JP6915463B2 - Cooler - Google Patents

Description

The present specification discloses techniques relating to coolers.

Coolers are known that use a refrigerant to cool a heating element (for example, an in-vehicle reactor or condenser). Patent Document 1 discloses a cooler in which a through flow path is formed in a partition wall separating a main flow path and a sub flow path through which a refrigerant flows. Patent Document 2 discloses a technique for cooling two heating elements by a cooler in which a flow path having a folded shape is formed.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2007-266463 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2009-188181

From the viewpoint of improving the cooling performance of the cooler, the shape of the through flow path connecting the two flow paths in the cooler has not been sufficiently studied.

The cooler in one form disclosed herein cools the heating element with a refrigerant. The cooler includes an inflow portion, an outflow portion, an inflow flow path, an outflow flow path, a folded flow path, a partition wall, and a through flow path. The inflow portion is a portion where the refrigerant flows in from the outside. The outflow portion is a portion where the refrigerant flows out to the outside. The inflow flow path is a flat flow path extending from the inflow portion. The outflow flow path is a flat flow path that extends from the outflow portion and is adjacent to the inflow flow path in the width direction. The folded flow path is a flat flow path that connects the inflow flow path and the outflow flow path by folding back. The partition wall separates the inflow channel and the outflow channel. The through flow path is a flow path that penetrates the partition wall from the inflow flow path to the outflow flow path. The flow path cross-sectional area on the inflow flow path side in the through flow path is larger than the flow path cross-sectional area on the outflow flow path side in the through flow path.

According to the cooler in the above embodiment, the flow velocity of the refrigerant flowing through the through flow path can be improved as compared with the case where the flow path cross-sectional area of the inflow flow path side and the outflow flow path side in the through flow path is the same. As a result, the flow rate of the refrigerant flowing from the inflow flow path to the return flow path can be reduced, so that the pressure loss of the refrigerant in the return flow path can be suppressed, and the heating element attached to the cooler so as to face the through flow path. Cooling efficiency can be increased.

It is a perspective view which shows the structure of a cooler. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of a cooler. It is sectional drawing in the arrow view F3-F3 of FIG. It is sectional drawing in the arrow view F4-F4 of FIG.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the cooler 10. FIG. 1 shows XYZ axes that are orthogonal to each other. The X-axis and the Y-axis in the XYZ axes of FIG. 1 are coordinate axes extending in the horizontal direction. The Z axis in the XYZ axes in FIG. 1 is a coordinate axis extending from the lower side to the upper side in the direction of gravity.

The cooler 10 cools the heating element 20 and the heating element 30 using a refrigerant (cooling water). The heating element 20 and the heating element 30 are electrical devices that include at least one of a reactor and a capacitor. The heating element 20 and the heating element 30 become hot when energized. The heating element 20 and the heating element 30 are attached to the outside of the cooler 10. The cooler 10 is mounted on a vehicle (not shown) together with the heating element 20 and the heating element 30. The cooler 10 includes an inflow portion 110, an outflow portion 120, a main body portion 130, and a flow path 140.

The inflow portion 110 of the cooler 10 is a portion where the refrigerant flows in from the outside of the cooler 10. The arrow IN in FIG. 1 indicates the direction in which the refrigerant flows into the cooler 10. The inflow portion 110 has a cylindrical shape. The inflow portion 110 communicates with the flow path 140 formed inside the main body portion 130. The refrigerant flowing into the cooler 10 flows into the flow path 140 through the inflow portion 110.

The outflow portion 120 of the cooler 10 is a portion where the refrigerant flows out to the outside of the cooler 10. The arrow OUT in FIG. 1 indicates the direction in which the refrigerant flows out of the cooler 10. The outflow portion 120 has a cylindrical shape. The outflow portion 120 communicates with the flow path 140 formed inside the main body portion 130. The refrigerant flowing through the flow path 140 flows out from the cooler 10 through the outflow portion 120.

The main body 130 of the cooler 10 is a portion where the flow path 140 is formed inside. The main body 130 is wide in the X-axis direction and has a flat rectangular parallelepiped shape with the Y-axis direction as the longitudinal direction. An inflow portion 110 and an outflow portion 120 are provided on the Y-axis negative direction side of the main body portion 130. The flow path 140 extends in the Y-axis direction and has a folded shape on the Y-axis positive direction side of the main body 130. A heating element 20 is attached to the Y-axis negative direction side and a heating element 30 is attached to the Y-axis positive direction side of the main body 130 so as to face the Z-axis negative direction.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the cooler 10. FIG. 2 shows a cross section of the cooler 10 cut in a plane parallel to the XY plane. FIG. 2 shows the XYZ axes corresponding to FIG. The arrow IN in FIG. 2 indicates the direction in which the refrigerant flows into the cooler 10 as in FIG. 1. The arrow OUT in FIG. 2 indicates the direction in which the refrigerant flows out from the cooler 10 as in FIG. An arrow indicating the direction in which the refrigerant flows is shown in the flow path 140 of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the cooler 10. FIG. 3 shows a cross section of the cooler 10 cut in the arrow F3-F3 of FIG. FIG. 3 shows the XYZ axes corresponding to FIG.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the cooler 10. FIG. 4 shows a cross section of the cooler 10 cut in the arrow F4-F4 of FIG. FIG. 4 shows the XYZ axes corresponding to FIG.

The flow path 140 of the cooler 10 is composed of an inflow flow path 142, a folded flow path 144, an outflow flow path 146, and a through flow path 148. Further, inside the main body 130, a partition wall 132 that separates the inflow flow path 142 and the outflow flow path 146 is formed.

The inflow flow path 142 is a flat flow path extending from the inflow portion 110. The inflow flow path 142 is a flat flow path that is wide in the X-axis direction and has the Y-axis direction as the longitudinal direction. The inflow flow path 142 communicates with the inflow portion 110 on the negative direction side of the Y axis. The refrigerant that has flowed in from the inflow section 110 flows in the inflow flow path 142 in the positive direction of the Y-axis. The inflow flow path 142 communicates with the folded flow path 144 on the positive direction side of the Y axis.

The folded flow path 144 is a flat flow path that connects the inflow flow path 142 and the outflow flow path 146 by folding back. The cross-sectional shape of the folded flow path 144 is the same as that of the inflow flow path 142 and the outflow flow path 146. The folded flow path 144 communicates with the inflow flow path 142 on the negative direction side of the X axis, and communicates with the outflow flow path 146 on the positive direction side of the X axis. The refrigerant flowing in the inflow flow path 142 in the positive direction of the Y-axis is folded back in the negative direction of the Y-axis in the turn-back flow path 144, and then flows into the outflow flow path 146.

The outflow flow path 146 is a flat flow path extending from the outflow portion 120. The outflow flow path 146 is a flat flow path that is wide in the X-axis direction and has the Y-axis direction as the longitudinal direction. The outflow flow path 146 is adjacent to the inflow flow path 142 in the width direction (X-axis direction). The outflow flow path 146 communicates with the folded flow path 144 on the positive direction side of the Y axis. The refrigerant flowing in from the folded flow path 144 flows in the outflow flow path 146 in the negative direction of the Y-axis. The outflow flow path 146 communicates with the outflow portion 120 on the negative direction side of the Y axis. The refrigerant flowing in the outflow flow path 146 in the negative direction of the Y-axis flows out to the outside of the cooler 10 through the outflow portion 120.

The through flow path 148 is a flow path that penetrates the partition wall 132 from the inflow flow path 142 to the through flow path 148. The through flow path 148 penetrates the heating element 20 side (Z-axis negative direction side) of the partition wall 132. The height of the through flow path 148 in the Z-axis direction is the same from the inflow flow path 142 side (X-axis negative direction side) to the outflow flow path 146 side (X-axis positive direction side) (see FIG. 3). As shown in FIG. 2, the width of the through flow path 148 in the Y-axis direction becomes narrower from the inflow flow path 142 side (X-axis negative direction side) toward the outflow flow path 146 side (X-axis positive direction side). It has become. In other words, the flow path cross-sectional area on the inflow flow path 142 side in the through flow path 148 is larger than the flow path cross-sectional area on the outflow flow path 146 side in the through flow path 148.

As shown in FIG. 2, when viewed from the Z-axis direction, the heating element 20 is arranged at a portion overlapping the inflow flow path 142, the outflow flow path 146, and the through flow path 148. When viewed from the Z-axis direction, the heating element 30 is arranged at a portion overlapping the inflow flow path 142, the folded flow path 144, and the outflow flow path 146. In other words, the heating element 20 is attached to the cooler 10 so as to face the through flow path 148, and the heating element 30 is attached to the cooler 10 so as to face the folded flow path 144. ..

According to the above-described embodiment, the flow velocity of the refrigerant flowing through the through flow path 148 is higher than that in the case where the inflow flow path 142 side and the outflow flow path 146 side in the through flow path 148 have the same flow path cross-sectional area. Can be improved. As a result, the flow rate of the refrigerant flowing from the inflow flow path 142 to the return flow path 144 can be reduced. As a result, the pressure loss of the refrigerant in the folded flow path 144 can be suppressed. That is, the cooling capacity of the cooler 10 can be improved.

Further, as compared with the case where the flow path cross-sectional area of the inflow flow path 142 side and the outflow flow path 146 side in the through flow path 148 is the same, the flow velocity of the refrigerant flowing through the through flow path 148 can be improved, so that the penetration flow path 148 can be penetrated. It is possible to improve the cooling capacity for the heating element 20 arranged so as to face the flow path 148.

Although the embodiments have been described in detail above, these are merely examples and do not limit the scope of claims. The techniques described in the claims include various modifications and modifications of the above-described embodiments. In addition, the technical elements described in the present specification or the drawings exhibit technical usefulness alone or in various combinations, and are not limited to the combinations described in the claims at the time of filing. In addition, the techniques described in this specification or drawings achieve a plurality of objectives at the same time, and achieving one of the objectives itself has technical usefulness.

10; Coolers 20, 30; Heating element 110; Inflow part 120; Outflow part 130; Main body part 132; Partition wall 140; Flow path 142; Inflow flow path 144; Folded flow path 146; Outflow flow path 148; Through flow path

Claims (1)

A cooler that uses a refrigerant to cool the heating element.
The inflow part where the refrigerant flows in from the outside and the inflow part
The outflow part where the refrigerant flows out to the outside,
A flat inflow channel extending from the inflow portion and
A flat outflow channel extending from the outflow section and adjacent to the inflow channel in the width direction,
A flat folded flow path connecting the inflow flow path and the outflow flow path by folding back,
A partition wall separating the inflow channel and the outflow channel,
It is provided with a through flow path that penetrates the partition wall from the inflow flow path to the outflow flow path.
A cooler in which the flow path cross-sectional area on the inflow flow path side in the through flow path is larger than the flow path cross-sectional area on the outflow flow path side in the through flow path.

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