Refrigerant Pipe and Flat Flow Path for Thin Power Converters
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electronic devices, such as power conversion devices, face challenges in reducing thickness while maintaining cooling efficiency due to the need for a larger opening in the case to accommodate refrigerant pipes, which increases the case thickness and leads to higher pressure loss.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a refrigerant pipe with a flange fixed to the outer wall of the case, featuring a reduced diameter flow path that decreases in area with distance from the connection opening, and a flat flow path in the case that connects to the reduced diameter flow path, allowing for a thinner case without inserting the pipe into the case and reducing pressure loss by gently changing the flow path shape.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If the refrigerant pipe is inserted into the case, then the refrigerant can be supplied to the refrigerant flow path, but the case thickness increases to accommodate the pipe insertion space
Solution Approach 1:
The refrigerant pipe connection is extracted from the interior insertion method and relocated to the exterior of the case. The pipe now connects to the refrigerant flow path through an opening in the case wall, eliminating the need for internal insertion space and reducing case thickness.
Solution Approach 2:
The connection approach transitions from a one-dimensional internal insertion to a two-dimensional external connection through the case wall. The pipe connects from the outside through an opening, utilizing the case wall as a interface rather than requiring internal space.
2Reliability
If the refrigerant pipe is inserted into the case, then the connection is secure, but the case requires a larger dimension to accommodate the end portion of the pipe
Solution Approach 1:
The pipe end portion is extracted from the case interior and positioned externally. The connection is established through an opening in the case wall, removing the requirement for internal accommodation space while maintaining connection integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of inserting the pipe into the case from the inside, the connection is inverted to have the pipe connect from the outside through an opening. This reverses the traditional insertion approach and eliminates the thickness requirement.
3Length of moving object
If a small diameter flow path is used in the refrigerant pipe, then the pipe can be thinner, but the pressure loss increases due to the abrupt shape change at the connection
Solution Approach 1:
The flow path incorporates a curved transition section instead of an abrupt step change. The curved surface smoothly guides the refrigerant from the smaller pipe diameter to the larger case flow path diameter, reducing turbulence and pressure loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The flow path design transitions from a static abrupt step change to a dynamic smooth curve. The curved transition adapts the flow gradually, allowing the refrigerant to change direction and area smoothly rather than encountering a sudden geometric discontinuity.
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic device includes a supply refrigerant pipe that is connected to an opening end. The supply refrigerant pipe has a connection opening end that is directly connected to the opening end, a refrigerant pipe-side reduced diameter flow path in which flow path area decreases with increasing distance from the connection opening end, and a small diameter flow path connected to an end portion of the refrigerant pipe-side reduced diameter flow path on a side opposite to the connection opening end A main body case has, as parts of the refrigerant flow path, a case-side reduced diameter flow path in which flow path area decreases with increasing distance from the opening end, and a flat flow path formed in a shape flatter than the small diameter flow path and connected to an end portion of the case-side reduced diameter flow path on a side opposite to the opening end.