JPH0443421B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a cooling device suitable for maintaining a predetermined temperature in a room such as a control box in which heat-generating components such as electronic equipment are housed. In particular, the present invention relates to an equipment cooling device that indirectly cools the interior of the room using outside air.

(Prior Art) Airplanes, combat vehicles, and the like are equipped with an extremely large number of electronic devices. In this case, since electronic devices dislike dust and moisture, they are generally housed in a sealed box.

By the way, many such electronic devices generate heat. Moreover, since space is limited in vehicles and the like, these electronic devices are arranged in a high density. For this reason, the interior of a control box or the like in which they are housed tends to reach high temperatures. On the other hand, in order for electronic equipment to operate accurately,
These electronic devices are required to be placed in an atmosphere with a certain temperature range. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure that the interior of a control box or the like in which such electronic equipment is housed is sufficiently cooled. The cooling is generally performed indirectly by outside air.

In the case of indirectly cooling the box chamber sealed from the outside air with the outside air, conventionally, as shown in FIG. heat absorption passage 32
A blower 33 is used to circulate air between the inside of the box 31 and the heat absorption passage 32, and a heat radiation passage 35 is provided adjacent to the heat absorption passage 32 via a heat transfer plate 34. Outside air was made to flow through the heat radiation passage 35. The heat exchanger plate 34 is provided with heat absorption fins 37 projecting into the heat absorption passage 32 and heat radiation fins 38 projecting into the heat radiation passage 35.
5, heat exchange with the air is performed.

In such an equipment cooling system, the high temperature air in the box 31, which is the part to be cooled, flows through the heat absorption passage 3.
2 and is cooled by contacting and exchanging heat with the heat absorbing fins 37, then the Boskus 31
returned inside. And that heat is absorbed by the heat absorbing fin 3
7, is transmitted to the heat radiation fins 38 through the heat transfer plate 34, and is emitted into the outside air.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, with such a device that directly releases the heat of the cooled portion to the outside air, it is not possible to lower the temperature of the cooled portion below the outside temperature. Therefore, when the outside temperature is high as in summer, it becomes impossible to sufficiently cool the part to be cooled. Further, in such a device, in order to increase heat exchange efficiency, it is necessary to increase the surface area of each fin 37, 38, but this also causes the problem that the entire device becomes larger.

For this reason, equipment cooling devices have been proposed that utilize the heat of evaporation of refrigerants such as fluorocarbons to obtain a cooling effect, similar to automobile cooling devices. As shown in FIG. 4, this cooling device has an evaporator 40 disposed within the heat absorption passage 32, and a refrigerant is circulated between the evaporator 40 and the condenser 41. The refrigerant that has received heat and evaporated in the evaporator 40 is compressed by the compressor 42 and then led to the condenser 41 where it is cooled by outside air sent from the cooling fan 43 and liquefied. Then, the liquefied refrigerant passes through the extension valve 44 and returns to the evaporator 40.
guided by. In this way, heat is removed from the air flowing through the heat absorption passage 32 by the heat of evaporation of the refrigerant evaporated in the evaporator 40, and the air is cooled. The air flowing through the heat absorption passage 32 is circulated by a blower 33 to and from the box 31, which is a part to be cooled, similarly to the cooling device shown in FIG.

In such an equipment cooling device, the part to be cooled can be cooled without being affected by the outside temperature. However, in order to configure such a cooling device, it is necessary to provide a large number of movable devices such as the compressor 42, the cooling fan 43, and their driving motors 45 and 46, making the entire device large and complicated. , and the number of failures also increases. Furthermore, if a large number of boxes 31 are to be cooled by such a cooling device, extremely complicated piping and the like will be required.

The present invention has been made in view of these problems, and its purpose is to provide a highly efficient equipment cooling device that is simple in structure, compact, and has a high efficiency.

(Means for solving the problem) In order to achieve this objective, the present invention utilizes the Peltier effect of a thermoelectric cooling element, in which one side is cooled and the other side generates heat by passing an electric current. That's what I do. The thermoelectric cooling element has a cooling surface, that is, a heat-absorbing surface, which is in close contact with a heat-absorbing plate that forms at least a part of the heat-absorbing passage wall, and a heat-generating surface, which is in close contact with a heat-radiating plate that forms at least a part of the heat-radiating passage wall. It is located in The heat absorption plate is provided with heat absorption fins that protrude into the heat absorption passage. Air is circulated between the heat absorption passage and the part to be cooled. Further, the heat sink is provided with a heat sink that projects into the heat sink passage. Outside air is blown into the heat radiation passage by a blower or the like.

(Function) By using such a thermoelectric cooling element,
When a current is passed through the element, the heat-absorbing surface of the element is cooled and the heat-generating surface generates heat due to the behavior of electrons in the semiconductor. That is, the element acts as a type of heat pump that transports heat from the heat-absorbing surface to the heat-generating surface.
Therefore, heat is absorbed from the air flowing through the heat absorption passage by the heat absorption fins of the heat absorption plate that are in close contact with the heat absorption surface, and the heat is released into the outside air through the heat radiation fins of the heat sink that are in close contact with the heat generation surface. Then, the air that has been cooled by absorbing heat by the heat-absorbing fins is guided to the cooled section and cools the equipment housed inside.

In this way, an equipment cooling device with high heat exchange efficiency can be obtained. Furthermore, the cooling device only needs to be equipped with a blower for blowing air as a movable device, and a heat absorption passage and a heat radiation passage must be provided with the thermoelectric cooling element in between, so the structure is extremely simple and compact. It can be done.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described using the drawings.

In the drawings, FIGS. 1 and 2 show an embodiment of the equipment cooling device according to the present invention, with FIG. 1 being a horizontal sectional view thereof, and FIG. 2 being a vertical sectional view thereof.

As is clear from these figures, the casing 2 of the equipment cooling device 1 has
Boxes 3, 4, each containing electronic equipment, etc.
5 and 6 can be attached. The devices in boxes 3 to 6 generate heat and must be kept within a certain temperature range. That is, in this embodiment, these boxes 3 to 6 are cooled parts that are cooled by the cooling device 1.

A heat radiation passage 7 having a rectangular cross section is provided in the center of the casing 2. Both ends of the heat radiation passage 7 are open to the outside, and blowers 10 and 11 are provided at the openings via filters 8 and 9, respectively. The walls surrounding the upper, lower, left and right sides of the heat radiation passage 7 are made of heat radiation plates 12.
It is formed by. A large number of vertical heat dissipation fins 13 protruding into the heat dissipation passage 7 are provided on the portions of the heat dissipation plate 12 that form the upper and lower surfaces of the heat dissipation passage 7 . Further, a large number of horizontal radiation fins 14 protruding into the heat radiation passage 7 are provided on the portions of the heat radiation plate 12 forming the left and right surfaces of the heat radiation passage 7 .

A large number of thermoelectric cooling elements 15 are arranged on the outer periphery of the heat sink 12 so as to surround the heat sink passage 7 . This thermoelectric cooling element 15 has a heat generating surface 1
5a is inside, and its heat generating surface 15a is the heat sink 1
It is designed to be in close contact with 2. And, on the heat absorption surface 15b which is the outside of the thermoelectric cooling element 15,
A heat absorbing plate 16 covering it is brought into close contact with the heat absorbing plate 16. This heat absorbing plate 16 is provided with a large number of vertical heat absorbing fins 17 protruding from its outer surface.

In this way, heat absorption passages 18, 19, 20, and 21 are provided on the upper, lower, right, and left sides of the heat radiation passage 7, respectively, and are surrounded by the casing 2 and the heat absorption plate 16, and are provided with heat absorption fins 17 that project inside.
These heat absorption passages 18 to 21 communicate with the bosses 3 to 6 through openings provided at both ends thereof, and blowers 22 and 2 provided in the openings communicate with each other through openings provided at both ends thereof.
2, 23, 23, 24, 24, 25, 25 allow air to be circulated between them.

Thermoelectric cooling element 15 and blowers 10, 11, 22
25 are supplied with power from a suitable power supply device (not shown) via a cable connector 26 and internal wiring 27. The power supply device is provided with a control device that controls the power supplied thereto.

Next, the operation of the device cooling device 1 configured as described above will be explained.

When cooling the insides of the bosses 3 to 6, which are the parts to be cooled, a current is passed through the thermoelectric cooling element 15. Then, due to the Peltier effect, the heat generating surface 15a of the thermoelectric cooling element 15 generates heat, and the heat absorbing surface 15b is cooled.

Therefore, the blowers 10, 11, 22-25 are operated. When the blowers 10 and 11 operate, outside air is introduced into the heat radiation passage 7 from one opening, and the outside air is forcibly blown onto the heat radiation plate 12 and the radiation fins 13 and 14. At this time, the heat sink 12
The heat dissipation fins 13 and 14 are heated to a high temperature due to the heat transmitted from the heat generating surface 15a of the thermoelectric cooling element 15 that is in close contact with the heat dissipation plate 12. Therefore, that heat is released into the outside air. The heated air is then discharged to the outside from the other opening of the heat radiation passage 7.

Further, when the blowers 22 to 25 operate, high-temperature air in the boxes 3 to 6 is guided from one opening to the heat absorption passages 18 to 21, and the air is forcibly blown against the heat absorption plate 16 and the heat absorption fins 17. At this time, the heat absorbing plate 16 and the heat absorbing fins 17 are cooled by the heat absorbing surface 15b of the thermoelectric cooling element 15 that is in close contact with the heat absorbing plate 16, so the heat in the air is removed and the air cooled down. The cooled air is then returned into the boxes 3-6 from the other opening of the heat absorption passages 18-21.

In this way, the inside of the boxes 3 to 6 and the heat absorption passages 18 to
By circulating air between the boxes 3 and 21, the insides of the boxes 3 to 6 are continuously cooled.

The heat absorbed by the heat absorbing plate 16 and the heat absorbing fins 17 is transferred to the heat sink 12 through the thermoelectric cooling element 15.
The heat is transmitted to the heat radiation fins 13 and 14 and released into the outside air flowing through the heat radiation passage 7. The degree of heat transfer is continuously controlled by controlling the current applied to the thermoelectric cooling element 15. Therefore,
Highly efficient heat exchange is possible regardless of the outside temperature.

The equipment cooling device 1 also includes a blower 10,
Since there is no need to provide movable devices other than 11, 22 to 25, the cooling device 1 has a simple structure and is less likely to malfunction. Moreover, in the case of a vehicle, the blowers 10, 11, 22 to
The number of 25 can also be reduced.

Furthermore, it is only necessary to provide the heat absorption passages 18 to 21 with the thermoelectric cooling element 15 sandwiched between them and the heat radiation passage 7.
A plurality of heat absorption passages 18 to 21 are arranged around the heat radiation passage 7.
Since it is possible to provide a compact device cooling device 1, it is also possible to cool a plurality of cooled parts at the same time.

The outside air introduced into the heat radiation passage 7 only exchanges heat with the heat radiation plate 12 and the radiation fins 13 and 14, and is discharged to the outside as it is, so it cannot be used in an environment where the outside air is contaminated. Even in this case, the contents of boxes 3 to 6 are not affected in any way.

(Effects of the Invention) As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, a thermoelectric cooling element is used, and its heat absorption surface absorbs heat from the air circulated between the cooled part and Since the heat is released into the outside air by the heat generating surface, an equipment cooling device with high cooling efficiency can be obtained. The equipment cooling system does not require any movable equipment other than the blower, and only needs to have a heat radiation passage and a heat absorption passage adjacent to each other, so the structure is extremely simple, and it can be made small and lightweight. In addition, it is possible to provide a cooling device that is highly durable and highly reliable.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a horizontal sectional view showing an embodiment of the equipment cooling device according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a -
Vertical cross-sectional view of the equipment cooling device according to lines, No. 3
The figure is a horizontal sectional view showing an example of a conventional equipment cooling device, and FIG. 4 is a system diagram showing a different example of the conventional equipment cooling device. 1...equipment cooling device, 2...casing, 3,
4, 5, 6... Box (cooled part), 7... Heat radiation passage, 10, 11... Blower, 12... Heat sink, 13, 14... Heat radiation fin, 15... Thermoelectric cooling element, 15a... ... exothermic surface, 15b ... endothermic surface,
16... Heat absorption plate, 17... Heat absorption fin, 18,1
9, 20, 21... Endothermic passage, 22, 23, 2
4,25...Blower.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A heat absorption passage through which air is circulated between the heat absorption passage and the part to be cooled in which equipment to be cooled is housed; a heat radiation passage provided adjacent to the heat absorption passage through which outside air flows; It has heat absorption fins that protrude into the heat absorption passage,
a heat absorption plate forming at least a part of a wall surface of the heat absorption passage; and a heat radiation fin protruding into the heat radiation passage;
A heat dissipation plate forming at least a part of the wall surface of the heat dissipation passage; and a heat dissipation plate provided between these heat absorption plates and the heat dissipation plate so that the heat absorption surface is in close contact with the heat absorption plate and the heat generation surface is in close contact with the heat dissipation plate. An equipment cooling device using a thermoelectric cooling element, comprising: a thermoelectric cooling element disposed in the thermoelectric cooling element; and a power supply device that supplies current to the thermoelectric cooling element.