This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §§ 119 and/or 365 to 02405396.9 filed in Europe on May 16, 2002; the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
The invention is based on a cooling element for dissipating heat.
It is known practice to improve the dissipation of heat from electrical operating means using cooling ribs. Generally, the cooling ribs are integrally molded onto the metal housing of the operating means in question, for example switchgear, in order to achieve good transfer of heat in this manner. This improved dissipation of heat allows either higher current loading for the operating means or allows a saving on electrically conductive material. A drawback of these cooling ribs molded on directly is that some of the on electric current flowing through the operating means also flows through the cooling ribs as a result of current displacement effects and additionally heats them. To dissipate this additional heating, a certain proportion of the cooling capacity of the cooling rib is needed. Accordingly, to provide this additionally required cooling capacity, the cooling ribs need to be given larger dimensions. The result of these enlarged cooling ribs is that the dimensions of the operating means are increased at the same time, and hence this operating means is made more expensive.
The invention, as characterized in the independent claim, achieves the object of providing a cooling element which has an improved cooling capacity.
This is achieved by virtue of the cooling element logically not being used as a current conductor. The cooling element can therefore be optimally designed for a particularly good cooling capacity. The cooling element is made of a metal or of a metal alloy. It has at least one cooling rib or any other raised structure which enlarges the surface of the cooling element. The cooling element is detachably connected to a metal housing for an operating means by means of fixing means or using the matching shapes. The cooling element is provided with a thermally conductive and electrically insulating coating and has the same electrical potential as the housing.
The highly thermally conductive coating is made predominantly of a boron nitride or aluminum nitride powder or of a mixture of the two powders. If the cooling element is made of an aluminum alloy, then it is advantageously provided with an anodized oxide layer as a coating. In this cooling element, the current path through the housing and the channel for dissipating the heat are completely isolated from one another, despite the internal contact between the housing and the cooling element.
It is entirely conceivable for organic materials also to be used for the electrically insulating and highly thermally conductive coating, which is then applied in the form of a lacquer, for example, by means of spraying or dipping.
If the operating means is subjected to forced cooling, for example using blow-out, then the cooling element is designed to promote flow and is in a form such that the flow of coolant covers the largest possible surface, so that the most effective dissipation of heat possible is ensured.
The invention, its development and the advantages which can be achieved therewith are explained in more detail below with reference to the drawing, which illustrates just one possible manner of implementation.
In the drawing:
a shows a plan view of a cooling element shown in simplified form,
b shows a section A—A through the cooling element from
In the figures, identical elements are provided with the same reference symbols. Any elements which are not needed for the direct understanding of the invention have not been shown and are not described.
a shows a plan view of a cooling element 1 shown in simplified form.
The cooling element 1 has a baseplate 3 on which at least one cooling rib 4 is integrally molded. The baseplate 3 has holes 5, 6, 7 and 8 which are provided for screwing (not shown) the cooling element 1 to the operating means which is to be cooled. The hole 8 has a bearing face 9 which surrounds this hole 8. On this bearing face 9, the coating 2 has been completely removed, and it is bare metal. If the cooling element 1 is made of aluminum casting, it may be appropriate to grease this bearing face 9 in order to avoid oxidation. Only one of the holes 5, 6, 7 and 8 is ever provided with this bare metal bearing face 9. That side of the baseplate 3 which faces the operating means has a planar base 10. This base 10 is likewise covered entirely with the respective coating 2.
Generally, the housing 11 of the operating means is provided with a multiplicity of mounting faces 12; however, only as many cooling elements 1 as are needed for the respectively provided current loading are mounted on these mounting faces 12. Accordingly, the operating means can be optimally matched to its thermal loading. If there are still free mounting faces 12 on an operating means, then it can subsequently be strengthened for higher current loading with little complexity for mounting. Another particular advantage is found to be that free mounting faces 12 permit improved dissipation of heat to be achieved subsequently, should this prove necessary during operation. This allows the operational reliability of the installation to be improved. It is also possible to increase the operating means' current-carrying capacity by virtue of the originally fitted cooling elements 1 being replaced with new cooling elements 1 which can provide a greater cooling action because they have a larger cooling surface or a larger number of cooling ribs, for example.
To explain the action, the figures are considered in a little more detail. In this case, the housing 11 is made of an aluminum casting, for example, and is generally anodized. During anodic treatment, the mounting face 12 is covered, however, so that it remains bare metal, and any oxidation films are removed before the cooling element 1 is mounted. During screwing (other fixing options are also conceivable), the entire base 10 of the cooling element 1 is pressed against this mounting face 12 with a comparatively large amount of force, so that internal touching contact is produced between these two faces 10 and 12, which allows good transfer of heat from the housing 11 to the cooling element 1. The base 10 is coated so as to be electrically insulating, which means that no electric current can flow from the housing 11 through the cooling element 1, despite the internal touching contact.
However, the cooling element 1 is made of metal, which could carry undefined electric charges in the case of zero-potential fixing. To prevent this, the cooling element 1 is connected to the potential of the housing 11 using the metal screw which passes through the hole 8 and whose head rests on the bare metal bearing face 9. Since only one of the screw locations ever has such a bearing face 9, it is certain that no electric current can flow through the cooling element 1 via the metal screws. With this form of the cooling element 1, the current path through the housing 11 and the channel for dissipating the heat are completely isolated from one another, despite the internal contact between the housing 11 and the cooling element 1. In principle, it would also be possible to dispense with this one screw location produced for potential connection and to replace it with a spot weld. The potential connection would likewise be made certain in this manner.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
02405396 | May 2002 | EP | regional |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2965819 | Rosenbaum | Dec 1960 | A |
3261396 | Trunk | Jul 1966 | A |
4471837 | Larson | Sep 1984 | A |
4587377 | Rodseth | May 1986 | A |
4675784 | Dahlberg et al. | Jun 1987 | A |
4849856 | Funari et al. | Jul 1989 | A |
6068051 | Wendt | May 2000 | A |
6147867 | Gaudrel et al. | Nov 2000 | A |
6165612 | Misra | Dec 2000 | A |
6255719 | Kuriyama et al. | Jul 2001 | B1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
3629976 | Apr 1988 | DE |
19619060 | Nov 1997 | DE |
19727912 | Oct 1998 | DE |
19811000 | Aug 1999 | DE |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20030213586 A1 | Nov 2003 | US |