Inverter heat dissipation device

Abstract

To provide a heat discharge device for solving a problem of the conventional heat discharge device in which heat is apt to remain in a space above a cover member and it is difficult to sufficiently discharge the heat.SOLUTION: A heat discharge device for an inverter 1 mounted in an internal space 52 of a vehicle V includes: an inner cover 3 which covers the inverter 1 installed on a board 2; a cooling fan 4 which blows air to the inverter 1 from below the board 2; and an outer cover 6 which forms a heat radiation space 5 between the inner cover 3 and itself. The inner cover 3 includes a first exhaust flow passage F1 for discharging exhaust air from the inverter 1, between the board 2 and itself. The outer cover 6 includes a second exhaust flow passage F2 which communicates with the outlet of the first exhaust flow passage F1 from the heat radiation space 5. At the outlets of the first exhaust flow passage F1 and the second exhaust flow passage F2, the heat discharge device includes a confluence space S in which air in the second exhaust flow passage F2 is sucked by an exhaust stream in the first exhaust flow passage F1. Thereby, heat generated in the inverter 1 is inhibited from remaining, so that the sufficient discharge of the heat is achieved.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an inverter heat dissipation device used to dissipate heat from an inverter mounted in an interior space of a vehicle such as an electric vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] A conventional heat dissipation device for an inverter is described, for example, in Patent Document 1. The heat dissipation device described in Patent Document 1 is for a vehicle equipped with a power supply unit and an inverter for external power supply behind the rear seat, and the inverter is disposed in a recess and is provided with a cover member that separates the recess from the space above the floor panel. The heat dissipation device forms a circulation path from the power supply unit to the recess, and the cover member is formed with an inlet from the outside to the recess and an outlet from the recess to the outside.

[0003] The heat dissipation device cools the inverter by circulating exhaust air from the power supply device through the recess, introducing air from the outside into the recess through the inlet, and discharging air from the recess to the outside through the outlet. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 5831343 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, the heat dissipation device described above has a structure in which the heat discharged from the power supply unit passes through the inverter and air is circulated between the space above the cover member and the recess, which means that heat tends to accumulate in the space above the cover member, making it difficult to sufficiently discharge heat from the inverter.The challenge was to solve this problem.

[0006] The present invention has been made in response to the above-mentioned conventional problems, and aims to provide an inverter heat dissipation device that can suppress the accumulation of exhaust heat from the inverter and dissipate heat sufficiently. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The heat dissipation device for an inverter according to the present invention is a heat dissipation device for an inverter mounted in the interior space of a vehicle. This heat dissipation device includes an inner cover that covers the inverter mounted on a circuit board, a cooling fan that blows air to the inverter from below the circuit board, and an outer cover that forms a heat dissipation space between the inner cover and the circuit board. The heat dissipation device is characterized in that the inner cover has a first exhaust flow path between the inner cover and the circuit board for discharging exhaust air from the inverter, the outer cover has a second exhaust flow path that communicates with the heat dissipation space and an outlet of the first exhaust flow path, and a confluence space at the outlets of the first and second exhaust flow paths where the exhaust flow of the first exhaust flow path draws air in the second exhaust flow path.

[0008] The inverter heat dissipation device having the above-described configuration cools the inverter using air blown by a cooling fan. Exhaust air containing heat collected from the inverter mainly flows out from the first exhaust flow path to the outside of the inner cover. Meanwhile, heat from the inverter is also transferred to the inner cover, released into the heat dissipation space between the inner cover and the outer cover, and flows into the second exhaust flow path. At this time, the heat dissipation device draws in air in the second exhaust flow path in the confluence space due to the negative pressure of the exhaust flow flowing out from the first exhaust flow path. As a result, the heat dissipation device confluences the air in the first exhaust flow path heated by the inverter and the air in the second exhaust flow path heated in the heat dissipation space, and then discharges the combined air. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] By adopting the above-described configuration, the inverter heat dissipation device according to the present invention can suppress retention of the waste heat from the inverter and can dissipate the heat sufficiently. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1]1 is a cross-sectional view showing a first embodiment of a heat dissipation device for an inverter according to the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a state in which the floor panel shown in FIG. 1 has been removed. [Figure 3] 2 is a plan view showing a state in which an outer cover shown in FIG. 1 is removed. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] First Embodiment The inverter heat dissipation device shown in FIG. 1 is a heat dissipation device for an inverter 1 mounted in the interior space of a vehicle V. The vehicle V is an electric vehicle. In this embodiment, the interior space is a lower space 52 formed below an openable bottom panel 51 in a trunk room (or luggage room) 50 at the rear of the vehicle. The lower space 52 is provided with a draft lid 53, as shown by the imaginary lines in FIGS. 2 and 3, and houses an inverter 1 for external power supply connected to a power supply device (not shown).

[0012] The above-mentioned heat dissipation device includes an inner cover 3 that covers the inverter 1 installed on the board 2, a cooling fan 4 that blows air from the bottom of the board 2 to the inverter 1, and an outer cover 6 that forms a heat dissipation space 5 between itself and the inner cover 3.

[0013] The inner cover 3 functions as a protector to protect the inverter 1. The cooling fan 3 is attached to the lower side of an opening 1A formed in the circuit board 1, and blows air to the inverter 1 above it. An intake air flow path 7 is formed below the circuit board 2, leading from the outside of the vehicle V to the cooling fan 4. The end of this intake air path 7 is closed by the circuit board 2.

[0014] The outer cover 6 is also called a luggage spacer and has a three-dimensional structure with storage areas for, for example, a spare tire and tools. In this embodiment, the outer cover 6 has an air guide 6A that connects the inside and outside of the outer cover 6.

[0015] In the heat dissipation device, the inner cover 3 has a first exhaust flow path F1 between it and the substrate 2, through which exhaust air (arrow Aa) from the inverter 1 flows out, and the outer cover 6 has a second exhaust flow path F2 that communicates from the heat dissipation space 5 to the outlet of the first exhaust flow path F1. The first exhaust flow path F1 is formed along the axis of the exhaust air Aa from the inverter 1. The heat dissipation device also has a confluence space S at the outlets of the first exhaust flow path F1 and the second exhaust flow path F2, where the exhaust flow of the first exhaust flow path F1 draws in air in the second exhaust flow path F2.

[0016] In addition, in the above-mentioned heat dissipation device, the outer cover 6 has the aforementioned air guide 6A, i.e., the air guide 6A that leads from the merging space S to the outside (inside the lower space 52), and is positioned so that the outlet of the merging space S (the outlet of the air guide 6A) faces the draft 53.

[0017] To explain the configuration of the above-mentioned heat dissipation device in more detail, the inner cover 3 has an inclined surface 3A that gradually reduces the cross-sectional area of ​​the first exhaust flow path F1 in the exhaust direction (to the right in Figure 1), and extends horizontally with the substrate 2 as its bottom, with its end open in the confluence space S.

[0018] The inner cover 3 also has vertical guide wall portions 3B, 3B extending along both sides in the exhaust direction in the merging space S. In other words, the inner cover 3 has a shape in which the upper wall is cut out in the merging space S, leaving the left and right guide wall portions 3B, 3B.

[0019] Furthermore, the inner cover 3 has fins 8 formed along the exhaust direction on its upper surface on the side of the second exhaust flow path F2, and in the illustrated example, four fins 8 are arranged parallel to each other at a predetermined interval.

[0020] The outer cover 6 covers the inner cover 3, and between the outer cover 6 and the inner cover 3, a heat dissipation space 4 and a second exhaust flow path F2 that extends diagonally downward from the end of the heat dissipation space 5, with the inclined surface 3A of the inner cover 3 as its bottom. The second exhaust flow path F2 opens at the junction space S. An air guide 6A of the outer cover 6 extends along the discharge direction of the first exhaust flow path F1 and the second exhaust flow path (to the right in FIG. 1). The air guide 6A opens horizontally toward the drafter 53.

[0021] The heat dissipation device for the inverter 1 having the above-described configuration introduces outside air into the intake air flow path 7 as indicated by arrow Ab, and cools the inverter 1 with the air blown by the cooling fan 4 (arrow Ac). The inverter 1 discharges exhaust air Aa containing recovered heat. The exhaust air Aa from the inverter 1 flows to the outside through the first exhaust flow path F1 as indicated by arrow A1 in FIGS. 1 and 3. At this time, the heat dissipation device has an inner cover 3 with an inclined surface 3A that gradually reduces the cross-sectional area of ​​the first exhaust flow path F1, so that the speed of the air flowing through the first exhaust flow path F1 increases and the pressure decreases.

[0022] On the other hand, in the above-mentioned heat dissipation device, as shown by the arrow Ad in Figure 1, the heat from the inverter 1 is also transferred to the inner cover 3, released into the heat dissipation space 4 between the inner cover 3, and flows into the second exhaust flow path F2.

[0023] At this time, the heat dissipation device sucks in air in the second exhaust flow path F2 as shown by arrow A2 in Figures 1 and 3 due to the negative pressure of the exhaust flow A1 flowing through the first exhaust flow path F1 in the confluence space S. As a result, the heat dissipation device confluences the air in the first exhaust flow path F1 heated by the inverter 1 and the air in the second exhaust flow path F2 heated in the heat dissipation space 4, and discharges the combined air to the outside.

[0024] In addition, the above-mentioned heat exhaust device discharges heated air into the lower space 52, but since the lower space 52 is partitioned by the bottom panel 51, hot air does not accumulate throughout the trunk room TR, and the draft lid 53 makes it possible to release the hot air in the lower space 52 to the outside of the vehicle V.

[0025] In this way, the heat dissipation device allows heated air to flow in only one direction when the cooling fan 4 is driven, thereby preventing the accumulation of heat exhausted from the inverter 1 and enabling sufficient heat dissipation. The heat dissipation device forms the first exhaust flow path F1 along the axis of the exhaust Aa of the inverter 1, thereby reducing the pressure loss from the inverter 1 to the outside of the inner cover 3.

[0026] Furthermore, in the above-mentioned heat dissipation device, the outer cover 6 has an air guide 6A that leads from the confluence space S to the outside, which prevents heated air from stagnating or circulating between devices arranged near the outer cover 6, thereby improving heat dissipation efficiency.

[0027] Furthermore, in the above-mentioned heat dissipation device, the inner cover 3 has an inclined surface 3A that gradually reduces the cross-sectional area of ​​the first exhaust flow path F1 in the exhaust direction, thereby increasing the speed and reducing the pressure of the air discharged from the first exhaust flow path F1, thereby enhancing the jet effect and more reliably sucking in and discharging the air in the second exhaust flow path F2.

[0028] Furthermore, in the above-mentioned heat dissipation device, the inner cover 3 has guide wall portions 3B, 3B extending along both sides of the exhaust direction in the confluence space S, which can increase the directionality of the air flowing out from the first exhaust flow path F1, thereby contributing to further improving the above-mentioned jet effect.

[0029] Furthermore, in the above-mentioned heat dissipation device, the inner cover 3 has fins 8 on the surface facing the second exhaust flow path F2, which straightens the air flowing into the second exhaust flow path F2, and together with the jet effect in the first exhaust flow path F1, makes the suction and exhaust of air in the second exhaust flow path F2 smoother.

[0030] Furthermore, the above-mentioned heat dissipation device has an intake passage 7 that runs from the outside to the cooling fan 4, and the intake passage 7 is blocked at its end by the substrate 2, so that low-temperature outside air can be supplied to the inverter 1 without waste, thereby improving the cooling efficiency of the inverter 1.

[0031] Furthermore, the above-mentioned heat dissipation device is positioned so that the outlet of the merging space S (the outlet of the air guide 6A) faces the draft fin 53, so that the air discharged from the outer cover 6 can be actively released to the outside of the vehicle V, as shown by arrows A3 and A4 in Figure 3, thereby further improving the heat dissipation efficiency of the lower space 52.

[0032] The configuration of the inverter heat dissipation device according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be modified as appropriate within the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0033] 1 inverter 2 boards 3 Inner cover 3A Slope 3B Guide wall 4 cooling fans 5 Heat dissipation space 6 Outer cover 6A Air Guide 7 Intake passage 8 Fin 52 Lower space (internal space) 53 Draft F1 First exhaust passage F2 Second exhaust passage S merging space TR Storage Room V vehicle

Claims

1. A heat dissipation device for an inverter mounted in an interior space of a vehicle, an inner cover that covers the inverter installed on the board; a cooling fan that blows air from a lower portion of the board to the inverter; an outer cover that forms a heat dissipation space between itself and the inner cover; a first exhaust flow path for allowing exhaust gas from the inverter to flow out between the inner cover and the substrate; the outer cover has a second exhaust passage communicating from the heat dissipation space to an outlet of the first exhaust passage, a confluence space at the outlets of the first exhaust flow path and the second exhaust flow path, through which the exhaust flow of the first exhaust flow path draws in air in the second exhaust flow path;

2. 2. The inverter heat dissipation device according to claim 1, wherein the first exhaust flow path is formed along an axis of the exhaust air from the inverter.

3. 3. The inverter heat dissipation device according to claim 1, wherein the outer cover has an air guide extending from the joining space to the outside.

4. 4. The inverter heat dissipation device according to claim 1, wherein the inner cover has an inclined surface that gradually reduces the cross-sectional area of ​​the first exhaust flow path in the exhaust direction.

5. 5. The inverter heat dissipation device according to claim 1, wherein the inner cover has guide wall portions extending along both sides of the joining space in the exhaust direction.

6. 6. The inverter heat dissipation device according to claim 1, wherein the inner cover has fins formed along the exhaust direction on a surface on the second exhaust flow path side.

7. 7. The inverter heat dissipation device according to claim 1, further comprising an intake passage leading from the outside to the cooling fan, the intake passage being blocked at its end by the substrate.

8. The interior space of the vehicle is a lower space in a trunk room at the rear of the vehicle, and is provided with a draft cover, 8. The inverter heat dissipation device according to claim 1, wherein an outlet of the joining space is disposed facing the drafter.

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