Heat exchanger having pulsating heat pipes

Abstract

The present invention relates to a heat exchanger having pulsating heat pipes, and provides a heat exchanger which is provided at a heating element so as to cool the heating element, and which comprises: a cooling plate for covering and accommodating a motor that generates rotational power; impellers provided on both sides of the cooling plate so as to be rotatably driven by means of the motor; and pulsating heat pipes radially disposed on the cooling plate in the circumferential direction so as to cool the heating element.

Description

Heat exchanger with pulsating heat pipes

[0001] The present invention relates to a heat exchanger having a pulsating heat pipe, and more particularly, to a heat exchanger having a pulsating heat pipe capable of absorbing heat generated from a heating element, such as an image tracking device, and cooling the heating element even when the position of the heat exchanger changes.

[0002] Typically, heat exchangers are used to prevent performance degradation due to heat generation in day and night imaging tracking equipment for ground, air, and naval weapon systems.

[0003] However, conventional heat exchangers have the disadvantage of not being able to protect the internal electronic equipment of the image tracking equipment from foreign substances contained in the outside air and of not being able to perform efficient heat exchange due to structural inefficiency.

[0004] Accordingly, in order to resolve the aforementioned shortcomings, the applicant proposed and registered a patent for a ‘heat exchanger for image tracking equipment’ in Patent No. 10-2539670.

[0005] Existing registered patent No. 10-1935450 discloses a heat exchanger that is installed on a heating element to cool the heating element, the heat exchanger including: a cooling plate that is provided to surround and accommodate a motor that generates rotational power; an impeller that is provided on both sides of the cooling plate and is rotationally driven by the motor; an evaporator that is coupled to an inner impeller positioned toward the heating element among the impellers on both sides to cool the heating element; and a condenser that is coupled to an outer impeller positioned toward the outside among the impellers on both sides to condense refrigerant vaporized in the evaporator and send it to the evaporator.

[0006] These conventional heat exchangers cool the heating element by absorbing and cooling the heat generated from the heating element using a refrigerant circulating through an evaporator provided on the heating element side and a condenser provided on the outside, thereby improving the heat conduction efficiency.

[0007] However, the existing heat exchanger consisting of an evaporator and a condenser has a disadvantage in that its normal operating range is inevitably limited.

[0008] That is, the existing heat exchanger is equipped and installed on the image tracking equipment, and the image tracking equipment has a driving range that allows it to rotate up to an angle of 75 degrees during flight. At this time, the positions of the evaporator and condenser equipped on the heat exchanger are changed, so there is a disadvantage in that the heat exchange operation is not performed properly.

[0009] Accordingly, the present invention has been devised to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, and the purpose of the present invention is to provide a heat exchanger having a pulsating heat pipe that can absorb heat generated from a heating element and cool the heating element even when the position of the heat exchanger changes.

[0010] In order to achieve the above-described object, a heat exchanger having a pulsating heat pipe according to the present invention is a heat exchanger installed on a heating element to cool the heating element, characterized in that it includes: a cooling plate provided to surround and accommodate a motor that generates rotational power; an impeller provided on both sides of the cooling plate and rotationally driven by the motor; and pulsating heat pipes arranged radially along the circumference of the cooling plate to cool the heating element.

[0011] In addition, the pulsating heat pipe may be provided so that the upper part thereof penetrates the cooling plate, is provided on the upper surface of the cooling plate, and the lower part thereof is provided on the lower surface of the cooling plate where the heating element is located, so as to absorb the heat generated from the heating element and perform cooling.

[0012] In addition, a fixing bracket may be provided on the lower surface of the cooling plate on which the lower portion of the pulsating heat pipe is provided so that the pulsating heat pipe can maintain its position even when the heating element vibrates.

[0013] According to the heat exchanger having a pulsating heat pipe of the present invention, the pulsating heat pipe is installed penetrating the cooling plate of the heat exchanger, and one end of the pulsating heat pipe is provided toward the heating element and the other end on the opposite side is provided toward the outside, so that the heat generated from the heating element can be absorbed and the heating element can be cooled even when the position of the heat exchanger changes, so that the heat conduction performance can be maintained constant, and there is an effect of making the heat exchanger slimmer and more compact.

[0014] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a heat exchanger according to the present invention.

[0015] FIGS. 2A to 2C are drawings showing the installation state of a pulsating heat pipe configured inside a heat exchanger according to the present invention, wherein FIG. 2A is a plan view, FIG. 2B is a front view, and FIG. 2C is a bottom view.

[0016] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing the internal structure of a heat exchanger according to the present invention.

[0017] Figure 4 is an exploded view of the heat exchanger according to the present invention viewed from the bottom.

[0018] Figure 5 is an operational diagram showing the air flow of a heat exchanger according to the present invention.

[0019] Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

[0020] The terms used in the present invention are terms defined in consideration of their functions in the present invention, and may vary depending on the intention or custom of the user or operator. Therefore, the definitions of these terms should be interpreted as meanings and concepts that are consistent with the technical aspects of the present invention.

[0021] In addition, the embodiments of the present invention do not limit the scope of the present invention, but are merely exemplary matters of the components presented in the claims of the present invention, and are embodiments that include components that are included in the technical idea throughout the specification of the present invention and can be replaced as equivalents in the components of the claims.

[0022] In addition, the optional terms in the examples below are used to distinguish one component from another, and the components are not limited by the terms.

[0023] Accordingly, in describing the present invention, detailed descriptions of related known technologies that may unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present invention are omitted.

[0024] The attached drawings, Figures 1 to 5, are drawings showing a heat exchanger and its internal structure according to the present invention.

[0025]

[0026] *The heat exchanger (100) according to the present invention is a device that is attached to a heating element (not shown) such as an image tracking device and cools the heating element.

[0027] This heat exchanger (100) includes a cooling plate (120) that is provided to surround and accommodate a motor (110) that generates rotational power, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, an inner impeller (130) and an outer impeller (140) that are provided on both sides of the cooling plate (120) and are rotationally driven by the motor (110), and a pulsating heat pipe (150) that is radially arranged along the circumference of the cooling plate (120) and cools a heating element (hereinafter referred to as “image tracking equipment”).

[0028] The motor (110) is provided with a motor shaft (111) protruding in both upper and lower directions, that is, in the inner direction (the lower direction where the image tracking equipment is located based on FIG. 5) and in the outer direction (the upper direction on the opposite side of the image tracking equipment based on FIG. 5), and an inner impeller (130) and an outer impeller (140) are fixedly coupled to both motor shafts (111). As a result, the inner impeller (130) and the outer impeller (140) are simultaneously rotated by the motor (110).

[0029] In addition, the cooling plate (120) is formed as a hollow circular plate made of copper, aluminum, or stainless steel with excellent thermal conductivity, and is formed in a cap shape with a protrusion (121) protruding upward at its center. Since the motor (110) is inserted and accommodated in the protrusion (121) of the cooling plate (120), the electromagnetic field generated by the motor (110) can be emitted to the outside through the cooling plate (120).

[0030] In particular, the protrusion (121) of the cooling plate (120) is opened downward, and the opening of the protrusion (121) is formed to have a larger diameter than the through hole (171) of the inner case (170) to be described later, so that not only the motor (110) is protected from foreign substances mixed in the external air flowing in from the outside to the inside of the heat exchanger (100), but also the electronic equipment inside the video tracking equipment in which the heat exchanger (100) is installed can be safely protected from foreign substances in the external air.

[0031] In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of fastening holes (128) for installing a pulsating heat pipe (150) to be described later are provided along the circumferential direction of the cooling plate (120) around the protrusion (121) as described above, and these fastening holes (128) are formed in the form of a straight slit that is cut long from the protrusion (121) side of the cooling plate (120) toward the edge side.

[0032] In this way, the lower part (153) of the pulsating heat pipe (150) to be described later is installed by penetrating the fastening hole (128) of the cooling plate (120).

[0033] And, a support plate (125) is formed on the upper outer periphery of each fastener (128) to vertically protrude upward and support the upper part (151) of the heat pipe (150) to be described later, and an upper coupling boss (122) corresponding to the fastener (128) or the support plate (125) on the upper surface of the cooling plate (120) adjacent to each support plate (125) is formed to protrude upward. A fastening screw for fastening the upper part (151) of the pulsating heat pipe (150) is screwed into each of these upper coupling bosses (122), thereby fixing the upper part (151) of the pulsating heat pipe (150) to the upper surface of the cooling plate (120).

[0034] In particular, the support plate (125) and the upper coupling boss (122) as described above are formed as a slope that slopes downward continuously with the same slope from the protrusion (121) of the cooling plate (120) toward the edge, and the slope of the upper surface of the support plate (125) and the upper coupling boss (122) is formed to be inclined at a slope corresponding to the slope of the upper part (151) of the pulsating heat pipe (150) to be described later.

[0035] In this way, the upper side (151) of the pulsating heat pipe (150) is installed in a state of close contact with the upper surface of the support plate (125) and the upper coupling boss (122) without any play, thereby preventing the occurrence of shock or noise due to vibration in advance.

[0036] In addition, an upper support protrusion (126) is formed on the upper surface of the cooling plate (120) to support an outer case (180) formed in a dome shape to be described later by protruding vertically upward, and the upper surface of the upper support protrusion (126) is formed as a sloped surface that slopes downward from the protrusion (121) of the cooling plate (120) toward the edge according to the inclination of the outer case (180) formed in a dome shape.

[0037] In this way, the lower surface of the outer case (180) is firmly supported by being firmly seated in a state of surface contact with the upper surface of the upper support protrusion (126), so that flow due to vibration can be blocked in advance, and the outer case (180) supported by the upper support protrusion (126) in this way is provided in parallel with the upper part (151) of the pulsating heat pipe (150).

[0038] In addition, as shown in Fig. 4, the lower surface of the cooling plate (120) as described above is further provided with a lower joining boss (123) and a lower support protrusion (127).

[0039] The lower coupling boss (123) is formed to protrude downwards from the lower surface of the cooling plate (120) in a one-to-one correspondence with the fastening hole (128) like the upper coupling boss (122), and a fastening screw for fastening the lower part (153) of the pulsating heat pipe (150) is screwed into the lower coupling boss (123), thereby fixing the lower part (153) of the pulsating heat pipe (150) to the lower surface of the cooling plate (120).

[0040] The lower coupling boss (123) is formed as a flat surface with a flat surface on its lower surface, so that the upper surface of the lower part (153) of the pulsating heat pipe (150) can be provided in a state of surface contact.

[0041] In this way, the upper surface of the lower part (153) of the flat pulsating heat pipe (150) is provided in close contact with the lower surface of the lower coupling boss (123) without any play, thereby preventing the occurrence of shock or noise due to vibration in advance.

[0042] In addition, the lower support protrusion (127) is formed to vertically protrude downward from the lower surface of the cooling plate (120) and to be in close contact with the upper surface of the flat inner case (170) to be described later, and the lower surface of the lower support protrusion (127) is formed as a flat surface.

[0043] In this way, the upper surface of the inner case (170) is provided in close contact with the lower surface of the lower support protrusion (127), thereby blocking the flow due to vibration in advance, and the inner case (170) supported by being in contact with the lower support protrusion (127) in this way is provided in parallel with the lower part (153) of the pulsating heat pipe (150).

[0044] Meanwhile, the pulsating heat pipe (150) radially provided on the edge side of the cooling plate (120) as described above is installed by penetrating the fastening hole (128) of the cooling plate (120) as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, and the upper part (151) of one end thereof is arranged on the upper surface of the cooling plate (120) and is fixed by fastening screws to the upper coupling boss (122), and the lower part (153) of the other end is arranged on the lower surface of the cooling plate (120) and is fixed by fastening screws to the lower coupling boss (123).

[0045] In addition, the pulsating heat pipe (150) is provided with a connecting portion (152) connecting the upper portion (151) and the lower portion (153), and this connecting portion (152) is provided in a connected state by penetrating the fastening hole (128) of the cooling plate (120).

[0046] The upper part (151) of the pulsating heat pipe (150) provided in this manner is bent in one direction at the upper end of the connecting part (152) and is fixedly joined to the upper surface of the cooling plate (120), and the lower part (153) of the pulsating heat pipe (150) is bent in the opposite direction at the lower end of the connecting part (152) and is fixedly joined to the lower surface of the cooling plate (120). As the upper part (151) and the lower part (153) of the pulsating heat pipe (150) are provided in parallel in different directions, the working fluid flowing inside the pulsating heat pipe (150) can move in a smooth flow by thermal convection.

[0047] In particular, the upper part (151) of the pulsating heat pipe (150) is formed to have a downward slope outward along the upper surface slope of the support plate (125) of the cooling plate (120) and the upper joining boss (122), and the lower part (153) of the pulsating heat pipe (150) is formed as a horizontal flat surface while remaining perpendicular to the connecting part (152).

[0048] In addition, the pulsating heat pipe (150) formed as described above may have a plurality of capillaries connected to each other or independently provided therein, although not shown in the drawing, and a working fluid (refrigerant) is supplied to these capillaries.

[0049] These capillaries are provided to be connected in one direction from the upper part (151) of the pulsating heat pipe (150) through the connection part (152) to the lower part (153), and in this state, the lower part (153) of the pulsating heat pipe (150) is provided and disposed on the heat source, i.e., the image tracking equipment, and the upper part (151) of the pulsating heat pipe (150) is provided and disposed on the air, which is the cooling source, so that heat transfer is provided from the lower part (153) of the pulsating heat pipe (150) to the upper part (151).

[0050] In particular, as the capillary tube provided inside the pulsating heat pipe (150) as described above is installed in a horizontal direction connecting the upper part (151) and the lower part (153) of the pulsating heat pipe (150) in one direction, heat transfer by heat convection from the lower part (153) of the pulsating heat pipe (150) to the upper part (151) can be smoothly achieved.

[0051] That is, the working fluid supplied to the capillary within the pulsating heat pipe (150) is vaporized by the heat of the image tracking equipment at the lower part (153) of the pulsating heat pipe (150) placed toward the image tracking equipment, and is condensed and liquefied by the outside air at the upper part (151) of the pulsating heat pipe (150) placed in the atmosphere, so that heat conduction by thermal convection is smoothly transferred from the lower part (153) of the pulsating heat pipe (150) to the upper part (151).

[0052] In addition, a fixing bracket (160) is provided on the lower surface of the cooling plate (120) on which the lower part (153) of the pulsating heat pipe (150) is provided so that the pulsating heat pipe (150) penetrating the fastening hole (128) can maintain its position even in the vibration of the image tracking equipment.

[0053] This fixed bracket (160) has a fixing hole (161) formed through the center thereof corresponding to the fastening hole (128) of the cooling plate (120), and the edge of the fixed bracket (160) is fixed by being screwed to the lower surface of the cooling plate (120) around the fastening hole (128).

[0054] In this way, the fixing bracket (160) provided on the lower surface of the cooling plate (120) can reduce vibration transmitted from the image tracking equipment to the pulsating heat pipe (150) by reinforcing the fastening hole (128) through which the connecting portion (152) of the pulsating heat pipe (150) passes.

[0055] Meanwhile, the inner impeller (130) and the outer impeller (140) provided on the lower (inner) and upper (outer) sides of the cooling plate (120) as described above are fixedly coupled to the upper and lower motor shafts (111) of the motor (110) and rotate as one unit.

[0056] In particular, the inner impeller (130) is installed in the lower part of the cooling plate (120), that is, in the direction where the image tracking equipment is located, so that the high temperature heat generated from the image tracking equipment is sucked into the lower surface of the cooling plate (120) and introduced thereto.

[0057] Since the upper surface of the inner impeller (130) is in direct contact with the motor (110), the heat generated from the motor (110) can be cooled.

[0058] And, the outer impeller (140) is provided in the outer direction, i.e., on the upper surface of the cooling plate (120), and sucks in low-temperature external air to the upper surface of the cooling plate (120) and introduces it.

[0059] In this way, the low-temperature external air introduced into the upper surface of the cooling plate (120) condenses and liquefies the vaporized working fluid flowing in the upper part (151) of the pulsating heat pipe (150), and the liquefied low-temperature working fluid flows again to the lower part (153) of the pulsating heat pipe (150).

[0060] Meanwhile, each case (170) (180) is provided on the outer side of the inner and outer impellers (130) (140) as described above, and both cases (170) (180) are provided by being fixedly coupled to the upper and lower sides of the cooling plate (120).

[0061] Among these two cases, the inner case (170) provided at the lower part of the inner impeller (130) is provided with a through hole (171) having a smaller diameter than the inner impeller (130) perforated in its central portion.

[0062] And, since the inner case (170) is attached and fixed to the upper surface of the image tracking equipment where high temperature heat is generated, all high temperature heat generated from the image tracking equipment is introduced through the through hole (171) of the inner case (170). That is, the high temperature heat generated from the electronic equipment provided in the image tracking equipment is sucked into the through hole (171) of the inner case (170) by the rotation of the inner impeller (130) and introduced into the lower part (153) of the pulsating heat pipe (150).

[0063] In particular, the inner case (170) is provided as a flat plate so that the lower surface of the inner case (170) is in surface contact with the upper surface of the image tracking equipment, thereby maximizing the conductivity of heat generated from the image tracking equipment.

[0064] In addition, the outer case (180) has a plurality of mesh-shaped ventilation holes (181) perforated in the central portion thereof to filter out impurities in the external air flowing in through the ventilation holes (181). The outer case (180) is provided in an outward direction so that low-temperature air can flow in, and low-temperature external air is sucked into the ventilation holes (181) of the outer case (180) by the rotation of the outer impeller (140) and flows in toward the upper portion (151) of the pulsating heat pipe (150).

[0065] In addition, a sealing portion (not shown) may be provided on the outer surface of the cooling plate (120), and this sealing portion is provided along the outer surface of the cooling plate (120), so that the electromagnetic field generated from the motor (110) can be transmitted to the sealing portion side through the cooling plate (120) and discharged.

[0066] In the heat exchanger (100) according to the present invention, when power is supplied to the motor (110) and the motor shaft (111) rotates, the inner impeller (130) and the outer impeller (140) connected to each of the two motor shafts (111) rotate simultaneously.

[0067] Then, the high temperature heat (internal air) generated within the image tracking equipment by the rotation of the inner impeller (130) is introduced through the through hole (171) of the inner case (170) as shown by the solid arrow in FIG. 5, and the high temperature heat introduced into the inner case (170) is cooled by heat exchange with the low temperature working fluid (refrigerant) flowing within the pulsating heat pipe (150) as it comes into contact with the lower part (153) of the pulsating heat pipe (150) fixedly coupled to the lower surface of the cooling plate (120).

[0068] The cooled internal air is introduced into the image tracking equipment through the cooling plate (120) and the inner case (170), and the high-temperature working fluid vaporized by heat exchange in the pulsating heat pipe (150) is moved to the upper part (151) of the pulsating heat pipe (150) by thermal convection.

[0069] In this process, the high-temperature working fluid moved to the upper part (151) of the pulsating heat pipe (150) is condensed through heat exchange by contacting the low-temperature external air (illustrated by the dotted arrow in FIG. 5) introduced by the rotation of the outer impeller (140), and the condensed low-temperature working fluid is moved to the lower part (153) of the pulsating heat pipe (150) again by heat convection and circulated.

[0070] In this way, the working fluid that has exchanged heat with the low-temperature external air at the upper part (151) of the pulsating heat pipe (150) undergoes a phase change from a high-temperature gaseous state to a low-temperature liquid state, and the low-temperature liquid-state working fluid moves to the lower part (153) of the pulsating heat pipe (150) by heat convection and cools the image tracking equipment through a circulating flow.

[0071] Accordingly, the working fluid circulating through the upper part (151) and the lower part (153) of the pulsating heat pipe (150) repeatedly and continuously cools the image tracking equipment, thereby improving the cooling efficiency due to rapid thermal conductivity, and making it possible to slim down and miniaturize the heat exchanger (100).

[0072] Although the present invention has been described in detail through specific examples, this is intended to specifically explain the present invention, and the present invention is not limited thereto, and it is clear that modifications and improvements can be made by those skilled in the art within the technical spirit of the present invention.

[0073] All simple modifications or changes of the present invention fall within the scope of the present invention, and the specific protection scope of the present invention will be made clear by the appended claims.

[0074] The heat exchanger of the present invention has industrial applicability as it has a configuration that can be repeatedly performed.

Claims

1. A heat exchanger installed on a heating element to cool the heating element. A cooling plate provided to surround and accommodate a motor that generates rotational power; An impeller provided on both sides of the cooling plate and driven by a motor for rotation; A heat exchanger comprising pulsating heat pipes arranged radially along a circumference of a cooling plate to cool a heating element.

2. In claim 1, A heat exchanger in which a pulsating heat pipe penetrates a cooling plate, the upper part of which is provided on the upper surface of the cooling plate, and the lower part of which is provided on the lower surface of the cooling plate where the heating element is located, and cools by absorbing the heat generated from the heating element.

3. In claim 2, A heat exchanger having a fixing bracket provided on the lower surface of a cooling plate on which a lower portion of a pulsating heat pipe is provided so that the pulsating heat pipe can maintain its position even when the heating element vibrates.

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