KR20080093064A - Cooler - Google Patents

Abstract

A cooler having cooling part (6A) capable of cooling heating element (7) with a refrigerant and heat radiation part (6C) capable of releasing heat from the refrigerant heated at the cooling part (6A) and including a bubble pump capable of circulating the refrigerant between the heat radiation part (6C) and the cooling part (6A) by boiling the refrigerant at the cooling part (6A), wherein the heat radiation part (6C) is fitted with multiple cooling modules (6) superimposed so as to be adjacent to each other and cooling fan (2) capable of generating an air stream toward the heat radiation part (6C).

Description

Chiller {COOLER}

The present invention relates to a cooler for cooling a heating element such as a semiconductor element.

As a power source for an electric motor in a general industrial field, a power converter for switching by semiconductor elements such as a converter and an inverter is used. IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor), Thyristor, Transistor, Diode, etc., which are used as power converters such as converters or inverters, generate heat and heat generation increases with high output. It is important to cool. In addition, an IPM (Intelligent Power Module) in which a semiconductor device is modularized including a driving circuit is also included in the semiconductor device.

Some conventional coolers use heat pipes. The heat pipe is a structure in which a refrigerant is sealed in a tube erected in the up and down direction, and a cooling object is brought into contact with the lower part of the tube to provide a good heat dissipation efficiency such as fin at the upper part of the tube. The refrigerant sealed in the tube receives heat from the object to be cooled and evaporates therefrom. The evaporated refrigerant moves to the upper part of the tube, loses heat from the upper part of the tube, returns to the liquid, and collects on the inner wall of the tube. The collected refrigerant evaporates again. As described above, in the heat pipe, heat is transferred from the lower part to the upper part by evaporating the refrigerant, and heat is cooled from the upper part to the outside to cool the cooling object brought into contact with the lower part.

In a cooler using a heat pipe, the circuit board on which the heat generating semiconductor element is mounted is horizontally disposed so that the semiconductor element faces downward, and the heat pipe is brought into contact with the rear side of the circuit board facing upward. See, for example, Patent Document 1)

In addition, a heat-receiving plate on which a semiconductor element having a flow path through which a cooling liquid flows is mounted, a heat exchanger for performing heat exchange between the cooling liquid from the heat-receiving plate and air, and circulating the cooling liquid between the heat-receiving plate and the heat exchanger. A pump and a blowing means for blowing cooling air to a heat exchanger, and used for a power conversion device for an electric vehicle in which a plurality of pairs of a heat exchanger plate, a heat exchanger, a pump, and a blowing means are arranged side by side at right angles to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body. There is also a cooler. In this cooler, the air is blown in from the side of the vehicle body, and both the blowing means and the heat exchanger are parallel to each other in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body and face each other, and the heat exchanger and the heat receiving plates arranged in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body are in an orthogonal positional relationship. For example, see Japanese Patent Document 2.

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-134670.

Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-246767.

Disclosure of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

In a cooler using a heat pipe, it is necessary to vertically oriented the circuit board, and since the height of the heat pipe is about 10 cm or more, it has been difficult to overlap the circuit board. Since the amount of heat generated by the semiconductor element and the area required for mounting the semiconductor element are determined, and the height and volume of the heat pipe are determined from the amount of heat generated per area, the cooler is required for the circuit board having a predetermined amount of heat generated.

In a cooler in which a coolant is circulated using a pump, space is required for an accessory such as a pump and a reserve tank of the coolant. In addition, since the heat exchanger and the heat receiving plate were orthogonal, and the heat exchanger required a predetermined area, it was not possible to arrange the pair of the heat receiving plate, the heat exchanger, the pump and the blowing means at too small intervals.

An object of the present invention is to obtain a cooler in which the volume of a device necessary for realizing a predetermined cooling capacity is smaller than that of the conventional one.

Means to solve the problem

The cooler concerning this invention has a cooling part which cools a heat generating body with a refrigerant | coolant, and the heat radiating part which discharge | releases heat from the refrigerant heated by this cooling part, The refrigerant | coolant between the said heat radiating part and the said cooling part by boiling a refrigerant | coolant in the said cooling part. And a plurality of cooling modules of the bubble pump type for circulating the heat dissipation portion adjacent to each other, and a cooling fan for generating wind that reaches the heat dissipation portion.

Effects of the Invention

The cooler concerning this invention has a cooling part which cools a heat generating body with a refrigerant | coolant, and the heat dissipation part which discharge | releases heat from the refrigerant heated by this cooling part, The refrigerant | coolant between the said heat radiating part and the said cooling part by boiling a refrigerant | coolant in the said cooling part. It is provided with a plurality of cooling modules of the bubble pump type for circulating the heat dissipation portion adjacent to each other, and a cooling fan for generating wind reaching the heat dissipation portion, so that the volume of the device necessary for realizing a predetermined cooling capacity. This has the effect of being smaller than before.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a figure in the state which attached the electric power conversion apparatus using the cooler which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention to a tank.

It is a perspective view explaining the structure of the power converter using the cooler which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention.

It is sectional drawing explaining the structure of the power converter using the cooler which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention.

4 is a perspective view of a cooling module equipped with a semiconductor element constituting a power conversion device using a cooler according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

It is a figure explaining the structure of the cooling module used by the cooler which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention, and the flow of a refrigerant | coolant.

It is a perspective view explaining the structure of the power converter using the cooler which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention.

It is a perspective view explaining the structure of the power converter using the cooler which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention.

FIG. 8 is a plan view seen from below illustrating the configuration of a power converter using a cooler according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. FIG.

It is a perspective view explaining the structure of the power converter using the cooler which concerns on Embodiment 4 of this invention.

It is a top view seen from the bottom explaining the structure of the power converter using the cooler which concerns on Embodiment 4 of this invention.

It is sectional drawing explaining the structure of the power converter using the cooler which concerns on Embodiment 4 of this invention.

Explanation of the sign

100: power converter, 1: main circuit unit

1A: Case (fixed member), 1B: Opening

1C: filter, 2: blower (cooling fan)

3: electrical equipment 4: duct (wind tunnel)

5: condenser, 6: cooling module

6A: cooling section, 6B: heat exchanger

6C: heat sink, 6D: heat pipe

6E: Piping, 6F: Partition Plate

6G: Piping, 6H: Piping

6J: Tubing, 6K: Heat Sink

6L: heat dissipation fin 7: semiconductor element

8: wiring board

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

Embodiment 1.

1 to 5 will be described when the cooler according to Embodiment 1 according to the present invention is applied to a power converter for a train having a converter and an inverter. 1 is a view for explaining a power conversion device using a cooler according to the first embodiment. The side view is shown to FIG. 1 (a), and the top view seen from the bottom to FIG. 1 (b) is shown. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a power converter using a cooler according to the first embodiment. The whole perspective view is shown in FIG. 2 (a), and the perspective view of one cooling module which mounts predetermined semiconductor element in FIG. 2 (b) is shown. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XX of FIG. 1 (b). 4 is a perspective view in a state where a semiconductor element of a cooling module constituting a cooler according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention is mounted. It is a figure explaining the structure of the cooling module used by the cooler which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention, and the flow of a refrigerant | coolant.

As shown to Fig.1 (a), the electric power converter 100 is attached to the lower side of the vehicle body of a tank. As can be seen from FIG. 1 (b), about half of the upper side in the diagram of the power converter 100 includes a semiconductor device constituting the main circuit that performs power conversion and a cooling mechanism of the semiconductor device in a case 1A. Is the main circuit unit 1 housed therein. In the center of the lower surface of the power converter 100 is a blower 2 which is a cooling fan that comes into contact with the main circuit unit 1 and generates wind for cooling in the cooling mechanism. The electrical component 3 is arrange | positioned under the main circuit unit 1 so that the blower 2 may be enclosed. In addition, the electrical component 3 is an electrical component which is necessary in order to comprise a power converter. However, a capacitor disposed separately from the semiconductor element mounted on the cooling module 6 is excluded.

As can be seen from Fig. 1 (a), on the side of the main circuit unit 1, the case 1A has an opening 1B (not shown in Fig. 1) through which the blower 2 sucks outside air. The opening 1B is provided with a filter 1C for preventing dust or the like from entering the main circuit unit 1. As shown in FIG. 3, the main circuit unit 1 is provided with a duct 4 which is a wind tunnel for flowing outside air from the opening 1B to the blower 2. The outside air sucked in from the opening 1B on the side of the tank cools the semiconductor elements constituting the main circuit through the duct 4 passing through the main circuit unit 1, and blows off the tank by the blower 2. It is discharged downward. The blower 2 has a structure in which a motor is disposed at the center and rotating blades are provided at both sides of the motor. The rotary blade sucks air from the motor side and sends out air to the outside by centrifugal force.

FIG. 2 (a) is a perspective view of the power converter 100 in which the vehicle body of the tank, the case 1A, a component for electrically connecting, and the like are omitted. Inside the main circuit unit 1, the cooling module 6 equipped with a semiconductor element, which is a heating element for performing switching operation for power conversion, is arranged side by side with a predetermined number (six in this embodiment). It is arranged. On the main circuit unit 1, a capacitor 5 serving as a DC power supply of the inverter is arranged. In addition, the condenser 5 on the cooling module 6 of the inner row is abbreviate | omitted in figure. One side of the semiconductor element 7 (not shown in FIG. 2B) is mounted in close contact with the cooling module 6, and the other side thereof is connected to a wiring board 8 that performs electrical wiring. In addition, the space | interval of the arranged cooling module 6 may approach to some extent as long as electrical insulation generate | occur | produces. The heat of the cooling module 6 is fixed by the fixing member constituted by the case 1A or an appropriate member.

In FIG. 4, the cooling module 6 includes a cooling unit 6A in which a predetermined number (three in this embodiment) semiconductor elements 7 are mounted, a refrigerant from the cooling unit 6A, and a cooling unit ( It consists of the heat exchanger 6B which heat-exchanges between the refrigerant | coolants which enter into 6A), and the heat radiating part 6C which radiates heat from the refrigerant | heater heated by the cooling part 6A. The cooling section 6A, the heat exchanger 6B, and the heat radiating section 6C are arranged on substantially the same plane so that the cooling section 6A and the radiating section 6C are next to each other, and above the cooling section 6A. There is a heat exchanger 6B. In addition, in FIG. 2 (b), the wiring board 8 is also shown in a state where the semiconductor element 7 can configure an electric circuit. In FIG. 4, the wiring board 8 is not shown. .

As can be seen from FIG. 3, the heat radiating portion 6C is cooled by the wind passing through the duct 4 in the interior of the duct 4. Since the heat dissipation section 6C has two rows, the duct 4 is separated into two inside the main circuit unit 1.

The semiconductor elements mounted in one cooling module 6 are arranged close to each other on an electrical circuit such as a single phase or one arm such as a converter or an inverter. By doing so, resistance and inductance of an electric circuit can be reduced, and wiring becomes easy. The plurality of elements may be mounted in the cooling module 6 in one package. The area of the cooling section 6A and the heat dissipating section 6C of one cooling module 6 and the number of sheets of the cooling module 6 can be loaded with all of the semiconductor devices 7 to be mounted. The amount of heat generated by 7) can be radiated from the heat radiating portion 6C, so that the total volume is determined to be as small as possible. In addition, since the temperature of the air cooled by the cooling module 6 closer to the opening is lower and the cooling capacity is higher, the heat generation amount at the cooling module 6 closer to the opening is larger, and the heat generation amount increases away from the opening. You may make it become small.

5, the structure of the cooling module 6 is demonstrated. In the cooling section 6A, a plurality of heat receiving tubes 6D through which refrigerant flows at predetermined intervals vertically are provided in a portion where the semiconductor elements 7 shown by broken lines are mounted. Are connected to the six pipes 6E and are connected to the heat exchanger 6B at the upper end.

The heat exchanger 6B has a cylindrical shape and has a partition plate 6F of the same shape each one at a predetermined distance from both ends. The two partition plates 6F have a predetermined circular hole, and a circular pipe 6G is connected to this hole. Since the inside of the heat exchanger 6B sandwiched by two partition plates 6F is divided into the inside and the outside of the pipe 6G, the inside of the pipe 6G is connected to the outside of the partition plate 6F, The inside of the heat exchanger 6B is divided into two. The heat receiving tube 6D from the cooling section 6A is connected to the outside of the pipe 6G at the portion sandwiched by the two partition plates 6F. The pipe 6E to the cooling section 6A is connected to the right side portion of the partition plate 6F on the right side in the figure. A pipe 6H connected to the lower side of the heat radiating portion 6C is connected to the lower right side of the partition plate 6F on the left side. The pipe 6J from the heat radiating part 6C is connected to the left part of the partition plate 6F on the left side.

The heat dissipation part 6C has several heat dissipation pipes 6K vertically arranged at predetermined intervals, the heat dissipation pipe 6K is connected to the pipe 6J from the upper side, and is connected to the pipe 6H from the lower side. The heat dissipation fins 6L are provided between the heat dissipation pipes 6K to increase the amount of heat dissipation. The shape of the heat dissipation fin 6L is within a range that allows the cooling wind passing through the duct 4 to allow the pressure loss when passing through the heat dissipation fin 6L, and the heat dissipation amount is increased.

5 shows a flow chart of the refrigerant. In the heat receiving tube 6D in the cooling section 6A, the refrigerant is heated and boiled by the heat generated by the semiconductor element. The refrigerant vapor generated by boiling moves toward the upper heat exchanger 6B, and is attracted by the bubbles of the refrigerant vapor to move the liquid refrigerant toward the heat exchanger 6B. The refrigerant entering the heat exchanger 6B is outside the pipe 6G, heats the refrigerant inside the pipe 6G, and the refrigerant vapor returns to the liquid and the temperature is lowered. The refrigerant from the heat exchanger 6B enters the heat radiating portion 6C through the pipe 6H. The refrigerant containing 6 C of heat dissipation parts heats the air to further lower the temperature. The refrigerant leaving the heat radiating portion 6C enters the heat exchanger 6B through the pipe 6E. The refrigerant entering the heat exchanger 6B from the pipe 6E receives heat from the outside coolant through the inside of the pipe 6G and the temperature rises. The heat exchanger 6B returns to the cooling unit 6A via the pipe 6E.

In the heat receiving tube 6D in the cooling section 6A, the refrigerant boils and moves upwards, and since the moved refrigerant vapor cools and returns to the liquid, the refrigerant flows normally from the boiling point to the return point to the liquid. The refrigerant circulates even without a pump. The mechanism which circulates a refrigerant | coolant using such boiling of a refrigerant | coolant is also called bubble pump. By using the bubble pump, the pump, its associated equipment, and the like become unnecessary, so that the structure of the cooling module is simplified and maintenance is easy.

As for space saving, at least the volume of the pump or the like can be reduced by using the bubble pump. In addition, in the case of a pump or the like, it is necessary to determine the distance between the cooling modules 6 in consideration of the vertical and horizontal sizes of the pump and the like, and the cooling module 6 could not be made very small. It is possible to suppress the interval between the six parts to the thickness of the cooling module 6 itself, so that the volume required for cooling the predetermined amount of heat can be made smaller than in the case of a pump. In the case of using a heat pipe, a volume obtained by multiplying the height of the heat pipe by the area of the cooling part mounted and cooling the heating element was required for the heat pipe.However, a heat dissipation part having an area corresponding to the amount of heat generated was secured. Therefore, if the thickness of the cooling section and the heat dissipation section is reduced, the volume required for cooling can be reduced.

Since the heat dissipation parts of two rows are arrange | positioned adjacent to each other, there is one blower for two rows, and the number of parts can be reduced, and cost is low and reliability can be made high. Even when only one row of heat dissipating units overlaps the heat dissipating units, there is a merit that one blower becomes a plurality of heat dissipating units.

The cooling modules are arranged in two rows, but may be one row or three rows or more. The heat dissipation portion of the two rows of cooling modules is adjacent to cool the two rows of cooling modules with one blower. However, a blower may be provided for each predetermined cooling module for each row of the cooling modules.

The cooling unit and the heat dissipating unit of the cooling module are disposed sideways on the same plane, but have a predetermined angle between the cooling unit and the heat dissipating unit, or the cooling unit and the heat dissipating unit are arranged in substantially parallel but different planes, or the cooling unit and the heat dissipating unit You may place your wealth on the top or at an angle.

Although it demonstrated as being applied to the electric power converter for a train, you may apply other than a power converter and a power converter other than a train. For example, you may use for cooling the electric board | substrate etc. which mount the heat generating semiconductor element. The heat generator other than the semiconductor element may be applied. The cooler according to the present invention can be applied to any heat generator as long as the heat generator to be cooled can contact the cooling unit.

The above is also suitable for other embodiments.

Embodiment 2.

This Embodiment 2 is a case where it changed from Embodiment 1 so that a blower may be provided for every row of the cooling modules lined up. 6 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a power converter using a cooler according to the second embodiment.

Only differences from FIG. 2 in the case of Embodiment 1 will be described. The cooling modules 6 of two rows are arrange | positioned so that the heat radiating part 6C may be separated, and one blower 2 is arrange | positioned inside each in the figure of the heat radiating part 6C row.

Also in this embodiment, there exists an effect that the cooling module 6 can be made compact, similar to the case of Embodiment 1 (which can reduce the volume of the cooler required for cooling a predetermined | prescribed heat quantity).

Embodiment 3.

This Embodiment 3 is a case where Embodiment 1 is changed so that a blower may be provided for every predetermined cooling module, and the modularity of a cooling module is further improved. 7 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a power converter using a cooler according to a third embodiment. 8 is a plan view of the main circuit unit 1 viewed from below.

Only differences from FIG. 2 in the case of Embodiment 1 will be described. Since the blower 2 is arrange | positioned under the cooling module 1, the blower 2 is not visible from a perspective view. As can be seen from the plan view seen from below in FIG. 8, two blowers 2 are arranged for every two cooling modules 1.

Also in this embodiment, there exists an effect that the cooling module 6 can be made compact like the case of Embodiment 1. FIG. Moreover, since a blower is provided for every predetermined cooling module, there is also an effect that the modularity according to a pair of a blower and a predetermined cooling module becomes higher.

Embodiment 4.

This Embodiment 4 is a case where Embodiment 3 is changed so that outside air may be put in from the side surface of both sides of a tank. 9 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a power converter using a cooler according to a fourth embodiment. 10 is a plan view of the main circuit unit 1 viewed from below. 11 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the flow of wind inside the main circuit unit 1.

Only differences from Figs. 7 and 8 in the case of the third embodiment will be described. The main circuit unit 1 is orthogonal to the traverse direction of the tram so that the heat dissipation portion 6C of the cooling module 6 is located on the side of the tram. The blower 2 sucks outside air from side surfaces of both sides of the tank and discharges it to the lower side of the power converter.

Also in this embodiment, there exists an effect that the cooling module 6 can be made compact like the case of Embodiment 1. FIG. Moreover, since a blower is provided for every predetermined cooling module, there is also an effect that the modularity according to a pair of a blower and a predetermined cooling module becomes higher. Moreover, since outside air can be put in from two places called both sides of a tank, a large amount of outside air can be put in and there exists an effect that cooling efficiency can be improved.

Claims (5)

A cooling unit for cooling the heating element by the refrigerant, and a heat dissipation unit for dissipating heat from the refrigerant heated in the cooling unit, and the refrigerant is circulated between the heat dissipating unit and the cooling unit by boiling the refrigerant in the cooling unit. A plurality of cooling modules of the bubble pump type, the radiating parts being overlapped with each other, A cooler having a cooling fan for generating wind to the heat radiating portion. The method according to claim 1, And the cooling modules are arranged in a plurality of rows such that the heat radiating portions overlapping each other are adjacent to each other. The method according to claim 1, And a cooling fan for each of the predetermined cooling modules. The method according to claim 1, And a fixing member for fixing the plurality of cooling modules mounted with a heating element. The method according to claim 1, And a wind tunnel through which wind generated by the cooling fan passes, and the heat dissipation unit is disposed in the wind tunnel.

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