Means of heat dissipation of an electronic control device.

Abstract

Title of the invention: Heat dissipation means for an electronic control device. The present invention relates to an electronic control device (3) for an electric radiator (1), the electronic control device (3) comprising at least one housing (31) having a plurality of walls delimiting an internal volume intended to house at least one printed circuit board on which at least one electronic component is connected, each wall of the housing having an internal face delimiting the internal volume and an external face opposite the internal face, the electronic control device (3) comprising a heat dissipation means (4) separate from the housing (31) and fixed on the external face of one of the walls of the housing (31). (Figure 1)

Description

Title of the invention: Means of heat dissipation of an electronic control device.

[0001] The present invention falls within the field of heating, ventilation and / or air conditioning installations for a motor vehicle comprising an electric radiator, and more particularly an electronic device for controlling such an electric radiator.

[0002] Motor vehicles are generally equipped with a heating, ventilation and / or air conditioning system for circulating an air flow towards the passenger compartment of the motor vehicle, and, depending on the temperature of the passenger compartment desired by the driver and / or passengers of the motor vehicle, for heating and / or cooling this air flow before sending it into the passenger compartment. Such heating, ventilation and / or air conditioning installations thus comprise at least one member for circulating the air flow and an electric radiator capable of heating the air flow circulated towards the passenger compartment.

[0003] It is known that the electric radiators of these heating, ventilation and / or air conditioning installations comprise a heating body in which heating members, for example in the form of tubes in which at least one heating element is housed, are arranged next to each other across the flow of air to be heated. Such electric radiators generally comprise at least one electronic device for controlling the heating members comprising a printed circuit board on which various electronic components are installed. These electronic components participate in generating a control instruction to be transmitted to the heating members so that the latter generate heat intended to heat a flow of air passing through the electric radiator.

[0004] Such electronic components generate heat during their operation which must be evacuated from the electronic control device at the risk of damaging or limiting the proper functioning of said electronic components located inside the electronic control device. For this purpose, electric radiators are commonly equipped with at least one heat dissipation means for regulating the temperature of the electronic control device. This regulation is generally carried out by indirectly operating a heat exchange between the electronic control device and the air flow passing through the electric radiator via a heat dissipation means. This has the advantage of cooling the electronic control device and improving the heating performance of the air flow intended to subsequently reach the passenger compartment.

[0005] Such heat dissipation means are generally formed of a constituent element of the electronic control device, such as a housing within which the electronic components are housed, this constituent element forming a projection from the external face of the housing of the electronic control device to extend opposite a portion of the heating body and be across the air flow passing through the electric radiator. Whatever the material used to make these housings, this configuration of the heat dissipation means implies that the heat dissipation means only extend over a small percentage of the dimension of the heating body and are consequently only slightly exposed to the air flow passing through the heating body, which limits their action to cool the electronic components within the electronic control device.

[0006] The present invention falls within this context and aims to overcome at least some of the drawbacks of the prior art, and in particular to propose an electronic control device in which the cooling of the electronic components is improved.

[0007] Thus, the present invention relates to an electronic device for controlling an electric radiator, the electronic control device comprising at least one housing having a plurality of walls delimiting an internal volume intended to house at least one printed circuit board on which at least one electronic component is connected, each wall of the housing having an internal face delimiting the internal volume and an external face opposite the internal face, the electronic control device comprising a heat dissipation means separate from the housing and fixed on the external face of one of the walls of the housing.

[0008] It should be noted that the fact that the heat dissipation means is separate from the housing means that the latter is an added part of the housing. The production of the heat dissipation means in a part separate from the housing makes it possible to overcome existing manufacturing constraints, for example, when the heat dissipation means is made in one piece with the housing, and in particular manufacturing constraints limiting the dimensions of the heat dissipation means. It is understood that it is easier to produce a heat dissipation means to the desired dimension when it is produced alone, in particular because it has an essentially planar shape and that it is possible not to take into account simultaneously the manufacturing constraints of the housing, a part with a parallelepiped shape, which is more restrictive to produce.

[0009] The heat dissipation means is secured to the housing, and more particularly to the external face of the bottom wall. Such a securing of the heat dissipation means makes it possible not to have to carry out an additional step of sealing the housing and not to have to consider the constraints of such a step which could limit the dimension to be given to the means of heat dissipation.

[0010] According to an optional feature of the invention, at least the housing and the heat dissipation means are formed from the same material. Such a feature makes it easier to secure the heat dissipation means to the housing, in particular when the heat dissipation means is fixed to the housing by a brazing process.

[0011] According to an optional characteristic of the invention, the heat dissipation means is formed from a metallic material.

[0012] According to an optional feature of the invention, the heat dissipation means is formed from aluminum. Aluminum is a material that ensures good thermal conductivity and the transfer of calories between the housing and the air flow in contact with the heat dissipation means. In other words, the choice of material makes it possible to efficiently transfer the heat generated within the electronic control device to the air flow circulating across the electric radiator.

[0013] According to an optional feature of the invention, the heat dissipation means is secured to the housing by welding. It should be noted that welding means any technique for irreversibly securing the dissipation means to the housing such as brazing, cold welding, plasma welding.

[0014] According to an optional characteristic of the invention, the heat dissipation means is obtained by a stamping process.

[0015] According to an optional feature of the invention, the heat dissipation means comprises a plurality of branches extending in a main elongation direction alongside each other, the heat dissipation means comprising a base common to each of said branches. The heat dissipation means thus has a substantially planar shape, in a plane defined by the main elongation direction and the direction along which the branches are juxtaposed. The axial dimension of the heat dissipation means is defined by the length of the branches from the common base, and the fact of producing the heat dissipation means independently of the housing allows, in this context of a heat dissipation means, and in particular its branches, which extends substantially in a plane, to obtain longer branches than in the prior art.

[0016] According to an optional characteristic of the invention, the common base extends in a first extension plane and the branches extend in a second extension plane, the heat dissipation means having a staggering zone configured to offset the second extension plane relative to the first extension plane.

[0017] According to an optional characteristic of the invention, the detachment zone is configured to move the branches of the dissipation means away from the heating body. thermal. This distance of the branches from the heat dissipation means is achieved in a direction perpendicular to the main elongation direction of the heating elements. Increasing the distance between the branches and the heating body limits the heat exchange between the heating elements and the heat dissipation means, so that the majority of the calories released by the operation of the heating elements is recovered by the air flow passing through the heating body and not by the heat dissipation means.

[0018] According to an optional characteristic of the invention, the common base of the heat dissipation means is fixed to a return edge of a bottom wall of the housing. This ensures the most direct possible transmission to the heat dissipation means of the calories released by the operation of the components of the electronic control device likely to heat up within the housing, in particular when they are resting on said bottom wall, inside the housing.

[0019] According to an optional characteristic of the invention, the return edge extends the external face of the bottom wall.

[0020] According to an optional characteristic of the invention, the bottom wall extends in a first main elongation plane and the return edge extends in a second main elongation plane, the second main elongation plane of the return edge being perpendicular to the first main elongation plane of the bottom wall.

[0021] The invention also relates to an electric radiator comprising at least one heating body and an electronic control device, the heating body being intended to be traversed by an air flow and comprising a plurality of heating elements arranged next to each other and extending in a main elongation direction, the heating body comprising perforated faces so as to allow a flow of air passing through the electric radiator at least between the heating elements, the heat dissipation means extending in said main elongation direction over at least 25% of the length of the heating elements. It is understood that the heat dissipation means extends opposite an perforated face of the heating body so that the air flow passing through the electric radiator can carry out a significant heat exchange with the heat dissipation means.More specifically, the heat dissipation means extends opposite the openwork face of the heating body such that the heat dissipation means extends over at least 25% of the dimension of an openwork face along the main elongation direction. This minimum length of coverage of an openwork face of the heating body by the heat dissipation means, which makes it possible to ensure good heat exchange characteristics, is made possible. by the fact that the heat dissipation means is produced separately from the rest of the electronic control device and that the manufacturing constraints are consequently less significant than in the prior art, allowing the production of a large-sized heat dissipation means.

[0022] According to an optional characteristic of the invention, the bottom wall is the wall of the housing closest to the heating body, the heat dissipation means being secured to the external face of the bottom wall.

[0023] According to an optional characteristic of the invention, each branch of the heat dissipation means extends opposite a heating element.

[0024] According to an optional characteristic of the invention, each branch of the heat dissipation means is separated from an adjacent branch by an opening, the opening being opposite a space provided between two adjacent heating elements. This space is filled by radiant elements participating in increasing the exchange surface between the heating elements and the air flow passing through the electric radiator.

[0025] According to an optional feature of the invention, one of the electronic components is arranged against the internal face of the bottom wall of the housing, the heat dissipation means being positioned in line with said electronic component. It is understood that the heat dissipation means thus extends so as to maximize the heat exchange between the electronic component and the air flow. It should be noted that said electrical component is advantageously chosen as being the electrical component of the electronic control device generating the most heat. It should be noted that “in line with” means that the heat dissipation means is in the vicinity of the electrical component on either side of the bottom wall of the housing, and that more precisely the heat dissipation means is aligned with the electrical component if a direction perpendicular to the bottom wall is considered.

[0026] The invention also relates to a heating, ventilation and / or air conditioning installation for a motor vehicle comprising an electric radiator as previously described.

[0027] According to an optional characteristic of the invention, the electric radiator of the heating, ventilation and / or air conditioning installation of a motor vehicle is arranged across a duct for circulating an air flow so that the openwork faces of the heating body form an air inlet face and an air outlet face.

[0028] According to a characteristic of the invention, the dissipation means is arranged opposite the air inlet face of the electric radiator of the heating, ventilation and / or air conditioning installation of a motor vehicle.

[0029] Other characteristics, details and advantages of the invention will emerge more clearly on reading the description which follows on the one hand, and several examples of realization given for informational and non-limiting purposes with reference to the schematic drawings annexed on the other hand, on which:

[0030] [Fig. 1] represents an electric radiator intended to equip a heating, ventilation and / or air conditioning installation;

[0031] [Fig.2] partially represents the electric radiator of [Fig.l], making visible in particular a housing of an electronic control device, a component represented in dotted lines and a means of heat dissipation;

[0032] [Fig.3] represents in exploded view the lower compartment of the housing visible in [Fig.2] and the heat dissipation means intended to be fixed on a wall of said lower compartment;

[0033] [Fig.4] represents a sectional view of the electric radiator visible in [Fig.l] according to a sectional plane extending parallel to the vertical direction V and to the longitudinal direction L;

[0034] [Fig.5] represents a sectional view of the electric radiator visible in [Fig.l] according to a sectional plane perpendicular to the sectional plane of [Fig.4].

[0035] It should first be noted that although the figures set out the invention in detail for its implementation, these figures can of course be used to better define the invention, where appropriate. It should also be noted that these figures only set out examples of embodiments of the invention.

[0036] The features, variants and different embodiments of the invention may be combined with each other, in various combinations, provided that they are not incompatible or mutually exclusive. In particular, variants of the invention may be imagined comprising only a selection of features described below in isolation from the other features described, if this selection of features is sufficient to confer a technical advantage or to differentiate the invention from the state of the art.

[0037] In the figures, the elements common to several figures retain the same reference.

[0038] In the description which follows, reference will be made to an orientation which is a function of the Longitudinal, Vertical and Transverse axes as they are arbitrarily defined by the trihedron L, V, T represented in Figures 1 to 5. The choice of names for these axes is not limiting of the orientation which the electronic control device can take in a heating, ventilation and / or air conditioning installation.

[0039] [Fig.l] represents an electric radiator 1 according to an embodiment of the invention. The electric radiator 1 is configured to be installed in a heating, ventilation and / or air conditioning installation of a motor vehicle. The electric radiator 1 is in particular intended to heat a flow of air circulating in a circulation duct of the heating, ventilation and / or air conditioning installation, said electric radiator being arranged across this duct so that a heating body 2 of the electric radiator 1 is crossed by the air flow.

[0040] The electric radiator 1 comprises at least the heating body 2 and an electronic control device 3. The electronic control device 3 is arranged at a vertical end, in the vertical direction V, of the electric radiator 1 and makes it possible to control the operation and electrically power heating members of the electric radiator 1. For this purpose, the electronic control device 3 comprises several electronic components which are housed in a housing 31.

[0041] The housing 31 comprises a high-voltage electrical connection member 32 intended to be connected with a high-voltage power supply cable and a low-voltage electrical connection member 33 intended to be connected with a low-voltage power supply cable.

[0042] The housing 31 is, in the embodiment shown, formed from aluminum. Such a material has excellent characteristics in terms of thermal conductivity. This property of aluminum makes it possible to efficiently transmit the heat generated by the electronic components within the housing to be dissipated to the environment outside the housing 31. In other words, the material from which the housing 31 is formed helps to cool the electronic control device 3. It should be noted that this choice is not limiting of the invention and that the housing 31 could be formed from another material, in particular metallic, as long as it has a thermal conductivity making it possible to transmit the calories generated by the operation of the electronic components.

[0043] The heating body 2 of the electric radiator 1 comprises a plurality of heating elements 21 capable of rising in temperature under the effect of an electrical power supply generated by the electronic control device. The heating elements 21 are arranged next to each other so as to delimit between them a space for circulation of a flow of air to be heated, the flow of air recovering during its passage through the heating body the calories released by the heating elements. In other words, each heating element 21 is arranged at a distance from at least one neighboring heating element 21, a portion of the flow of air being able to circulate between these two heating elements 21 to be heated there.

[0044] In the example illustrated, the heating body 1 comprises a frame 22 forming a support for the heating elements 21, the frame having openwork faces through which the air flow is able to circulate to pass between the heating elements 21 of the heating body 2. Without departing from the context of the invention, the electric radiator 1 could be devoid of a frame, the heating body then being held on the housing by a suitable mechanical fixing device.

[0045] More particularly, the frame 22 here has the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, two of whose opposite main faces are perforated to allow the passage of air through the fins 23 as mentioned previously. One of the perforated faces is an air inlet face 24, visible in [Fig. 1], and the other perforated face is an air outlet face 25, visible in [Fig. 4]. It is understood that, when the electric radiator 1 is inserted into the heating, ventilation and / or air conditioning installation, the air flow circulating within this installation is caused to pass through the electric radiator 1 by entering through the air inlet face 24 and leaving through the air outlet face 25.

[0046] The heating elements 21 extend in a vertical main elongation direction, i.e. in the vertical direction V, and substantially parallel to each other. Between each heating element 21, radiant elements, here formed by fins 23, extend into the air flow circulation space to increase the heat exchange surface of the heating body with the air flow.

[0047] The fins 23 are formed by a corrugated sheet extending mainly in the vertical direction V, substantially parallel to the heating elements 21. During operation of the electric radiator 1, the heating elements 21 generate calories which are transmitted by conduction and / or convection to the fins 23. When the air flow passes through the air flow circulation space, an exchange of calories takes place between the metal wall, forming the fins 23, and the air flow such that the calories of the metal wall are exchanged with the air flow. Of course, the fins 23 can take other shapes than the corrugated shape illustrated, as long as these shapes make it possible to increase the exchange surface between the metal wall and the air flow and therefore to increase the number of calories capable of being transmitted to the air flow.

[0048] [Fig.l] illustrates more particularly a heat dissipation means 4 arranged at least partially opposite an openwork face of the heating body 2 and more precisely opposite the air inlet face 24.

[0049] The heat dissipation means 4 is according to the invention produced separately from the electronic control device and then attached to this electronic control device 3 by appropriate fixing means which will be described below.

[0050] The heat dissipation means 4 can advantageously be made of the same material as that used to make the housing of the electronic control device, namely in the example illustrated in aluminum. The heat dissipation means can in particular be obtained via a stamping process.

[0051] The heat dissipation means 4 comprises a common base 41 and a plurality of branches 42 which extend in series from the common base 41 in a vertical main elongation direction, parallel to the vertical direction V, each next to each other and parallel to each other. The branches 42 are arranged at regular intervals along the longitudinal direction L, with a spacing between two adjacent branches 42 which is of a value substantially equal to that of the spacing between two adjacent heating elements 21 of the heating body.

[0052] The heat dissipation means 4 is, as will be described in more detail in the description to come, secured at the level of the common base 41 to the electronic control device 3. The branches 42 extend opposite the air inlet face 24 of the heating body 2 and they are separated from each other by openings 43.

[0053] At the end of the branches 42 distal to the common base 41, the branches 42 are connected to each other by an end portion 44. This end portion 44 provides mechanical support to the heat dissipation means 4 and extends perpendicular to the main elongation direction of the branches 42 by joining said distal end of each of them. It should be noted that this end portion 44 is not limiting of the configuration that the heat dissipation means 4 can take and that, in an alternative embodiment, said distal end of each branch can be a free end.

[0054] The heat dissipation means 4 is configured and arranged relative to the heating body 2 so that each branch 42 extends opposite a heating element 21. More particularly, the dimensions of the branches 42, in the longitudinal direction L, are substantially equal to the dimensions of the heating elements 21 in the same longitudinal direction L. As a result, the branches 42 come strictly opposite the heating elements 21 and do not block the circulation of the air flow between said heating elements 21, that is to say the circulation of the air flow through the fins 23. It is understood that the openings 43 separating two adjacent branches 42 are arranged opposite the space between two adjacent heating elements 21, filled where appropriate by fins 23, and this arrangement makes it possible to ensure good circulation of the air flow through the heat dissipation means 4.

[0055] As visible in [Fig. 1] and described previously, the branches 42 and more broadly the heat dissipation means 4 extend in a vertical main elongation direction identical to the vertical main elongation direction of the heating elements 21. More specifically, in the embodiment shown, the heat dissipation means 4 extends from the electronic control device 3, and more particularly from the housing 31, opposite the air inlet face 24 over at least 25% of the length of the heating elements 21 in said vertical main elongation direction.

[0056] Such a covering of the heating body 2 over at least 25% of the length of the heating elements 21 is possible because the heat dissipation means 4 is a part added and secured to the housing 31. The manufacturing rules imposed during the manufacture, for example by stamping, of a single, substantially flat part are less restrictive than those imposed by a manufacture, for example by injection molding, of an assembly formed as in the prior art of a housing and an element projecting from the housing forming the heat dissipation means. It is understood that such a length of the heat dissipation means 4 in the vertical direction V makes it possible to exchange a large quantity of heat with the air flow passing through the electric radiator 1 and therefore to effectively cool the electronic control device 3.It should be noted that in an alternative embodiment, the covering of the heating body 2 by the heat dissipation means 4 in the main vertical elongation direction of the heating elements 21 may be at least 50% of the length of the heating elements 21 in said vertical direction V.

[0057] [Fig.2] illustrates in more detail the housing 31 in which the electronic components electronics are intended to be housed. The housing 31 is formed of a first compartment 311, forming the base of the housing, and a second compartment 312, forming the cover of the housing. The compartments 311, 312 are fixed to each other, here by means of a snap-fastening system by elastic deformation. More precisely, this snap-fastening system by elastic deformation is formed by the cooperation between a plurality of elastically deformable tabs 34 and a plurality of holding pins 35, each holding pin 35 being associated with a tab 34.

[0058] Furthermore, the first compartment 311 comprises a plurality of fixing means 36 intended to accommodate a fixing means such as a screw, for example for fixing the electric radiator 1 to the heating, ventilation and / or air conditioning installation.

[0059] The housing 31 comprises within it an internal volume defined between the first compartment 311 and the second compartment 312 and intended to house at least one printed circuit board on which is connected at least a part of the electronic components participating in the operation of the electronic control device 3, and among which an electronic component 10 is represented in dotted lines in [Fig.2],

[0060] The housing comprises at least one bottom wall 51 of the housing 31, and more precisely a bottom wall of the first compartment 311, which extends in a first main elongation plane and which forms a demarcation between the housing and the heating body. The internal volume within the housing is delimited by this bottom wall 51, by a first peripheral wall 52, which is formed in the continuity of the bottom wall 51, substantially perpendicular to the first main elongation plane of the bottom wall 51, by a cover wall 53 of the housing 31, and more precisely of the upper compartment 312, which is arranged opposite the bottom wall 51, and by a second peripheral wall 54 which extends substantially perpendicularly the surface wall 53, and which forms a continuity with the first peripheral wall when the housing is assembled. The first and second peripheral walls are thus intended to come into contact with each other so as to hermetically close the housing 31.

[0061] As mentioned, the bottom wall 51 is the wall of the housing 31 closest to the heating body 2 and it comprises a window 55 intended to be crossed by electrical connection means, not shown here, allowing the connection of the heating body 2 to the electronic control device 3.

[0062] Each wall 51, 52, 53 and 54 participating in delimiting the housing 31 has an internal face delimiting the internal volume and an external face opposite the internal face, the heat dissipation means 4 being intended to be fixed on one of said external faces of one of said walls 51, 52, 53 and 54.

[0063] [Fig. 3] illustrates the fixing of the heat dissipation means 4 against the face external of one of the walls 51, 52, 53 and 54 delimiting the internal volume of the housing 31. More specifically, [Fig.3] illustrates the fixing of the heat dissipation means 4 against the external face of the bottom wall 51 of the housing and even more particularly the fixing of the heat dissipation means 4 against a return edge 511 forming a projection from the external face of the bottom wall 51 of the housing 31.

[0064] The bottom wall 51 has an external face 510 opposite an internal face 512, visible in [Fig.2]. The external face 510 of the bottom wall 51 is intended to be in contact with the heat dissipation means 4.

[0065] As mentioned previously, the heat dissipation means 4 is an added part, i.e. made separately from the electronic control device 3, which is secured to the housing 31. For this purpose, the return edge 511, formed in the continuity of the bottom wall 51, offers a flat surface against which the heat dissipation means 4 is fixed.

[0066] [Fig. 3] shows an external face 510 of the return edge 511 as being the face facing away from the window 55, and the heat dissipation means 4 is intended to be secured to this external face 510 of the return edge 511 of the bottom wall 51. In contrast, the internal face 512 of the return edge 511, opposite the external face 510, is intended to be opposite the heating body 2 when the latter and the electronic control device are assembled.

[0067] The return edge 511 extends from the bottom wall 51 towards the heating body 2, extending in a second main elongation plane perpendicular to the first elongation plane of the bottom wall 51 in a direction substantially parallel to the vertical direction V. As illustrated in [Fig. 3], such a configuration makes it possible to have a large fixing surface in a plane parallel to the main elongation plane of the heat dissipation means. This makes it possible to make the fixing of the heat dissipation means on the housing more reliable, in particular by avoiding the need for the heat dissipation means to be fixed on one of its edges.

[0068] In the embodiment shown, the return edge 511 has a shape complementary to the common base 41 of the heat dissipation means 4. As symbolized by dotted lines in [Fig. 3], the common base 41 is intended to be fixed on the external face 510 of the bottom wall 51, more precisely on the external face 510 at the level of the return edge 511 of the bottom wall 51. This fixing of the heat dissipation means 4 to the housing 31 is preferably carried out by welding. This fixing method is facilitated by the composition of these two elements, both formed of a metallic material and more precisely of aluminum.

[0069] It should be noted that the fixing of the heat dissipation means 4 against the external face of a wall of the housing 31 advantageously makes it possible not to impact the sealing of the housing 31. Sealing means, not shown here, are provided at the junction of the heating body 2 and the housing 31 in the window 55, and it is notable that the fact that the common base 41 of the heat dissipation means 4 is pressed against the external face 510 of the return edge 511 of the bottom wall 51 makes it possible not to have to modify the configuration of these sealing means.

[0070] Figures 4 and 5 respectively illustrate a sectional view of the electric radiator 1 along the sectional plane AA visible in [Fig.l], and according to a sectional view of said electric radiator 1 along a plane perpendicular to the sectional plane AA and extending along the vertical direction V and the longitudinal direction L.

[0071] As particularly visible in [Fig. 4], the common base 41 of the heat dissipation means 4 extends in a first extension plane and the branches 42 extend in a second extension plane. More precisely, the first extension plane of the common base 41 and the second extension plane of the branches 42 are two parallel planes extending in the vertical direction V and the longitudinal direction L.

[0072] The heat dissipation means 4 comprises a detachment zone 45 which, as visible in [Fig. 5], extends over the entire longitudinal dimension of the heat dissipation means 4 between the common base 41 and the branches 42. This detachment zone 45 advantageously makes it possible to offset the second extension plane in which the branches 42 extend relative to the first extension plane in which the common base 4L extends. Such an offset of said extension planes leads to moving the branches 42 away from the heating body 2. It is understood that such a configuration of the heat dissipation means 4 makes it possible to limit the transmission of calories from the heating body 2 to the heat dissipation means 4.

[0073] Furthermore, the housing 31 of the electronic control device houses an electronic component 10 generating a large amount of heat. This electronic component 10 is arranged against the internal face 512 of the bottom wall 51 so as to be, as visible in [Fig. 4], as close as possible to the return edge 511 of the bottom wall 51. Such an arrangement of this electronic component 10 against the bottom wall makes it possible to efficiently transfer the heat generated by the electronic component 10 by means of heat dissipation 4, via a thermal convection surface formed by the walls of the housing which is as small as possible.

[0074] The invention as just described achieves the aim it set itself, that is to say to have an electronic control device comprising a housing in which is housed a plurality of electronic components, at least one of which generates heat and which is associated with a particularly effective heat dissipation means, by proposing a heat dissipation means forming a part added to the housing and the branches of the heat dissipation means of which extend opposite an openwork face of a heating body.

[0075] The invention cannot, however, be limited to the means and configurations exclusively described and illustrated, and also applies to all equivalent means or configurations and to any combination of such means or configurations provided that an electronic device for controlling an electric radiator comprises a heat dissipation means which is produced separately from the housing of this device and which is attached to this housing by an appropriate assembly operation.

Claims

Claims

1. Electronic control device (3) for an electric radiator (1), the electronic control device (3) comprising at least one housing (31) having a plurality of walls (51, 52, 53, 54) delimiting an internal volume intended to house at least one printed circuit board to which at least one electronic component (10) is connected, each wall (51, 52, 53, 54) of the housing (31) having an internal face (512) delimiting the internal volume and an external face (510) opposite the internal face (512), the electronic control device (3) comprising a heat dissipation means (4) separate from the housing (31) and fixed to the external face (510) of one of the walls (51, 52, 53, 54) of the housing (31), characterized in that the heat dissipation means (4) comprises a plurality of branches (42) extending in a direction of elongation main ones next to the other,the heat dissipation means (4) comprising a common base (41) for each of said branches (42).,

2. Electronic control device (3) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that at least the housing (31) and the heat dissipation means (4) are formed from the same material.

3. Electronic control device (3) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the heat dissipation means (4) is formed from aluminum.

4. Electronic control device (3) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the heat dissipation means (4) is secured to the housing (31) by welding.

5. Electronic control device (3) according to any one of the preceding claims in which the common base (41) extends in a first extension plane and the branches (42) extend in a second extension plane, characterized in that the heat dissipation means (4) has a detachment zone (45) configured to offset the second extension plane relative to the first extension plane.

6. Electronic control device (3) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the common base (41) of the heat dissipation means (4) is fixed on a return edge (511) of a bottom wall (51) of the housing (31).

7. Electronic control device (3) according to claim previous, characterized in that the bottom wall (51) extends in a first main elongation plane and the return edge (511) extends in a second main elongation plane, the second main elongation plane of the return edge (511) being perpendicular to the first main elongation plane of the bottom wall (51).

8. Electric radiator (1) comprising at least one heating body (2) and an electronic control device (3) according to any one of the preceding claims, the heating body (2) being intended to be traversed by an air flow and comprising a plurality of heating elements (21) arranged next to each other and extending in a main elongation direction, the heating body (2) comprising perforated faces (24, 25) so as to allow a flow of air passing through the electric radiator (1) at least between the heating elements (1), characterized in that the heat dissipation means (4) extends in said main elongation direction over at least 25% of the length of the heating elements (21).

9. Heating, ventilation and / or air conditioning installation for a motor vehicle comprising an electric radiator (1) according to the preceding claim.

Images