Heat dissipation member and power supply device

Abstract

To provide a heat dissipation member capable of maintaining good cooling performance while reducing constraints in a layout design of an electrical component.SOLUTION: A heat dissipation member for cooling an electrical component includes: a refrigerant flow path formed between an inlet and an outlet; and a pin fin and a vertical fin disposed in the refrigerant flow path. The problem was solved by the heat radiation part, in which the pin fin is preferentially disposed at a location where a component having a large heat generation amount is disposed, the vertical fin is preferentially disposed at a location where a flow path is oriented, and at least a part thereof is directed to a part of the pin fin.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a heat dissipation member used for cooling electrical components accompanied by heat generation. More specifically, the present invention relates to a heat dissipation member capable of efficiently dissipating heat according to the elements of a substrate constituting the electrical components and the arrangement of peripheral components, and a power supply device provided with the heat dissipation member.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, as cooling fins for dissipating heat from electrical components accompanied by heat generation by air cooling or water cooling, pin-shaped pin fins as shown in Patent Document 1 and vertical fins extending along a refrigerant flow path as shown in Patent Document 2 are known. Although pin fins have high cooling performance because they can have a large surface area in contact with the refrigerant, it is difficult to control the direction in which the refrigerant flows. Although vertical fins are easy to control the direction in which the refrigerant flows, there is a problem that they are inferior in terms of cooling performance. Based on such differences in characteristics, at present, pin fins or vertical fins are selected according to the priority items required in the required specifications of electrical components.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, as long as the selected fins are pin fins or vertical fins, as described above, since the cooling performance and the flow path controllability are in an antinomic relationship, the performance of the heat dissipation member is subject to certain restrictions. Under such restrictions, there has been a problem that the design difficulty of component arrangement becomes extremely high.

[0005] The present invention aims to address such problems, and an object thereof is to provide a heat radiating member and a power supply device that can maintain good cooling performance while reducing constraints in the layout design of electrical components.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] In order to achieve such an object, the technical means according to the present invention is a heat radiating member that at least includes the following configuration.

[0007] A heat radiating member for cooling electrical components, comprising a refrigerant flow path formed between an inlet and an outlet, and pin fins and vertical fins disposed in the refrigerant flow path. The pin fins are preferentially disposed at locations where components with a large heat generation amount are arranged, and the vertical fins are preferentially disposed at locations for directing the flow path, and at least a part thereof is a bent-shaped vertical fin directed toward a part of the pin fins.

[0008] In order to achieve the above object, the technical means according to the present invention is a power supply device that at least includes the following configuration.

[0009] An in-vehicle power supply device, comprising a heat radiating member for cooling electrical components. The heat radiating member has a refrigerant flow path formed between an inlet and an outlet, and pin fins and vertical fins disposed in the refrigerant flow path. The pin fins are preferentially disposed at locations where components with a large heat generation amount are arranged, and the vertical fins are preferentially disposed at locations for directing the flow path, and at least a part thereof is a bent-shaped vertical fin directed toward a part of the pin fins.

Effects of the Invention

[0010] By having such characteristics, the present invention exhibits the following operational effects. It is possible to provide a heat radiating member and a power supply device that can maintain good cooling performance while reducing constraints in the layout design of electrical components.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a power supply device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 2 is an enlarged perspective view of part A of FIG. 1, showing an enlarged view of a part of the power supply device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 3] 1 is a plan view of a power supply device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of a power supply device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a plan view of a power supply device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a plan view of a power supply device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a plan view of a power supply device as a comparative example. [Figure 8] 10 shows the results of a simulation performed to verify the difference in flow velocity in the area where the pin fins of the comparative example and the first embodiment are arranged. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of a power supply device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the drawings below have been created for the purpose of explanation, and for the sake of clarity, components not necessary for the explanation may be intentionally omitted. Also, components may be intentionally illustrated larger or smaller for the purpose of explanation, and the drawings are not drawn to an exact scale. In the following description, the same reference numerals in different drawings indicate parts with the same function, and duplicate explanations in each drawing will be omitted as appropriate.

[0013] First Embodiment Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a power supply device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of part A of Fig. 1, showing an enlarged portion of the power supply device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the power supply device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0014] Figure 1 shows a power supply device 100 such as a DC-DC converter mounted on an electric vehicle or the like. In the power supply device 100, a heat dissipation member 1 is disposed on an electric machine component housing case 2. Heat generating bodies (not shown) such as power transistors and capacitors are housed in the electric machine component housing case 2. The heat dissipation member 1 is a so-called heat sink that efficiently combines heat conduction, convection, and radiation to dissipate the heat generated by the heat generating body, and its cooling performance is designed so that electronic components such as power transistors and capacitors, which are heat generating bodies, do not exceed their heat resistance temperature.

[0015] In the heat dissipation member 1, a large number of fins (11, 12, 121, 122) are arranged on a base portion 10 at an upper layer side portion of the power supply device 100. In FIG. 1, the base portion 10 is described as "1(10)" as a representative of the heat dissipation member 1.

[0016] Also, by covering the heat dissipation member 1 shown in FIG. 1 with a flow path cover (not shown), an inlet Cin and an outlet Cout for the refrigerant are formed. Although not shown in FIG. 1, the flow path cover is provided with a protruding portion directed toward the base portion 10 of the heat dissipation member 1, and a broken line is drawn at the position of the base portion 10 where the protruding portion abuts. In this way, by covering the heat dissipation member 1 with the flow path cover, the inlet Cin and the outlet Cout are formed.

[0017] The base portion 10 is made of a material having high thermal conductivity, and for example, aluminum or castings are adopted.

[0018] The large number of fins are roughly classified into pin fins 11 and vertical fins 12. The category of the vertical fins 12 includes bent shape vertical fins 121 and arc-shaped vertical fins 122. Further, there are a plurality of types of arc-shaped vertical fins 122 having different radii.

[0019] The refrigerant flowing in from the inlet Cin flows through the gaps between a large number of fins (11, 12, 121, 122) and is discharged from the outlet Cout. The refrigerant is, for example, water or an aqueous ethylene glycol solution, but it is also possible to use gases such as hydrofluoroolefins and hydrofluorocarbons.

[0020] By the way, in recent automobiles, there is a tendency to arrange a large number of electrical components and other components in narrow spaces, and it is difficult to have a margin in the piping of the cooling water. For example, when the cooling water is supplied from the vehicle, there are many cases where the piping connected to the inlet and the piping connected to the outlet must be arranged close to each other. Also in the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the refrigerant flowing in from the inlet Cin is directed upward on the paper surface, then the direction is changed to the right, and on the right side of the power supply device 100, it is directed to the left, and the direction of the flow path is folded back. Finally, it is configured such that the inflow pipe (not shown) and the discharge pipe (not shown) are arranged close to each other so as to be discharged from the outlet Cout adjacent to the inlet Cin.

[0021] If there are no restrictions on the arrangement space and the piping can be freely routed, in FIG. 3, for example, if it is possible to let the refrigerant flow in from the left and discharge it from the right, a large number of vertical fins in a straight line extending across the left and right can be arranged in parallel to cope with it. In such a fin shape, the flow velocity will not differ much in each part of the fins on the left and right sides. As the refrigerant flows, the water temperature rises, so a simple layout device such as arranging parts with a large heat generation amount upstream of the water path will be sufficient.

[0022] However, as described above, in reality, the piping is subject to layout restrictions, and the layout of each component is also subject to many restrictions due to electrical connections, and it is not always possible to arrange the heat-generating components upstream of the water path. Therefore, in the first embodiment, considering the characteristics of the pin fins 11 and the vertical fins 12, suitable arrangements and shapes for both are considered.

[0023] As shown in Fig. 3, the flow path from the inlet Cin is first directed upward on the paper by the vertical fins 12 extending up and down on the paper. Then, the flow path is changed direction via a curved portion, and directed rightward by the vertical fins 12 extending left and right on the paper. However, not all vertical fins 12 extend straight left and right, but some vertical fins 12 are bent vertical fins 121 that bend toward an area where many pin fins 11 are erected, forming a flow path guide portion to the pin fins 11 (see also the enlarged perspective view in Fig. 2).

[0024] As mentioned above, pin fins have a large surface area in contact with the refrigerant, resulting in high cooling performance. As shown in FIG. 3, the pin fins 11 are centrally located. Placing switching elements such as power transistors, capacitors, and coils closer to the center increases the design flexibility of the circuit layout. Therefore, the pin fins 11 are centrally located. However, simply placing the pin fins 11 in the center does not necessarily improve overall cooling performance. This is because the refrigerant flow rate also plays a major role. It is important not to reduce the flow rate of the refrigerant guided toward the area where the pin fins 11 are located. For this reason, the heat dissipation member 1 of the power supply device 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is provided with a curved vertical fin 121. As shown in FIG. 2, only one curved vertical fin 121 is provided, but it has been confirmed that the presence or absence of the curved vertical fin 121 significantly affects cooling performance. This will be discussed later with simulation results.

[0025] It is also important to minimize the reduction in flow velocity at the position where the flow path to the right turns back to the left. For this reason, the heat dissipation member 1 of the power supply device 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is provided with arc-shaped vertical fins 122, in which multiple arcs with different radii are arranged in layers. Because the flow path is formed in multiple arc shapes, it is possible to minimize the reduction in the flow velocity of the refrigerant.

[0026] Thus, in the heat dissipation member 1 of the power supply device 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the pin fins 11 are preferentially arranged at locations where components with a large heat generation amount are arranged, and the vertical fins 12 are preferentially arranged at locations where the direction of the flow path is determined. Here, the term "preferentially" means that there may be exceptions. For example, in FIG. 3, the flow path from right to left finally changes its direction downward in the plane of the drawing, but no vertical fin 12 is provided here. Also, in FIG. 3, there may be a situation where it is impossible not to arrange any heat generating components in the region where the arc-shaped vertical fins 122 are arranged. However, there may also be a choice not to arrange the pin fins 11 in the region where heat generating components are arranged. In short, "preferentially" means that, overall, there is generally such a tendency, and it is not intended that there must be pin fins at locations where components with a large heat generation amount are arranged, and there must be vertical fins at positions where the flow path changes.

[0027] Also, in the heat dissipation member 1 of the power supply device 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, in a case where the inlet Cin and the outlet Cout of the refrigerant flow path are arranged substantially side by side and the path is circular, with the inner and outer sides defined thereby, it can be understood that more pin fins 11 are arranged on the inner side and more vertical fins 12 are arranged on the outer side. When the flow path is curved, the cooling water tends to be biased to the outer side of the curve. Also, in terms of flow velocity, the flow velocity on the inner side of the curve is lower than that on the outer side of the curve. The inner side of the curve is difficult to cool, and if a heat generating body is arranged on the inner side of the curve, there is a risk that it cannot be cooled. Therefore, the pin fins 11, which are advantageous in terms of cooling performance, are arranged on the inner side. In other words, since the flow velocity on the outer side is relatively high, it can be dealt with by the vertical fins 12.

[0028] <Second Embodiment> FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a part of the power supply device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the heat radiating member 1 of the power supply device 100A according to the second embodiment, the flow path from an inlet Cin (not shown) to an outlet Cout (not shown) is circular, and not all of the vertical fins 12 extend straight left and right. Some of the vertical fins 12 are formed as bent shape vertical fins 121 that bend toward the region where a large number of pin fins 11' are erected, and form a flow path guiding portion to the pin fins 11'. This is the same as the power supply device 100 according to the first embodiment.

[0029] Also, the height of the vertical fins 12 in the second embodiment is the same as the height of the vertical fins 12 in the first embodiment. However, the height of the pin fins 11' in the second embodiment is larger than that of the pin fins 11 in the first embodiment. In other words, in the second embodiment, it can be said that the height of the pin fins 11' is larger than the height of the vertical fins 12. This is the idea of maximizing the feature of the pin fins that the surface area in contact with the refrigerant can be increased. The power supply device 100A according to the second embodiment also includes a flow path cover (not shown). The heat radiating member according to the second embodiment can be regarded as a technical idea that the distance between the vertical fins 12 and the flow path cover is larger than the distance between the pin fins 11' and the flow path cover. However, when the running body is a motorcycle and the natural wind during running is used as the refrigerant instead of using a liquid or a special gas as the refrigerant, in particular, an aspect without providing a flow path cover is also assumed. Therefore, the specification by the height of the fins and the specification by the distance between the cover and the fins are not exactly the same. In the second embodiment, not all of them need to be pin fins 11', and some can be pin fins 11. That is, pin fins 11' higher than the vertical fins 12 and pin fins 11 having the same height as the vertical fins 12 may be mixed. It can be appropriately set according to the arrangement of the heat generating bodies and the cooling performance required according to the heat generation amount of each heat generating body.

[0030] <Third Embodiment> FIG. 5 is a plan view of a power supply device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. The ratio of the area where pin fins 11 are arranged in the heat dissipation member 1 of the power supply device 100B according to the third embodiment is significantly larger than in the first and second embodiments. Depending on the circuit configuration, it may be necessary to arrange the heat generating element on the outside rather than confining it to the center. In such cases, the technical idea is to arrange pin fins 11 in areas where the heat generating element is located, other than the center. Although there are no vertical fins to fold back from right to left on the paper, the flow path case provides a wall at the outermost edge of the entire flow path, thereby achieving a refrigerant flow reversal. While a reduction in flow velocity is inevitable, this design is possible when the heat generation amount of the heat generating element, flow velocity, and the cooling performance of the pin fins are all considered.

[0031] <Fourth embodiment> FIG. 6 is a plan view of a power supply device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. The power supply device 100C according to the fourth embodiment is assumed to have some space available for installation. While it is not possible to have the refrigerant flow in from the left and out from the right, it is possible to arrange the piping so that the refrigerant flows in from the bottom of the page and flows out from the right side of the page. While a circular flow path would significantly reduce the refrigerant imbalance and flow rate, the fourth embodiment can somewhat minimize this. Even if the refrigerant flow path is not circular and the path from the inlet to the outlet is not linear, it is clear that the inside and outside are defined as shown in FIG. 6 . Needless to say, the area where the pin fins 11 are arranged is the inside, and the area where the vertical fins 12 are arranged is the outside. In the fourth embodiment, as in the first embodiment, pin fins 11, which are advantageous in terms of cooling performance, are arranged on the inside where a decrease in flow velocity occurs and where it is easy to arrange heat generating elements in terms of circuit design, thereby providing the advantageous effect of enabling a design that does not exceed the heat resistance temperature required for electronic components.

[0032] <Cooling performance verification> An evaluation of cooling performance using the first embodiment of the present invention will now be described. Fig. 7 is a plan view of a power supply device prepared as a comparative example for the first embodiment. Comparing Fig. 3 with Fig. 7, it is immediately apparent that the first embodiment of the present invention has one of its features, namely, bent vertical fins 121 directed toward a portion of the pin fins, whereas the comparative example does not have this feature.

[0033] Figure 8 shows the results of a simulation conducted to verify the difference in flow velocity in the area where the pin fins of the comparative example and the first embodiment are arranged. Because the original color image is grayscale, it is difficult to see, but in the area where the pin fins of interest are arranged, the flow velocity in the comparative example was 0.05 to 0.1 m / s, while the flow velocity in the first embodiment was 0.15 to 0.2 m / s. This value is comparable to the flow velocity near vertical fins arranged other than the inlet Cin. Naturally, the flow velocity is high at the inlet Cin, where the flow path is narrow. Under these flow velocity conditions, the pin fins of the first embodiment can sufficiently reduce their thermal resistance compared to the pin fins of the comparative example.

[0034] The heat dissipation member and power supply device according to the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, but the specific configurations are not limited to these embodiments, and the present invention also includes design changes within the scope of the present invention without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, although the embodiments have been described as targeting electrical or electronic circuits as the object to be cooled, the object may also be an electrical component including a heat-generating mechanical component, such as a motor-integrated inverter. Furthermore, the location where the heat dissipation member and power supply device are disposed is not limited to the engine compartment, and the present invention also includes the drive shaft of the drive wheels driven by the motor of an electric motorcycle. As described in this specification, regarding the selection of pin fins and vertical fins, cooling performance and flow path controllability are in conflict. Therefore, in light of the problem that the performance of the heat dissipation member is subject to certain constraints and the difficulty of component layout design becomes extremely high, it should be correctly recognized that the present invention, which not only simply mixes pin fins and vertical fins but also finds significant specifications for the layout and shape of both, can take various forms according to the differences in the constraint situations of various electrical components and auxiliary facilities such as cooling water pipes.

Explanation of Signs

[0035] 1 Heat dissipation member 10 Base part 11 Pin fin 11’ Pin fin 12 Vertical fin 121 Bent shape vertical fin 122 Arc-shaped vertical fin 2 Electrical component housing case 100 Power supply device

Claims

1. A heat dissipation member for cooling an electrical component, comprising: a refrigerant flow path formed between an inlet and an outlet, and pin fins and vertical fins disposed in the refrigerant flow path; the pin fins are preferentially disposed at locations where components with a large heat generation amount are disposed; the vertical fins are preferentially disposed at locations for directing the flow path, and at least a part thereof is a bent-shaped vertical fin directed toward a part of the pin fins A heat dissipation member characterized by the above.

2. The refrigerant flow path is such that the path from the inlet to the outlet is not linear and the inner and outer sides are defined, the pin fins are mostly disposed on the inner side, the vertical fins are mostly disposed on the outer side The heat dissipation member according to claim 1, characterized by the above.

3. The refrigerant flow path is such that the inlet and the outlet are arranged substantially side by side, and the inner and outer sides are defined by the path being circular. The heat dissipation member according to claim 2, characterized by the above.

4. The pin fins include at least a part of pin fins having a height greater than the height of the vertical fins The heat dissipation member according to claim 1, characterized by the above.

5. Comprising a flow path cover facing the direction in which the pin fins and the vertical fins project, the distance between the vertical fins and the flow path cover is greater than the distance between the pin fins and the flow path cover The heat dissipation member according to claim 1, characterized by the above.

6. The bent-shaped vertical fins are disposed only at the flow path guiding portions to the pin fins The heat dissipation member according to claim 1, characterized by the above.

7. A part of the vertical fins are a plurality of arc-shaped vertical fins with different radii, and the arcs are arranged in layers The heat dissipation member according to claim 1, characterized by the above.

8. Equipped with the heat dissipation member according to any one of claims 1 to 7 An in-vehicle power supply device characterized by the above.

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