JPH1041446A - Boiling/cooling equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the cost of a boiling and cooling equipment, by constructing it without any cutting work. SOLUTION: In this equipment, for a coolant vessel 3 and a coupling portion 4, extrusion materials 7, 15 molded by extrusion works out of block materials made of aluminum are used respectively. The extrusion material 7 is provided in a flat shape having a small thickness in comparison with its lateral width to have a vapor path 9, a condensation liquid path 10 and a non-operating path 11 of passing through the vessel 3 respectively in the extrusive direction which are sectioned respectively by a plurality of path walls 12 extended in the extrusive direction. The extrusion material 15 constituting the coupling portion 4 is so provided in a flat shape having the same lateral width and same thickness as the coolant vessel 3, that its inner portion is partitioned sectionally by a partition wall 17 extended in the extrusive direction into a communication room 18 connected with the vapor path 9 and the non-operating path 11 of the coolant vessel 3 and another communication room 19 connected with the condensation liquid path 10 of the coolant vessel 3.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a boiling cooling device for cooling a heating element such as an IGBT module.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a prior art, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-28345 is disclosed.
Patent Document 4 discloses a boiling cooling device. In this boiling cooling device, the inside of a tank of a radiator is partitioned into a first compartment into which vapor refrigerant vaporized and vaporized in a refrigerant tank flows, and a second compartment into which condensate cooled and liquefied by the radiator flows. At the same time, a return pipe for guiding the condensate from the second compartment to the bottom of the refrigerant tank is provided. As a result, the condensed liquid liquefied by the radiator can be smoothly supplied to the refrigerant tank by the return pipe without being affected by the vapor refrigerant flowing from the refrigerant tank to the radiator, thereby improving the cooling performance (radiation performance). Can be. However, in the above structure, it is necessary to pass the return pipe through the connecting pipe connecting the refrigerant tank and the radiator, so that it is extremely difficult to manufacture a boiling cooling device in which airtightness is important, and the cost increases. Is inevitable.

[0003] The applicant of the present invention has filed an application for a boiling cooling apparatus in which a refrigerant tank is composed of an extruded material as shown in Fig. 5 (Japanese Patent Application No. Hei 7-264068). As shown in FIG. 5, this boiling cooling device is provided with a vapor passage 130 and a condensed liquid passage 140 partitioned by a support 120 in a refrigerant tank 110 formed of extruded material 100. The condensate passage 140 communicates with the communication chamber 170 of the radiator through a vapor outlet 150 and a condensate inlet 160 which are opened on the upper wall surface of the extruded material 100. Here, the condensate inlet 1
60 is lower than the steam outlet 150 and the communication chamber 17
Since it is open to zero, the condensed liquid accumulated in the communication chamber 170 can flow into the condensed liquid passage 140 from the condensed liquid inlet 160 which is necessarily opened at a lower position. Like this
Since the vapor refrigerant and the condensate can be smoothly separated from each other by a simple structure in which the vapor outlet 150 and the condensate inlet 160 communicating with the communication chamber 170 are simply provided with a height difference, the production is easy and the production cost is low. Can be suppressed.

[0004]

However, in the boiling cooling device of the prior application, the upper portion of the support 120 is removed so that the steam passages 130 defined by the support 120 and the steam outlet 150 can communicate with each other. (Portion indicated by broken line A). The operation of removing the support 120 is performed by the refrigerant tank 1.
10 becomes thinner (the refrigerant tank 110 is made thinner in order to keep the cost of the refrigerant low) or the vapor passage 13
As the depth of removing the support portion 120 is increased in order to increase the region through which the vapor refrigerant passes from 0 to the vapor outlet 150, the processing becomes more difficult and the cost increases. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made based on the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a boiling cooling device that achieves cost reduction by eliminating a cutting step.

[0005]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the refrigerant tank and the connecting portion are formed by using different extruded members extruded respectively. Thereby, since the vapor refrigerant can be guided from the refrigerant tank to the radiator through the inside of the extruded material forming the connecting portion, it is not necessary to perform post-processing (cutting) on the extruded material forming the refrigerant tank. Therefore, the cost can be reduced as compared with the prior application in which the extruded material constituting the refrigerant tank is cut.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the extruded material forming the refrigerant tank is provided with a vapor passage and a condensed liquid passage inside the extruded material by the passage wall extending in the extrusion direction, and the extruded material forming the connecting portion is formed. The material is divided by a partition wall extending in the extrusion direction into one communication chamber in which the inside of the extruded material communicates with the vapor passage and the other communication chamber in which the inside of the extruded material communicates with the condensate passage. With this configuration, the flow of the vapor refrigerant and the flow of the condensate can be separated smoothly, so that the refrigerant can be efficiently circulated between the refrigerant tank and the radiator, and the heat radiation performance can be improved.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, a cooling apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. (First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a front view of a boiling cooling device 1, and FIG. 2 is a side view of the boiling cooling device 1. The boiling cooling device 1 of the present embodiment cools the heat generating element 2 by boiling / condensing heat transfer of a refrigerant, and includes a refrigerant tank 3, a connecting portion 4, a radiator 5, and a cooling fan (not shown). . The heating element 2
For example, it is an IGBT module that constitutes an inverter circuit of an electric vehicle or a general power control device, and is fixed to the refrigerant tank 3 by tightening bolts 6 in a state where a heat radiation surface of the heating element 2 is in close contact with an outer wall surface of the refrigerant tank 3. .

[0008] The refrigerant tank 3 is made of an extruded material 7 formed by extrusion from a block material made of, for example, aluminum.
And an end cap 8 which is put on the lower end surface of the extruded material 7. The extruded material 7 is provided in a flat shape having a small thickness with respect to the lateral width, and has a steam passage 9, a condensed liquid passage 10, and a non-operating passage 11 penetrating in the extrusion direction (the vertical direction in FIG. 1). I have. The steam passage 9, the condensate passage 10, and the non-operating passage 11 are defined by a plurality of passage walls 12 extending in the pushing direction, and the steam passage 9 is further divided into small passages by a plurality of ribs 13 extending in the pushing direction. ing. The steam passage 9 is a passage through which the vapor refrigerant vaporized by the heat of the heat generating element 2 flows out, and is formed two at the center of the extruded material 7. The condensed liquid passage 10 is a passage into which the condensed liquid cooled and liquefied by the radiator 5 flows, and is formed outside the vapor passage 9. The non-operating passage 11 is
It is formed outside the vapor passage 9 on the side opposite to the condensate passage 10.

The end cap 8 is made of the same aluminum as the extruded material 7, and is covered on the outer periphery of the lower end of the extruded material 7 and joined by brazing. However, between the end cap 8 and the lower end surface of the extruded material 7, there is provided a communication passage 14 that communicates each of the passages 9, 10 and 11 formed in the extruded material 7.

The connecting portion 4 is made of an extruded material 15 formed by extrusion from, for example, an aluminum block material.
And an end plate 16 that closes the upper end surface of the extruded member 15, is disposed above the refrigerant tank 3 (extruded member 7), and hermetically connects the refrigerant tank 3 and the radiator 5. The extruded material 15 is provided in a flat shape having the same width and the same thickness as the extruded material 7 of the refrigerant tank 3 and has one partition wall 17 extending in the extrusion direction (vertical direction in FIG. 1). Wall 17
One communication chamber 18 through which the inside of the extruded material 15 communicates with the vapor passage 9 and the non-operating passage 11 of the refrigerant tank 3,
And the other communication chamber 19 that communicates with the condensate passage 10. Note that the partition wall 17 is provided at substantially the same position as the passage wall 12 that separates the vapor passage 9 and the condensate passage 10 provided in the extruded material 7 in the width direction of the extruded material 15 (the left-right direction in FIG. 1). The lower end surface of the partition wall 17 is in contact with the upper end surface of the passage wall 12. Also, on both sides of the extruded material 15,
Refrigerant outlets 20 each opening to one communication chamber 18
And a refrigerant inlet 21 that opens into the other communication chamber 19. However, the refrigerant inflow port 2 from the refrigerant outflow port 20
1 is open at a lower position (see FIG. 1).

The end plate 16 is made of the same aluminum as the extruded material 15 and is joined to the extruded material 15 in a state of being in close contact with the upper end surface thereof. The refrigerant tank 3 and the connecting portion 4 are air-tightly joined by brazing the seam of the extruded material 15 to the upper end surface of the extruded material 7 all around the perimeter.

The radiator 5 is a so-called Dron cup type heat exchanger, and is constituted by laminating a plurality of flat radiating tubes 22 and radiating fins 23 as shown in FIG. Radiator tube 22
Is formed in a hollow body by joining two press-formed plates having an oval shape at their outer peripheral edges, and has communication holes (not shown) punched at the time of pressing at both ends in the longitudinal direction. It is open. An inner fin 24 is inserted between the one communication port and the other communication port inside the heat radiating tube 22. A plurality of the heat radiating tubes 22 are stacked on both sides of the connecting portion 4 via connection plates 25, respectively, and communicate with each other through the communication ports.

The connecting plate 25 includes the connecting portion 4 and the heat radiating pipe 2.
And connects the refrigerant outlet 20 of the connecting part 4 to one of the communication ports of the heat radiating pipe 22 and the refrigerant inlet 21 of the connecting part 4 to the other communication port of the heat radiating pipe 22. doing. The heat radiation fins 23 are inserted into a flat space formed between the heat radiation tubes 22 adjacent to each other in the stacking direction, and are joined to the outer wall surface of the heat radiation tube 22 by brazing. The radiator 5 is mounted in an inclined state such that one of the communication ports communicating with the refrigerant outlet 20 of the connecting portion 4 is at a higher position than the other of the communication ports communicating with the refrigerant inlet 21. (See FIG. 1). The cooling fan blows air to the radiator 5, and is arranged in front of or behind the radiator 5 so that the blowing direction is substantially horizontal with respect to the radiator 5.

Next, the operation of the boiling cooling device 1 of the present embodiment will be described. The refrigerant boiled by the heat generated from the heat generating element 2 travels up the vapor passages 9 as bubbles and flows out of the refrigerant outlets 20 through the vapor passages 9 through the one communication chamber 18 of the connecting portion 4. I do. The vapor refrigerant flowing from the refrigerant outlet 20 to one of the communication ports of each of the heat radiating tubes 22 through the connection plate 25 receives the air from the cooling fan when flowing through each of the heat radiating tubes 22 and has a low temperature. Condensed and liquefied on the inner wall surface of the inner fin and the surface of the inner fin 24 inserted into the heat radiating tube 22. The refrigerant that has been liquefied into droplets flows through the bottom surface of the heat radiating pipe 22 and flows out of the other communication port, and the connection plate 2
5, the refrigerant flows into the condensed liquid passage 10 of the refrigerant tank 3 from the refrigerant inlet 21 of the connecting portion 4 through the other communication chamber 19. The condensed liquid that has flowed down the condensed liquid passage 10 is supplied again to each vapor passage 9 through the communication passage 14 in the end cap 8.
On the other hand, the latent heat of condensation released when the vapor refrigerant is condensed in the heat radiating tube 22 is transmitted from the wall surface of the heat radiating tube 22 to the heat radiating fins 23 and is discharged into the air blown by the cooling fan.

(Effects of First Embodiment) According to this embodiment,
The refrigerant tank 3 and the connecting part 4 are configured using separate extruded members 7 and 15, respectively. As a result, one of the communication chambers 1 through which the vapor refrigerant passes from the vapor passage 9 to the refrigerant outlet 20 is provided.
8 can be formed without cutting. In particular, in the present embodiment, even if the amount of steam refrigerant that generates a large amount of heat from the heating element 2 is large, it is possible to easily make one of the communication chambers 18 simply by increasing the height (extrusion length) of the connecting portion 4. Because it can be enlarged, the cost can be reduced as compared with the prior application requiring cutting.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 3 is a front view of the boiling cooling device 1, and FIG. 4 is a side view of the boiling cooling device 1. This embodiment shows an example of a structure in which the extruded material 15 forming the connecting portion 4 is fitted to the outer periphery of the upper end of the extruded material 7 forming the refrigerant tank 3.
The lateral width and thickness of the extruded material 15 forming the connecting portion 4 are formed larger than the extruded material 7 forming the refrigerant tank 3 by the fitting thickness. In addition, the partition wall 17 of the extruded material 15
When provided at the position of the first embodiment, the lower end face of the partition wall 17 hits the upper end face of the passage wall 12 and cannot be fitted. Therefore, as shown in FIG. ing. However, even in this case, it is necessary to delete both end portions of the partition wall 17 by an amount corresponding to the side wall surface of the extruded material 7, but the amount of the deletion is extremely small and the depth of the deletion is small. Not be. Note that the partition wall 17 may be provided at the position of the first embodiment, and the entire partition wall 17 may be deleted by the fitting depth.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a boiling cooling device (first embodiment).

FIG. 2 is a side view of the boiling cooling device (first embodiment).

FIG. 3 is a front view of a boiling cooling device (second embodiment).

FIG. 4 is a side view of a boiling cooling device (second embodiment).

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a refrigerant tank of the prior application.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Boiling cooling device 2 Heating element 3 Refrigerant tank 4 Connecting part 5 Heat radiator 7 Extruded material (refrigerant tank) 9 Steam passage 10 Condensed liquid passage 12 Passage wall 15 Extruded material (Connected part) 17 Partition wall 18 One communication chamber 19 The other Communication chamber 20 refrigerant outlet 21 refrigerant inlet

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A boiling cooling device for cooling a heating element, wherein the heating element is mounted, and a refrigerant tank containing therein a refrigerant that evaporates by heat generated by the heating element is stored therein, and the refrigerant tank evaporates. A radiator that releases the heat of the vaporized refrigerant, and the refrigerant tank and the radiator are airtightly connected, and the vapor refrigerant vaporized in the refrigerant tank is vaporized to the radiator and liquefied by the radiator. And a connecting part for supplying a condensed liquid to the refrigerant tank, wherein the refrigerant tank and the connecting part are configured using separate extruded materials extruded respectively. 2. The extruded material constituting the refrigerant tank has a passage wall extending in an extruding direction, and the passage wall forms a vapor passage through which a vapor refrigerant flows out of the extruded material and a condensate into which a condensate flows. A liquid passage is provided, and the refrigerant tank is provided with a communication passage communicating the vapor passage and the condensed liquid passage, and the extruded material forming the connecting portion has a partition wall extending in a pushing direction. 2. The boiling cooling according to claim 1, wherein the partition wall divides the inside of the extruded material into one communication chamber communicating with the vapor passage and the other communication chamber communicating with the condensate passage. apparatus.