JP2010040757A - Electronic component cooler - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To sufficiently cool a plurality of electronic components 5 on the downstream side without increasing the capacity of a refrigerant pressing source in disposing the electronic components 5 on respective floors of an electronic component cooler 1 in parallel with a refrigerant flowing direction. <P>SOLUTION: A difference in temperature between the downstream side electronic components 5 and the refrigerant is increased or the capacity available for the capacity of the refrigerant pressing source is generated by decreasing a heat transfer area of an upstream side fin 11 to decrease flow resistance. As a result, the amount of heat transferred to the downstream side electronic components 5 can be increased by increasing the difference in temperature between the components and the refrigerant and the heat transfer coefficient and the heat transfer area of the downstream side fin 11 can be increased according to the newly generated capacity available. As a result, in disposing the plurality of electronic components 5 on the respective floors of the electronic component cooler 1 in parallel with the refrigerant flowing direction, the downstream side electronic components 5 can be sufficiently cooled without increasing the capacity of the refrigerant pressing source. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic component cooler.

  Conventionally, in order to cool electronic components such as inverters, an electronic component cooler in which tubes through which refrigerant flows and electronic components are alternately stacked is known (for example, see Patent Document 1). The electronic component cooler includes a plurality of tubes through which a refrigerant flows, an upstream header that distributes the refrigerant to the plurality of tubes, a downstream header that merges the refrigerant distributed to the plurality of tubes, and a plurality that is cooled by the refrigerant. The electronic component is sandwiched between two tubes.

  And the electronic component is cooled because the refrigerant | coolant distributed to each tube from the header flows in the same direction. Also, fins are arranged in the tube to increase the amount of heat transfer from the electronic component to the refrigerant, thereby facilitating cooling of the electronic component (in the following description, in order to sandwich the electronic component, 1 The area formed by a set of tubes is called the “floor”).

  Further, in this electronic component cooler, studies are being made to increase the number of electronic components sandwiched between one floor mainly in order to suppress the height in the stacking direction. And according to the electronic component cooler of patent document 1, the stacking | stacking direction height is suppressed by distribute | arranging the several electronic components to each floor in the direction orthogonal to the flow direction of a refrigerant | coolant.

  By the way, with the recent increase in electronic components, there is a demand for arranging a plurality of electronic components in a direction parallel to the flow direction of the refrigerant in order to further increase the number of electronic components arranged on each floor. Further, due to restrictions based on the installation location of the electronic component cooler, it may be necessary to arrange a plurality of electronic components only in a direction parallel to the refrigerant flow direction.

And when arranging a plurality of electronic components in a direction parallel to the flow direction of the refrigerant in this way, in order to cool each electronic component reliably, the heat transfer capability (that is, the heat transfer coefficient and the heat transfer area) of each fin Need to be further improved. However, if the heat transfer coefficient and heat transfer area of the fins are improved, the flow resistance increases and the refrigerant does not easily pass through the fins. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the capacity of a refrigerant pressurizing source such as a pump, which increases the initial cost. At the same time, the operating cost may be high.
JP 2006-287108 A

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerant in the case where a plurality of electronic components are arranged on each floor of the electronic component cooler in a direction parallel to the flow direction of the refrigerant. An object is to sufficiently cool the downstream electronic component without increasing the capacity of the pressure source.

[Means of Claim 1]
The electronic component cooler according to claim 1 includes a plurality of tubes through which the refrigerant flows, a header that distributes the refrigerant to the plurality of tubes, and a plurality of electronic components that are cooled by the refrigerant. The electronic components are sandwiched between two tubes. And the electronic component is cooled because the refrigerant | coolant distributed to each tube from the header flows in the same direction.

  In addition, at least two or more electronic components are arranged in parallel with the flow direction of the refrigerant, and are sandwiched between the two tubes. A plurality of fins that increase the amount of heat transfer from the electronic components to the refrigerant are contained in the tubes. The individual fins are arranged immediately below or just above the electronic component. The combination of two fins adjacent to each other in the refrigerant flow direction includes a combination in which the upstream fin is smaller than the downstream fin with respect to the refrigerant flow resistance.

  Thus, the two fins on the upper and downstream sides can be set so that the downstream electronic components can be sufficiently cooled without increasing the flow resistance of the entire upper and downstream fins.

  That is, when arranging a plurality of electronic components in a direction parallel to the flow direction of the refrigerant, if the heat transfer capabilities of the two upper and lower fins are set equal, the upstream electronic component becomes the downstream electronic component. Since the temperature difference with the refrigerant is larger than that, there is a risk of cooling more than necessary. In addition, since the downstream electronic component is cooled by the refrigerant that has received heat transfer from the upstream electronic component and heated, the temperature difference from the refrigerant is smaller than that of the upstream electronic component, making cooling difficult. There is a risk of becoming.

  Therefore, by reducing the heat transfer capacity of the fins on the upstream side to reduce the flow resistance, the temperature difference between the downstream electronic component and the refrigerant is expanded, or a surplus capacity for the capacity of the refrigerant pressurizing source is generated. As a result, the heat transfer amount of the downstream electronic component is increased by increasing the temperature difference from the refrigerant, or the heat transfer coefficient and heat transfer area of the downstream fin are improved according to the newly generated surplus power. be able to.

  As described above, when a plurality of electronic components are arranged on each floor of the electronic component cooler in a direction parallel to the refrigerant flow direction, the downstream electronic components are sufficiently cooled without increasing the capacity of the refrigerant pressurizing source. become able to.

Note that heat transfer between the refrigerant and the electronic component can also be promoted by arranging a plurality of fins in one tube in parallel with the flow direction of the refrigerant.
Here, heat transfer between the refrigerant and the electronic component is promoted as the refrigerant flow is disturbed. And in an electronic component cooler, since a refrigerant | coolant branches and flows into many tubes from one header, the flow volume of the refrigerant | coolant distributed to one tube decreases, and the flow of the refrigerant | coolant in a tube becomes a laminar flow, There is a high possibility that the efficiency of heat transfer will decrease.

  For such laminar flow in the tube, by arranging a plurality of fins in one tube in parallel with the flow direction of the refrigerant, it is possible to promote disturbance of the flow of the refrigerant and increase the efficiency of heat transfer. it can. That is, the refrigerant flowing along the upstream fins is disturbed at the downstream end of the upstream fin, and then reaches the downstream fin and tends to flow along the downstream fin. The turbulent refrigerant flow once again flows along the fins on the downstream side, and the flow is adjusted again to be laminarized.

  For this reason, by arranging a plurality of fins in one tube in parallel with the flow direction of the refrigerant and flowing the refrigerant so as to sequentially follow the plurality of fins, than when flowing the refrigerant along a single fin, The flow of refrigerant can be disturbed to facilitate heat transfer between the refrigerant and the electronic component.

[Means of claim 2]
According to the electronic component cooler of the second aspect, the fin on the downstream side has a step on the fin crest.
This means shows one form for increasing the heat transfer area with respect to the fins on the downstream side.

[Means of claim 3]
According to the electronic component cooler of the third aspect, the fins on the downstream side have a smaller fin crest pitch than the fins on the upstream side.
This means shows a form for increasing both the heat transfer coefficient and the heat transfer area with respect to the fins on the downstream side.

[Means of claim 4]
According to the electronic component cooler of the fourth aspect, offset fins are employed as the fins on the downstream side.
This means shows one form for increasing the heat transfer coefficient for the fins on the downstream side.

[Means of claim 5]
According to the electronic component cooler of the fifth aspect, the wave fin is adopted as the fin on the downstream side.
This means shows a form for increasing both the heat transfer coefficient and the heat transfer area with respect to the fins on the downstream side.

  The electronic component cooler of the best mode 1 includes a plurality of tubes through which a refrigerant flows, a header that distributes the refrigerant to the plurality of tubes, and a plurality of electronic components that are cooled by the refrigerant. The electronic component is sandwiched between two tubes. The combination of two fins adjacent to each other in the refrigerant flow direction includes a combination in which the upstream fin is smaller than the downstream fin with respect to the refrigerant flow resistance.

In addition, at least two or more electronic components are arranged in parallel with the flow direction of the refrigerant, and are sandwiched between the two tubes. A plurality of fins that increase the amount of heat transfer from the electronic components to the refrigerant are contained in the tubes. The individual fins are arranged immediately below or just above the electronic component. The combination of two fins adjacent to each other in the refrigerant flow direction includes a combination in which the downstream fin is larger than the upstream fin with respect to the product of the heat transfer coefficient and the heat transfer area.
Further, the fin on the downstream side has a step on the fin crest.

According to the electronic component cooler of the best mode 2, the fins on the downstream side have a smaller fin crest pitch than the fins on the upstream side.
According to the electronic component cooler of the best mode 3, offset fins are employed as the fins on the downstream side.
According to the electronic component cooler of the best mode 4, wave fins are adopted as the fins on the downstream side.

[Configuration of Example 1]
The structure of the electronic component cooler 1 of Example 1 is demonstrated using drawing. For convenience of explanation, as shown in FIG. 1, the vertical direction, the horizontal direction, and the flow direction of the refrigerant (only indicated as “flow direction” in the drawing) are defined.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the electronic component cooler 1 joins the plurality of tubes 2 through which the refrigerant flows, the upstream header 3 that distributes the refrigerant to the plurality of tubes 2, and the refrigerant distributed to the plurality of tubes 2. A downstream header 4 and a plurality of electronic components 5 cooled by the refrigerant are provided. The tubes 2 and the electronic components 5 are alternately stacked in the vertical direction, and the electronic components 5 are sandwiched between the two tubes 2 in the vertical direction. Then, the refrigerant pressurized by a predetermined refrigerant pressurizing source is distributed from the upstream header 3 to each tube 2, and the refrigerant distributed to each tube 2 flows in the same direction, so that the electronic component 5 is To be cooled.

  The tube 2 has a flat shape perpendicular to the vertical direction, and an upper part 8 that forms an upper wall and a lower part 9 that forms a lower wall are joined at both left and right ends. The upper and lower parts 8 and 9 are joined so as to sandwich the flat intermediate plate 10 at both left and right ends, and the space formed by the upper and lower parts 8 and 9 is vertically moved by the intermediate plate 10. It is divided into two. In each space divided by the intermediate plate 10, fins 11 for increasing the heat transfer amount from the electronic component 5 to the refrigerant are accommodated and joined to the intermediate plate 10 and the upper part 8 or the lower part 9.

The upstream header 3 is configured by fitting protrusions provided at the upstream ends of the upper and lower parts 8 and 9 in the vertical direction. That is, an upper protrusion 13 that protrudes upward in a cylindrical shape is provided at the upstream end of the upper part 8, and a lower protrusion 14 that protrudes downward in a cylindrical shape is provided at the upstream end of the lower part 9. Yes. Then, in a pair of upper and lower tubes 2 sandwiching the electronic component 5 up and down, one of the lower protruding portion 14 of the upper tube 2 and the upper protruding portion 13 of the lower tube 2 is fitted to the other, and this fitting The upstream header 3 is provided by repeatedly forming the structure in the vertical direction.
The downstream header 4 is also provided in the same manner as the upstream header 3.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the electronic component 5 includes, for example, a heat generating element 16 such as an inverter circuit formed of a MOSFET, a metal heat diffusion plate 17 that dissipates heat received from the heat generating element 16, and the like. It is integrated by a mold. The electronic component 5 is sandwiched between a pair of upper and lower tubes 2 and is cooled by a refrigerant flowing through the upper and lower tubes 2 (in the following description, a pair of upper and lower tubes is used to sandwich the electronic component 5). The area formed by the tube 2 is called “floor”).

[Features of Example 1]
The characteristic of the electronic component cooler 1 of Example 1 is demonstrated using drawing.
According to the electronic component cooler 1, two electronic components 5 are arranged on one floor in parallel with the flow direction of the refrigerant. Similarly, two fins 11 are arranged in parallel with the flow direction of the refrigerant. That is, in one tube 2, two fins 11 are accommodated in each of two spaces formed by the upper and lower parts 8 and 9 and divided by the intermediate plate 10, and are arranged in parallel with the refrigerant flow direction. ing.

  That is, one tube 2 is divided into two vertically by the intermediate plate 10 to form two refrigerant flow paths. And in each flow path, the two fins 11 are arranged in parallel with the flow direction of the refrigerant.

  In addition, the fin 11 accommodated in the upper flow path is arranged directly below the electronic component 5 on the upper side of the tube 2, and the fin 11 accommodated in the lower flow path is an electron located on the lower side of the tube 2. Arranged immediately above the component 5. And as for the two fins 11 accommodated in an upper flow path, the fin 11 on the upstream side is smaller than the fin 11 on the downstream side with respect to the flow resistance of the refrigerant. Similarly, in the two fins 11 accommodated in the lower flow path, the upstream fins 11 are smaller than the downstream fins 11 with respect to the refrigerant flow resistance.

  That is, as shown in FIGS. 1C and 3, the fin 11 on the upstream side has a waveform in which a cross section perpendicular to the flow direction of the refrigerant repeats peaks and valleys in the left-right direction. The fin 11 on the downstream side has a step-like shape in which a cross section perpendicular to the refrigerant flow direction has a crest and a trough repeated in the left-right direction, and a step 21 is provided between the crest 19 and the trough bottom 20. Presents a waveform.

  That is, the fin 11 on the upstream side is a simple corrugated parallel fin in which the peak 19 of the mountain and the bottom 20 of the valley extend in parallel with the refrigerant flow direction, and the downstream fin 11 has the peak 19 of the mountain and the bottom of the valley. The step 21 is a step-like corrugated parallel fin that extends in parallel with the refrigerant flow direction. For this reason, the heat transfer area of the fin 11 on the upstream side is smaller than that of the fin 11 on the downstream side, and the flow resistance is reduced. In the fin 11 on the downstream side, the top 19 of the mountain and the step 21 and the bottom 20 and the step 21 of the valley are connected substantially vertically.

[Effect of Example 1]
According to the electronic component cooler 1 of the first embodiment, two electronic components 5 are arranged in parallel with the flow direction of the refrigerant, and are sandwiched between a pair of upper and lower tubes 2. The two fins 11 that increase the amount of heat transfer from the electronic component 5 to the refrigerant are arranged in parallel to the flow direction of the refrigerant, and the individual fins 11 are arranged directly below or just above the electronic component 5. In the two fins 11, the upstream fin 11 is smaller than the downstream fin 11 with respect to the refrigerant flow resistance.

  Accordingly, the upper and lower fins 11 can be set so that the downstream electronic component 5 can be sufficiently cooled without increasing the flow resistance of the entire upper and downstream fins 11. it can.

  That is, when two electronic components 5 are arranged in a direction parallel to the refrigerant flow direction, if the heat transfer capabilities of the two upper and lower fins 11 are set to be equal, the upstream electronic component 5 is Since the temperature difference with the refrigerant is larger than that of the electronic component 5, the electronic component 5 may be cooled more than necessary. Further, since the downstream electronic component 5 is cooled by the refrigerant that has been heated by the heat transfer from the upstream electronic component 5, the temperature difference from the refrigerant is smaller than that of the upstream electronic component 5 and the cooling is performed. May become difficult.

  Therefore, by reducing the heat transfer area and reducing the flow resistance with respect to the fins 11 on the upstream side, the temperature difference between the electronic component 5 on the downstream side and the refrigerant is expanded, or the remaining capacity for the capacity of the refrigerant pressurizing source is generated. To do. As a result, with respect to the electronic component 5 on the downstream side, the heat transfer amount is increased by increasing the temperature difference with the refrigerant, or the heat transfer coefficient and the heat transfer area are improved with respect to the newly generated remaining force with respect to the fin 11 on the downstream side. Can be.

  As described above, when the two electronic components 5 are arranged on each floor of the electronic component cooler 1 in a direction parallel to the flow direction of the refrigerant, the downstream electronic components 5 can be provided without increasing the capacity of the refrigerant pressurizing source. It becomes possible to cool sufficiently.

Note that heat transfer between the refrigerant and the electronic component 5 can be promoted by arranging two fins 11 in each flow path in one tube 2 in parallel with the flow direction of the refrigerant.
Here, heat transfer between the refrigerant and the electronic component 5 is promoted as the refrigerant flow is disturbed. In the electronic component cooler 1, the refrigerant branches and flows from one upstream header 3 to many tubes 2, and further flows into two upper and lower flow paths in one tube 2. There is a high possibility that the flow rate of the refrigerant distributed to the path is reduced, the refrigerant flow in each flow path becomes a laminar flow, and the efficiency of heat transfer decreases.

  For such laminar flow, by disposing two fins 11 in each flow path in the tube 2 in parallel with the flow direction of the refrigerant, disturbance of the flow of the refrigerant is promoted and heat transfer efficiency is increased. Can do. That is, the refrigerant that flows along the upstream fin 11 reaches the downstream fin 11 and flows along the downstream fin 11 after the flow is disturbed at the downstream end of the upstream fin 11. . The turbulent refrigerant flow once again flows along the fins 11 on the downstream side, and the flow is adjusted again to be laminarized.

  For this reason, the two fins 11 are arranged in parallel to the flow direction of the refrigerant in each flow path in the tube 2, and the refrigerant is caused to flow along the two fins 11, so that the refrigerant flows along the single fin 11. The heat transfer between the refrigerant and the electronic component 5 can be promoted by disturbing the flow of the refrigerant as compared with the case where the refrigerant flows.

[Example 2]
According to the electronic component cooler 1 of the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, both the upstream and downstream fins 11 are simple corrugated parallel fins, and the downstream fins 11 The fin crest pitch is smaller than that of the fin 11.
Thereby, with respect to the fins 11 on the upstream side, both the heat transfer coefficient and the heat transfer area can be set lower than those of the fins 11 on the downstream side to reduce the flow resistance.

Example 3
According to the electronic component cooler 1 of the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the upstream fin 11 is a simple corrugated parallel fin, and the downstream fin 11 employs an offset fin.
Thereby, regarding the fins 11 on the upstream side, the heat transfer coefficient can be set lower than that of the fins 11 on the downstream side, thereby reducing the flow resistance. The offset fin is a non-continuous cross section in which a peak 19 and a valley bottom 20 parallel to the refrigerant flow direction are shifted in the left-right direction and discontinuous with respect to the refrigerant flow direction are repeated at predetermined intervals. is there.

Example 4
According to the electronic component cooler 1 of the fourth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the upstream fin 11 is a simple corrugated parallel fin, and the downstream fin 11 employs a wave fin.
Thereby, with respect to the fins 11 on the upstream side, both the heat transfer coefficient and the heat transfer area can be set lower than those of the fins 11 on the downstream side to reduce the flow resistance. The wave fin is provided such that the top 19 of the mountain and the bottom 20 of the valley have a predetermined inclination angle with respect to the flow direction of the refrigerant. Further, the inclination angle is set at every predetermined interval with respect to the flow direction of the refrigerant. Positive and negative are reversed.

[Modification]
According to the electronic component cooler 1 of Examples 1 to 4, two electronic components 5 are arranged on each floor in parallel with the flow direction of the refrigerant, but three or more electronic components 5 are arranged on each floor in the flow direction of the refrigerant. The same number of fins 11 as the electronic components 5 may be disposed in each flow path in the tube 2. That is, three or more fins 11 may be arranged in each flow path in the tube 2 in parallel to the refrigerant flow direction. In this case, the combination of the two fins 11 adjacent in the refrigerant flow direction includes at least one combination in which the upstream fin 11 is smaller than the downstream fin 11 with respect to the flow resistance of the refrigerant. 11 may be selected and arranged.

Moreover, according to the electronic component cooler 1 of Examples 1-4, the flow path of the refrigerant | coolant in the tube 2 was divided | segmented up and down by the intermediate | middle plate 10, and the fin 11 was accommodated in each divided | segmented flow path. The intermediate plate 10 may divide the flow path in the tube 2 into a single flow path, and the fins 11 may be accommodated in the single flow path.
According to the electronic component cooler 1 of the first embodiment, the downstream fin 11 is provided with only one step 21 in the middle between the peak 19 of the mountain and the bottom 20 of the valley. A step 21 may be provided between the top 19 of the mountain and the bottom 20 of the valley.

  Moreover, according to the electronic component cooler 1 of Examples 1 to 4, the upstream fin 11 is a simple corrugated parallel fin, and the downstream fin 11 has a stepped corrugated parallel fin and a fin crest pitch. Although it was a small simple waveform parallel fin, an offset fin, or a wave fin, if the upstream fin 11 is smaller than the downstream fin 11 regarding the distribution | circulation resistance of a refrigerant | coolant, it will not be limited to these aspects.

  For example, a wave fin may be employed for the upstream fin 11 and a stepped corrugated parallel fin may be employed for the downstream fin 11. One fin 11 may include, for example, a corrugated parallel fin portion and an offset fin portion.

(A) is a front view which shows an electronic component cooler, (b) is AA sectional drawing of (a), (c) is BB sectional drawing of (a) (Example 1) ). 1 is a configuration diagram of an electronic component (Example 1). FIG. (A) is CC sectional drawing of FIG.1 (c) which shows the cross section of an upstream fin, (b) is DD cross section of FIG.1 (c) which shows the cross section of a downstream fin. (Example 1) which is a figure. (A) is sectional drawing which shows the inside of a tube, (b) is EE sectional drawing of (a), (c) is FF sectional drawing of (a) (Example 2). (A) is sectional drawing which shows the inside of a tube, (b) is GG sectional drawing of (a), (c) is HH sectional drawing of (a) (Example 3). (A) is sectional drawing which shows the inside of a tube, (b) is II sectional drawing of (a), (c) is JJ sectional drawing of (a) (Example 4).

Explanation of symbols

1 Electronic component cooler 2 Tube 3 Upstream header (header)
5 Electronic parts 11 Fin

Claims (5)

A plurality of tubes through which the refrigerant flows, a header that distributes the refrigerant to the plurality of tubes, and a plurality of electronic components that are cooled by the refrigerant,
The tube and the electronic component are alternately stacked, and the electronic component is sandwiched between the two tubes,
In the electronic component cooler in which the electronic component is cooled by the refrigerant distributed to the tubes from the header flowing in the same direction,
At least two or more of the electronic components are arranged in parallel with the flow direction of the refrigerant and sandwiched between the two tubes,
In the tube, a plurality of fins that increase the amount of heat transfer from the electronic component to the refrigerant are arranged in parallel with the flow direction of the refrigerant,
The individual fins are arranged directly below and directly above the electronic component,
In the combination of the two fins adjacent to each other in the flow direction of the refrigerant,
An electronic component cooler comprising a combination in which the fin on the upstream side is smaller than the fin on the downstream side with respect to the flow resistance of the refrigerant. The electronic component cooler according to claim 1,
The electronic component cooler according to claim 1, wherein the fin on the downstream side has a step on a fin crest. The electronic component cooler according to claim 1 or 2,
The electronic component cooler according to claim 1, wherein the fin on the downstream side has a smaller fin crest pitch than the fin on the upstream side. In the electronic component cooler according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
An electronic component cooler characterized in that offset fins are employed for the fins on the downstream side. In the electronic component cooler according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
An electronic component cooler characterized in that a wave fin is adopted as the fin on the downstream side.

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