JP6708151B2 - Electric heater device - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to electric heater devices.

Conventionally, there is a power conversion device described in Patent Document 1. The power conversion device described in Patent Document 1 includes a semiconductor laminated unit and a pressing member. The semiconductor laminated unit is configured by alternately laminating semiconductor modules and cooling pipes for cooling the semiconductor modules. The pressing member presses the semiconductor stacked units in the stacking direction.

JP, 2007-166819, A

The structure of the power conversion device described in Patent Document 1 can be applied to an electric heater device that heats water with a heating element. Specifically, in the power conversion device described in Patent Document 1, if a heating element is used instead of the semiconductor module, an electric heater device that heats water flowing inside the cooling pipe can be realized.

By the way, in such an electric heater device, electronic components such as a drive circuit for driving the heating element are required. Further, when the electronic component generates heat, a cooling structure for the heat is also required. As such a cooling structure, for example, it is conceivable to employ a structure in which cooling pipes that are stacked and arranged with a predetermined gap are added, and then electronic components are arranged between the added cooling pipes. However, when such a cooling structure is adopted, the number of cooling pipes increases, so that the electric heater device is inevitably increased in size.

The present disclosure has been made in view of these circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an electric heater device that can cool electronic components and can be downsized.

An electric heater device for solving the above-mentioned problems includes a plurality of pipes (21), a heating element (30), a case (40), electronic components (81, 82, 83), and a pressing member (50). Prepare The plurality of pipes serve as a heat exchange part (20) between the inflow pipe (70) into which the water flows and the discharge pipe (71) from which the water flows out, and the water is distributed and flows inside the pipes. Are stacked with a gap of. The heating element is arranged in the gap between the plurality of pipes and generates heat based on the supply of electric power. The case has a contact part (44) that accommodates the heat exchanging part and the heat generating element inside, and is in contact with the endmost pipe in the stacking direction of the plurality of pipes of the heat exchanging part in a heat conductive manner. The electronic component is provided so as to be able to conduct heat with the contact portion of the case. The pressing member presses the endmost pipe and the contact part from the heat exchange part side.
Further, another electric heater device that solves the above problem includes a plurality of pipes (21), a heating element (30), a case (40), and electronic components (81, 82, 83). The plurality of pipes serve as a heat exchange part (20) between the inflow pipe (70) into which the water flows and the discharge pipe (71) from which the water flows out, and the water is distributed and flows inside the pipes. Are stacked with a gap of. The heating element is arranged in the gap between the plurality of pipes and generates heat based on the supply of electric power. The case has a contact part (44) that accommodates the heat exchanging part and the heat generating element inside, and is in contact with the endmost pipe in the stacking direction of the plurality of pipes of the heat exchanging part in a heat conductive manner. The electronic component is provided so as to be able to conduct heat with the contact portion of the case. The contact portion is formed so as to protrude toward the inside of the case from a portion of the case corresponding to a side wall (41) between the through hole (42) of the inflow pipe and the through hole (43) of the exhaust pipe. In addition, it is arranged so as to come into contact with the pipe at the end of the most upstream portion of the heat exchange section in the water flow direction.

With this configuration, the heat generated from the electronic component is transferred to the contact portion. Since the heat exchange section is in contact with the contact section, the heat of the contact section is absorbed by the water flowing through the pipe of the heat exchange section. As a result, the heat generated from the electronic component is absorbed by the water flowing through the pipe, so that the electronic component can be cooled. Further, as compared with the case of adopting a structure in which electronic components are cooled by providing electronic components between the pipes that are stacked, a separate pipe 21 that is stacked for cooling the electronic components is unnecessary. Therefore, the electric heater device can be downsized.

The above-mentioned means and the reference numerals in parentheses in the claims are examples showing the corresponding relationship with the specific means described in the embodiments described later.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide an electric heater device that can cool electronic components and can be downsized.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a planar structure of the electric heater device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a planar structure of the electric heater device of the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a partial sectional structure taken along line III-III in FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a procedure of processing executed by the control device of the first embodiment. FIG. 5: is a top view which shows the planar structure of the electric heater apparatus of the modification of 1st Embodiment. FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a planar structure of the electric heater device according to the second embodiment. FIG. 7: is a top view which shows the planar structure of the electric heater apparatus of other embodiment.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of an electric heater device will be described with reference to the drawings. In order to facilitate understanding of the description, the same reference numerals are given to the same constituent elements in each drawing as much as possible, and overlapping description will be omitted.
<First Embodiment>
The electric heater device 10 of the present embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is used, for example, as a device for raising the temperature of the heater core by electrically heating circulating water circulating in the heater core in a vehicle air conditioner. By increasing the temperature of the heater core, the temperature of the air blown into the vehicle interior can be increased, so that the vehicle interior can be heated. As shown in FIG. 1, the electric heater device 10 includes a heat exchange section 20, a plurality of heating elements 30, a case 40, and a pressing member 50.

The heat exchange section 20 has a structure in which a plurality of flat pipes 21 through which water flows are stacked and arranged with a predetermined gap in the Y direction. Below, the Y direction is also referred to as the “pipe stacking direction”.
Cylindrical connecting portions 22a and 22b are formed on both side surfaces in the pipe stacking direction Y at one longitudinal end of each pipe 21. By connecting the respective connecting portions 22a and 22b of the adjacent pipes 21 and 21 to each other, one end of each pipe 21 is communicated. Further, cylindrical connecting portions 23a and 23b are formed on both side surfaces in the pipe stacking direction Y at the other end portion of each pipe 21 in the longitudinal direction. The other ends of the pipes 21 are communicated with each other by connecting the connecting portions 23a and 23b of the adjacent pipes 21 and 21 to each other.

The inflow pipe 70 is connected to the pipe 21a arranged at one end in the pipe stacking direction Y in place of the connecting portion 22a, and the discharge pipe 71 is connected in place of the connecting portion 23a. Further, the pipe 21b arranged at the other end in the pipe stacking direction Y is not formed with the connecting portions 22b and 23b, and the corresponding portions are closed.

In the heat exchange section 20, the water flowing into the inflow pipe 70 is distributed to the inside of each pipe 21 through the connecting portions 22 a and 22 b of each pipe 21. Therefore, in the heat exchange section 20, water flows in the direction indicated by the arrow W in the figure. The water flowing through each pipe 21 is collected at the connecting portions 23 a and 23 b of each pipe, and then discharged from the discharge pipe 71.

The heating element 30 is arranged between the plurality of pipes 21 and 21. The heating element 30 generates heat based on the supply of electric power. By exchanging heat between the heating element 30 and the heat exchange section 20, the water flowing inside the heat exchange section 20 is heated.
The case 40 is formed in a rectangular box shape, and the heat exchange section 20 and the heating element 30 are housed inside the case 40. The case 40 is made of a metal material having high thermal conductivity such as aluminum. The side wall 41 of the case 40 is formed with a through hole 42 into which the inflow pipe 70 is inserted and a through hole 43 into which the discharge pipe 71 is inserted. The inflow pipe 70 and the exhaust pipe 71 extend from the inside of the case 40 to the outside through the through holes 42 and 43.

The case 40 is formed with a contact part 44 that comes into contact with the pipe 21 a of the heat exchange part 20. That is, the contact part 44 is in contact with one end surface of the heat exchange part 20 in the pipe stacking direction Y. The contact part 44 is a thick part formed so as to protrude toward the inside of the case 40 from a part corresponding to between the through hole 42 and the through hole 43 in the side wall 41 of the case 40. The contact portion 44 is formed integrally with the case 40 by die casting or the like. The heat exchange part 20 is pressed against the contact part 44 by the pressing member 50.

Specifically, the pressing member 50 includes a spring member 51 and a plate member 52. The plate member 52 is in surface contact with the pipe 21b of the heat exchange section 20. The spring member 51 is composed of a leaf spring that is curved in an arc shape. The central portion of the spring member 51 is in contact with the plate member 52. Both ends of the spring member 51 are supported by columnar fixing pins 45a and 45b formed integrally with the case 40. The spring member 51 is inserted between the fixing pins 45a and 45b and the plate member 52 in a compressed state. Therefore, the heat exchange section 20 is pressed against the contact section 44 by the elastic force applied from the spring member 51 via the plate member 52. As a result, the adhesion between the pipe 21 and the heating element 30 is enhanced, and the thermal conductivity between them can be enhanced.

In addition, in FIG. 1, among the parts of the contact part 44 with which the heat exchange part 20 comes into contact, the part with which the most upstream part of the heat exchange part 20 in the water flow direction W comes into contact is the first contact part P1. A part of the heat exchange part 20 where the most downstream part of the water flow direction W contacts is shown as a second contact part P2.

Female screw portions 46 having female screw holes are formed at four corners of the case 40. A bolt for assembling the upper lid (not shown) to the case 40 is screwed into the female screw portion 46. By assembling the upper lid to the case 40, the opening portion of the case 40 is closed.
Inside the case 40, a plurality of cylindrical female screw portions 47 having female screw holes are formed. A bolt 48 for assembling the substrate 80 shown in FIG. 2 to the case 40 is screwed into the female screw portion 47. As a result, the substrate 80 is arranged so as to face the entire heat exchange section 20 and a part of the contact section 44.

The heating element 30 is mounted on the substrate 80. Further, on the substrate 80, electronic components such as a drive circuit for driving the heating element 30, a sensor element for detecting various state quantities of the electric heater device 10 and a control device for controlling the heating element 30 are mounted. ing. In FIG. 2, among these electronic components, the switching element 81, the temperature sensors 82 and 83, and the control device 84 that form the drive circuit are illustrated. The switching element 81 is composed of an IGBT, a MOSFET or the like. In the drive circuit, by switching the switching element 81 on/off, it is possible to switch between supplying and stopping the electric power to the heating element 30.

As shown in FIG. 3, the switching element 81 and the temperature sensors 82 and 83 are thermally joined to the contact portion 44 via the heat conductive member 90. The heat conductive member 90 is made of, for example, a heat conductive sheet. As shown in FIG. 1, the first temperature sensor 82 is provided in a portion of the contact portion 44 that is close to the first contact portion P1. Further, the second temperature sensor 83 is provided in a portion of the contact portion 44 that is close to the second contact portion P2. With such a structure, the switching element 81 can be cooled, and the temperature of the water flowing through the heat exchange section 20 can be detected by the temperature sensors 82 and 83.

Specifically, the heat generated from the switching element 81 is transferred to the contact portion 44 through the heat conductive member 90. Since the pipe 21a of the heat exchange unit 20 is in contact with the contact unit 44, the heat of the contact unit 44 is absorbed by the water flowing through the pipe 21a of the heat exchange unit 20. As a result, the heat generated from the switching element 81 is absorbed by the water flowing through the pipe 21a, so that the switching element 81 can be cooled.

On the other hand, since the first temperature sensor 82 is provided in the portion of the contact portion 44 that is close to the first contact portion P1, it is possible to detect the temperature of the first contact portion P1 or a temperature substantially equivalent thereto. The first contact portion P<b>1 is a portion of the contact portion 44 that is in contact with the heat exchange portion 20, and is a portion that is in contact with the most upstream portion of the heat exchange portion 20 in the water flow direction W. Therefore, the first temperature sensor 82 can detect the inflow water temperature T1 which is the temperature of the water flowing into the heat exchange section 20.

Further, since the second temperature sensor 83 is provided in the portion of the contact portion 44 that is close to the second contact portion P2, it is possible to detect the temperature of the second contact portion P2, or a temperature substantially equivalent thereto. The second contact part P2 is a part of the part of the contact part 44 with which the heat exchange part 20 is in contact, which part is in contact with the most downstream part of the heat exchange part 20 in the water flow direction W. Therefore, the second temperature sensor 83 can detect the outflow water temperature T2, which is the temperature of the water flowing out from the heat exchange section 20.

Next, an operation example of the electric heater device 10 will be described.
The control device 84 repeatedly executes the processing shown in FIG. 4 at a predetermined cycle. As shown in FIG. 4, the control device 84 first acquires the information of the target water temperature T* transmitted from the host ECU as the process of step S10, and at the same time, performs the process of step S11 of the temperature sensors 82 and 83. Information on the inflow water temperature T1 and the outflow water temperature T2 is acquired based on the output signal. Then, as a process of step S12 subsequent to the process of step S11, the control device 84 determines whether or not the inflow water temperature T1 is lower than the protective water temperature Tth. The protective water temperature Tth is set in advance by an experiment or the like so as to determine whether or not the water may boil, and is stored in the storage device of the control device 84.

When the control device 84 makes a negative determination in the process of step S12, that is, when the inflow water temperature T1 is equal to or higher than the protection water temperature Tth, the control device 84 executes the protection process for avoiding boiling of water as the process of step S15. To do. As the protection process, for example, a process of stopping the heating element 30 by turning off the switching element 81 and cutting off the supply of power to the heating element 30 is performed. When the control device 84 makes a positive determination in step S12 In other words, when the inflow water temperature T1 is lower than the protection water temperature Tth, it is determined in step S13 whether the outflow water temperature T2 is lower than the target water temperature T*. When a positive determination is made in the process of step S13, that is, when the outflow water temperature T2 is lower than the target water temperature T*, the control device 84 drives the heating element 30 as the process of step S14. Specifically, the control device 84 calculates the duty ratio based on the deviation between the target water temperature T* and the outflow water temperature T2, and controls ON/OFF of the switching element 81 based on the calculated duty ratio. , Drive the heating element 30.

After executing the process of step S14, the control device 84 once ends the series of processes. Further, the control device 84 once ends the series of processes even when the determination in step S13 is negative, that is, when the outflow water temperature T2 is equal to or higher than the target water temperature T*.
According to the electric heater device 10 of the present embodiment described above, the actions and effects shown in the following (1) to (3) can be obtained.

(1) In the electric heater device 10, the contact element 44 is provided with the switching element 81. Thereby, the heat generated from the switching element 81 is absorbed by the water in the pipe 21a via the contact portion 44, so that the switching element 81 can be cooled. Further, as compared with the case where the structure in which the switching element 81 is cooled by providing the switching element 81 between the pipes 21 arranged in a stack is adopted, a separate pipe 21 arranged in a stack for cooling the switching device 81 is adopted. Is unnecessary, the electric heater device 10 can be downsized.

(2) In the electric heater device 10, the contact portion 44 is provided with the temperature sensors 82 and 83. Specifically, the first temperature sensor 82 is provided in a portion of the contact portion 44 that is close to the first contact portion P1. Further, the second temperature sensor 83 is provided in a portion of the contact portion 44 that is close to the second contact portion P2. As a result, the temperature of the water flowing into the heat exchange section 20 can be detected by the first temperature sensor 82, and the temperature of the water flowing out of the heat exchange section 20 can be detected by the second temperature sensor 83.

(3) The contact portion 44 has the heat conductive member 90 in the portion where the switching element 81 and the temperature sensors 82 and 83 are provided. As a result, the thermal conductivity between the contact portion 44 and the switching element 81 and the thermal conductivity between the contact portion 44 and the temperature sensors 82, 83 can be increased, so that the switching element 81 can be easily cooled. At the same time, the temperature detection accuracy of the temperature sensors 82 and 83 can be improved.

(Modification)
Next, a modified example of the electric heater device 10 of the first embodiment will be described.
As shown in FIG. 5, the contact portion 44 has a heat conductive member 91 in a portion of the heat exchange portion 20 that comes into contact with the pipe 21a. The heat conductive member 91 is made of, for example, a heat conductive sheet. With such a configuration, the thermal conductivity between the pipe 21a of the heat exchange section 20 and the contact section 44 can be increased, so that the switching element 81 can be cooled more easily and the temperature sensors 82 and 83 can be used. The temperature detection accuracy can be further improved.

<Second Embodiment>
Next, a second embodiment of the electric heater device 10 will be described. Hereinafter, differences from the electric heater device 10 of the first embodiment will be mainly described.
As shown in FIG. 6, in the contact portion 44 of the present embodiment, a slit 100 is formed between the portion where the switching element 81 is provided and the portion where the first temperature sensor 82 is provided. Further, in the contact portion 44, the slit 101 is formed between the portion where the switching element 81 is provided and the portion where the second temperature sensor 83 is provided. The slits 100 and 101 are concave grooves.

According to the electric heater device 10 of the present embodiment described above, it is possible to further obtain the action and effect shown in the following (4).
(4) Since the slit 100 thermally separates the portion where the switching element 81 is provided and the portion where the first temperature sensor 82 is provided, the accuracy of temperature detection by the first temperature sensor 82 is improved. Can be improved. Similarly, since the slit 101 thermally separates the portion where the switching element 81 is provided and the portion where the second temperature sensor 83 is provided, the accuracy of temperature detection by the second temperature sensor 83 is improved. Can be improved.

<Other Embodiments>
In addition, each embodiment can also be implemented in the following forms.
The heat conductive member 90 may be eliminated by bringing the switching element 81 and the temperature sensors 82 and 83 into contact with the contact portion 44.

The contact portion 44 may be provided with only one of the switching element 81 and the temperature sensors 82 and 83. For example, when only the temperature sensors 82 and 83 are provided in the contact part 44, as shown in FIG. 7, the contact part 44 has a slit between the first temperature sensor 82 and the second temperature sensor 83. 102 may be formed. This makes it possible to obtain the same operation and effect as the electric heater device 10 of the second embodiment.

The contact part 44 may be provided with electronic components other than the switching element 81 and the temperature sensors 82 and 83.
The means and/or functions provided by the control device 84 can be provided by software stored in a substantive storage device and a computer that executes the software, only software, only hardware, or a combination thereof. For example, if the controller 84 is provided by an electronic circuit that is hardware, it can be provided by a digital circuit that includes multiple logic circuits, or an analog circuit.

The present disclosure is not limited to the above specific examples. A person skilled in the art appropriately modified the above-described specific examples is also included in the scope of the present disclosure as long as the features of the present disclosure are provided. The elements included in the above-described specific examples, and the arrangement, conditions, shapes, and the like of the elements are not limited to those illustrated, but can be appropriately changed. The respective elements included in the above-described specific examples can be appropriately combined as long as there is no technical contradiction.

P1: 1st contact part P2: 2nd contact part 10: Electric heater device 20: Heat exchange part 21: Piping 30: Heating element 40: Case 44: Contact part 50: Pressing member 81: Switching element (electronic part)
82: First temperature sensor (electronic component)
83: Second temperature sensor (electronic component)
90, 91: Heat conductive member 100, 101, 102: Slit

Claims (9)

Between the inflow pipe (70) into which the water flows and the discharge pipe (71) from which the water flows out, the water is distributed and flows inside as a heat exchange section (20) and has a predetermined gap. A plurality of pipes (21) stacked together,
A heating element (30) arranged in the gap between the plurality of pipes and generating heat based on the supply of electric power;
A case (40) that accommodates the heat exchanging portion and the heat generating element therein and has a contact portion (44) that comes into thermal contact with the endmost pipe in the stacking direction of the plurality of pipes of the heat exchanging portion. )When,
An electronic component (81, 82, 83) provided so as to be capable of conducting heat to the contact portion of the case;
An electric heater device comprising: a pressing member (50) for pressing the endmost pipe and the contact part from the heat exchange part side . The contact portion extends from the portion of the case corresponding to the side wall (41) between the through hole (42) of the inflow pipe and the through hole (43) of the discharge pipe toward the inside of the case. It is formed so as to project, and is arranged so as to come into contact with the pipe at the end of the most upstream portion in the water flow direction of the heat exchange portion.
The electric heater device according to claim 1. Between the inflow pipe (70) into which the water flows in and the discharge pipe (71) from which the water flows out, the water is distributed and flows inside as a heat exchange section (20) and has a predetermined gap. A plurality of pipes (21) stacked together,
A heating element (30) arranged in the gap between the plurality of pipes and generating heat based on the supply of electric power;
A case (40) that accommodates the heat exchanging part and the heat generating element therein and has a contact part (44) that comes into contact with the endmost pipe of the heat exchanging part in the stacking direction in a heat conductive manner. )When,
An electronic component (81, 82, 83) provided so as to be able to conduct heat and the contact portion of the case;
The contact portion extends from the portion of the case corresponding to the side wall (41) between the through hole (42) of the inflow pipe and the through hole (43) of the discharge pipe toward the inside of the case. It is formed so as to project, and is arranged so as to come into contact with the pipe at the end of the most upstream portion in the water flow direction of the heat exchange portion.
Electric heater device. The electronic component is
A plurality is provided in the contact portion,
In the contact part,
The electric heater device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein slits (100, 101, 102) are formed between portions where the plurality of electronic components are provided. The electronic parts include
The electric heater device according to claim 1, further comprising a switching element (81) that constitutes a drive circuit for the heating element. The electronic parts include
The electric heater device according to claim 1, further comprising a temperature sensor (82, 83). Of the parts of the contact part that the heat exchange part contacts, the part of the heat exchange part that contacts the most upstream part in the water flow direction is the first contact part (P1), and the water in the heat exchange part is When the site where the most downstream part in the flow direction of is in contact is the second contact site (P2),
The temperature sensor is
A first temperature sensor (82) provided in a portion of the contact portion near the first contact portion,
The electric heater device according to claim 6 , further comprising a second temperature sensor (83) provided in a portion of the contact portion that is close to the second contact portion. The contact portion is
Electric heater device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, which has a heat conductive member (90) to the portion in contact with the heat exchange section. The contact portion is
Electric heater device according to any one of claims 1 to 8 wherein said electronic component has a heat conductive member (91) to the portion provided.

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