Electricity: electrical systems and devices – Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical... – For electronic systems and devices
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-21
2001-07-17
Thompson, Gregory (Department: 2835)
Electricity: electrical systems and devices
Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical...
For electronic systems and devices
C165S080400, C174S015100, C361S698000, C361S699000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06262891
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a component carrier with electric or electronic components mounted thereon, where the carrier has at least one channel for cooling liquid.
Such component carriers are used as carriers for components of electronic power devices, the cooling liquid flowing in the channel serving to cool the power components. They are offered on the market either as plug-in elements without a package or firmly integrated in a package. Due to the constantly increasing packing density of electronic power devices, the cooling of the power components is an ever greater problem. Furthermore, component carriers with the electric components are frequently used in closed systems, for example to fulfill requirements for EMC tightness and IP requirements. Improved removal of the arising thermal dissipation power is therefore necessary in order to increase the packing density and compactness of electronic power devices.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a component carrier which improves removal of the thermal dissipation power of electronic components.
This is obtained according to the invention in that the component carrier has an air cooling body, and a fan is associated with the component carrier for producing a forced air stream for air cooling at least a part of the electronic components and for air recooling on the air cooling body. In operation the forced air stream permits optimal cooling of the electronic components which are almost solely dependent on air cooling, e.g. a plurality of capacitors or an internal cabling of the electronic power device. For electronic components mounted, due to their design, on bases cooled by the liquid cooling, an additional air cooling can also be effected via the package walls of the components. The invention thus offers the possibility of combining liquid cooling via the mounting bases of the components with additional air cooling. The air recooling can be effected on an air cooling body cooled by the cooling liquid of the liquid cooling.
The component carrier is preferably composed at least of a carrier plate with the components and the air cooling body. It is particularly preferred for the carrier plate and air cooling body to be interconnected areally and enclose the at least one channel between each other. This results in an especially simple structure and thus facilitation of producing the component carrier. The channel can be easily worked from the surface of one of the plate-like elements before the two are interconnected. Alternatively the component carrier may also be of integral design. For example, the channel can be cast in an integral component carrier.
Further it is preferred for the at least one channel to be provided with an inlet and outlet such that both openings are located on or near one face of the component carrier. This arrangement provides an especially simple possibility of connection for supplying cooling liquid and removing cooling liquid, and the two can be combined on one side of the component carrier. Alternatively it can also be advantageous to provide at least one channel with an inlet and outlet such that the openings are located on or near opposite faces of the component carrier.
It has proved especially favorable to form the air cooling body with cooling ribs or cooling slats. This provides an especially large heat exchange surface, which accordingly contributes to especially great heat exchange in operation. Heat exchange can in addition be promoted by using a material with good heat conductivity for the air cooling body. It is also recommendable to use a material with good heat conductivity for the carrier plate in order to permit good cooling of the mounting bases.
It has also proved particularly preferable to dispose the fan such that in operation the air stream produced by operation of the fan leads away from the fan on one side of the component carrier and leads to the fan on the other side of the component carrier. Circulation can thus take place in a closed circuit. The component carrier itself serves as a partition between the air flowing toward the fan and that flowing away from the fan. The special advantage becomes apparent when the components are all disposed on one side of the component carrier and the air cooling body on the other side. The circulating air cools the components on the first part of its flow path and is recooled by the air cooling body on the other side when flowing back. It can also be advantageous to provide an air cooling body on the side where the components are disposed as well, for example in the vicinity of a component with especially great dissipation power emission. It is also conceivable to dispose air cooling bodies and components jointly on both sides of the component carrier.
It can also be preferred for at least one flow opening to be provided in the component carrier through which at least part of the air stream can flow from one side to the other. Alternatively or in addition to the circulation around the total component carrier, this can form circulation around part of the component carrier. This is preferred in particular when a component carrier flow opening is disposed near a component such that the part of the air stream flowing therethrough can cool it selectively. Depending on the special spatial arrangement of the flow opening through the component carrier and the component on the component carrier one can supply an air stream with a certain temperature to the component very selectively, thereby obtaining especially optimal removal of dissipation power. The cross section and number of the flow openings can be coordinated with the cooling effects to be achieved on the package surfaces of the components. The position of the flow opening is one of the factors determining the temperature of the partial air stream or total air stream. When fixing the geometrical position of the flow openings through the component carrier one preferably adjusts an optimum with respect to temperature, volume throughput and pressure drop of the cooling air.
A guiding element is preferably provided on the component carrier for selectively guiding part of the air stream. This permits the air stream to be guided, for example, selectively onto a component or around a component. Such a guiding element can be a simple plate-like guiding element, for example in the form of a baffle plate. However, it can also be, preferably, a nozzle-like guiding element associated with a flow opening. Such a guiding element, in addition to guiding the air flowing through the flow opening selectively onto a component, accelerates the air flow locally and thus provides especially high local cooling power. For reasons of production technology, among other things, it is particularly preferred to provide a slip-on nozzle-like guiding element which can for example be simply slipped on the flow opening. In general, it is particularly preferred to coordinate the geometrical mounting position of the components on the component carrier, the guidance of the air stream in circulation around the total component carrier and/or part of the component carrier, the arrangement of guiding elements, flow opening, etc., with the dissipation power to be removed and the permissible temperature increase, and design them accordingly. The dissipation power taken up by the component carrier via the component mounting bases with the corresponding temperature conditions is also to be included in such considerations. It can be preferred to provide components cooled via the mounting base which have high dissipation power and require low working temperatures, in the vicinity of the cooling water inlet and to provide components which have high dissipation power but can cope with higher working temperatures, in the vicinity of the cooling water outlet.
A further important factor for design is the flow cross section between the outer limit of the system in operation and the component carrier. The flow cross-section has an essential influence on the sp
Enrhart Peter
Örey Suavi
Wickelmaier Peter
Kinberg Robert
Magnet-Motor Gesellschaft fur magnetmotorische Technik mbH
Spencer George H.
Thompson Gregory
Venable
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