MOTOR VEHICLE COMPRISING A CONVERTER INCLUDING A COOLING CIRCUIT COMPRISING A COOLING CONDUIT
A cooling duct with a heat sink and leaf spring configuration addresses the inefficiencies of existing cooling devices by individually cooling electronic components, enhancing thermal management and assembly flexibility while preventing leakage and short circuits.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- FR · FR
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- STELLANTIS AUTO SAS
- Filing Date
- 2024-12-16
- Publication Date
- 2026-06-19
AI Technical Summary
Existing cooling devices for motor vehicle components, particularly electronic components, are insufficient for providing individualized and efficient cooling, especially when integrated with battery units.
A cooling duct with a peripheral opening and heat sink, comprising fins and a leaf spring, is used to individually cool electronic components, utilizing a plastic material for flexibility and a metallic material for thermal conductivity, with a sealing groove to prevent coolant leakage and insulating elements to reduce short circuits.
The solution effectively cools electronic components, reduces the risk of leakage and short circuits, and facilitates assembly within the vehicle, while maintaining efficient thermal management.
Smart Images
Figure 00000000_0000_ABST
Abstract
Description
Title of the invention: MOTOR VEHICLE COMPRISING A CONVERTER INCLUDING A COOLING CIRCUIT COMPRISING A COOLING CONDUIT
[0001] The invention relates to means of cooling the electronic components of motor vehicle converters.
[0002] Prior art patent application DE102013201582, which describes a cooling device for a battery unit, is known. The cooling device comprises a cavity through which a cooling fluid circulates. The cooling device includes a plastic conduit and a cooling element made of metallic material. The conduit and cooling elements are integrally connected. The metallic cooling element acts as structural reinforcement, while the plastic conduit provides flexibility to withstand pressure and temperature variations. However, a drawback remains. Indeed, the aforementioned cooling device describes a means of overall cooling for a battery unit.However, some components, particularly electronic components, require increased cooling, which may be insufficient with this type of device.
[0003] The objective of the present invention is to overcome these drawbacks and to efficiently cool each electronic component.
[0004] To achieve this objective, the invention proposes a motor vehicle comprising a converter, said converter comprising a cooling circuit comprising a cooling duct adapted to circulate a cooling fluid, notable in that the cooling duct comprises a peripheral opening, said peripheral opening comprising a heat sink, said heat sink comprising a plurality of fins extending inside said cooling duct, the cooling duct comprising a leaf spring, the cooling duct comprising an electronic component positioned between the leaf spring and said heat sink.
[0005] Thanks to the invention, the electronic component is efficiently cooled individually.
[0006] Advantageously, the cooling duct has a parallelepiped shape comprising at least a first face and a second face, the first face being perpendicular to the second face, said peripheral opening being positioned in said second face, the leaf spring being fixed to the first face by a fastening means, said leaf spring forming an angle or a curvature so that the leaf spring ensures the retention of the electronic component against the heat sink positioned on the second face.
[0007] Such a configuration allows for easy arrangement of the conduit within the vehicle.
[0008] Advantageously, the cooling duct comprises a plastic material.
[0009] Thus the cooling duct can have different shapes, which facilitates its assembly within the vehicle.
[0010] Advantageously, the heat sink comprises a metallic material.
[0011] Preferably, the metallic material comprises aluminum.
[0012] Thus the heat sink has good thermal conductivity, which allows efficient cooling of the electronic component.
[0013] Advantageously, said heat sink includes a groove comprising an O-ring so as to ensure the sealing of the cooling duct.
[0014] This configuration reduces the risk of coolant leakage through said peripheral opening.
[0015] Preferably, said electronic component includes an electrically insulating element positioned between said heat sink and said electronic component.
[0016] Thus, this reduces the risk of a short circuit between the heat sink and the electronic component. This helps to reduce the probability of an electrical accident or short circuit occurring.
[0017] Advantageously, the leaf spring comprises a metallic material.
[0018] A metal leaf spring allows for better support force on the components.
[0019] Advantageously, the leaf spring comprises a plastic material.
[0020] A plastic leaf spring reduces the capacitive coupling between them. Consequently, the common-mode electromagnetic currents flowing on the converter's ground cable are reduced.
[0021] Preferably, the electronic component is chosen from a transistor, an inductor, a transformer or a power capacitor.
[0022] These components require efficient cooling. Thus, the invention makes it possible to cool them properly, individually.
[0023] The invention will be further detailed by describing non-limiting embodiments, and based on the accompanying figures illustrating variants of the invention, in which: - [Fig. 1] schematically illustrates an isometric view representing a cooling duct of a cooling circuit of a motor vehicle converter according to an embodiment of the invention; - [Fig.2] schematically illustrates a cross-sectional view of the cooling duct shown in [Fig.1].
[0024] A cooling duct 1 of a cooling circuit for a vehicle converter is schematically illustrated in Figure 1. This can be any type of converter, for example, an AC / DC (Alternating Current / Direct Current), DC / DC (Direct Current / Direct Current), or DC / AC (Direct Current / Alternating Current) converter, but also an inverter, for example. In the case of an electric or hybrid vehicle, it can be the on-board charger, for example. The cooling duct 1 is suitable for circulating a cooling fluid. In Figure 1, the cooling duct has a first end 9 and a second end 10. The direction of flow of the cooling fluid is indicated by an arrow in Figure 1.Preferably, the cooling duct 1 is made of a plastic material. This makes it easier to create cooling ducts of various shapes, thus facilitating their arrangement within the vehicle. The cooling duct 1 has a peripheral opening 8 comprising a heat sink 2. The heat sink 2 is a device designed to dissipate the heat generated by the electronic components, in order to prevent them from overheating and thus allow them to function properly. Preferably, the heat sink 2 includes a groove in which an O-ring 3 is positioned, surrounding the heat sink 2 within the peripheral opening 8, so as to ensure the sealing of the cooling duct 1.In other words, the O-ring 3 reduces the risk of coolant leaking out of the cooling duct 1 between the peripheral opening 8 and the heat sink 2. The O-ring 3 is shown in [Fig. 2]. The heat sink 2 has a plurality of fins 4 extending inside the cooling duct 1. The fins 4 are therefore in full contact with the coolant flowing in the cooling duct 1. The fins 4 are shown in the cross-sectional view of the cooling duct 1 in [Fig. 2]. In addition, the cooling duct 1 has a leaf spring 5, preferably made of a metallic and / or plastic material. The leaf spring 5 is attached to the cooling duct 1 by means of a fastener 7, such as a screw, as shown in [Fig. 1].Optionally, the heat sink 2 includes a metallic material, such as aluminum. Such a material has good mechanical strength and is a good thermal conductor, which facilitates the cooling of the electronic component 6. The cooling duct 1 includes an electronic component 6, preferably. a transistor, an inductor, a transformer, or a power capacitor. The electronic component 6 is positioned between said heat sink 2 and said leaf spring 5, outside the cooling channel 1. In this way, the dielectric fluid flows in a sealed manner within the cooling channel 1, between the fins 4 of the heat sink 2. The heat sink 2 is thus cooled, which indirectly cools the electronic component 6, which is held firmly against said heat sink 2 by the leaf spring 5. In [Fig. 1], the cooling channel 1 serves to cool a single electronic component 6. However, optionally, the cooling channel 1 includes a plurality of leaf springs 5 and a plurality of peripheral openings 8, each comprising a heat sink 2, so as to cool a plurality of electronic components, whether identical or different.Preferably, the electronic component 6 includes an insulating element positioned between the heat sink 2 and the electronic component 6. This reduces the probability of an electrical accident or short circuit. Advantageously, and as illustrated in [Fig. 1], the cooling duct 1 has a parallelepiped shape. The cooling duct 1 therefore has four faces, including a first face and a second face. The first and second faces are perpendicular to each other. The peripheral opening 8, and consequently the heat sink 2 contained within said peripheral opening 8, is positioned on the second face. The leaf spring 5 is attached to the first face by means of the fastening means 7. The leaf spring 5 forms an angle or a curve such that said leaf spring 5 holds the electronic component 6 against the heat sink 2.
Claims
Demands
1. Motor vehicle comprising a converter, said converter comprising a cooling circuit comprising a cooling duct (1) capable of circulating a cooling fluid, characterized in that the cooling duct (1) has a peripheral opening (8), said peripheral opening (8) comprising a heat sink (2), said heat sink (2) comprising a plurality of fins (4) extending inside said cooling duct (1), the cooling duct (1) comprising a leaf spring (5), the cooling duct (1) comprising an electronic component (6) positioned between the leaf spring (5) and said heat sink (2).
2. Vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that the cooling duct (1) has a parallelepiped shape comprising at least a first face (la) and a second face (1b), the first face (la) being perpendicular to the second face (1b), said peripheral opening (8) being positioned in said second face (1b), the leaf spring (5) being fixed to the first face (la) by a fastening means (7), said leaf spring (5) forming an angle or a curvature so that the leaf spring (5) ensures the retention of the electronic component (6) against the heat sink (2) positioned on the second face (1b).
3. Vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the cooling duct (1) comprises a plastic material.
4. Vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the heat sink (2) comprises a metallic material.
5. Vehicle according to claim 4, characterized in that the metallic material comprises aluminum.
6. Vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that said heat sink (2) has a groove comprising an O-ring (3) so as to ensure the sealing of the cooling duct (1).
7. Vehicle according to claim 6, characterized in that said electronic component (6) comprises an electrically insulating element positioned between said heat sink (2) and said electronic component (6).
8. Vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the leaf spring (5) comprises a metallic material.
9. Vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the leaf spring (5) comprises a plastic material.
10. Vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the electronic component (6) is selected from a transistor, an inductor, a transformer or a power capacitor.