EV Charger Housing Venting and Cooling for Sealed Modular Electronics
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electric vehicle chargers face challenges with unmitigated heat buildup, uneven air flow distribution, and ingress of dust and moisture, which lead to reduced component lifespan and potential electrical failures in modular designs, especially in slimline form factors.
Innovation Solution
An electric vehicle charger assembly featuring a housing with a porous membrane for gas communication, a circular air channel loop, and a heat exchanger system that includes both internal and external heat exchangers, with air channels for efficient airflow and heat dissipation, and a liquid cooling manifold for balanced cooling across modules, maintaining a sealed design while allowing gas exchange.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If uncontrolled ambient airflow cooling is used, then cooling is provided, but heat buildup damages components and reduces lifespan
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is divided into multiple sealed compartments (first housing portion and second housing portion) with dedicated air channels for each electronics module. This segmentation ensures that cooling airflow is distributed evenly to each module while maintaining sealed protection, preventing heat buildup without exposing components to uncontrolled ambient air that could carry dust and moisture.
Solution Approach 2:
A controlled airflow system acts as an intermediary between the external environment and internal electronics. The system uses sealed air channels and heat exchangers to mediate heat transfer, allowing heat dissipation while blocking harmful contaminants. The airflow is directed through specific paths that cool components without compromising reliability.
2Temperature
If through airflow with filters and fans is used, then heat is mitigated, but dust and fluid ingress damages electronics
Solution Approach 1:
The harmful function of unfiltered airflow is extracted and removed from the system. Instead of allowing ambient air to pass through, the invention seals the housing and extracts only the necessary cooling function through controlled internal air channels that do not open to the external environment, eliminating the dust and fluid ingress problem while maintaining heat mitigation.
Solution Approach 2:
The housing incorporates porous materials that allow heat transfer while blocking dust and fluid ingress. The sealed air channels use materials that facilitate thermal management without compromising the protective sealing, enabling heat mitigation without exposing electronics to harmful contaminants.
3Temperature
If liquid cooling pipes are grouped at the backplane, then liquid cooling is provided, but air flow channels are impeded
Solution Approach 1:
The air cooling system operates in a different spatial dimension than the liquid cooling pipes. Air channels are routed through side walls and top/bottom surfaces of the housing, while liquid cooling pipes are positioned at the backplane. This dimensional separation allows both cooling systems to function simultaneously without impeding each other's airflow or fluid flow paths.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling system is segmented into separate air and liquid cooling pathways. Air channels are dedicated to airflow and positioned away from liquid cooling pipe locations, while liquid cooling handles thermal management at the backplane. This segmentation prevents interference between the two cooling mechanisms, maintaining both liquid cooling efficiency and air flow speed.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If sealed housing is used, then dust and moisture ingress is prevented, but heat dissipation is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
A controlled internal airflow system acts as an intermediary that mediates between the sealed housing and heat dissipation requirements. The system circulates air through sealed internal channels that do not compromise the housing seal, allowing heat to be carried away from electronics while maintaining protection against dust and moisture ingress.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealed housing maintains continuous protection against contaminants while the internal air circulation system continuously removes heat. The useful action of heat dissipation continues uninterrupted through the sealed structure via internal convection and forced airflow, eliminating the trade-off between sealing and thermal management.
5Adaptability or versatility
If modular design with module boxes is used, then system flexibility is improved, but air cooling becomes more onerous
Solution Approach 1:
The modular electronics are segmented into separate modules that can be independently cooled through dedicated air channels. Each module has its own airflow path from the housing walls to the heat exchanger, allowing independent thermal management. This segmentation maintains modular flexibility while simplifying air cooling by providing direct, dedicated pathways for each module rather than requiring complex centralized cooling.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides optimized air flow and heat dissipation, balances cooling across modules, prevents dust and moisture ingress, and maintains a compact design, enhancing the longevity and reliability of electric vehicle charger components while ensuring safe operation.
Implementation Method 1
a porous membrane providing gas communication between an interior and exterior of the housing
Implementation Method 2
a heat exchanger; a first air channel located between the electronics module and the first side wall of the housing, the first air channel being in fluid communication with the output circuit and the heat exchanger
Data Source
AI summary
An assembly for an electric vehicle charger. The assembly comprising an electric vehicle charger housing having a first side wall, a second side wall and a porous membrane providing gas communication between an interior and exterior of the housing. Arranged within the housing are one or more electronics modules, an output circuit, and a heat exchanger. The assembly also includes a first air channel located between the one or more electronics modules and the first side wall of the housing, the first air channel being in fluid communication with the output circuit and the heat exchanger, and a second air channel located between the one or more electronics modules and the second side wall of the housing, the second air channel being in fluid communication with the output circuit and the heat exchanger.