JP6219174B2 - Electrical equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to electrical equipment and, more particularly, to cooling of components used.

  In electrical equipment, it may be necessary to cool the parts used in it. An example of such cooling is disclosed in Patent Document 1. In the technique of Patent Document 1, a circuit module that generates heat is disposed in a casing as a cooling component. In order to remove the influence of dust, the circuit module has an upper surface covered with a cover and a lower surface attached to a heat sink exposed in the housing. The interior of the housing is partitioned into two ventilation paths, the circuit module covered with the cover is arranged in one ventilation path, and the heat sink is arranged in the other ventilation path. Two air inlets are provided in the housing corresponding to the two air passages, and one fan is provided in the housing so as to face these two air inlets. By driving the fans, two air inlets are provided. Air flows in to cool the covered circuit module and the heat sink.

JP 2012-164939 A

  According to the technique of Patent Document 1, the circuit module can be cooled from both the upper surface side of the circuit module and the lower surface side provided with the heat sink, so that sufficient cooling performance can be secured, and the upper surface of the circuit module can be secured by the cover. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the circuit module from being damaged by dust. However, when the inside of the housing is partitioned so that air does not flow in one room, and the circuit module is arranged in this room, the technique of Patent Document 1 is adopted. When trying to do so, it is necessary to form the first and second ventilation paths above and below the room in which the circuit modules are arranged, and to circulate air through both of them. Increase the cost and weight.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an electrical device that can cool an article disposed in a part of the casing while preventing air from flowing through the part.

  The electric device of one embodiment of the present invention includes a housing group including a plurality of housings. Each housing has first and second walls facing each other, and peripheral edges of the first and second walls are continuously connected by a peripheral wall. The first and second walls can have various shapes and can be polygonal, circular, elliptical, or the like. The interior of the housing is partitioned into two or more rooms, a first room and a second room, by a partition wall. One or more other rooms may be formed between the first and second rooms. Each casing is arranged such that a second room of the other casing is located with a predetermined gap from the first room. Each housing can be arranged in the vertical direction or in the horizontal direction to form a housing group. In each of the casings, a part of the peripheral wall of the first room is provided with an air port communicating with the outside, and a fan is provided on the peripheral wall facing the air port so as to send air into the first room. Thus, a cooling flow path is configured. The second room forms a sealed space including the second wall, the peripheral wall, and the partition wall. Articles, for example, cooling-requiring parts can be arranged in both or either of the first and second rooms. Examples of components requiring cooling include power semiconductor elements, transformers, coils, and control semiconductor elements. It is desirable to arrange a part having a large heat generation amount such as a power semiconductor element, a transformer, a coil, etc. in the first room that can be directly cooled by a fan. Parts that need to be cooled, but less than elements etc., are preferably placed in the second room. An air outlet is formed in the first wall of the first chamber so that air flowing through the cooling flow path of the housing flows out.

  If comprised in this way, when the fan of each housing | casing operate | moves, air will be sent in in a 1st room and the articles | goods in a 1st room will be air-cooled. The air sent into the first room flows out to the outside through the air outlet, moves along the second wall of the adjacent housing, and cools the articles in the second room. The shape of the air outlet may be an elongated rectangular shape or an elliptical shape, and the longitudinal direction thereof is perpendicular to the air flow in the cooling flow path, in the direction along the flow, or in the oblique direction with respect to the flow. An air outlet can be arranged. A combination of air outlets in a plurality of directions can also be formed. If it does in that way, cooling efficiency can be improved by concentrating air toward the components which need cooling, or generating a turbulent flow.

An air conditioning plate can be provided at the air outlet . The air conditioning plate can be provided in the first room so that air can be quickly discharged from the air outlet, or can be provided outside the air outlet to quickly remove the air flowing out of the air outlet. It can also be made to move along the 2nd wall of an adjacent housing | casing, and can also be provided in both inside and outside of an air outflow port.

  The first room of each casing can be partitioned into a plurality of rooms. In this case, the fan is provided for each of the plurality of rooms, and the air outlet is provided for each of the plurality of rooms. If comprised in this way, the article | item in each room partitioned off in the 1st room can be cooled, and also air from the air outflow port provided in each room to the 2nd wall of an adjacent housing | casing Can be supplied in large quantities, and the articles in the second chamber of the adjacent housing can be efficiently cooled.

  The housing group can be accommodated in a rack. In this case, an air inlet is formed in the vicinity of the casing at one end of the casing group, and an air outlet is formed in the vicinity of the casing at the other end of the casing group. If comprised in this way, since the air introduce | transduced from the air inlet port is derived | led-out from an air outlet port through a housing | casing group, it exists in the other end of a housing | casing group, and the 2nd wall of the housing | casing which adjoins. It is possible to cool the components requiring cooling in the second chamber of the housing that is not cooled by the air from the air outlet.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the structure for cooling the articles in the room where the air circulates is accommodated in a sealed room configured so that the air does not circulate with only a slight improvement. A part in which an article is accommodated in a room in which air flows can be cooled in the same manner.

It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the principal part of the electric equipment of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a vertical side view of the electric equipment of FIG. It is a cross-sectional top view of the electric equipment of FIG. FIG. 2 is a partially omitted plan view of a rack provided with the electrical device of FIG. 1. It is a cross-sectional top view of the electric equipment of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is the elements on larger scale of the 1st modification of the 1st and 2nd embodiment of this invention. It is a top view of the modification of 1st Embodiment. It is a top view of the modification of 2nd Embodiment.

  The electrical apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention is, for example, the power supply device 2, and a plurality of, for example, four units are accommodated in a rack 4 as shown in FIG. 2. The rack 4 is formed in a vertically long, substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and has an upper wall 6 and a lower wall 8 that are arranged in the vertical direction with an interval therebetween. As shown in FIG. 3, side walls 10 and 12 are provided so as to connect the upper wall 6 and the lower wall 8. The front surface of the rack 4 is opened, and a rear wall 14 is provided on the rear surface. An opening 16 is formed in the rear wall 14.

As shown in FIG. 4, support bars 18, 20,... Are provided on the side walls 10, 12 at a predetermined interval, for example, a space slightly larger than the height dimension of the casing described later. Four of each are arranged to correspond to each other. As shown in FIG. 2, the casings 22 of the respective power supply devices 2 are supported on the support bars 18 and 20, respectively. A casing group is configured by the four casings 22. The support bars 18 and 20 extend in a straight line from the front side to the rear side of the side walls 10 and 12, as shown in FIG. Between each housing | casing 22, the clearance gap through which air can distribute | circulate is formed, respectively, The ventilation path mentioned later is comprised between the one housing | casing 22 and the other housing | casing 22 arrange | positioned adjacent to it. Yes.

  As shown in FIG. 1 in an enlarged manner, the housing 22 is formed of a material having good thermal conductivity, for example, a metal in a flat rectangular shape having an upper opening. A second wall that closes the opening, for example, a rectangular lid 24 is provided. The housing 22 has a first wall, for example, a rectangular bottom wall 26 so as to face the lid 24. A front wall 28, a rear wall 30, and side walls 32, 34 (see FIG. 3) are formed at right angles to the bottom wall 26. The front wall 28, the rear wall 30, and the side walls 32 and 34 constitute a peripheral wall that continuously connects the bottom wall 26 and the lid 24.

  The interior of the housing 22 is partitioned into a first and a second chamber, for example, a lower chamber 38 and an upper chamber 40 by a partition wall 36 in the vertical direction. The partition wall 36 has a rectangular shape in which both ends thereof are in contact with the front wall 28 and the rear wall 30, both sides thereof are in contact with the side walls 32 and 34, and are parallel to the bottom wall 26. And are completely separated.

  In the lower chamber 38, an article, for example, a component requiring cooling, specifically, a heat sink 44 on which a power semiconductor element 42 is mounted, a transformer 46, and a coil (not shown) are arranged. A printed circuit board 48 provided with a control circuit for controlling the power semiconductor element 42 described above is disposed in the upper chamber 40. The control circuit has a control semiconductor element, for example, a CPU. An opening 50 for connecting the power semiconductor element 42 to the printed circuit board 48 is formed in the partition plate 36. This opening is the power semiconductor element 42 itself attached, a heat sink to which the power semiconductor element 42 is fixed, or the like. The upper chamber 40 is hermetically sealed from the outside of the housing 22 so that dust or the like does not enter the upper chamber 40, and the control circuit on the printed circuit board 48 is protected from the outside. Is in a state.

  A fan 52 is provided on the front wall 28 of the lower chamber 38, and an air discharge port 54 constituting an air port is provided on the rear wall 30 of the lower chamber 38 so as to face the fan 52, thereby forming a cooling passage 53. Has been. Accordingly, when the fan 52 is operated to allow the outside air to flow into the lower chamber 38, the outside air cools the heat sink 44 and the transformer 46 and is discharged from the air discharge port 54 as shown by arrows in FIG.

  However, since the upper chamber 40 is sealed, the control circuit on the printed circuit board 48 in the upper chamber 40 cannot be cooled. If the CPU or the like of the control circuit does not operate normally due to a temperature rise, the power supply device 2 also does not operate normally. Therefore, it is preferable that the upper chamber 40 can be cooled in order to increase the reliability of the product.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the respective casings 22 are arranged in the vertical direction, and the upper chamber 40 of the other casing 22 is located in the lower chamber 38 in which the outside air circulates in one casing 22. Thus, the control circuit on the printed circuit board 48 is cooled. That is, the flow direction of the air flowing through the cooling flow path 53 including the fan 52 and the air discharge port 54 is located on the bottom wall 26 at a position slightly closer to the rear wall 30 side than the fan 52 in the lower chamber 38 of the housing 22. An air outlet 56 is formed in a direction orthogonal to the direction. The air outlet 56 is, for example, a rectangular opening. At the edge of the air outlet 56 on the rear wall 30 side, a rectangular air conditioning plate 58 is inclined obliquely upward toward the fan 52 side so that the outside air from the fan 52 flows out from the air outlet 56 to the outside. Are arranged. The air outlet 56 and the air conditioning plate 58 are formed by cutting up the bottom wall 26. Therefore, the air outlet 56 and the air conditioning plate 58 can be easily manufactured. The shape of the air outlet is not limited to a rectangle, and may be, for example, an ellipse. If there is a part or the like that protrudes in the vicinity of the bottom wall 26 of the lower chamber, it should be a rectangle having an opening to avoid that part. You can also. Since the air conditioning plate 58 can be formed simply by cutting it from the bottom wall 26, it can be easily processed in any shape.

By providing the air outlet 56 and the air conditioning plate 58 on the bottom wall 26 of the housing 22 in this way, a part of the outside air that has flowed into the cooling flow path 53 of the lower chamber 38 by the fan 52 is allowed to flow. 1 is also led to the lower outside and flows backward along the lid 24 of the casing 22 adjacent to the lower side as indicated by an arrow in FIG. Air flowing out from the air outlet 56, the bottom wall 26 of the casing 22, passes through the air passage 57 formed in the gap between the lid 24 of the housing 22 adjacent the bottom thereof, the upper chamber 40 Cooling. Therefore, the control circuit on the printed circuit board 48 in the upper chamber 40 of the housing 22 adjacent below is cooled. In order to prevent the air flowing out from the air outlet 56 from flowing backward from the side of the ventilation path 57 without flowing backward, and flowing forward from the lateral gap between the rack 4 and the housing 22, FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, shielding plates 60 and 62 that shield the gaps at both ends of the rack 4 and the housing 22 are linearly provided at both ends of the front wall 28 from the lower wall 8 to the upper wall 6 of the rack 4. Is formed.

As described above, with this configuration, the upper chamber of the lower casing 22 is cooled by the air that cools the lower chamber 38 of the upper casing adjacent thereto, but the upper chamber of the upper casing is the upper chamber. The inside of 40 is not cooled. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, a large space is set between the upper wall 6 of the rack 4 and the uppermost casing 22. Further, a number of air outlets 64 are formed in the vicinity of the lid 24 of the uppermost casing 22 on the side walls 10 and 12 of the rack 4. In addition, a large number of air inlets 66 are formed in the vicinity of the bottom wall 26 of the lowermost casing 22 on the side walls 10 and 12, and air introduced from these air inlets 66 enters the uppermost casing 22. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, air support ports 68 and 70 are formed in the support bars 18 and 20, respectively. And since the temperature of the air in the rack 4 is higher than the outside air temperature, the air taken in from the air inlet 66 on the lower wall 8 side of the rack 4 by the chimney effect is the air of the support bars 18 and 20. It rises to the air outlet 64 on the upper wall 6 side of the rack 4 via the conduction ports 68 and 70, hits the upper wall 6, is led out to the outside from the air outlet 64 at the upper side of the side walls 10, 12, The upper chamber 40 of the housing 22 is cooled.

  A power supply device 2a according to a second embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. The same parts as those of the power supply device 2 of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted. In the power supply device 2a of the second embodiment, the lower chamber 38 is partitioned into a plurality of, for example, three rooms 76, 78, and 80 by a plurality of, for example, two partition plates 72, 74. The partition plates 72 and 74 are formed in a rectangular shape, their ends are located on the front wall 28 and the rear wall 30, and upper and lower side edges are in contact with the bottom wall 26 and the partition wall 36, and the front wall 28 and the rear wall The wall 30 is partitioned into three rectangular rooms having substantially the same shape. In each of the rooms 76, 78, and 80, cooling components (not shown) such as a heat sink, a transformer, and a coil are arranged. For example, a heat sink is provided in the room 76, a transformer is provided in the room 78, and a main heat generating component such as a coil is provided in each room 76, 78, 80 in the room 80, for example. Fans 52 are disposed on the front walls 28 corresponding to the rooms 76, 78, and 80, respectively, and air discharge ports 54 are formed on the rear wall 14 corresponding to the rooms 76, 78, and 80, respectively. A cooling channel 53 is formed in each room. In addition, an air outlet 56 and a wind regulation plate 58 are formed in the bottom wall 26 corresponding to each of the rooms 76, 78, and 80, respectively. These are arranged in a row on the lower wall 26 of the lower chamber 38 in a direction perpendicular to the air flowing through the cooling flow path 53.

In the power supply device 2a, the cooling components in each of the rooms 76, 78, and 80 can be cooled, and a plurality of air outlets 56 and air conditioning plates 58 are arranged in the width direction of the lower chamber 38. The amount of outflow of air is larger than that of the power supply device of the first embodiment, and the control circuit in the upper chamber 40 of the casing 22 below can be efficiently cooled. In the present embodiment, the example in which the air outlets 56 of the rooms 76, 78, and 80 are arranged in a row is shown. However, among the components arranged in the upper chamber of the adjacent housing under the respective housings. Thus, the air outlet 56 may be formed at a different position in each of the rooms 76, 78, and 80 so as to correspond to the place requiring the most cooling.

  In both the above embodiments, the air conditioning plate 58 is provided only inside the lower chamber 38. However, as shown in FIG. 6, the rear wall 30 side of the casing 22 adjacent to the bottom wall 26 outside the lower chamber 38 is provided. It is also possible to add a wind regulation plate 58a so as to face obliquely downward. In this case, the air that has flowed out from the air outlet 56 can be sent to the rear more favorably. It is also possible to remove the air conditioning plate 58 and provide only the external air conditioning plate 58a. Alternatively, it is possible to form only the air outlet 56 without providing the air conditioning plates 58 and 58a at all.

  In both the above embodiments, one air outlet 56 is provided for the fan 52. However, as shown in FIGS. 7A to 7C, a plurality of air outlets are provided for one fan. 56 can also be provided. In this case, the plurality of air outlets 56 can be provided in a direction orthogonal to the direction of the air flowing through the cooling flow path 53 as shown in FIG. It can be provided in the same direction as the air direction.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 7B and 7C, the air outlet 56 may be formed obliquely in the direction of the air flowing through the cooling flow path 53, for example, in a C shape or a reverse C shape. Although not shown in the drawings, a plurality of them may be formed side by side with the same inclination, obliquely with respect to the direction of the cooling flow path 53 and the flowing air. By providing the air outlet 56 with an angle in this manner, the air from the air outlet 56 is directed to the position where the cooling-required parts to be cooled are arranged in the upper chamber 40 of the casing 22 adjacent below. An air outlet can also be arranged.

7B and 7C show an example in which the plurality of air outlets 56 are formed obliquely with respect to the direction of the air flowing through the cooling flow path 53, the similarly inclined air outlets 56 are shown. The same effect can be obtained even if the inclined air outlet 56 is formed in one casing 22 when applied to the first embodiment. Moreover, a wind regulation plate can also be provided so that a turbulent flow may be caused by the wind regulation plates 58 and 58a.

  Further, in the case of the first embodiment, for example, in the case of the first embodiment, a plurality of fans can be provided for the lower chamber 38. In the case of the second embodiment, all of the rooms 76, 78, 80 or desired A thing can also be provided with a plurality of fans. In these cases, it is desirable to provide at least one air outlet 56 for each fan.

Further, as in the second embodiment, the structure has a lower chamber 38 partitioned into a plurality of rooms. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the central air outlet is orthogonal to the flow of air flowing through the cooling channel. The air outlets on both sides can be formed obliquely with respect to the flow of air flowing through the cooling channel. Also in this case, it is possible to efficiently cool the position in the upper chamber of the casing adjacent to the lower side that corresponds to the part requiring cooling that is to be cooled. And an air can be smoothly sent out by providing an air conditioning board in each air outflow port.

In both the above-described embodiments, the support bars 18 and 20 are used, but other ones can be used as long as the air from the air outlet 56 can flow out to the lid 24 side of the lower casing 22. . For example, mesh-like shelf boards can be used in place of the support bars 18 and 20. Also, interchanging the upper and lower housing 22 described in these embodiments, the air flowing out from the upper side of the bottom of the housing is also possible to cool the surface of the bottom of the casing adjacent to the upper.

In both the above embodiments, the rack 4 is vertically long, but a horizontally long rack can also be used. In that case, the casings 22 are arranged in a row in a vertically long state from one side wall side to the other side wall side of the horizontally long rack, and the casings 22 described in the first embodiment are arranged sideways. As described above, the rooms corresponding to the lower chamber 38 and the upper chamber 40 in the housing 22 are formed by arranging partition plates arranged in parallel to both side walls of the rack. Thus was air flowing out from the housing 22, the side surface of the housing 22 adjacent the horizontal can be cooled to the layout of the housing 22 can be used appropriately changed.

In both the above embodiments, the upper chamber 40 and the lower chamber 38 in the housing 22 are partitioned, but the housing 22 can be partitioned into three or more stages in the vertical direction. Even in such a case, the present invention can be implemented by providing a fan corresponding to the lower chamber 38 so that the upper chamber 40 does not communicate with the outside. In both the above-described embodiments, the casing 22 is a rectangular parallelepiped, but is not limited to this, and may be configured in a flat columnar shape or a polygonal column shape, for example. In the present embodiment, an example in which a plurality of casings 22 having the same configuration are arranged side by side has been described. However, for example, an apparatus or a part having a different configuration that requires cooling is disposed under one casing 22. It is also possible to use the housing 22 in combination with another device.

  In both of the above embodiments, the present invention is implemented in the power supply device, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention can be used in a welding machine, a cutting machine, an audio power amplifier, and the like.

2 Power supply (electric equipment)
22 Case 24 Lid (second wall)
26 Bottom wall (first wall)
38 Lower room (first room)
40 Upper room (second room)
52 Fan 56 Air outlet

Claims (7)

Opposing first and second walls, a peripheral wall that continuously connects the peripheral edges of the first and second walls, and a partition wall that partitions the first wall and the second wall inside And a first chamber formed by the first wall, the peripheral wall, and the partition wall, and a second chamber formed by the second wall, the peripheral wall, and the partition wall. Having a housing partitioned into two,
The first chamber of the housing has a cooling flow path including an air port communicating a part of the peripheral wall with the outside, and a fan provided on the peripheral wall facing the air port,
The second chamber of the housing forms a sealed space composed of the second wall, the peripheral wall, and the partition wall,
A housing group is configured by arranging the first room of the housing and the second room of the other housing facing each other with a predetermined gap therebetween,
An air outlet is formed in the first wall of the first chamber so that air flowing through the cooling flow path of the housing flows out;
Electrical equipment. The electric device according to claim 1, wherein the air outlet is formed in a direction orthogonal to a direction of air flowing through the cooling flow path. The electric device according to claim 1, wherein the air outlet is formed in a direction along a direction of air flowing through the cooling flow path. The electric device according to claim 1, wherein the air outlet is formed in an oblique direction with respect to a direction of air flowing through the cooling flow path. 5. The electrical device according to claim 1, wherein a wind regulation plate is provided at the air outlet .   5. The electric device according to claim 1, wherein the first room of each housing is partitioned into a plurality of rooms, the fan is provided in each of the plurality of rooms, and the plurality of rooms are provided with the fan. Electrical equipment with an air outlet.   5. The electrical device according to claim 1, wherein the housing group is accommodated in a rack, and an air inlet is formed in the vicinity of the housing at one end of the housing group, An electrical device in which an air outlet is formed in the vicinity of the casing on the other end of the group.

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