Patent Application
20170164516
The present disclosure relates generally to a cooling device removing heat from electric components and, more particularly, to a cooling device having an integrated fluid turbulator and fluid sealing system.
A wide array of applications are known for power electronic devices, such as power switches, transistors, and the like, in earthmoving and construction equipment and vehicles. For example, in industrial applications, insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) modules, silicon controlled rectifiers (SCRs), field effect transistors (FETs), or other electric components are used to provide power to loads. In certain applications, for example, arrays of IGBT modules are employed to convert direct current power to alternating current waveforms and vice versa for application to loads. Such applications include motor drives in work machines. In work machines, a source of direct current is typically available from a battery or power supply system incorporating a battery or other direct or rotating energy converter. Power electronic devices are employed to convert this power to alternating current waveforms for driving one or more electric motors. The motors may serve to drive power transmission elements to propel the work machine.
During operation, the IGBT modules generate heat due to the flow of electricity through the electric components. As such, at least some known IGBT modules are coupled to a heat sink or other type of cooling device to dissipate heat generated by the IGBT module. Such cooling devices may incorporate a combination of fins removing heat from the IGBT, and a fluid (liquid or gas) flow for removing heat from the fins. One example of a cooling device is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 8,897,010, issued to Shepard on Nov. 25, 2014, entitled “High Performance Liquid Cooled Heat Sink for IGBT Modules.” The Shepard patent discloses methods and systems related to cooling an object. A heat sink assembly includes a base plate coupled to a first side of the object, a plurality of fins extending from the base plate, and a housing comprising a first manifold defining a plurality of first passages and a second manifold defining a plurality of second passages in fluid communication with the plurality of first passages. During operation, heat is transferred from the object through the base plate, and to the fins. To cool the fins, fluid is channeled through at least one of the first passages, toward at least one of the fins, and through at least one of the second passages.
In an aspect of the present disclosure, a cooling device for an electric component is disclosed. The electric component may have a base plate with a base plate top surface and a base plate bottom surface, and a heat generating component disposed on the base plate top surface. The cooling device may include a manifold having a manifold top surface defining a coolant section having a coolant inlet trough with a coolant inlet opening fluidly connecting the coolant inlet trough with a coolant source, and a coolant outlet trough with a coolant outlet opening fluidly connecting the coolant outlet trough with a coolant reservoir. The cooling device may further include a fluid turbulator having a turbulator plate having a turbulator plate top surface with at least one turbulator fin extending upwardly therefrom, a turbulator plate bottom surface, and a turbulator inlet opening and a turbulator outlet opening through the turbulator plate, and a turbulator carrier surrounding the turbulator plate and having a carrier top surface and a carrier bottom surface. The fluid turbulator may be installed at the coolant section with the carrier bottom surface facing and engaging the manifold top surface and surrounding the coolant inlet trough and the coolant outlet trough, and the base plate bottom surface facing and engaging the carrier top surface and surrounding the turbulator plate so that a heat exchange reservoir is defined by the base plate bottom surface, the turbulator plate top surface and the turbulator carrier. The turbulator inlet opening and the turbulator outlet opening may fluidly connect the coolant inlet trough and the coolant outlet trough, respectively, with the heat exchange reservoir so that coolant from the coolant source flows into the coolant inlet trough, through the turbulator inlet opening into the heat exchange reservoir, and out of the heat exchange reservoir through the turbulator outlet opening into the coolant outlet trough and to the coolant reservoir.
In another aspect of the present disclosure, a fluid turbulator for a cooling device for an electric component is disclosed. The fluid turbulator may include a turbulator plate having a turbulator plate top surface, a turbulator plate bottom surface, a turbulator plate outer edge, a plurality of turbulator fins extending upwardly from the turbulator plate top surface, a turbulator inlet opening through the turbulator plate and a turbulator outlet opening through the turbulator plate, with the turbulator plate having a turbulator plate thickness. The fluid turbulator may further include a turbulator carrier having a carrier top surface, a carrier bottom surface and a carrier thickness, and the turbulator carrier may surround the turbulator plate at the turbulator plate outer edge. The carrier thickness may be greater than the turbulator plate thickness, with the turbulator plate top surface being below the carrier top surface and the turbulator plate bottom surface being above the carrier bottom surface.
In a further aspect of the present disclosure, a cooling device for an electric component is disclosed. The electric component may have a base plate with a base plate top surface having a heat generating component disposed thereon and a base plate bottom surface. The cooling device may include a manifold having a manifold top surface defining a coolant section having coolant section cartridge recess, and coolant section inlet opening for placing the coolant section cartridge recess in fluid communication with a coolant source, and a coolant section outlet opening for placing the coolant section cartridge recess in fluid communication with a coolant reservoir. The cooling device may also include a coolant section cartridge having a coolant inlet trough with a coolant inlet opening, a coolant outlet trough with a coolant outlet opening, and a cartridge top surface. The coolant inlet opening and the coolant outlet opening may be positioned to align with the coolant section inlet opening and the coolant section outlet opening, respectively, when the coolant section cartridge is disposed within the coolant section cartridge recess. The cooling device may further include a fluid turbulator having a turbulator plate having a turbulator plate top surface with at least one turbulator fin extending upwardly therefrom, a turbulator plate bottom surface, and a turbulator inlet opening and a turbulator outlet opening through the turbulator plate, and a turbulator carrier surrounding the turbulator plate and having a carrier top surface and a carrier bottom surface. The coolant section cartridge may be installed at the coolant section with the coolant section cartridge disposed within the coolant section cartridge recess with the coolant inlet opening and the coolant outlet opening aligned with the coolant section inlet opening and the coolant section outlet opening, respectively. The fluid turbulator may be installed at the coolant section with the carrier bottom surface facing and engaging the manifold top surface and the cartridge top surface, and the base plate bottom surface facing and engaging the carrier top surface and surrounding the turbulator plate so that a heat exchange reservoir is defined by the base plate bottom surface, the turbulator plate top surface and the turbulator carrier. The turbulator inlet opening and the turbulator outlet opening may fluidly connect the coolant inlet trough and the coolant outlet trough, respectively, with the heat exchange reservoir so that coolant from the coolant source flows into the coolant inlet trough, through the turbulator inlet opening into the heat exchange reservoir, and out of the heat exchange reservoir through the turbulator outlet opening into the coolant outlet trough and to the coolant reservoir.
Additional aspects are defined by the claims of this patent.
Each IGBT module 12 may include one or more IGBTs and/or diodes including a circuit board 18 having a circuit board top surface 20 and a circuit board bottom surface (not shown), and a combination of heat generating components such as transistors 22 and diodes 24 mounted on the circuit board top surface 20 and electrically interconnected as necessary to be able to execute the functions required for the IGBT. The IGBTs may then be mounted on a base plate 26 having a base plate top surface 28 and a base plate bottom surface 30, with the circuit board bottom surface facing and engaging the base plate top surface 28. The cooling device 10 may include a manifold 32 having a manifold top surface 34 defining the coolant sections 14 at which the base plates 26 of the IGBT modules 12 may be mounted on corresponding fluid turbulators 16 to allow coolant to remove heat from the IGBT modules 12 during their operation as will be described more fully below.
The manifold 32 may be shown in greater detail in the top view of
As will be explained in greater detail below, with the present embodiment of the fluid turbulator 16, a desired mixing of coolant may be created when the coolant flows in a predetermined direction across the fluid turbulator 16. Consequently, it may be desirable to provide a poka-yoke or other mistake-proof alignment feature in the cooling device 10 to ensure that the fluid turbulators 16 can only be installed in the proper orientation. In the present embodiment, the manifold 32 may have structures at the coolant sections 14 that will engage corresponding structures of the fluid turbulators 16 when the fluid turbulators 16 are misoriented. The coolant inlet trough 36 may include a first inlet trough shoulder 54 at a first inlet trough end 56 proximate the coolant inlet opening 38 and a second inlet trough shoulder 58 proximate a second inlet trough end 60. The coolant outlet trough 44 may include a first outlet trough shoulder 62 proximate a first outlet trough end 64 and a second outlet trough shoulder 66 proximate a second outlet trough end 68 that is proximate the coolant outlet opening 46. One of the trough shoulders 54, 58, 62, 66 may have a narrow shoulder width that is less than a wide shoulder width of the other trough shoulders 54, 58, 62, 66. In the illustrated embodiment, the second outlet trough shoulder 66 may have the narrow shoulder width and the other trough shoulders 54, 58, 62 may have the wide shoulder width. As will be discussed further below, a corresponding structure of the fluid turbulator 16 may engage the trough shoulders 54, 58, 62 when the fluid turbulator is misoriented to prevent installation mistakes, while the second outlet trough shoulder 66 will allow insertion of the structure when the fluid turbulator 16 is properly aligned for flow of the coolant and assembly of the cooling device 10.
The fluid turbulator 16 is shown in greater detail in
As seen in
The bottom isometric view of
As discussed above, with the present embodiment of the fluid turbulator 16, the desired mixing of the coolant may be created when the turbulator plate 70 is installed with the turbulator inlet openings 82 disposed above the coolant inlet trough 36 and the turbulator outlet openings 86 disposed above the coolant outlet trough 44. The coolant sections 14 may include trough shoulders 54, 58, 62, 66 as discussed above to function as a first portion of an alignment mechanism for the fluid turbulator 16. As a complimentary feature to the trough shoulders 54, 58, 62, 66, the fluid turbulator 16 may include a turbulator alignment pin 102 extending downwardly from the turbulator plate bottom surface 78 that may be engaged to prevent installation of the fluid turbulator 16 with the wrong orientation.
The turbulator alignment pin 102 and the trough shoulders 54, 58, 62, 66 may be positioned so that the turbulator alignment pin 102 engages the inlet trough shoulders 54, 58 or the first outlet trough shoulder 62 having the wide shoulder width to prevent the fluid turbulator 16 from being installed with the wrong orientation. However, the turbulator alignment pin 102 may not be obstructed by the second outlet trough shoulder 66 due to the narrow shoulder width to allow installation of the fluid turbulator 16 when properly oriented relative to the coolant inlet trough 36 and the coolant outlet trough 44. Of course, the location of the turbulator alignment pin 102 and the trough shoulders 54, 58, 62, 66 or other engagement surfaces may be varied as necessary to achieve the desired design of the cooling device 10 and ensure proper alignment and installation of the fluid turbulator 16. For example, in an embodiment that may reduce the amount of machining required on the manifold 32, a single wide shoulder may be formed in either the coolant inlet trough 36 or the coolant outlet trough 44, and multiple alignment pins may be formed on the turbulator plate bottom surface 78. The multiple alignment pins may be positioned so that one of the alignment pins engage the single wide shoulder when the fluid turbulator 16 is misoriented to prevent improper installation, and none of the alignment pins engage the single wide shoulder when the fluid turbulator 16 is properly oriented to allow proper installation. Moreover, alternative mistake-proof alignment mechanisms may be implemented in cooling devices 10 in accordance with the present disclosure, and such mechanisms are contemplated by the inventors.
Assembly of the IGBT module 12 and the fluid turbulator 16 at one of the coolant sections 14 may be described with reference to
As with other fluid flow devices, it is desirable to prevent leakage of coolant from the coolant sections 14 of the cooling device 10. Consequently, leakage should be prevented at the interfaces between the base plate 26, the turbulator carrier 72 and the manifold 32. A turbulator top seal 104 may be installed within the turbulator top seal channel 92 and configured to engage a surface defining the turbulator top seal channel 92 and the base plate bottom surface 30 to form a top leak-proof seal preventing leakage of coolant between the base plate bottom surface 30 and the carrier top surface 90. Similarly, a turbulator bottom seal 106 may be installed within the turbulator bottom seal channel 96 and configured to engage a surface defining the turbulator bottom seal channel 96 and the manifold top surface 34 to form a bottom leak-proof seal preventing leakage of coolant from the coolant inlet trough 36 and the coolant outlet trough 44 between the carrier bottom surface 94 and the manifold top surface 34. The turbulator top seal 104 and the turbulator bottom seal 106 may be formed separately from the fluid turbulator 16, inserted into the turbulator top seal channel 92 and the turbulator bottom seal channel 96, respectively, and then compressed by the respective base plate bottom surface 30 and the manifold top surface 34 when the cooling device 10 is assembled to form the leak-proof seals. Alternatively, the turbulator top seal 104 and the turbulator bottom seal 106 may be formed by molding an appropriate sealing material into the turbulator top seal channel 92 and the turbulator bottom seal channel 96, respectively, in a manner that allows the molded turbulator top seal 104 and molded turbulator bottom seal 106 to be engaged by the base plate bottom surface 30 and the manifold top surface 34 and form the leak-proof seals.
A heat exchange reservoir 110 may be defined by the base plate bottom surface 30, the turbulator plate top surface 74 and the turbulator carrier 72. The turbulator inlet openings 82 and the turbulator outlet openings 86 may be placed above the coolant inlet trough 36 and the coolant outlet trough 44, respectively, in fluid communication with the heat exchange reservoir 110. Coolant from the coolant source may flow into the manifold 32 through the manifold coolant inlet 42 and fill the coolant inlet channel 40. Coolant may flow through the coolant section 14 as indicated by the arrows in
Fabrication of the manifold 32 of the cooling device 10 of
Referring to
The carrier bottom surface 94 (
To provide a sufficient seal between the coolant section cartridge 140 and the coolant section cartridge recess 128, the coolant section cartridge 140 may include a coolant inlet opening cylinder 154 (
Referring to the cross-sectional view of one of the coolant sections 126 shown in
The base plate bottom surface 30 may face and engage the carrier top surface 90 and surround the turbulator plate 70 so that a heat exchange reservoir 110 is defined by the base plate bottom surface 30, the turbulator plate top surface 74 and the turbulator carrier 72 as described above. The turbulator inlet openings 82 and the turbulator outlet openings 86 may fluidly connect the coolant inlet trough 142 and the coolant outlet trough 146, respectively, with the heat exchange reservoir 110. As configured, coolant from the coolant inlet channel 40 may flow into the coolant inlet trough 142, through the turbulator inlet openings 82 into the heat exchange reservoir 110, and out of the heat exchange reservoir 110 through the turbulator outlet openings 86 into the coolant outlet trough 146 and to the coolant outlet channel 48 in a similar manner as described for the coolant sections 14 in the cooling device 10.
As discussed above, the fluid turbulator 16 and the coolant section cartridge 140 may be pre-assembled prior to installation in the coolant section cartridge recess 128. Alternatively, the fluid turbulator 16 and the coolant section cartridge 140 may be formed together as a single unitary component in a signal casting, molding or extruding process or three-dimensional printing operation. In still further alternative embodiments, the turbulator plate 70 and the coolant section cartridge 140 may be fabricated as a single unitary component, and with the turbulator carrier 72 being formed as a separated component that may be installed around the turbulator plate 70 and between the manifold top surface 124 and the base plate bottom surface 30 after the turbulator plate 70 and coolant section cartridge 140 is installed in the coolant section cartridge recess 128. Other alternative configurations for manufacturing and assembling the cooling device 120 shown in
The designs of the cooling devices 10, 120 in accordance with the present disclosure may be more efficient and cost effective positioning the elements so that the desired mixing is created in the coolant flowing through the heat exchange reservoir 110 and heat may be transferred from the IGBT module 12 to the coolant in an efficient manner. In previous cooling device designs, a turbulator plate may be dropped into a recess of a manifold, and then a base plate of an IGBT module may be attached above the turbulator plate via an intervening sealing system. The tolerance stack up between the IGBT module, the turbulator plate, the sealing system and the manifold can lead to performance issues when the turbulator fins on the turbulator plate are disposed too close to or too far from the bottom surface of the base plate and the desired mixing in the coolant is not achieved. Reliably ensuring proper spacing between the turbulator fins and the base plate requires precise control of the tolerances of the assembled components, which increases the overall cost of the cooling device.
In the present design, the manufacturing process is simplified by the integration of the fluid turbulator support and sealing systems into the fluid turbulator 16. The turbulator plate 70 and the turbulator carrier 72 may be fabricated as a single unitary component. The fluid turbulator 16 may be formed from an appropriate non-ferrous material that will not interfere with the operation of the IGBT modules 12 from an appropriate fabrication process such as three dimensional printing, injection molding, machining and the like. Of course, any appropriate ferrous or non-ferrous materials may be used to fabricate the fluid turbulator as the electric components can function as designed. Because the turbulator plate 70 is carried by the turbulator carrier 72, tolerance control over the length of the turbulator fins 76 above the turbulator plate top surface 74, and over the offset of the turbulator plate top surface 74 below the carrier top surface 90 or over the thickness of a gasket or other structure as discussed above, may be sufficient to ensure that the turbulator fins 76 are positioned properly relative to the base plate bottom surface 30.
While the preceding text sets forth a detailed description of numerous different embodiments, it should be understood that the legal scope of protection is defined by the words of the claims set forth at the end of this patent. The detailed description is to be construed as exemplary only and does not describe every possible embodiment since describing every possible embodiment would be impractical, if not impossible. Numerous alternative embodiments could be implemented, using either current technology or technology developed after the filing date of this patent, which would still fall within the scope of the claims defining the scope of protection.
It should also be understood that, unless a term was expressly defined herein, there is no intent to limit the meaning of that term, either expressly or by implication, beyond its plain or ordinary meaning, and such term should not be interpreted to be limited in scope based on any statement made in any section of this patent (other than the language of the claims). To the extent that any term recited in the claims at the end of this patent is referred to herein in a manner consistent with a single meaning, that is done for sake of clarity only so as to not confuse the reader, and it is not intended that such claim term be limited, by implication or otherwise, to that single meaning.
