JP5353806B2 - Reactor cooling structure - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cooling structure of a reactor for appropriately controlling an accumulation amount and a flow rate of cooling liquid at a periphery of the reactor. <P>SOLUTION: A reactor 40 is stored in a catch tank 30. A movable member 20a makes oil 50 flow into the catch tank 30. An opening/closing member 31 is installed in an exhaust port 30b of the catch tank 30. When a pressure of the oil 50 accumulated in the catch tank 30 is less than a prescribed threshold, the opening/closing member 31 is constituted to be closed (a close position 31a). When the pressure of the oil 50 exceeds the prescribed threshold, the member is opened (an opening position 31b or an intermediate position). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2012,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a reactor cooling structure, and more particularly to a structure in which a reactor is accommodated in a catch tank.

  A reactor is used for a voltage converter or the like of a hybrid vehicle. The reactor can be provided at various positions. For example, in consideration of cooling, the reactor is arranged in a circulation path of oil serving as a coolant. Patent Document 1 describes an example of such a configuration. In the configuration described in paragraph [0099] of FIG. 10 and FIG. 10 and FIG. 11, the reactor L1 is accommodated in the oil chamber 216. Oil flows from the oil passage 210 into the oil chamber 216 and is discharged from the oil drain hole 214.

JP 2008-218732 A

However, the conventional technology has a problem in that the amount of coolant stored and the flow rate around the reactor cannot be appropriately controlled.
For example, in the configuration of Patent Document 1, the oil that has flowed into the oil chamber immediately flows out from the oil drain hole. For this reason, in a state where the amount of oil flowing in is low (during low-speed traveling, etc.), there is almost no oil around the reactor, and the efficiency of heat exchange decreases.
On the other hand, if the configuration is such that the periphery of the reactor is always filled with the coolant, for example, the reactor is submerged in an oil pool, the coolant is not circulated appropriately, and the efficiency of heat exchange decreases. This becomes a problem particularly in a state where the amount of heat generated by the reactor is large (during high-speed traveling, etc.).

  This invention was made in order to eliminate such a problem, and it aims at providing the cooling structure of the reactor which can control appropriately the storage amount and flow volume of the cooling fluid around a reactor.

A reactor cooling structure according to the present invention is a reactor cooling structure that cools a reactor using a cooling liquid, the cooling structure accommodating a reactor and storing a cooling liquid, and a cooling liquid catching The catch tank has a discharge port for discharging the coolant, and the discharge port is provided with an open / close member that opens and closes according to a predetermined open / close condition. open and close in response to pressure on the closing member, the opening and closing member is opened when the pressure exceeds a predetermined threshold, it closes when the pressure is less than the threshold.

  In this cooling structure, since the opening / closing member opens and closes according to a predetermined opening / closing condition, the discharge port is closed to maintain an appropriate amount of coolant storage in a certain condition, and the discharge port is opened to open the cooling liquid in another condition. Keep the flow rate at a proper level.

If the vehicles are traveling at a stop or slow the closing member is closed with not flow into the cooling liquid, when the vehicle is traveling at high speed, even if the opening and closing member with flowing the coolant opens Good.

  According to the reactor cooling structure of the present invention, the open / close member provided at the coolant discharge port opens and closes according to a predetermined open / close condition, so that the amount of coolant stored and the flow rate around the reactor are appropriately controlled. can do.

It is a figure which shows roughly the cooling structure of the reactor which concerns on this invention. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of the cooling structure of FIG.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a reactor cooling structure according to the present invention. This reactor cooling structure cools the reactor using oil as a coolant. The reactor cooling structure includes a case 10, and oil 50 circulates inside the case 10. That is, the case 10 defines a region where the oil 50 circulates.

The reactor cooling structure includes a transaxle 20 and a catch tank 30. The transaxle 20 and the catch tank 30 are accommodated in the case 10. Moreover, the catch tank 30 accommodates the reactor 40 including the core 40a and the coil 40b.
Although not shown, the reactor 40 constitutes a part of an electric circuit. This electric circuit includes, for example, a motor generator in addition to the reactor 40, and is used for a hybrid vehicle.

  The transaxle 20 includes a movable member 20a. The movable member 20 a is a rotor of a motor generator, for example, and causes the oil 50 to flow and flow into the catch tank 30 by rotation thereof. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, when the movable member 20a rotates in the direction of arrow A, the surrounding oil 50 is sprung up as shown by arrow B and guided as shown by arrow C to flow in the catch tank 30. It reaches the inlet 30a and flows into the catch tank 30 from the inlet 30a. The catch tank 30 stores the oil that flows in in this way.

The catch tank 30 has a discharge port 30b for discharging the oil 50 stored in the catch tank 30 to the outside. The discharge port 30b is provided on the wall surface of the catch tank 30 as shown in FIG. 1, for example, but may be provided on the bottom surface or other positions.
An opening / closing member 31 is provided in the discharge port 30b. The opening / closing member 31 can be opened and closed, that is, can be displaced between a closed position 31a for sealing the discharge port 30b and an open position 31b for opening the discharge port 30b. The opening / closing member 31 can be constituted by a known opening / closing member, for example, a plate member having an area and a shape sufficient to block the discharge port 30b, and an urging force such as a spring for urging the plate member toward the closed position 31a. It can comprise using a member.

The opening / closing member 31 is configured to open and close according to predetermined opening / closing conditions.
For example, the opening / closing member 31 opens and closes according to the pressure exerted on the opening / closing member 31 by the oil 50 stored in the catch tank 30. In this case, the oil 50 is closed (closed position 31a) when the pressure is less than a predetermined threshold, and is opened (open position 31b or intermediate position) when the oil 50 pressure exceeds a predetermined threshold. . Further, as a reference for the opening / closing conditions, a force exerted by the oil 50 on the entire opening / closing member 31 may be used instead of the pressure per unit area of the opening / closing member 31.
When the opening / closing member 31 is open, the oil 50 in the catch tank 30 is discharged as shown by an arrow D through the discharge port 30b.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the reactor cooling structure according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 2A shows a state where the oil 50 does not flow into the catch tank 30 or a state where the inflow amount is relatively small. Such a state is a state where the movable member 20a is stopped or is moving at a relatively low speed. For example, in the case of a vehicle, it corresponds to a state where the vehicle is running at a low speed. The pressure exerted by the oil 50 in the catch tank 30 on the opening / closing member 31 is relatively small, and the opening / closing member 31 is in the closed position 31a. In this state, the discharge port 30b is closed and the oil 50 is not discharged. Therefore, the amount of oil 50 stored in the catch tank 30 does not decrease below a certain limit, and is maintained at an amount that allows the reactor 40 to be efficiently cooled.

  FIG. 2B shows a state in which the amount of oil 50 flowing into the catch tank 30 is relatively large. Such a state is a state where the movable member 20a is moving at a relatively high speed. For example, in the case of a vehicle, the movable member 20a corresponds to a state where the movable member 20a is traveling at a high speed. The pressure exerted on the opening / closing member 31 by the oil 50 in the catch tank 30 is relatively large, and the opening / closing member 31 is maintained at the open position 31b by this pressure. In this state, the discharge port 30b is opened, and the oil 50 is discharged from the discharge port 30b to the outside of the catch tank 30. Therefore, the flow rate of the oil 50 in the catch tank 30 can be made relatively large to increase the circulation efficiency, and the reactor 40 can be efficiently cooled. In this state, the opening / closing member 31 does not necessarily need to be in the specific open position 31b, and may be a position that opens the discharge port 30b to the extent that the oil 50 can be discharged.

  As described above, according to the reactor cooling structure according to the first embodiment, the opening and closing member 31 opens and closes according to the pressure. Therefore, when the amount of oil 50 flowing into the catch tank 30 is small, the outlet 30b is closed. The amount of oil 50 stored can be kept appropriate, and heat can be established by dissipating heat from the reactor 40 to the surrounding oil 50. Further, when the amount of oil 50 flowing into the catch tank 30 is large, the discharge port 30b is opened to keep the flow rate of the oil 50 at an appropriate level, and the low temperature oil 50 is circulated around the reactor 40 to establish heat. .

  In the first embodiment described above, the pressure is used as the reference for the opening / closing condition of the opening / closing member 31, but another reference may be used. For example, the opening / closing member 31 may be opened and closed according to the amount of oil 50 in the catch tank 30. In this case, when the volume or weight of the oil 50 in the catch tank 30 is less than a predetermined threshold, the oil 50 is closed (closed position 31a), and opened when the volume or weight of the oil 50 exceeds a predetermined threshold (open position 31b). Or intermediate position).

  In Embodiment 1, the movable member 20a is a rotor of a motor generator, but this may be another member. For example, it may be the motor generator itself, may be another member (gear or the like) that moves according to the operation of the motor generator, or any member that has an action of causing the oil 50 to flow. Or it may be a structure. In particular, the member is not limited to a member provided only for the purpose of causing the oil 50 to flow, and may be a member that allows the oil 50 to flow into the catch tank 30 as a result of the operation.

  10 cases, 20 transaxles (20a movable member), 30 catch tank (30a inlet, 30b outlet), 31 opening / closing member (31a closed position, 31b open position), 40 reactor, 50 oil (coolant).

Claims (2)

A reactor cooling structure for cooling a reactor using a coolant,
The cooling structure is
A catch tank for containing the reactor and storing the coolant;
A movable member for allowing the coolant to flow into the catch tank;
The catch tank has a discharge port for discharging the coolant, and the discharge port is provided with an opening / closing member that opens and closes according to a predetermined opening / closing condition,
The opening and closing member opens and closes according to the pressure exerted by the coolant on the opening and closing member,
The reactor opening / closing member opens when the pressure exceeds a predetermined threshold, and closes when the pressure is less than the threshold. When the vehicle is stopped or traveling at a low speed, the coolant is not allowed to flow and the opening / closing member is closed,
Wherein when the vehicle is traveling at high speed, wherein the opening and closing member opens the coolant causes to flow, the cooling structure of the reactor according to claim 1.

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