Cooling system for on-board electrical equipment on a vehicle

Abstract

Vehicle-mounted electrical equipment cooling system The invention relates to a cooling system (10) for vehicle-mounted electrical equipment, said system (10) comprising at least two temperature sensors (12, 14), located in equipment (16) whose temperature is to be controlled, and configured to provide a temperature measurement to a control device (18) suitable for: - comparing them to at least a predetermined temperature threshold; - in the event of measurement(s) above, transmitting an opening order to at least two pneumatic solenoid valves (20, 22) connected to a circuit (24) and to a pneumatic compressed air supply line (26) of at least one cooling vortex tube (28) suitable for diffusing cooled air within said equipment;and - in the absence of higher measure(s), transmit to said at least two pneumatic solenoid valves a closing and / or holding closed command. Figure for the abbreviation: Figure 1;

Description

Title of the invention: Cooling system for electrical equipment installed on board a vehicle

[0001] The present invention relates to a cooling system for electrical equipment(s) on board a vehicle designed to move between two distinct geographical positions, in particular a railway vehicle.

[0002] The present invention also relates to a vehicle suitable for moving between two distinct geographical positions, in particular a railway vehicle, the vehicle comprising a pneumatic supply circuit.

[0003] The present invention relates to the control / maintenance of temperature within electrical equipment installed on board a vehicle, particularly a railway vehicle. Indeed, currently, certain electronic components of electrical equipment, especially railway equipment, are only designed to function within certain temperature ranges and malfunction, or even deteriorate, in high temperature ranges exceeding a predetermined temperature threshold.

[0004] To overcome this drawback, cooling is generally implemented to ensure the operation of such electronic components; however, current cooling solutions, by air conditioning, use of refrigerant gas, are not optimal in terms of integration within the vehicle, particularly railway vehicles, nor in terms of cost and safety.

[0005] One of the aims of the invention is to overcome the aforementioned disadvantages by offering a temperature control solution whose safety, reliability and cost are optimized compared to current temperature control / maintenance solutions.

[0006] To this end, the invention relates to a cooling system for electrical equipment(s) installed on board a vehicle designed to travel between two distinct geographical locations, in particular a railway vehicle, said system comprising at least two temperature sensors, located within the same electrical equipment whose temperature is to be controlled, and each configured to provide a temperature measurement to a control device of said system outside of said electrical equipment, the control device being designed at least to:

[0007] - compare each temperature measurement to at least one pre-defined temperature threshold determined ;

[0008] - in the event of measurement(s) exceeding at least one pre-temperature threshold determined, transmit, to at least two pneumatic solenoid valves of said system, connected to a pneumatic supply circuit of said vehicle and to a supply line dedicated to supplying compressed air to at least one vortex tube re- cooling system, an opening command for at least two solenoid valves and compressed air supply, via a dedicated supply line, to at least one vortex cooling tube of the system, the vortex cooling tube being suitable for diffusing cooled air within the electrical equipment; and

[0009] - in the absence of higher measure(s) than at least one pre-temperature threshold determined, transmit to said at least two pneumatic solenoid valves of said system, a closing order and / or a holding order for said at least two solenoid valves.

[0010] According to a particular embodiment, the cooling system comprises one or more of the following features, taken individually or in all technically possible combinations:

[0011] - said control device is embedded within a control unit, located apart from said electrical equipment;

[0012] - the control unit located outside said electrical equipment, comprises in input a first remote input / output module RIOM and its conversion stage configured to convert, each analog electrical signal representing a temperature measurement transmitted by a temperature sensor of said at least two temperature sensors located within the same electrical equipment, into a digital electrical signal supplied as input to said control device;

[0013] - the control unit located outside said electrical equipment, comprises in output a second remote input / output module RIOM and its conversion stage configured to convert each digital command to open pneumatic solenoid valve generated by the control device 18 into a low voltage electrical signal to each pneumatic solenoid valve respectively, via wiring implemented within said vehicle;

[0014] - the control device is suitable for comparing temperature measurements provided simultaneously by said at least two temperature sensors located within the same electrical equipment, and to issue a first alert in case of deviation greater than a predetermined deviation value;

[0015] - the control device is specific to:

[0016] - filter the temperature measurements provided simultaneously by said at least two temperature sensors located within the same electrical equipment, in the presence of a temperature measurement outside a predetermined temperature range, said temperature measurement outside said predetermined temperature range being extracted;

[0017] - transmit a second alert representative of the presence of said measure temperature outside said predetermined and extracted temperature range;

[0018] - said first alert and / or said second alert is transmitted to a driver said vehicle and / or to a remote maintenance platform for said vehicle;

[0019] - the control device is configured to transmit a stop instruction emergency to the driver of said vehicle in the event of measure(s) exceeding said at least a predetermined temperature threshold for a period exceeding a predetermined duration;

[0020] - said at least two temperature sensors are identical.

[0021] The invention also relates to any vehicle suitable for moving between two distinct geographical positions, in particular a railway vehicle, the vehicle comprising a pneumatic supply circuit, and further comprising a cooling system for electrical equipment as described above.

[0022] Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the detailed description given below, by way of example and not limitation, with reference to [Fig. 1][Fig. 1] representing a perspective view of a cooling system according to the invention.

[0023] In particular, on [Fig.1], the cooling system 10 according to the invention comprises within a set Ei of temperature sensors, at least two temperature sensors 12, 14, located within the same electrical equipment 16 whose temperature is to be controlled, and each configured to provide a temperature measurement to a control device 18 of said cooling system.

[0024] Such electrical equipment 16 corresponds for example to a specific vehicle electrical cabinet, for example a railway vehicle, such as an electrical cabinet of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) or an electrical cabinet dedicated to an automatic driving system, a safety electrical box, predetermined components present in railway motor vehicles, safety equipment of the locomotive or of the entire railway vehicle, or even a surface whose temperature is to be controlled, etc.

[0025] The device 18 is located outside the electrical equipment 16 whose temperature is to be controlled.

[0026] Such a control device 18 is first of all capable of comparing each temperature measurement provided by each of said at least two temperature sensors 12, 14 to at least a predetermined temperature threshold, for example 45°C or 50°C, and in the event of measurement(s) exceeding said at least a predetermined temperature threshold, capable of transmitting, to at least two pneumatic solenoid valves 20, 22, of an assembly E2 of pneumatic solenoid valves of said cooling system, connected to a pneumatic supply circuit 24 of said vehicle and to a supply line 26 dedicated to supplying compressed air to at least one vortex cooler tube 28 of said system, an order to open said valves. less two solenoid valves 20, 22 and compressed air supply, via said dedicated supply line 26, of said at least one vortex cooler tube 28 of said system.

[0027] The vortex cooling tube 28 is indeed suitable for diffusing cold air within said electrical equipment 16. Such a vortex cooling tube 28 receives at the inlet the compressed air supplied by the pipe 26, and has two outlets, one used by the present invention is cold (i.e. supplies air cooled relative to the compressed air which supplies it) and intended to cool the electrical equipment 16, while the other outlet, not shown, is "hot" and supplies hot air outside the electrical equipment 16 to be cooled.

[0028] On the other hand, in the absence of measure(s) exceeding at least one predetermined temperature threshold, the control device 18 is capable of transmitting to said at least two pneumatic solenoid valves 20, 22 of said cooling system, a closing order and / or a maintaining order to close said at least two solenoid valves 20 and 22.

[0029] The present invention thus takes advantage of an existing pneumatic supply circuit within the vehicle, for example conventionally used to supply auxiliary pneumatic consumers (such as doors, switches, etc.), in order, according to the present invention, to supply compressed air to a cooling vortex tube.

[0030] In other words, the present invention proposes to use the compressed air already present within an existing pneumatic supply circuit of the vehicle, in particular while moving, for example the pneumatic supply circuit dedicated to auxiliary pneumatic consumers (such as doors, contactors, etc.), suitable for implementing the expansion of a gas (i.e. by using a compact gas regulator in particular), as an advantageously unlimited source of compressed air suitable for supplying in a controlled and secure manner a vortex cooling tube of the equipment whose temperature is to be controlled.

[0031] Furthermore, the present invention implements such integrated cooling within said vehicle, in particular while moving, in a secure manner by means of at least two redundant safety loops, in measurement and control, so that the cooling is implemented, even in the presence of a failure within one of the two safety loops, namely the temperature sensor and / or the associated solenoid valve, in order to provide a cooling system conforming to a safety integrity level SIL 2 (from the English Safety Integrity Level).

[0032] More specifically, a first loop includes, in particular, the temperature sensor 12 and the solenoid valve 20, while the second redundant loop includes, independently of the first loop, the temperature sensor 14 (distinct from the temperature sensor 12) and the solenoid valve 22 (distinct from the solenoid valve 20). The presence of at least these two loops makes it possible to compensate for a possible failure of the temperature sensor or solenoid valve constituting each loop, so that the probability of failure of both loops simultaneously is less than a predetermined value and thus conforms to the safety integrity level SIL2 (from the English Safety Integrity Level).

[0033] As an optional addition, not shown, self-test loops at the start of the cooling system 10 according to the invention, conforming to the safety integrity level SIL2, are also integrated into this cooling system 10.

[0034] Such self-test loops classically allow the characterization of a system failure, in particular, before its start-up to verify the consistency / veracity of the temperature values ​​sent by the probes, and during the operation of the system, to verify an effective drop in temperature after activation of the vortex tube, and / or to verify air consumption by this same vortex tube.

[0035] According to another optional complementary aspect, not shown, the air pressure available within the existing pneumatic supply circuit 24 of the vehicle is suitable for being monitored by the control device 18, in order to inhibit, where appropriate, the opening of the solenoid valves 20 and 22 in the event of supply pressure not adapted to the supply pressure required by the vortex cooler tube 28.

[0036] Thus, the present invention offers increased reliability and high availability, because it is based on an existing unlimited source of compressed air, in order to operate electrical / electronic systems in a controlled temperature range, in relation to severe external climatic conditions such as those related to heat.

[0037] According to an optional preferred particular aspect, the at least two redundant temperature sensors 12 and 14 are identical. Furthermore, preferably, the at least two redundant temperature sensors 12 and 14 are located close to each other and close to a so-called "hot" zone (i.e., the area with the highest temperature within the electronic equipment 16 under consideration).

[0038] According to a particular aspect of the invention, the control device 18 is embedded within a control unit U comprising one or more remote input / output modules RIOM (Remote Input Output Module), located outside of said electrical equipment 16, the temperature of which is to be controlled.

[0039] Such a control unit U, located outside said electrical equipment 16, whose temperature is to be controlled, comprises a first remote input / output module RIOM and its conversion stage Ci configured to convert each analog electrical signal representing a temperature measurement, for example an analog electrical signal of 20mA, transmitted by a temperature sensor of said at least two temperature sensors 12 or 14 located within the same electrical equipment 16, into a digitized signal for the control device 18.

[0040] Such an electrical signal digitized by the first remote input / output module RIOM and its conversion stage Ci can indeed be analyzed, for example, by software within said control device 18 and used on a communication network, particularly within a vehicle corresponding to a railway vehicle.

[0041] According to another specific aspect, the control unit U, located outside said electrical equipment 16, comprises at the output of said control device 18 a second remote input / output module RIOM and its conversion stage C2 configured to convert each digital command to open a pneumatic solenoid valve generated by the control device 18 into a low-voltage electrical signal destined for each pneumatic solenoid valve respectively, via wiring implemented within said vehicle.

[0042] In other words, such a control unit U is "intelligent" and allows for the acquisition of digitized information, the processing and verification of this information and the transmission of digitized commands accordingly to other devices (i.e. here the solenoid valves 20 and 22).

[0043] As a "basic" alternative not shown, the assembly formed by the control unit U and the set Ei of temperature sensors could be replaced by a simple thermostat capable of performing only the role of switching on / off the solenoid valves 20 and 22 controlled by the temperature, but such a "basic" alternative would lack intelligence, temperature control and consequently not conforming to a safety integrity level SIL2 (from the English Safety Integrity Level).

[0044] As an optional addition, according to another particular aspect, the control device 18 is suitable for comparing the temperature measurements provided simultaneously by said at least two temperature sensors 12 and 14 located within the same electrical equipment 16, and for issuing a first alert in the event of a difference greater than a predetermined difference value between these two temperature measurements.

[0045] As an optional addition, the control device 18 is also suitable for filtering temperature measurements provided simultaneously by said at least two temperature sensors 12 and 14 located within the same electrical equipment, in the presence of a temperature measurement outside a predetermined temperature range, said temperature measurement outside said predetermined temperature range being extracted, and for transmitting a second alert representative of the presence of said temperature measurement outside said predetermined and extracted temperature range.

[0046] In other words, this particular aspect allows filtering of aberrant temperature values ​​with respect to the desired operating temperature range.

[0047] In particular, said first alert and / or said second alert is transmitted to a driver of said vehicle and / or to a remote maintenance platform of said vehicle vehicle, in order to report an inconsistency between sensors or the failure of a sensor for maintenance.

[0048] As an optional addition, the control device 18 is configured to transmit an emergency stop instruction to the driver of said vehicle in the event of measurement(s) exceeding said at least a predetermined temperature threshold for a period exceeding a predetermined duration.

[0049] In other words, this latter aspect allows, for example, the triggering of cooling by the vortex cooling tube 28 within the equipment 16 in the event of detection of a temperature via the at least two redundant sensors 12 and 14, for example greater than or equal to 45°C, and to require an emergency stop if, after a predetermined period, the temperature within the equipment 16 thus cooled does not become less than 45°C, which would lead in parallel to a stop of the cooling system 10 according to the invention by order of closing of the solenoid valves 20 and 22.Indeed, during the entire cooling period, corresponding to the opening period of the solenoid valves 20 and / or 22 in order to supply the vortex cooling tube 28 directly with compressed air, for example from 5 to 10 bar and predetermined flow rate, from the existing supply circuit of the vehicle, in particular while in motion, for example the pneumatic supply circuit dedicated to auxiliary pneumatic consumers (doors, switches), the cooling system 10 according to the present invention continues to monitor the temperature, in order to verify that it returns or that it remains within the desired temperature range.

[0050] According to an aspect not shown in [Fig. 1], a redundant vortex cooler tube 28 can also be implemented to increase the reliability of the proposed cooling system. In other words, the addition of a vortex cooler tube 28 is also associated with its own compressed air supply control circuit comprising the two safety loops described above.

[0051] Thus, a person skilled in the art will observe in particular that the cooling solution (i.e. maintaining temperature within a predetermined temperature range) according to the present invention makes it possible to have an optimal operating temperature and to guarantee the best lifespan and the best reliability for critical components by limiting component fatigue in the event of a sudden change in temperature, a very impactful element in particular when a railway vehicle arrives in a tunnel for example, and this while advantageously presenting an unlimited cooling capacity over time because it draws from the existing 24 pneumatic supply circuit within said vehicle, usually dedicated to another use such as that supplied to auxiliary pneumatic consumers (such as doors, contactors, etc.).

[0052] Such power is, for example, from 30 to 1740W and can be adjusted according to the needed, even when low cooling power is required, and allows cooling of a complete volume of equipment 16 or a very specific surface.

[0053] In addition, the cooling solution according to the present invention is safe, because it includes the two aforementioned SIL2 safety loops, and allows the cooling of an electrical cabinet or system to be cooled to be managed with a cost reduction of 70% compared to a conventional air conditioning system.

[0054] Reusing the existing pneumatic supply circuit 24 as a source of compressed air for the cooling system according to the present invention also makes it possible to optimize the compactness and cost of the cooling system according to the present invention, and to limit the risk of condensation within the equipment 16 considered, considering that the compressed air supplied by the existing pneumatic supply circuit 24 is dry at the outlet of the compressor of this existing pneumatic supply circuit 24.

[0055] Furthermore, the solution according to the present invention is suitable for allowing the use of less expensive electronic components but which would not meet 100% a contractual criterion of maximum temperature (temperatures which occur on very rare occasions), easy installation on existing vehicle provided that the compressor of the existing pneumatic supply circuit is capable of supplying the cooling system proposed according to the present invention, and will not require maintenance most of the time.

[0056] Moreover, the present invention makes it possible to do away with the need for refrigerant gas required by other cooling solutions in the prior art, which makes the solution according to the present invention more ecological.

Claims

Demands

1. Cooling system (10) for electrical equipment(s) on board a vehicle designed to move between two distinct geographical locations, in particular a railway vehicle, characterized in that said system (10) comprises at least two temperature sensors (12, 14), located within the same electrical equipment (16) whose temperature is to be controlled, and each configured to provide a temperature measurement to a control device (18) for said system outside said electrical equipment, the control device being capable at least of: - comparing each temperature measurement to at least a predetermined temperature threshold;- in the event of measurement(s) exceeding at least a predetermined temperature threshold, transmit to at least two pneumatic solenoid valves (20, 22) of said system, connected to a pneumatic supply circuit (24) of said vehicle and to a supply line (26) dedicated to supplying compressed air to at least one vortex cooler tube (28) of said system, an order to open said at least two solenoid valves and to supply compressed air, via said dedicated supply line, to said at least one vortex cooler tube of said system, the vortex cooler tube being suitable for diffusing cooled air within said electrical equipment; and - in the absence of measurement(s) exceeding at least a predetermined temperature threshold, transmit to said at least two pneumatic solenoid valves of said system, an order to close and / or to keep said at least two solenoid valves closed.

2. Cooling system (10) according to claim 1, wherein said control device (18) is embedded within a control unit (U), located outside said electrical equipment (16).

3. Cooling system (10) according to claim 2, wherein the control unit (U), located outside said electrical equipment, comprises at its input a first remote input / output module RIOM and its conversion stage (Ci) configured to convert each analog electrical signal representing a temperature measurement transmitted by a temperature sensor of said at least two temperature sensors located within the same electrical equipment, into a digital electrical signal supplied at the input of said device order.

4. Cooling system (10) according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the control unit (U) located outside said electrical equipment, includes at output a second remote input / output module RIOM and its conversion stage (C2) configured to convert each digital command to open pneumatic solenoid valve generated by the control device 18 into a low voltage electrical signal to each pneumatic solenoid valve respectively, via wiring implemented within said vehicle.

5. Cooling system (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the control device is adapted to compare the temperature measurements provided simultaneously by said at least two temperature sensors located within the same electrical equipment, and to issue a first alert in the event of a deviation greater than a predetermined deviation value.

6. Cooling system (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the control device (18) is adapted to: - filter temperature measurements provided simultaneously by said at least two temperature sensors located within the same electrical equipment, in the presence of a temperature measurement outside a predetermined temperature range, said temperature measurement outside said predetermined temperature range being extracted; - transmit a second alert representative of the presence of said temperature measurement outside said predetermined and extracted temperature range.

7. Cooling system (10) according to claim 5 or 6, wherein said first alert and / or said second alert is transmitted to a driver of said vehicle and / or to a remote maintenance platform of said vehicle.

8. Cooling system (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the control device is configured to transmit an emergency stop instruction to the driver of said vehicle in the event of measurement(s) exceeding said at least a predetermined temperature threshold for a period exceeding a predetermined duration.

9. Cooling system (10) according to any one of the claims previous indications, in which said at least two temperature sensors are identical.

10. A vehicle suitable for moving between two distinct geographical positions, in particular a railway vehicle, the vehicle comprising a pneumatic supply circuit, characterized in that said vehicle further comprises a cooling system (10) according to any one of the preceding claims.

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