Cooling device

Abstract

To provide a cooling device configured so that effect of cooling a current path can be enhanced with a simple structure.SOLUTION: A cooling device comprises a pair of bus bars installed on a current path through which an inlet is connected to a battery, and coolers mounted on the bus bars. The bus bars respectively are arranged in contact with cooling surfaces provided on both sides of the coolers to sandwich the cooling surfaces. The coolers comprise pipes extending in a direction that is perpendicular to the cooling surface and penetrates through the bus bars. The bus bars are insulated from the cooling surfaces, and the cooling surfaces are insulated from the pipes. A direction of currents flowing through the bus bars is parallel to a direction of refrigerants flowing through the pipes.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a cooling device. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a cooling device in which a flow path for a refrigerant is formed in the housing of a vehicle charging inlet. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-025813 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The configuration disclosed in Patent Document 1 has room for improvement in order to increase the cooling effect of the current path to the battery with a simple structure.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in view of the above, and aims to provide a cooling device that can enhance the cooling effect of a current path with a simple structure. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The cooling device according to the present disclosure comprises a pair of bus bars installed on a current path connecting an inlet and a battery, and a cooler attached to the bus bars, wherein the bus bars are arranged in contact with cooling surfaces on both sides of the cooler, sandwiching the cooling surfaces, and the cooler comprises a pipe extending perpendicular to the cooling surfaces and passing through the bus bars, wherein the bus bars are insulated from the cooling surfaces and the cooling surfaces are insulated from the pipes, and the direction of the current flowing through the bus bars is parallel to the direction of the refrigerant flowing through the pipes. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present disclosure, the cooling effect of the current path can be improved with a simple structure. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a vehicle equipped with a cooling device according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the cooling device according to the embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the cooling device according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a modified example of the cooling device according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] A cooling device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the components in the following embodiments include those that are easily replaceable by those skilled in the art, or those that are substantially identical.

[0010] (cooling device) The configuration of a cooling device according to an embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 3. The cooling device according to the embodiment is mounted on a vehicle 1 as shown in Figure 1. The vehicle 1 is, for example, a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), or an electric vehicle (BEV: Battery Electric Vehicle).

[0011] The vehicle 1 includes an inlet 11 and a battery 12. A pair of bus bars 13 and 14 and a cooler 15 are provided in a current path connecting the inlet 11 and the battery 12. The cooling device according to the embodiment is configured by, for example, the bus bars 13 and 14 and the cooler 15.

[0012] The inlet 11 is a charging port into which a charging connector 21 of the charging stand 2 is inserted. Electric power supplied from the charging stand 2 to the inlet 11 is supplied to the battery 12 through a predetermined current path.

[0013] The battery 12 includes a connector 121 and a battery pack 122. The connector 121 is a terminal for receiving power from the inlet 11 into the battery pack 122. The battery pack 122 is configured by, for example, a lithium ion battery.

[0014] The bus bar 13 is, for example, a negative bus bar (N bus bar), and is installed on a current path connecting the inlet 11 and the battery 12. The bus bar 13 also has a pair of burrings 131 that protrude from one side of the cooling surface 151, i.e., the side of the bus bar 13. A pipe 152 is inserted inside the burrings 131.

[0015] The bus bar 14 is, for example, a positive bus bar (P bus bar), and is installed on a current path connecting the inlet 11 and the battery 12. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the bus bars 13 and 14 are arranged in contact with the cooling surfaces 151 provided on both sides of the cooler 15 so as to sandwich the cooling surfaces 151 therebetween.

[0016] The cooler 15 is attached to the bus bars 13 and 14. A refrigerant flow path through which a refrigerant flows is provided inside the cooler 15. The cooler 15 also includes a pair of cooling surfaces 151 and a pair of pipes 152.

[0017] The pair of cooling surfaces 151 are for cooling the bus bars 13 and 14. One of the pair of cooling surfaces 151 is disposed in contact with the bus bar 13. The other of the pair of cooling surfaces 151 is disposed in contact with the bus bar 14.

[0018] The pair of pipes 152 are used to introduce refrigerant into a refrigerant flow path in the cooler 15 and to discharge the refrigerant from the refrigerant flow path. The pair of pipes 152 extend in a direction perpendicular to the cooling surface 151. The pair of pipes 152 also penetrate the bus bar 13. The pair of pipes 152 also protrude from one side of the cooling surface 151, i.e., the side of the bus bar 13. The pair of pipes 152 are also inserted into a pair of burrings 131.

[0019] There is insulation between the pair of bus bars 13, 14 and the pair of cooling surfaces 151. There is also insulation between the pair of cooling surfaces 151 and the pair of pipes 152. As shown in part A of Fig. 3, the direction of the current flowing through the pair of bus bars 13, 14 and the direction of the refrigerant flowing through the pair of pipes 152 are parallel to each other.

[0020] (Variation) Here, the configuration of the cooling device according to the embodiment is not limited to that shown in Figures 1 to 3, and may be configured as shown in Figure 4, for example. The cooling device shown in Figure 4 differs from the cooling device shown in Figures 1 to 3 in the configurations of bus bars 13A, 14A and cooler 15A.

[0021] The bus bar 13A has a burring 131 that protrudes from one side of the cooling surface 151, that is, toward the bus bar 13A. Inside the burring 131, one of the pair of pipes 152A is inserted.

[0022] Bus bar 14A has burring 141 that protrudes from the other side of cooling surface 151, that is, toward bus bar 14A. Inside burring 141, the other of the pair of pipes 152A is inserted.

[0023] The cooler 15A includes a pair of cooling surfaces 151 and a pair of pipes 152A. The pipes 152A protrude from both sides of the cooling surfaces 151, one on each side.

[0024] The pair of pipes 152A extend in a direction perpendicular to the cooling surface 151. One of the pair of pipes 152A penetrates the bus bar 13A. One of the pair of pipes 152A protrudes to one side of the cooling surface 151, i.e., the side of the bus bar 13A. One of the pair of pipes 152A is inserted into the burring 131.

[0025] The other of the pair of pipes 152A penetrates bus bar 14A. The other of the pair of pipes 152A protrudes to the other side of cooling surface 151, i.e., the side of bus bar 14A. The other of the pair of pipes 152A is inserted into burring 141.

[0026] In vehicle quick charging systems, there is an increasing need to pass large amounts of power through the current path connecting the inlet and the battery. The trade-off with increasing power is heat generation in the current path, so there has been a demand for a method to cool the current path with a simple structure without increasing the installation space.

[0027] Therefore, in the cooling device according to the embodiment, bus bars 13, 14 (13A, 14A) and a cooler 15 (15A) are provided in a part of the current path connecting the inlet 11 and the battery 12. Furthermore, the two bus bars 13, 14 (13A, 14A) are closely fixed to the cooling surface 151 so as to face each other with the cooler 15 (15A) in between, and the bus bars 13, 14 and the cooling surface 151 are insulated from each other.

[0028] In the cooling device according to the embodiment, the bus bars 13, 14 (13A, 14A) can be cooled by water cooling due to the configuration as described above. Furthermore, the space required for insulation between the bus bars 13, 14 (13A, 14A) in the cooler 15 (15A) can be used both as a space for forming a refrigerant flow path and as a space for insulating the bus bars 13, 14 (13A, 14A), thereby minimizing the space occupied by the cooler 15 (15A). As an additional effect, the bus bars 13, 14 (13A, 14A) function as members that ensure the strength of the cooler 15 (15A), thereby reducing the thickness (plate thickness) of the cooler 15 (15A), thereby achieving miniaturization and improved cooling performance.

[0029] In the cooling device according to the embodiment, the pipes 152 (152A) are provided to protrude from two locations perpendicular to one side of the cooling surface 151 (see FIGS. 1 to 3) or from one location perpendicular to each side of the cooling surface 151 (see FIG. 4). The pipes 152 (152A) are provided to penetrate the bus bars 13 and 14 (13A and 14A).

[0030] In the cooling device according to the embodiment, the above-described configuration allows the direction in which the refrigerant flows to be perpendicular to the direction in which the refrigerant flows in the cooler 15 (15A) (see part A in FIGS. 3 and 4). This allows the height of the refrigerant flow path in the cooler 15 (15A) to be reduced, and the height of the refrigerant flow path can be made independent of the diameter of the pipe 152 (152A). As a further accompanying effect, the distance between the parallel-running bus bars 13, 14 (13A, 14A) is reduced, thereby enabling inductance to be reduced.

[0031] In the cooling device according to the embodiment, the pipe 152 (152A) and the burrings 131, 141 of the bus bars 13, 14 (13A, 14A) are tightly fixed to each other. This allows the cooling performance of the side surface of the pipe 152 (152A) to compensate for the reduction in the cooling surface 151 (reduction in cooling performance) caused by the pipe 152 (152A) penetrating the bus bars 13, 14 (13A, 14A).

[0032] 3 and 4, in the cooling device according to the embodiment, the direction of the current flowing through the bus bars 13, 14 (13A, 14A) is parallel to the direction of the refrigerant flowing through the pipe 152 (152A). This allows both bus bars 13, 14 (13A, 14A) to be uniformly cooled without being affected by the downstream effect.

[0033] The cooling device according to the embodiment described above can improve the cooling effect of the current path with a simple structure. Furthermore, the cooling device according to the embodiment can improve the cooling effect of the bus bars 13, 13A, 14, and 14A while preventing the cooling device from becoming large.

[0034] Further advantages and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Thus, the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific details and representative embodiments shown and described above. Accordingly, various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents. [Explanation of symbols]

[0035] 1 vehicle 11 Inlet 12 Battery 121 Connector 122 Battery Pack 13,13A bus bar (N bus bar) 131 Burlington 14,14A bus bar (P bus bar) 141 Burlington 15,15A cooler 151 Cooling surface 152,152A Pipe 2 Charging stand 21 Charging connector

Claims

[Claim 1] a pair of bus bars installed on a current path connecting the inlet and the battery; a cooler attached to the bus bar; and Equipped with the bus bars are arranged in contact with the cooling surfaces provided on both sides of the cooler so as to sandwich the cooling surfaces, the cooler includes a pipe extending in a direction perpendicular to the cooling surface and passing through the bus bar; The bus bar and the cooling surface are insulated from each other, The cooling surface and the pipe are insulated from each other, The direction of the current flowing through the bus bar is parallel to the direction of the refrigerant flowing through the pipe. Cooling device.

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