JP7091103B2 - Cooling system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a cooling device for cooling a heating element made of an electronic component such as a semiconductor element.

Within the scope of this specification and claims, the top and bottom of FIGS. 3 and 4 are referred to as top and bottom.

For example, as a cooling device for cooling a power device (semiconductor element) such as an IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor) used in a power conversion device mounted on an electric vehicle, a hybrid vehicle, a train, etc. A flat shape consisting of a top wall, a bottom wall and a peripheral wall, having a certain length and width, and one of the top wall and the bottom wall being a heating element mounting wall on which a heating element is mounted on an outer surface. A casing is provided, in which the first coolant passage located on the heating element mounting wall side and the second coolant passage located on the opposite side are lined up in the vertical direction via the partition wall. A coolant outlet that is long in the width direction of the casing that leads to the first coolant passage and discharges the coolant from the inside of the first coolant passage at the portion of the peripheral wall of the casing that becomes one end wall in the longitudinal direction. In the second coolant passage, a long coolant inlet is formed in the width direction of the casing that supplies the coolant, and the width of the casing that allows both coolant passages to pass through the portion of the peripheral wall of the casing that becomes the other end wall in the longitudinal direction. A long communication portion is formed in the direction, and heat generated from the heating element mounted on the outer surface of the heating element mounting wall is received in the first and second coolant passages and radiated to the coolant flowing in both coolant passages. A radiator is provided, and each radiator is integrally provided on both sides of the partition wall, and both coolants are oriented in the longitudinal direction in the longitudinal direction of both coolant passages and in the width direction in the vertical direction. It has a plurality of strip-shaped plate fins arranged at intervals in the width direction of the passage, and the adjacent plate fins are divided passages to cool the plate fins of the radiator in the second coolant passage. The inlet header for cooling liquid diversion is formed by cutting off the end on the liquid inlet side, and the cooling liquid merges by cutting off the cooling liquid outlet side end of the plate fin of the radiator in the first coolant passage. We have proposed a cooling device in which an outlet header for use is formed (see Patent Document 1, FIG. 7 and FIG. 8).

However, in the cooling device described in Patent Document 1, since the cooling liquid inlet and the cooling liquid outlet are each long in the width direction of the casing, the cooling liquid is supplied to the second coolant passage through the cooling liquid inlet. Work to connect the inlet pipe to the casing so that it leads to the coolant inlet, and the casing so that the outlet pipe for cooling liquid discharge that discharges the coolant from the first coolant passage through the coolant outlet is connected to the coolant outlet. There is a problem that the work of connecting to is troublesome. Further, since the inlet header for the coolant diversion is formed by cutting off the coolant inlet side end of the plate fin of the radiator in the second coolant passage, the second coolant passage is completely divided. In order to make the flow of the cooling liquid to the passage uniform, it is necessary to increase the dimension of the inlet header in the longitudinal direction of the casing, which increases the size of the entire device. Moreover, in order to make the distribution of the cooling liquid uniform in all the divided passages of the second coolant passage without increasing the dimension of the inlet header in the casing longitudinal direction, it is necessary to separately provide a dividing flow equalizing member. The number of parts increases and the cost increases.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-60040

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, to easily perform the work of connecting the inlet pipe for supplying the coolant and the outlet pipe for discharging the coolant to the casing, and the cooling flowing into the casing through the inlet of the coolant. It is an object of the present invention to provide a cooling device capable of equalizing the diversion of a liquid to all the divided passages of the second coolant passage.

The present invention comprises the following aspects in order to achieve the above object.

1) It consists of a top wall, a bottom wall and a peripheral wall, has a certain length and width, and one of the top wall and the bottom wall is a heating element mounting wall to which a heating element is attached to the outer surface. A flat casing is provided, in which the first coolant passage located on the heating element mounting wall side and the second coolant passage located on the opposite side are vertically oriented through the partition wall. It is formed in a laminated manner so as to line up with each other, and on one end side in the longitudinal direction of the casing, a coolant outlet that leads to the first coolant passage and discharges the coolant from the inside of the first coolant passage, and a second coolant passage. A coolant inlet that communicates and supplies the cooling liquid is formed in the second coolant passage, and a communication portion that allows both coolant passages to pass through is formed on the other end side in the longitudinal direction of the casing. A cooling device provided with a radiator that receives heat generated from a heating element mounted on the outer surface of the heating element mounting wall and dissipates heat to the coolant flowing in the first coolant passage.
Both the coolant inlet and the coolant outlet are formed so as to open to either the upper surface or the lower surface of the casing, the communication portion is formed in the partition wall, and the radiator is provided in the longitudinal direction of the first coolant passage. It is provided in the part excluding the fixed length part near both ends, and the radiator is provided in the state where the longitudinal direction is directed to the longitudinal direction of the first coolant passage and the width direction is directed to the vertical direction. With multiple strip-shaped plate fins spaced apart from each other in the width direction and one side edge joined to the partition wall and the other side edge joined to the heating element mounting wall. A cooling device in which a split passage is formed between the plate fins adjacent to the radiator.

2) The communication part of the partition wall is formed in the partition wall and consists of a through hole whose longitudinal direction is directed to the width direction of the casing and whose width direction is directed to the longitudinal direction of the casing. The cooling device according to 1) above, wherein the end on the side opposite to the coolant outlet side is located within the width direction of the communication portion.

3) The cooling device according to 2) above, in which all the plate fins of the heat radiating tool are connected to each other adjacent to each other alternately at the top and bottom via a connecting portion, and the entire heat radiating tool has a corrugated shape.

4) In the second coolant passage of the casing, a plurality of spacers extending in the longitudinal direction of the casing and maintaining the distance between the partition wall and the top wall and the bottom wall that do not serve as the heating element mounting wall are provided. It is provided at intervals in the width direction of the casing, the length of the spacer is shorter than the length of the plate fin of the radiator, and the spacer is located within the range of the radiator when viewed from the plane. One of the above 1) to 3) in which a plurality of divided passages of the radiator are located between adjacent spacers and between the spacers located at both ends in the width direction of the casing and the side walls in the width direction of the casing. The cooling device described in.

5) Let the partition wall pass the portion downstream of the split passage between the adjacent plate fins in the first coolant passage to the second coolant passage, and pass through the coolant inlet into the second coolant passage. A communication hole is formed to allow a part of the supplied coolant to flow directly into the part downstream of the split passage in the first coolant passage without passing through the communication portion and the first coolant passage 1). The cooling device according to any one of 4).

6) The casing has an upper component consisting of a top wall forming portion forming the top wall and a peripheral wall forming portion forming the upper part of the peripheral wall, and a peripheral wall forming portion forming the bottom wall forming portion and the lower portion of the peripheral wall. The cooling device according to any one of 1) to 5) above, which is composed of a lower component composed of a lower component and an intermediate plate forming a partition wall, and the intermediate plate is joined to the peripheral wall forming portions of both the upper and lower components. ..

7) The top wall of the casing becomes the heating element mounting wall, and the first coolant passage is formed between the upper component and the intermediate plate, and the second coolant passage is formed between the lower component and the intermediate plate. A narrow portion having a certain length is provided in a portion near the one end of the upper component of the casing, and the portion existing in the narrow portion in the top wall forming portion of the upper component is opened on the upper surface of the casing. A coolant outlet is formed, and an upper exposed portion whose upper surface is exposed upward is provided at a portion of the intermediate plate that is aligned in the width direction of the casing with respect to the narrow portion, and an upper exposed portion of the intermediate plate is provided. The cooling device according to 6) above, wherein the cooling liquid inlets opened on the upper surface of the casing are formed so as to line up in the width direction of the casing with respect to the cooling liquid outlet.

8) The top wall of the casing becomes the heating element mounting wall, and the first coolant passage is formed between the upper component and the intermediate plate, and the second coolant passage is formed between the lower component and the intermediate plate. A narrow portion having a certain length is provided in a portion near one end of the lower component of the casing, and an opening is provided in the lower surface of the casing in a portion existing in the narrow portion in the bottom wall forming portion of the lower component. A lower exposed portion whose lower surface is exposed downward is provided at a portion of the intermediate plate that is aligned in the width direction of the casing with respect to the narrow portion of the intermediate plate. The cooling device according to 6) above, wherein a cooling liquid outlet opened on the lower surface of the casing is formed in the exposed portion and is formed so as to line up in the width direction of the casing with respect to the cooling liquid inlet.

9) The lower exposed portion of the intermediate plate of the casing is provided with a recessed portion that is recessed downward and the lower surface of the bottom wall is located in the same horizontal plane as the lower surface of the bottom wall forming portion of the lower component member. The cooling device according to 8) above, in which a coolant outlet is formed on the wall.

10) The casing is arranged in the upper constituent member forming the top wall, the lower constituent member consisting of the bottom wall forming portion forming the bottom wall and the peripheral wall forming portion forming the peripheral wall, and the partition wall. The cooling device according to any one of 1) to 5) above, which comprises an intermediate plate to be formed, and the intermediate plate is joined to a peripheral wall forming portion of a lower component member.

11) The peripheral edge of the intermediate plate is supported by the inwardly protruding support portion provided on the inner surface of the peripheral wall forming portion of the lower constituent member, and in this state, the intermediate plate and the support portion of the lower constituent member are joined. The cooling device described in 10) above.

12) The top wall of the casing becomes the heating element mounting wall, and the first coolant passage is formed between the upper component and the intermediate plate, and the second coolant passage is formed between the lower component and the intermediate plate. A coolant outlet and a coolant inlet opened on the lower surface of the casing are formed side by side in the width direction of the casing in the bottom wall forming portion of the lower component of the casing, and are downward to the portion corresponding to the coolant outlet in the intermediate plate. A recessed portion having a recess and a through hole formed in the bottom wall is provided, and the lower surface of the bottom wall of the recessed portion is joined to the upper surface of the bottom wall forming portion of the lower component member so that the through hole communicates with the coolant outlet. The cooling device according to 10) or 11) above.

According to the cooling devices 1) to 12) above, the coolant flowing into the second coolant passage through the coolant inlet is divided into the entire width direction of the second coolant passage and toward the communication portion side. The flow flows into the entire divided passage of the first coolant passage through the communication portion, flows in the divided passage in the first coolant passage toward the coolant outlet side, and flows out to the outside through the coolant outlet. .. The heat generated from the heating element mounted on the outer surface of the heating element mounting wall is directly dissipated to the cooling liquid flowing in the divided passage through the heating element mounting wall, and also passes through the heating element mounting wall and the plate fins of the radiator. The heat is dissipated to the coolant flowing in the dividing passage.

Since both the coolant inlet and the coolant outlet are open to either the upper surface or the lower surface of the casing, the coolant inlet and the coolant outlet have a simple structure such as a circular through hole. It is easy to connect the inlet pipe for coolant supply to the casing so that it leads to the coolant inlet, and the work to connect the outlet pipe for coolant discharge to the casing so that it leads to the coolant outlet. become.

Further, since the second coolant passage serves as an inlet header for the cooling liquid diversion to the fully divided passages of the first coolant passage, it is not necessary to increase the dimension in the longitudinal direction of the casing, and the entire device does not need to be increased. It becomes possible to reduce the size. Moreover, it is not necessary to separately provide a flow dividing uniforming member, the number of parts can be reduced, and the cost is reduced.

Further, since one side edge of each plate fin of the radiator is joined to the partition wall and the other side edge is joined to the heating element mounting wall, the cooling liquid is bypassed between the adjacent divided passages. Is prevented. Moreover, the effect of dissipating the heat generated from the heating element mounted on the outer surface of the heating element mounting wall to the cooling liquid flowing in the divided passage of the first cooling liquid passage via the plate fins becomes excellent.

According to the cooling device of 2) above, all the ends of the plate fins of the radiator, which are opposite to the coolant inlet side and the coolant outlet side, are located within the width direction of the communication portion. Since at least a part of a fixed length portion of the split passage opens to the second coolant passage side through the communication portion, the coolant that has passed through the communication portion from the second coolant passage is divided into the radiator. Not only does it flow into the split passage from the end of the passage, but it also flows into at least a part of the split passage even at a portion of the radiator located within the widthwise range of the communication portion. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the pressure loss without increasing the dimension of the communication portion in the longitudinal direction of the casing.

According to the cooling device of 3) above, the fixed length portion of about half of the divided passages is located on the second coolant passage side in the portion located within the width direction of the communicating portion of the radiator. Since the opening is provided, it is possible to reduce the pressure loss without increasing the dimension of the communicating portion in the longitudinal direction of the casing. Further, since the heat flows into the remaining divided passages of all the divided passages only from the end portion of the heat radiating tool, it is possible to suppress the deterioration of the heat transfer performance of the heat radiating tool.

According to the cooling device of 4) above, the partition wall is prevented from being deformed by the action of the spacer. Moreover, the spacers are located within the range of the radiator when viewed from a flat surface, and there are a plurality of radiators between adjacent spacers and between the spacers located at both ends in the width direction of the casing and both side walls in the width direction of the casing. Since the dividing passage is located, it is possible to suppress an increase in pressure loss and a decrease in the flow equalization performance of the first coolant passage into all the divided passages.

According to the cooling device of 5) above, the following effects are obtained. That is, when the cooling device according to the present invention is used in combination with at least one other cooling device in series, a heating element mounting wall is formed in the first and second coolant passages of the cooling device according to the present invention. In order to cool the heating element attached to the outer surface, an excessive amount of coolant may flow and the pressure loss may increase, but even in this case, if it is configured as in 5) above, the coolant inlet Since a part of the coolant that has flowed into the second coolant passage flows into the portion downstream of the split passage between the adjacent plate fins in the first coolant passage through the communication hole, both coolant passages. It is possible to reduce the amount of the cooling liquid flowing through the cooling liquid, and it is possible to suppress an increase in pressure loss.

According to the cooling device of 6) above, the casing can be assembled relatively easily.

According to the cooling device of 7) above, both the coolant inlet and the coolant outlet can be opened on the upper surface of the casing relatively easily.

According to the cooling device of 8) above, both the coolant inlet and the coolant outlet can be opened on the lower surface of the casing relatively easily.

According to the cooling device of 9) above, the periphery of the portion of the outer surface of the bottom wall of the casing where the coolant inlet is formed and the outer surface of the bottom wall of the recessed portion where the coolant outlet is formed are located on the same surface. , The work of connecting the inlet pipe for the coolant supply to the casing so as to lead to the coolant inlet, and the work of connecting the outlet pipe for the coolant discharge to the casing so as to lead to the coolant outlet are simplified.

According to the cooling device of 10) above, the casing can be assembled relatively easily. Moreover, the number of joints where the coolant may leak from the inside of the casing to the outside can be reduced, and the manufacturing stability against the leakage of the coolant can be improved.

According to the cooling device of 11) above, the intermediate plate can be relatively easily arranged at a predetermined position in the lower constituent member.

According to the cooling device of 12) above, both the coolant inlet and the coolant outlet can be opened on the lower surface of the casing relatively easily.

It is a perspective view which shows the cooling apparatus of this invention. It is an exploded perspective view which shows the cooling apparatus of FIG. FIG. 1 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. FIG. 1 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. It is an exploded perspective view which shows a part of the 1st modification of the casing used for the cooling apparatus of this invention. It is an exploded perspective view which shows a part of the 2nd modification of the casing used for the cooling apparatus of this invention. It is an exploded perspective view which shows a part of the 3rd modification of the casing used for the cooling apparatus of this invention.

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

As used herein, the term "aluminum" shall include aluminum alloys in addition to pure aluminum.

Further, in the following description, the direction indicated by the arrow X in FIG. 1 (right side in FIG. 4) is referred to as front, the opposite side is referred to as rear, and the direction indicated by arrow Y in FIG. 1 (left side in FIG. 3) is left. The opposite side is called the right.

Furthermore, the same objects and the same parts are designated by the same reference numerals throughout the drawings.

1 and 2 show the overall configuration of the cooling device, and FIGS. 3 and 4 show the configuration of the main part of the cooling device.

In FIGS. 1 to 4, the cooling device (1) is composed of a top wall (2a), a bottom wall (2b) and a peripheral wall (2c), has a constant length and width, and has a top wall (2a) and a peripheral wall (2a). One of the bottom walls (2b), here the top wall (2a) is a heating element mounting wall (3) on which the heating element is mounted on the outer surface. It is equipped with.

Inside the casing (2), a first coolant passage (4) located on the heating element mounting wall (3) side (upper side) and a second coolant passage (5) located on the opposite side (lower side). ) And are formed in a laminated manner so as to be lined up in the vertical direction via the partition wall (6). At the rear end (one end) of the casing (2), a coolant outlet (7) that leads to the first coolant passage (4) and discharges the coolant from the inside of the first coolant passage (4), and a second. A coolant inlet (8) that leads to the coolant passage (5) and supplies the coolant is formed in the second coolant passage (5). Both the coolant outlet (7) and the coolant inlet (8) are open to either the upper surface or the lower surface of the casing (2), here the upper surface. A communication portion (9) is formed in the front end portion (the other end portion) of the partition wall (6) of the casing (2) to allow both coolant passages (4) and (5) to pass through. The first coolant passage (4) in the casing (2) receives heat generated from the heating element (P) mounted on the outer surface of the heating element mounting wall (3) and enters the first coolant passage (4). A radiator (11) that dissipates heat to the flowing coolant is provided. The radiator (11) is provided in a portion of the first coolant passage (4) excluding a fixed length portion near both ends in the longitudinal direction.

Heat generation consisting of power devices such as IGBTs, IGBT modules in which the IGBT is integrated with the control circuit and housed in the same package, and intelligent power modules in which the protection circuit is further integrated with the IGBT module and housed in the same package. The body (P) is adapted to be mounted on the outer surface of the top wall (2a), which is the heating element mounting wall (3).

The casing (2) is made of a box-shaped aluminum top structure that opens downward and consists of a top wall forming portion (12a) forming the top wall (2a) and a peripheral wall forming portion (12b) forming the upper part of the peripheral wall (2c). A box-shaped aluminum lower structure that opens upward and consists of a member (12), a bottom wall forming portion (13a) forming the bottom wall (2b), and a peripheral wall forming portion (13b) forming the lower portion of the peripheral wall (2c). The member (13) and the peripheral edge portion are joined to the peripheral wall forming portions (12b) (13b) by the brazing material while being sandwiched by the peripheral wall forming portions (12b) (13b) of both constituent members (12) (13). It is composed of a flat aluminum intermediate plate (14) forming a partition wall (6), and a first coolant passage (4) is formed between the upper component member (12) and the intermediate plate (14). At the same time, a second coolant passage (5) is formed between the lower constituent member (13) and the intermediate plate (14). Hereinafter, joining with brazing material is referred to as brazing. The upper component (12) and the lower component (13) are formed by pressing an aluminum blank.

A narrow portion (15) having a constant length in the front-rear direction is provided on the left side portion in the width direction near the rear end of the upper component member (12) of the casing (2). The upper exposed portion (16) whose upper surface is exposed upward in the portion arranged on the right side in the width direction of the casing (2) with respect to the narrow portion (15) in the intermediate plate (14) of the casing (2). Is provided. Then, a cooling liquid outlet (7) opened on the upper surface of the casing (2) is formed in a portion existing in the narrow portion (15) in the top wall forming portion (12a) of the upper component member (12) of the casing (2). In the upper exposed portion (16) of the intermediate plate (14), the coolant inlet (8) opened on the upper surface of the casing (2) is lined up in the width direction of the casing (2) with respect to the coolant outlet (7). It is formed like this. The coolant outlet (7) and the coolant inlet (8) both consist of circular through holes.

A lower narrow portion (17) whose width gradually narrows toward the rear end is provided at a portion near the rear end of the lower component (13) of the casing (2). The left edge of the lower narrow portion (17) of the peripheral wall forming portion (13b) is inclined to the right toward the rear, and the right edge is also straight in the front-rear direction.

The front end of the intermediate plate (14) of the casing (2) consists of a rectangular through hole with the longitudinal direction oriented in the left-right direction and the width direction oriented in the front-rear direction, and the first coolant passage (4) and the first. 2 A communication portion (9) is formed so as to pass through the coolant passage (5).

Further, the space between the bottom wall (2b) and the partition wall (4) extends in the longitudinal direction of the casing (2) to the bottom wall forming portion (13a) of the lower component (13) of the casing (2). A plurality of spacers (18) are integrally provided at intervals in the width direction of the casing (2) by deforming the bottom wall forming portion (13a). That is, it extends in the longitudinal direction of the casing (2) between the partition wall (6) and the wall of the top wall (2a) and the bottom wall (2b) of the casing (2) that does not serve as the heating element mounting wall (3). In addition, a plurality of spacers (18) that maintain a distance between the wall that does not serve as the heating element mounting wall (3) and the partition wall (6) are integrally provided at intervals in the width direction of the casing (2). The length of the spacer (18) is shorter than the length of the radiator (11) in the front-rear direction, and the spacer (18) is located within the range of the radiator (11) when viewed from a plane.

The radiator (11) is formed in a corrugated shape as a whole using an aluminum plate, and the longitudinal direction is directed to the front-rear direction (longitudinal direction of the first coolant passage (4)) and the width direction is directed to the vertical direction. In this state, a plurality of strip-shaped plate fins (19) arranged at intervals in the width direction (left-right direction) of the first coolant passage (4) and all the plate fins (19) are integrally integrated vertically. It consists of a connecting portion (21) to be connected. The lower edge and lower connecting portion (21) of each plate fin (19) are brazed to the intermediate plate (14), and the upper edge portion and upper connecting portion (21) of the upper component member (12). It is brazed to the top wall forming portion (12a), and a plurality of divided passages (22) of the first coolant passage (5) are formed between the adjacent plate fins (19) of the radiator (11). There is. Then, between the adjacent spacers (18) and between the spacers (18) located at both ends in the width direction of the casing (2) and the left and right side wall portions of the peripheral wall (2c) of the casing (2), the radiator (11) Multiple plate fins (19) and multiple split passages (22) are located. The radiator (11) has a rectangular shape that is long in the front-rear direction when viewed from a plane, and the front end is located in the middle of the communication part (9) in the width direction (front-back direction), and the rear end is narrow in both widths. (16) It is located in front of (17). Since the front end of the radiator (11) is located in the middle of the communication part (9) in the width direction, almost half of all the divided passages (22) have a fixed length near the front end of the communication part (9). It will open to the second coolant passage (5) through the passage.

In the cooling device (1) described above, an inlet pipe (not shown) having a circular cross section is connected to the coolant inlet (8) of the casing (2), and an outlet pipe having a circular cross section (not shown) is also connected to the coolant outlet (7). (Not shown) is connected. Then, the coolant that has flowed from the inlet pipe through the coolant inlet (8) into the second coolant passage (5) of the casing (2) flows forward in the second coolant passage (5). It leads to the communication section (9). Approximately half of the coolant that flows forward in the second coolant passage (5) and reaches the communication portion (9) passes through the communication portion (9) before reaching the front end of the radiator (11). Then, it flows into the divided passage (22) opened in the second coolant passage (5). Further, the rest of the coolant that has flowed forward in the second coolant passage (5) and reached the communication portion (9) is from the front end opening of the remaining split passage (22) into the split passage (22). Inflow. The coolant that has flowed into the all-divided flow path flows backward in the all-divided passage (22), merges in the portion behind the radiator (11) in the first coolant passage (4), and then the coolant. It flows out from the exit (7) through the outlet pipe.

The heat generated from the heating element (P) attached to the outer surface of the top wall (2a) of the casing (2) is transferred to the top wall (2a) and then passes through the divided passage (22) of the coolant passage (3). It is directly transmitted to the flowing coolant, and after being transmitted from the top wall (2a) to the plate fin (19) of the radiator (11), it is transmitted from the plate fin (19) to the inside of the divided passage (22) of the coolant passage (3). The heat is dissipated directly to the flowing coolant. In this way, the heating element (P) is cooled.

5 to 7 show a modification of the casing of the cooling device according to the present invention.

In FIG. 5, the casing (30) is a square flat shape that is long in the anteroposterior direction, is composed of a top wall (30a), a bottom wall (30b), and a peripheral wall (30c), and has a constant length and width. The top wall (30a) is a heating element mounting wall (3) to which a heating element (P) is mounted on the outer surface. On the intermediate plate (14) that becomes the partition wall (6) of the casing (30), the portion downstream of the split passage (22) between the adjacent plate fins (19) in the first coolant passage (4) is the second. Part of the coolant that has been passed through the 2 coolant passages (5) and supplied into the 2nd coolant passage (5) through the coolant inlet (8) is passed through the communication portion (9) and the first cooling. A penetrating communication hole (31) is formed so as to directly flow into a portion downstream of the split passage (22) in the first coolant passage (4) without passing through the liquid passage (4).

Therefore, a part of the coolant flowing in from the coolant inlet (8) passes through the communication hole (31) from the split passage (22) between the adjacent plate fins (19) in the first coolant passage (4). Since it also flows into the downstream portion, the amount of coolant flowing through both coolant passages (4) and (5) can be reduced, and the increase in pressure loss can be suppressed.

In FIG. 6, the casing (40) is a rectangular flattened shape that is long in the anteroposterior direction, and is composed of a top wall (40a), a bottom wall (40b), and a peripheral wall (40c), and has a constant length and width. The top wall (40a) is a heating element mounting wall (3) to which the heating element (P) is attached to the outer surface, and both the coolant inlet (8) and the coolant outlet (7) of the casing (40) are , Either the upper surface or the lower surface of the casing (40), which is open to the lower surface here.

The upper component (12) of the casing (40) is the upper component of the above-described embodiment except that the circular through hole serving as the coolant outlet (7) is not formed in the top wall forming portion (12a). It has the same configuration as the member (12).

A narrow portion (41) having a constant length in the front-rear direction is provided on the right side portion in the width direction near the rear end of the lower component (13) of the casing (40). The lower exposed portion (42) whose lower surface is exposed downward in the portion arranged on the left side in the width direction of the casing (40) with respect to the narrow portion (41) in the intermediate plate (14) of the casing (40). ) Is provided. The lower exposed portion (42) of the lower constituent member (13) in the intermediate plate (14) of the casing (40) is recessed downward and the lower surface of the bottom wall (43a) is the bottom wall forming portion of the lower constituent member (13). A recessed portion (43) located in the same horizontal plane as the lower surface of (13a) is provided.

Then, a cooling liquid outlet (7) opened on the lower surface of the casing (40) is formed on the bottom wall (43a) of the recessed portion (43) of the intermediate plate (14) of the casing (40), and the lower structure of the casing (40) is formed. The coolant inlet (8) opened on the lower surface of the casing (40) in the portion existing in the narrow portion (41) in the bottom wall forming portion (13a) of the member (13) is the casing with respect to the coolant outlet (7). It is formed so as to line up in the width direction of (2). The coolant outlet (7) and the coolant inlet (8) both consist of circular through holes.

Other configurations of the casing (40) are similar to the casing (40) of the above-described embodiment.

In FIG. 7, the casing (50) is a rectangular flattened shape that is long in the anteroposterior direction, and is composed of a top wall (50a), a bottom wall (50b), and a peripheral wall (50c), and has a constant length and width. The top wall (50a) is a heating element mounting wall (3) to which the heating element (P) is attached to the outer surface, and both the coolant inlet (8) and the coolant outlet (7) of the casing (50) are , Either the upper surface or the lower surface of the casing (50), which is open to the lower surface here.

The casing (50) forms a flat aluminum upper component (51) forming the top wall (50a), and a bottom wall forming portion (13a) and a peripheral wall (50c) forming the bottom wall (50b). A box-shaped aluminum lower component (13) formed of a peripheral wall forming portion (13b) and opened upward, and brazed to the lower component (13) while being arranged in the lower component (13). It is composed of a flat aluminum intermediate plate (14) forming a partition wall (6), and a first coolant passage (4) is formed between the upper component (51) and the intermediate plate (14). , A second coolant passage (5) is formed between the lower component (13) and the intermediate plate (14).

A notch (52) extending forward from the center portion in the left-right direction of the rear side edge portion is formed in the bottom wall forming portion (13a) of the lower constituent member (13) of the casing (50). The peripheral wall forming portion (13b) of the lower constituent member (13) is integrally provided on the entire peripheral edge portion of the bottom wall forming portion (13a) including the notch portion (52). Further, an inwardly projecting support portion (53) is integrally provided on the entire inner surface of the peripheral wall forming portion (13b) of the lower constituent member (13).

A coolant inlet consisting of a circular through hole and opened on the lower surface of the casing (50) in a portion on the right side of the notch (52) in the bottom wall forming portion (13a) of the lower component (13) of the casing (50). (8) is formed. Further, the cooling portion formed of a circular through hole and opened on the lower surface of the casing (50) in the portion on the left side of the notch (52) in the bottom wall forming portion (13a) of the lower component (13) of the casing (50). A liquid outlet (7) is formed. Therefore, the coolant outlet (7) is formed so as to be aligned with the coolant inlet (8) in the width direction of the casing (50).

Around the notch (52) in the peripheral wall forming portion (13b) of the lower component (13) extending forward from the left-right center portion of the rear side edge portion to the intermediate plate (14) of the casing (50). A notch (54) is formed in which the portion existing in is fitted. The intermediate plate (14) is arranged in the lower constituent member (13) so that the peripheral edge portion is supported by the support portion (53) of the peripheral wall forming portion (50b) of the lower constituent member (13), and the intermediate plate (14) is intermediate in this state. The plate (14) and the inwardly projecting portion (53) of the lower component (13) are brazed.

In the part corresponding to the coolant outlet (7) on the left side of the notch (54) in the intermediate plate (14) of the casing (50), there is a downward recess and a circular through hole (56) in the bottom wall (55a). The formed recessed portion (55) is provided, and the lower surface of the bottom wall (55a) of the recessed portion (55) is the lower component member (13) so that the through hole (56) communicates with the coolant outlet (7). It is brazed to the upper surface of the bottom wall forming portion (13a) of.

Other configurations of the casing (50) are similar to the casing (50) of the above-described embodiment.

In the casing (2) of the above-described embodiment and the casing (30) (40) (50) of the modified example, the top walls (2a) (30a) (40a) of the casing (2) (30) (40) (50) ) (50a) is a heating element mounting wall (3) to which a heating element (P) is mounted on the outer surface, but is not limited to this, and the top wall (2a) (30a) (40a) ( Instead of 50a), the bottom wall (2b) (30b) (40b) (50b) may be the heating element mounting wall (3) to which the heating element (P) is mounted on the outer surface. In this case, the casing configuration is upside down from the casings (2) (30) (40) (50) described above.

The cooling device according to the present invention is suitably used for cooling a power device such as an IGBT used in a power conversion device mounted on an electric vehicle, a hybrid vehicle, a train or the like.

(1): Cooling device
(2) (30) (40) (50): Casing
(2a) (30a) (40a) (50a): Top wall
(2b) (30b) (40b) (50b): Bottom wall
(3): Heating element mounting wall
(4): First coolant passage
(5): Second coolant passage
(6): Partition wall
(7): Coolant outlet
(8): Coolant inlet
(9): Communication section
(11): Heat radiator
(12): Upper component
(12a): Top wall forming part
(12b): Peripheral wall forming part
(13): Lower component
(13a): Bottom wall forming part
(13b): Peripheral wall forming part
(14): Intermediate plate
(15): Narrow part
(16): Upper exposed part
(18): Spacer
(19): Plate fin
(21): Connecting part
(22): Divided passage
(31): Communication hole
(41): Narrow part
(42): Lower exposed part
(43): Recessed part
(43a): Bottom wall
(51): Upper component
(53): Support
(55): Recessed part
(55a): Bottom wall
(56): Through hole

Claims (10)

A flat shape consisting of a top wall, a bottom wall and a peripheral wall, having a certain length and width, and one of the top wall and the bottom wall being a heating element mounting wall on which a heating element is mounted on an outer surface. A casing is provided, in which the first coolant passage located on the heating element mounting wall side and the second coolant passage located on the opposite side are lined up in the vertical direction via the partition wall. A coolant outlet that leads to a first coolant passage and discharges a coolant from the inside of the first coolant passage, and a second coolant passage that are connected to one end side in the longitudinal direction of the casing. A coolant inlet for supplying the coolant is formed in the second coolant passage, a communication portion for passing both coolant passages is formed on the other end side in the longitudinal direction of the casing, and a heating element is formed in the first coolant passage. A cooling device provided with a radiator that receives heat generated from a heating element mounted on the outer surface of the mounting wall and dissipates heat to the coolant flowing in the first coolant passage.
Both the coolant inlet and the coolant outlet are formed so as to open to either the upper surface or the lower surface of the casing, the communication portion is formed in the partition wall, and the radiator is provided in the longitudinal direction of the first coolant passage. It is provided in the part excluding the fixed length part near both ends, and the radiator is provided in the state where the longitudinal direction is directed to the longitudinal direction of the first coolant passage and the width direction is directed to the vertical direction. With multiple strip-shaped plate fins spaced apart from each other in the width direction and one side edge joined to the partition wall and the other side edge joined to the heating element mounting wall. A split passage is formed between the adjacent plate fins of the radiator ,
The communication part of the partition wall is formed in the partition wall and consists of a through hole whose longitudinal direction is directed to the width direction of the casing and whose width direction is directed to the longitudinal direction of the casing. The end opposite to the exit side is located within the width direction of the communication part,
A cooling device in which all the plate fins of the radiating tool are connected to each other adjacent to each other via a connecting portion, and the entire radiating tool has a corrugated shape . In the second coolant passage of the casing, a plurality of spacers extending in the longitudinal direction of the casing and maintaining a distance between the partition wall of the top wall and the bottom wall which are not the heating element mounting walls are provided in the casing. It is provided at intervals in the width direction, the length of the spacer is shorter than the length of the plate fin of the radiator, and the spacer is located within the range of the radiator when viewed from the plane, and they are adjacent to each other. The cooling device according to claim 1 , wherein a plurality of divided passages of the radiator are located between the spacers and between the spacers located at both ends in the width direction of the casing and the side walls in the width direction of the casing. The partition wall is made to pass the portion downstream of the split passage between the adjacent plate fins in the first coolant passage to the second coolant passage, and is supplied into the second coolant passage through the coolant inlet. Claim 1 or 2 in which a communication hole is formed to allow a part of the cooling liquid to flow directly into a portion downstream of the split passage in the first coolant passage without passing through the communication portion and the first coolant passage. The cooling device described in. The casing consists of an upper component consisting of a top wall forming portion forming the top wall and a peripheral wall forming portion forming the upper portion of the peripheral wall, and a peripheral wall forming portion forming the bottom wall forming portion and the lower portion of the peripheral wall. The cooling device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the cooling device comprises a lower component and an intermediate plate forming a partition wall, and the intermediate plate is joined to the peripheral wall forming portions of both the upper and lower components. The top wall of the casing serves as a heating element mounting wall, and a first coolant passage is formed between the upper component and the intermediate plate, and a second coolant passage is formed between the lower component and the intermediate plate. A narrow portion having a certain length is provided in a portion near the one end of the upper component of the casing, and a cooling liquid opened on the upper surface of the casing is provided in the portion existing in the narrow portion in the top wall forming portion of the upper component. An outlet is formed, and an upper exposed portion having an upper surface exposed upward is provided in a portion of the intermediate plate arranged in the width direction of the casing with respect to the narrow portion, and an upper exposed portion of the intermediate plate is provided with an upper exposed portion. The cooling device according to claim 4 , wherein the cooling liquid inlets opened on the upper surface of the casing are formed so as to line up in the width direction of the casing with respect to the cooling liquid outlet. The top wall of the casing serves as a heating element mounting wall, and a first coolant passage is formed between the upper component and the intermediate plate, and a second coolant passage is formed between the lower component and the intermediate plate. A narrow portion having a certain length is provided in a portion near the one end of the lower component of the casing, and cooling opened on the lower surface of the casing in a portion existing in the narrow portion in the bottom wall forming portion of the lower component. A liquid inlet is formed, and a lower exposed portion whose lower surface is exposed downward is provided at a portion of the intermediate plate which is lined up in the width direction of the casing with respect to the narrow portion, and the lower exposed portion of the intermediate plate is exposed. The cooling device according to claim 4 , wherein a cooling liquid outlet opened on the lower surface of the casing is formed in the portion, and is formed so as to line up in the width direction of the casing with respect to the cooling liquid inlet. The lower exposed portion of the intermediate plate of the casing is provided with a recessed portion that is recessed downward and the lower surface of the bottom wall is located in the same horizontal plane as the lower surface of the bottom wall forming portion of the lower component member. The cooling device according to claim 6 , wherein a coolant outlet is formed. The casing is arranged in the upper constituent member forming the top wall, the lower constituent member consisting of the bottom wall forming portion forming the bottom wall and the peripheral wall forming portion forming the peripheral wall, and forming the partition wall. The cooling device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the cooling device is composed of an intermediate plate and the intermediate plate is joined to a peripheral wall forming portion of a lower component member. A claim in which the peripheral edge of the intermediate plate is supported by an inwardly projecting support portion provided on the inner surface of the peripheral wall forming portion of the lower constituent member, and the intermediate plate and the support portion of the lower constituent member are joined in this state. Item 8. The cooling device according to item 8. The top wall of the casing serves as a heating element mounting wall, and a first coolant passage is formed between the upper component and the intermediate plate, and a second coolant passage is formed between the lower component and the intermediate plate. Coolant outlets and coolant inlets opened on the lower surface of the casing are formed side by side in the width direction of the casing in the bottom wall forming portion of the lower component of the casing, and are recessed downward in the portion of the intermediate plate corresponding to the coolant outlet. Further, a recessed portion having a through hole formed in the bottom wall is provided, and the lower surface of the bottom wall of the recessed portion is joined to the upper surface of the bottom wall forming portion of the lower component member so that the through hole communicates with the cooling liquid outlet. Item 8. The cooling device according to Item 8.

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