row 18a are formed in substantially the same shape, and the plurality of fins 19b in the fin row 18b are formed in substantially the same shape. As shown in FIG. 2, the plurality of fins 19 a of the fin row 18 a and the plurality of fins 19 b of the fin row 18 b are formed so as to be inclined in the opposite direction with respect to the crosspiece 17. .

  The inclination angle of the fins 19a and 19b is more preferably 30 ° to 80 °. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a simulation of deformation of the crosspiece when a load is applied to the fin unit 16. In this simulation, the calculation is performed for a pair of fins 19a and 19b and one unit in which the crosspiece 17 is sandwiched between the fins 19a and 19b. Further, in this simulation, assuming that the load applied to the fins 19a, 19b and the crosspiece 17 during brazing, 0.3 MPa was applied from the case 12 to the fin unit 16. Aluminum is used as a material for the fins 19 a and 19 b, the crosspiece 17, and the case 12. Further, the height of the case 12 (the height of the fins 19a and 19b (the height in the Z direction)) is 5 mm, the length L in the X direction of the fins 19a and 19b is 3 mm, and the width a of the crosspiece 17 in the X-axis direction a. Was 2 mm, and the plate thickness was 0.5 mm.

  In FIG. 4, the vertical axis indicates the deformation amount c (mm) of the crosspiece 17 (see FIG. 7), and the horizontal axis indicates the inclination angle β (°) of the fins 19a and 19b with respect to the crosspiece 17 (XY plane). FIG. 4 shows a comparative example in which a pair of fins are parallel (inclined in the same direction) and the inclination angle is 45 °. In the simulation example (invention example) in this embodiment, the pair of fins 19a and 19b are inclined in the opposite direction, and the inclination angle β is 20 ° to 80 °. As shown in FIG. 4, as the inclination angle β (°) increases, the deformation of the crosspiece 17 increases. However, when the comparative example and the invention example have the same inclination angle β (°), the invention example is preferred. However, the amount of deformation of the crosspiece is reduced. That is, it can be seen that the invention example in which the fins 19a and 19b are inclined in the opposite direction has higher strength and is superior to the comparative example in which the fins are inclined in the same direction.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the inclination angle of the fin is more preferably 30 ° to 80 °. When the inclination angle is larger than 30 °, the deformation of the crosspiece can be effectively reduced, and the cooling performance can be further improved. On the other hand, when the inclination angle is larger than 80 °, it is difficult to cut and raise, so that productivity is deteriorated. The fin length is preferably set to 1 mm or more and 3 mm or less. When the fin length is greater than 3 mm, the number of crosspieces in the fin member decreases, and the moment applied to one crosspiece increases, so that deformation increases. If the fin length is smaller than 1 mm, molding is difficult and the strength of the fin is also reduced.

  The crosspiece width is preferably set to 0.5 mm or more and 2 mm or less. When the width of the crosspiece is larger than 2 mm, the ratio of the fin surface area in the fin member is reduced, and the cooling performance is lowered. When the width of the crosspiece is smaller than 0.5 mm, the strength is reduced with respect to the moment received from the fin, and the deformation is increased. It is difficult for the crosspieces to support the fins, and the strength of the fin member is reduced.

  In order to manufacture the fin unit 16, for example, first, a single plate material (metal plate) 20 is subjected to a press process, whereby a plurality of fins 19 a and 19 b (fin rows 18 a, 18b) is cut and raised. Accordingly, the width P from the base to the tip of the fins 19a and 19b is equal to the distance G between the fin 19a and the fin 19b. The plate material (metal plate) 20 may be cut together with the press treatment to cut and raise the fins 19a and 19b. Alternatively, the plate material (metal plate) 20 may be cut in advance before the plate material (metal plate). 20 may be pressed to cut and raise the fins 19a, 19b.

  And as shown in FIG. 1, the fin unit 16 is arrange | positioned between the upper case 12a and the lower case 12b, and the base part of the crosspiece 17 of the fin unit 16 and several fin 19a, 19b is the inner surface of the lower case 12b. The cooler 10 can be manufactured by bringing the upper case 12a and the lower case 12b into contact with each other so that the tips of the fins 19a and 19b are in contact with the inner surface of the upper case 12a. Here, it is preferable that the fin unit 16 and the upper case 12a and the lower case 12b are connected by, for example, brazing. In addition, if the height of the fin unit 16 is formed to be slightly larger than the gap between the upper case 12a and the lower case 12b, the upper case 12a and the lower case 12b are applied to each other with a slight load applied thereto. The fin unit 16 and the case 12 can be more reliably brought into contact with each other. In this case, since the fins 19a and 19b in the adjacent fin rows 18a and 18b are cut and raised in opposite directions, the moment received by the crosspiece 17 is canceled as shown in FIG. Deformation of the case 12 is suppressed.

  In the cooler 10 of the embodiment described above, a plurality of fin rows 18a and 18b are formed in the fin unit 16, and the plurality of fins 19 in the adjacent fin rows 18a and 18b are cut and raised in opposite directions. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, when the fin unit 16 is viewed in the X direction, the fins 19 a and 19 b are evenly arranged, and the strength of the fin unit 16 and the case 12 can be increased. Thereby, the cooler 10 excellent in cooling performance can be easily manufactured by contacting the crosspiece 17 and the case 12 or between the case 12 and the heating element without any gap.

  Further, when the cooler 10 is brought into contact with the heating element, since the fin unit 16 has strength against pressurization, the pressurizing force can be increased even if the case 12 is thin, and the contact thermal resistance can be reduced. Can do. That is, the deformation (distortion) of the fin unit 16 as shown in FIG. 7 and the deformation (distortion) of the case 12 as shown in FIG. 8 are suppressed to ensure contact between the fin unit 16, the case 12, and the heating element. can do. And since the crosspiece 17 is joined to the inner surface of the case 12 without being deformed, the flatness of the case 12 can be maintained, and variations in the temperature within the heat generating surface can be suppressed.

  Moreover, the cooler 10 can be manufactured at low cost by cutting and raising the fin unit 16 from one plate material (metal plate) 20. Further, when the fin unit 16 is manufactured, the moment received by the crosspieces 17 is canceled by alternately raising and lowering the fin rows 18 a and the fin rows 18 b, thereby suppressing deformation of the fin unit 16. Yes (see FIG. 5). And since the crosspiece 17 is joined to the inner surface of the case 12 without being deformed, the heat from the case 12 to the crosspiece 17 can be sufficiently transmitted, and the cooling performance is improved. In addition, the crosspiece 17 can be prevented from being deformed and blocking the flow path on the inner surface of the case 12, and the pressure loss of the cooling fluid can be prevented from increasing.

  In addition, the inclination angle β (°) of the fins 19a and 19b, the width P (mm) from the base to the tip, the length L (mm) of the fins 19a and 19b, and the width a (mm) of the crosspiece 17 are the same dimensions. By doing so, the influence of the moment on the crosspiece 17 from the fins 19a, 19b existing on both sides of the crosspiece 17 can be theoretically reduced to 0, and the deformation of the crosspiece 17 can be further suppressed. . Moreover, by making each into the same dimension, it can also manufacture with a progressive press and can improve productivity. Moreover, since the heights (the heights in the Z direction) of the fins 19a and 19b become uniform by setting them to the same dimensions, the case 12 for flowing the cooling fluid can be easily designed.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case 12 is composed of two members, the upper case 12a and the lower case 12b in which the recesses 13a, 13b, 14a, 14b, 15a, and 15b are formed. Any unit may be used as long as it has a wall surface facing each other so as to have a joint surface with the crosspiece 17 of the unit 16 and constitute a flow path through which the cooling fluid flows. The case 12 may be configured, or the case 12 may be configured from a single member having a square cylindrical shape.

  In the embodiment described above, a liquid such as water or antifreeze is used as the cooling fluid, but a gas such as air or carbon dioxide may be used.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and includes various modifications (including deletion of constituent elements) without departing from the scope of the present invention. ) Needless to say,

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Cooler 11a, 11b Entrance / exit part 12 Case 12a Upper case 12b Lower case 13a, 13b, 14a, 14b, 15a, 15b Recess 16 Fin unit 17 Crosspiece 18a, 18b Fin row 19a, 19b Fin 20 Plate material

Claims (3)

A cooler that transfers heat of a heating element to a cooling fluid;
A case member in which the cooling fluid is circulated and the heating element is thermally connected to the outside;
A fin member disposed inside the case member,
The fin member is
There are a plurality of fin rows in which a plurality of fins cut and raised in the same direction from the plate material are arranged at intervals, and the plurality of fin rows are arranged in a direction from the upstream side to the downstream side of the cooling fluid. A group of fins formed by being disposed; and
A crosspiece remaining without being cut and raised from the plate material,
In the plurality of fin rows, the plurality of fins in adjacent fin rows are cut and raised in directions opposite to each other,
The base of the fin and the crosspiece are thermally joined to one inner surface of the case member,
The cut and raised the tip of the fins are thermally bonded to the other of the inner surface of the case member,
The case member is in contact with the heating element on the outer surface on the one inner surface side,
The case member includes a first member formed of a plate material and provided with a first recess, and a second member formed of a plate material and provided with a second recess,
The first member and the second member are stacked so that the first concave portion and the second concave portion face each other, and store the fin member,
The one inner surface is a bottom surface of the first recess, and the other inner surface is a bottom surface of the second recess.
A cooler characterized by that. The plurality of fins in the fin row have the same cut and raised angle and shape,
The plurality of fin rows are arranged at the same interval in the direction from the upstream side to the downstream side of the cooling fluid,
The cooler according to claim 1. The plurality of fins and the crosspieces are formed to have the same width in a direction from the upstream side to the downstream side of the cooling fluid.
The cooler according to claim 1 or 2 characterized by things.