JPH07277187A - Control box for electric rolling stock - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To perfectly prevent water, etc., from entering into a sealed box from an air duct. CONSTITUTION:An air duct 8 is formed in the under part of a control box 1 mounted under the floor of an electric rolling stock 2 and in this part a vent hole 7 is formed on both ends part so that this part may communicate with outside air for providing a vent structure by a filter and a louver, etc. A fan 9 is stored in the control box 1 so that such a structure as forcing air to flow inside the air duct 8 may be formed. A semiconductor element 3 is cooled by using a heat pipe type cooler.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a control box for an electric vehicle mounted under the floor of the electric vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An electric vehicle control device for generating electric power to be supplied to an electric motor for driving an electric vehicle, air conditioning in the electric vehicle, and electric power to be supplied to an electric light is housed in a control box of the electric vehicle and is under the floor of the electric vehicle. To be installed on. Generally, this electric vehicle control device is composed of a power conversion device that uses a semiconductor element to convert DC power into AC power or AC power into DC power.

A semiconductor cooling device is required to prevent heat generation of a semiconductor element used in this power conversion device.
Since high heat dissipation performance is required for this semiconductor cooling device, generally, a boiling cooling system and a heat pipe cooling system using the phase change of the refrigerant are adopted.

In these cooling systems, the semiconductor element is not directly exposed to the outside air, but only the heat radiation portion where the refrigerant is condensed is exposed to the outside air, and the heat generated from the semiconductor element is dissipated to the atmosphere.

Further, in the case of cooling a large capacity semiconductor element, a forced air cooling system is employed in which a blower is used to force the air to flow on the heat radiation side. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a control box of an electric vehicle,
5 (a) is a front view of the control box of the electric vehicle seen from the side of the electric vehicle, FIG. 5 (b) is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 5 (a), and FIG. 5 (c).
FIG. 6 is a BB sectional view of FIG.

Electric car control box 1 (hereinafter referred to as control box)
Is mounted under the floor of the electric vehicle 2. The control box 1 houses a semiconductor element 3, a resistor 4, a reactor 5, and other electrical components 6 that form a power converter. Further, as a means for cooling the power converter, ventilation holes 7 provided with filters and louvers are formed at both ends of the control box 1 so that the outside air can flow into the control box 1, and the wind tunnel 8 is connected to the control box 1. Formed inside. A blower 9 is housed inside the control box 1 so that the wind is forced to flow through the wind tunnel 8.

The semiconductor element 3 is cooled by using a heat pipe type cooler. The heat pipe cooler is a semiconductor device 3
It is composed of a heat receiving part block 10 against which is pressed, a heat pipe 11, and a radiating fin 12. When the heat generated from the semiconductor element 3 is input to the heat pipe 11 via the heat receiving unit block 10, the refrigerant enclosed in the heat pipe 11 boils and reaches the end portion on the side where the radiating fins 12 are attached. Then, the heat is dissipated from the radiation fins 12 to the atmosphere. The condensed refrigerant returns to the heat receiving unit block 10 side due to gravity, and again receives the heat from the semiconductor element 3 and boils. By repeating this cycle, the heat pipe cooler cools the semiconductor element 3 by dissipating the heat generated from the semiconductor element 3 into the wind tunnel 8. On the other hand, by forcibly flowing the air from the blower 9 into the wind tunnel 8, the heat dissipation performance from the heat dissipating fins 12 of the heat pipe cooler to the atmosphere is improved, and a large amount of heat generated from the semiconductor element 3 is effective. To improve the cooling performance.

Heat receiving block 10 of the heat pipe cooler
The heat dissipating fins 12 and the heat dissipating fins 12 are watertightly separated by a partition plate 13.
Only the radiation fin 12 is exposed to the outside air. The partition plate 13 is attached to the frame body 15 forming the wind tunnel 8 while pressing the packing 14, and the inside of the wind tunnel 8 is a region that communicates with the outside air, and the region where the semiconductor element 3 is housed is a sealed region that is shielded from the outside air. With this configuration, the intrusion of dust and water is prevented, and the breakdown of the device is prevented.

The heat-generating components such as the resistor 4 and the reactor 5 are also housed in the wind tunnel 8 for the purpose of radiating the heat to the outside air, but the conductive parts such as the terminals are formed by the water flowing into the wind tunnel 8. In order to prevent a short circuit accident, it is partitioned by a partition plate 13 and placed on the sealed area side.

On the other hand, the control box 1 is provided with an inspection cover 16 which can be attached and detached by screwing or the like, and the inspection cover 16 must be removed when the equipment is assembled, removed or inspected.

[0011]

Since the heat pipe type cooler circulates the refrigerant by utilizing gravity, it is necessary to dispose the heat radiation fins upward, and the wind tunnel is inevitably located on the upper side of the control box. The area below the wind tunnel is the closed area. The air taken in from the outside by the blower can prevent dust, water, and snow from entering to some extent by the filter provided at the ventilation port, but in the environment under the floor of the electric car, water, etc. enters the wind tunnel. It cannot completely prevent that. Since only the electrically insulated parts are arranged in the wind tunnel, it is possible to prevent a short circuit accident due to invading water or the like. However, since the wind tunnel is at the top and the water that has entered the wind tunnel accumulates downward, it is necessary to make the watertight structure where the packing and heat pipe penetrate the partition plate strong, which causes deterioration of the material. Need to consider.

Further, it is difficult to make the packing structure a completely watertight structure because it is necessary to make the mounting structure of the semiconductor element and the like in consideration of attachment and detachment from the control box. Therefore, in the sealed area below the wind tunnel, it is necessary to prevent the deterioration of insulation and short-circuit accidents by taking into consideration the intrusion of water and dust to some extent and taking a large insulation distance.

Further, since the outside of the wind tunnel is forced to flow outside air, the inside of the wind tunnel is heavily soiled and periodical cleaning is required. However, the wind tunnel is placed above the control box under the floor of the electric vehicle. Therefore, when cleaning the inside, remove the control box from the car body,
Alternatively, there is a problem in that it is difficult to perform due to work such as removing parts inside the control box.

Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and provides a control box for an electric vehicle that completely prevents the entry of water or the like from the wind tunnel into the sealed area and can easily clean the wind tunnel. The purpose is to provide.

[0015]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention as set forth in claim 1 is a hermetically sealed box in which a heat receiving section block which is formed under the floor of an electric vehicle and in which a semiconductor element is pressed is arranged. And an open box formed in the lower part of the closed box, in which one end is inserted into the heat receiving part block and the heat radiation fin attached to the other end of the heat pipe in which the refrigerant is sealed is arranged. .

According to the second aspect of the invention, a heat pipe having a sintered metal layer inside is used as the heat pipe. In the invention according to claim 3, a loop type heat pipe is used as the heat pipe.

[0017]

With the above-mentioned structure, in the invention according to claim 1, since the open box for housing the radiation fins is arranged below the closed box for housing the semiconductor elements and the heat receiving block, the open box can enter from the outside air. Water coming in does not enter the sealed area side. Further, it is possible to prevent water, dust and the like from flowing into the closed box from the open box, and to keep the closed box clean.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the heat generated from the semiconductor element is transmitted to the heat pipe via the heat receiving block. Since the sintered metal layer inside the heat pipe has a strong capillary force, the refrigerant sealed inside the heat pipe is retained by the capillary force over the entire area of the sintered metal layer. The refrigerant evaporates due to the heat generated from the semiconductor element,
The gasified refrigerant moves to the opposite end due to the pressure difference, and dissipates the heat to the atmosphere by the radiation fins. Then, the refrigerant condenses and returns to the liquid, but the refrigerant is pushed up to the heat receiving block side by the capillary force of the sintered metal layer, so that the liquid does not return due to gravity. Therefore, the refrigerant repeatedly receives the heat of the semiconductor element through the heat receiving block and is vaporized.

In the third aspect of the present invention, since the refrigerant circulates in the loop type heat pipe in one direction, the heat receiving block side is arranged in the upper closed box and the heat radiation fin side is opened downward. Can be placed in the box.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a control box of an electric vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1A is a front view of the control box of the electric vehicle.
1B is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. In the present embodiment, the same components as those described in the conventional technique are designated by the same reference numerals.

An electric car control box (hereinafter referred to as a control box) 1 installed under the floor of the electric car 2 constitutes an open box (hereinafter referred to as a wind tunnel) 8 at a lower portion thereof, and this portion is outside air. Ventilation ports 7 are formed at both ends so as to communicate with each other, and a ventilation structure is provided by a filter, a louver, or the like. A blower 9 is housed inside the control box 1, and the wind tunnel 8 has a structure in which wind is forced to flow. The semiconductor element 3 is cooled using a heat pipe cooler. The heat pipe cooler has the configuration shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a heat pipe type cooler. The heat pipe type cooler is composed of a heat pipe 11a having a wick 111 such as a sintered metal layer inside, a heat receiving block 10 provided at an upper portion of the heat pipe 11a, and a radiating fin 12 provided at a lower portion.

The heat pipe type cooler and the semiconductor element 3 are alternately laminated so that the heat radiation fin 12 side and the heat receiving portion block 10 side are watertightly partitioned by a partition plate 13.
Each of the plurality of heat pipes 11a penetrates through the partition plate 13.

An inspection cover 16 is attached to the lower part of the wind tunnel 8 by screwing or the like, and the heat pipe type cooler is housed in the control box 1 with the radiation fins 12 facing downward. Here, the partition plate 13 and the frame body 15 forming the wind tunnel 8 are watertightly connected via a packing 14. That is, the heat receiving part block 10 above the partition plate 13 and the semiconductor element 3 pressed by the heat receiving part block 10 are housed in the closed box of the control box 1, and the radiation fins 12 below the partition plate 13 communicate with the outside air. It is stored in the wind tunnel 8.

The resistor 4 is also housed in the wind tunnel 8, the terminal portion of which is arranged above the control box 1 which is a closed box. The heat generated from the semiconductor element 3 is transmitted to the heat pipe 11a through the heat receiving block 10. Heat pipe 11a
Since the inner wick 111 has a strong capillary force, the refrigerant filled in the heat pipe 11a is held by the capillary force over the entire area of the wick 111. The refrigerant evaporates due to the heat generated from the semiconductor element 3, and the gasified refrigerant moves to the opposite end portion due to the pressure difference and the radiating fins 14
Dissipates heat into the atmosphere. Then, the refrigerant condenses and returns to the liquid, but since the refrigerant is pushed up to the heat receiving section block 10 side by the capillary force of the wick 111, the refrigerant does not return due to gravity. Therefore, the refrigerant repeatedly receives the heat of the semiconductor element 3 via the heat receiving block 10 and is vaporized.

The heat thus dissipated into the wind tunnel 8 is discharged to the outside of the control box 1 from the inside of the wind tunnel 8 through the ventilation port 7 by the air sent by the blower 9. Also, the heat generated from the resistor 4 is similarly discharged to the outside of the control box 1.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, the heat generated from the semiconductor device 3 or the like can be satisfactorily dissipated to the outside air without raising the temperature of the control box 1. Further, since the wind tunnel 8 in the control box 1 is arranged below the closed box, water or the like coming in from the outside air does not enter the closed box side.
Therefore, the water, snow, etc. that have entered the wind tunnel 8 must be packed in the upper packing.
Since it falls to the lower inspection cover 16 side by gravity without going to the 14 side, the sealed box is kept clean and the packing 14
The structure of the part becomes simple. Further, since the wind tunnel 8 is structured to communicate with the outside air, it is not necessary to completely separate the inspection cover 16 from the outside air.

Water, snow, dust, etc. enter the wind tunnel 8 from the outside air, and cleaning is required. It is possible and easy to clean.

The heat pipe type cooler may have the structure shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of the heat pipe cooler. The heat pipe type cooler of this embodiment uses a loop type thin pipe heat pipe 11b as a heat pipe. Since the refrigerant circulates in one direction in the loop type thin pipe heat pipe 11b, the heat receiving block 10 side can be arranged in the upper closed box and the heat radiation fin 12 side can be arranged in the lower wind tunnel 8.

The heat generated from the semiconductor element 3 is transmitted to the heat pipe 11b via the heat receiving block 10. Since the heat pipe 11b has a loop shape, the refrigerant evaporated by the heat generated from the semiconductor element 3 moves in one direction due to the pressure difference and radiates the heat to the atmosphere by the heat radiation fins 14. Then, the refrigerant condenses and returns to the liquid, but since the flow of the refrigerant is in one direction and is pushed up to the heat receiving block 10, the liquid does not return due to gravity. Therefore, the refrigerant repeatedly receives the heat of the semiconductor element 3 via the heat receiving block 10 and is vaporized.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, the heat generated from the semiconductor device 3 or the like can be satisfactorily dissipated to the outside air without raising the temperature of the control box 1. Further, since the wind tunnel 8 in the control box 1 is arranged below the closed box, water or the like coming in from the outside air does not enter the closed box side.
Therefore, the water, snow, etc. that have entered the wind tunnel 8 must be packed in the upper packing.
Since it falls to the lower inspection cover 16 side by gravity without going to the 14 side, the sealed box is kept clean and the packing 14
The structure of the part becomes simple. Further, since the wind tunnel 8 is structured to communicate with the outside air, it is not necessary to completely separate the inspection cover 16 from the outside air.

Water, snow, dust and the like enter the wind tunnel 8 from the outside air, and cleaning is required. However, the wind tunnel 8 can be washed with water and blown off by simply removing the inspection cover 16 without removing the semiconductor element 3 or the like. It is possible and easy to clean.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a front view of a control box of an electric vehicle showing another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, an open box 8a that takes in outside air from the ventilation port 7 at the bottom of the control box 1 without using a blower
Is formed to guide the traveling wind when the electric vehicle is traveling to the open region 8a.

[0033]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent water and the like from entering the closed box of the control box, so that the reliability of the device can be improved. Further, between the wind tunnel and the closed box, the wind tunnel side is the lower side and the outside air side, so that the structure for preventing water from entering can be facilitated. Furthermore, since the inside and outside of the wind tunnel can be easily inspected and cleaned, the reliability can be improved and the life of the equipment can be extended. Further, since the wind tunnel is located below the control box, it is possible to perform cooling by the running wind when the electric vehicle is running.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a control box for an electric vehicle of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a heat pipe type cooler housed in the control box of the electric vehicle of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the heat pipe cooler housed in the control box of the electric vehicle of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the control box of the electric vehicle of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a control box of a conventional electric vehicle.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Control Box 2 Electric Vehicle 3 Semiconductor Element 7 Ventilation Port 8 Wind Tunnel 8a Open Box 9 Blower 10 Heat Receiver Block 11, 11a, 11b Heat Pipe 111 Wick 12 Radiating Fins 13 Partition Plate 14 Packing 15 Frame 16 Inspection Cover

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A closed box, which is formed on the underfloor side of an electric vehicle, and in which a heat receiving section block against which a semiconductor element is pressed is arranged, and a closed box which is formed below the closed box and has one end inserted into the heat receiving section block. A control box for an electric vehicle having an open box in which heat radiation fins attached to the other end of the heat pipe in which the refrigerant is sealed are placed. 2. The electric vehicle control box according to claim 1, wherein the heat pipe has a sintered metal layer inside.
Control box of electric car using a pipe. 3. The control box for an electric vehicle according to claim 1, wherein a loop-shaped heat pipe is used as the heat pipe.