Vehicle Transformer
Patent Information
- Application Number
- JP2024519977
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2023-12-11
- Publication Date
- 2025-06-19
- Estimated Expiration
- 2043-12-11
AI Technical Summary
In low-floor vehicles, the installation space for vehicle transformers is limited due to the proximity of peripheral devices, and existing solutions that utilize traveling wind for cooling are inefficient when installed on the roof, necessitating a reduction in installation space while maintaining a distance from other equipment.
The vehicle transformer design includes an optimized refrigerant circulation path with an inlet and outlet header, a transformer main body tank, and a pump positioned to not protrude from the upper surface, utilizing a straight-line arrangement of pipes and coolers to minimize width and reduce installation space.
This configuration reduces the vehicle transformer's width in the travel direction, optimizing space utilization and enhancing cooling efficiency by utilizing running wind without protruding components.
Abstract
Description
[Technical field]
[0001] The present disclosure relates to a vehicle transformer, and more particularly to a transformer that is installed on the roof of a vehicle. [Background technology]
[0002] Peripheral devices installed in vehicles, such as air conditioners, controllers, and transformers, generate a lot of heat when they are energized. Methods for cooling these peripheral devices include forced air cooling using an electric blower and natural air cooling using the air generated by the vehicle while it is moving.
[0003] The natural air-cooling method is becoming increasingly popular because it is more energy-efficient, quieter, and requires less maintenance than forced air-cooling, and is being adopted as a cooling method for peripheral equipment such as vehicle transformers installed under the floor of the vehicle.
[0004] On the other hand, for example, in low-floor vehicles popular in Europe, the installation space under the floor is narrow, so peripheral devices such as air conditioners and controllers are installed on the roof of the vehicle together with the vehicle transformer. When the vehicle transformer is installed on the roof of the vehicle where the peripheral devices are arranged in close proximity, the peripheral devices are detached from the running wind, so compared to when the vehicle transformer is installed under the floor of the vehicle, it is necessary to increase the separation distance between the peripheral devices and the vehicle transformer in the vehicle running direction in order to take in the running wind into the cooler, and the reduction of the installation space for the vehicle transformer is an issue. Patent Document 1 discloses the configuration of a vehicle transformer that utilizes the running wind to reduce the installation space while ensuring the separation distance between the peripheral devices and the vehicle transformer in the vehicle running direction. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]
[0005] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6180684 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]
[0006] The vehicle transformer of Patent Document 1 has a transformer body tank that houses the transformer body installed on the roof of the vehicle, and a cooler consisting of multiple cooling pipes installed on the top of the transformer body tank. The pump that circulates the refrigerant is installed protruding from the outer shell of the top surface of the transformer body tank in the direction of vehicle travel, and it is necessary to optimize the installation location of the pump in order to further reduce the installation space.
[0007] The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a vehicle transformer that utilizes the wind generated by traveling, thereby reducing the installation space of the vehicle transformer by installing the pump so that it does not protrude from the outer casing of the top surface of the transformer main tank. [Means for solving the problem]
[0008] The vehicle transformer disclosed herein has an inlet header through which a refrigerant flows in and an outlet header through which the refrigerant flows out, and includes a transformer main body tank that stores a transformer main body, a cooler located at the front side in the vehicle traveling direction and a cooler located at the rear side in the vehicle traveling direction that are divided and arranged in the vehicle traveling direction so as not to protrude from the outer shell of the top surface of the transformer main body tank and are long in the width direction of the vehicle and cool the refrigerant with the traveling wind when the vehicle is traveling, a piping located at the front side that is connected to one end of the cooler located at the front side in the vehicle traveling direction and that is arranged on the top surface of the transformer main body tank, and a piping located at the front side that is connected to one end of the cooler located at the rear side in the vehicle traveling direction and that is arranged on the top surface of the transformer main body tank. The transformer tank is arranged so that one end of the two pipes is connected to the rear end of the pipes and does not protrude from the outer casing of the top surface of the transformer main tank. When the vehicle is viewed from above, the two pipes and a pump are lined up in a straight line in the direction of vehicle travel. Refrigerant flows in different directions through the cooler on the front side in the direction of vehicle travel and the cooler on the rear side in the direction of vehicle travel. The cooler is connected in the following order: the cooler on the front side in the direction of vehicle travel, the pipes on the front side, the pump, the pipes on the rear side, the cooler on the rear side in the direction of vehicle travel, the inlet header of the transformer main tank, and the outlet header of the transformer main tank, providing a circulation path through which the refrigerant is circulated by the pump. Effect of the Invention
[0009] According to the present disclosure, by optimizing the installation location of the pump, it is possible to provide a vehicle transformer that utilizes the wind generated by the vehicle traveling, thereby reducing the installation space for the vehicle transformer by reducing the width of the vehicle transformer in the direction of vehicle travel. [Brief description of the drawings]
[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a top view of a vehicle on whose roof a vehicle transformer according to a first embodiment is installed. [Diagram 2] 1 is a side view of a vehicle on whose roof a vehicle transformer according to a first embodiment is installed. [Diagram 3] 1 is a top view of a vehicle transformer installed on a vehicle roof according to a first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 4] 1 is a side view of a vehicle transformer installed on a vehicle roof according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 5] 2 shows a refrigerant circulation path within a transformer main body tank of a vehicle transformer installed on a vehicle roof according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] 2 shows a refrigerant circulation path in a cooler for a vehicle transformer installed on a vehicle roof according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] 3 shows a refrigerant circulation path seen from the side of the vehicle transformer installed on the roof of a vehicle according to the first embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0011] Embodiment 1 Fig. 1 is a top view of a vehicle 1 on whose roof 2 a vehicle transformer 10 according to the first embodiment is installed. Fig. 2 is a side view of a vehicle 1 on whose roof 2 a vehicle transformer 10 according to the first embodiment is installed. In the figure, X indicates the vehicle running direction, Y indicates the vehicle width direction, and Z indicates the vehicle height direction. The vehicle transformer 10 is installed on the roof 2 of the vehicle 1, and peripheral devices 3 such as a controller and an air conditioner are installed on the roof 2 next to the vehicle transformer 10 in the vehicle running direction X.
[0012] Fig. 3 is a top view of vehicle transformer 10 installed on the top of a vehicle in the first embodiment. Fig. 4 is a side view of vehicle transformer 10 shown in Fig. 3. Figs. 5 to 7 show the circulation path of the refrigerant in vehicle transformer 10 according to the first embodiment, and the arrows in the figures indicate the direction in which the refrigerant flows. In the figures, X indicates the vehicle running direction, Y indicates the vehicle width direction, and Z indicates the vehicle height direction. In the figures, an x mark in a circle indicates that the refrigerant flows from the front to the depth of the paper, and a small circle in a circle indicates that the refrigerant flows from the depth to the front of the paper.
[0013] As shown in Fig. 3, the vehicle transformer 10 includes a transformer main tank 11, a cooler 12, a pump 13, and pipes 14a, 14b, 14c, and 14d. There are two coolers 12, each of which is composed of a plurality of cooling pipes 12a and 12b. An insulating partition member 15 is provided inside the transformer main tank 11.
[0014] The transformer main tank 11 contains a transformer main body including windings and an iron core as current-carrying media, and insulators as insulating media, and a refrigerant for cooling the heat generated by the windings and the iron core due to current flow circulates inside the transformer main tank 11. A partition member 15 is provided inside the transformer main tank 11, and this partition member 15 divides the refrigerant flow path into two. On the top surface of the transformer main tank 11, there are an inlet header 11a provided on the negative side of the partition member 15 in the vehicle travel direction X, through which the refrigerant flows in, and an outlet header 11b provided on the positive side of the partition member 15 in the vehicle travel direction X, through which the refrigerant flows out, arranged side by side in the vehicle travel direction X. As shown by the arrows in Figure 5, the refrigerant flows in from the inlet header 11a, then flows to the + side of the vehicle width direction Y, reaches one end of the transformer main body tank 11, then flows to the + side of the vehicle traveling direction X, passes over the partition member 15, then flows to the - side of the vehicle width direction Y, and flows out from the outlet header 11b.
[0015] The coolers 12 are arranged on the upper surface of the transformer main tank 11 in the vehicle travel direction X, and cool the refrigerant by heat exchange with the outside air. The coolers 12 extend long in the vehicle width direction Y, and are composed of a plurality of cooling pipes parallel to the vehicle travel direction X and a plurality of cooling pipes parallel to the vehicle height direction Z. The cooling pipe of the cooler 12 on the + side of the vehicle travel direction X is called the front cooling pipe 12b, and the cooling pipe of the cooler 12 on the - side of the vehicle travel direction X is called the rear cooling pipe 12a. The cooling pipes 12a have one end on the + side of the vehicle width direction Y connected together by a pipe 14a, and the cooling pipes 12b have one end on the + side of the vehicle width direction Y connected together by a pipe 14b. The cooling pipes 12a have one end on the - side of the vehicle width direction Y connected together by a pipe 14c, and the cooling pipes 12b have one end on the - side of the vehicle width direction Y connected together by a pipe 14d. 6, the refrigerant flows through the cooling pipe 12a to the negative side in the vehicle width direction Y, and the refrigerant flows through the cooling pipe 12b to the positive side in the vehicle width direction Y. The number of cooling pipes 12a and 12b is not limited.
[0016] Pump 13 connects pipes 14a and 14b, and is positioned so that it does not protrude from the outer casing of the top surface of transformer main tank 11. As shown in Figure 3, when vehicle transformer 10 is viewed from above, pipes 14a and 14b are aligned in a straight line. When vehicle transformer 10 is viewed from the side in the vehicle travel direction X, as shown in Figure 7, pump 13 overlaps with pipes 14a or 14b and is partially hidden. As shown by the arrows in FIG. 6, the refrigerant that flows into pump 13 from pipe 14b flows out to pipe 14a.
[0017] The pipes 14a, 14b, 14c, and 14d are arranged without protruding from the outer casing of the upper surface of the transformer main tank 11. The pipes 14a and 14b collectively connect the respective ends of the cooling pipes 12a and 12b on the positive side in the vehicle width direction Y, and also connect the pump 13. The pipes 14c and 14d collectively connect the respective ends of the cooling pipes 12a and 12b on the negative side in the vehicle width direction Y, the pipe 14c is connected to the inlet header 11a of the transformer main tank 11, and the pipe 14d is connected to the outlet header 11b of the transformer main tank 11.
[0018] 5 to 7, the refrigerant flowing in from pump 13 is distributed to multiple cooling pipes 12a via pipe 14a, mixed in pipe 14c, and then flows into transformer main tank 11 through inlet header 11a of transformer main tank 11. After circulating inside transformer main tank 11, the refrigerant flows out from outlet header 11b of transformer main tank 11, is distributed to multiple cooling pipes 12b via pipe 14d, is mixed in pipe 14b, and flows out to pump 13.
[0019] As the refrigerant, insulating oil is used, and particularly for vehicles, highly flame-retardant silicone oil or ester oil, which has a low environmental impact when disposed of, is used.
[0020] When energized, the refrigerant, which is a cooling medium for the windings and the iron core, circulates in the order of the cooler 12 on the front side, the piping 14b on the front side, the pump 13, the piping 14a on the rear side, the cooler 12 on the rear side, the piping 14c on the rear side, the inlet header 11a of the transformer main tank 11, the outlet header 11b of the transformer main tank 11, the piping 14d on the front side, and the cooler 12 on the front side, absorbing heat from the generated windings and the iron core and dissipating it in the cooler 12 on the front side. Note that the refrigerant may also be circulated in the order of the cooler 12 on the rear side, the piping 14a on the rear side, the pump 13, the piping 14b on the front side, the cooler 12 on the front side, the piping 14d on the front side, the outlet header 11b of the transformer main tank 11, the inlet header 11a of the transformer main tank 11, the piping 14c on the rear side, and the cooler 12 on the rear side.
[0021] In the vehicle transformer 10 configured in this manner, the pump 13 is installed so as not to protrude from the outer casing of the upper surface of the transformer main body tank 11, thereby making it possible to reduce the installation space for the vehicle transformer 10. [Explanation of symbols]
[0022] 1 railway vehicle, 2 roof, 3 equipment, 10 vehicle transformer, 11 transformer main tank, 11a inlet header, 11b outlet header, 12 cooler, 12a, 12b cooling pipes, 13 pump, 14a, 14b, 14c, 14d piping, 15 partition member.
Claims
1. a transformer body tank having an inlet header through which a refrigerant flows and an outlet header through which the refrigerant flows, the transformer body tank storing the transformer body; a cooler disposed in a vehicle travel direction so as not to protrude from an outer shell of an upper surface portion of the transformer main tank, the cooler being elongated in a vehicle width direction and cooling the refrigerant by wind while the vehicle is traveling; and a cooler disposed in a front side in the vehicle travel direction and a cooler disposed in a rear side in the vehicle travel direction. a piping on a front side connected to one end of a cooler located on a top surface portion of the transformer main body tank on a front side in the vehicle traveling direction; A pipe on the rear side connected to one end of a cooler located on the upper surface part of the transformer main body tank on the rear side in the vehicle traveling direction; a pump that connects one end of the two pipes to each other, is disposed so as not to protrude from the outer casing of the upper surface of the transformer main tank, and is aligned in a straight line with the two pipes in the vehicle travel direction when the vehicle is viewed from above; The refrigerant flows in different directions through the cooler located at the front side of the vehicle traveling direction and the cooler located at the rear side of the vehicle traveling direction, A vehicle transformer having a circulation path through which the refrigerant is circulated by the pump, the refrigerant being connected in the following order: a cooler on the front side in the vehicle travel direction, piping on the front side, the pump, piping on the rear side, a cooler on the rear side in the vehicle travel direction, the inlet header of the transformer main tank, and the outlet header of the transformer main tank.
2. 2. The vehicle transformer according to claim 1, wherein the cooler located at the front side in the vehicle traveling direction and the cooler located at the rear side in the vehicle traveling direction are both composed of a plurality of cooling pipes extending in a width direction of the vehicle.
3. 2. The vehicle transformer according to claim 1, wherein the inside of the transformer main tank is divided into two parts in the width direction of the vehicle by a partition member.
4. 4. The vehicle transformer according to claim 3, wherein the inlet header and the outlet header of the transformer main body tank are arranged side by side in the vehicle travel direction on the upper surface of the transformer main body tank, straddling the partition member.