Method of cooling electrical components, device for implementing same and application to vehicle-borne components
First Claim
1. A method for cooling electrical components within an automotive vehicle including an internal combustion engine cooled by a liquid coolant, said electrical components carrying substantial electrical power and generating large amounts of heat, said method comprising the following steps:
- transferring heat produced by said components (2), in a direct or indirect manner, to the refrigerant of a refrigerating loop (8) by means of a first heat exchanger (1,
12) provided with an evaporator, andtransferring the heat previously yielded to said refrigerant to the coolant of the internal combustion engine (30) by means of a second heat exchanger (4, 14,
25) provided with a condenser in contact with the internal combustion engine liquid coolant;
whereby said automotive vehicle electrical components are cooled by extracting heat therefrom to the liquid coolant of the internal combustion engine at a higher temperature, and wherein said cooling method operates irrespective of the ambient temperature outside of the automotive vehicle.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Method of cooling electrical components, especially electronic components, involving evacuation of the calories produced by said components (2) to an outside medium (5) via one or more thermal loops, whereby intermediate heat exchange steps are provided to
transfer the calories produced by said electrical components directly or indirectly to the liquid coolant of a refrigerating machine,
transfer the calories previously yielded to said liquid coolant to said outside medium (5) whose temperature may be higher than or equal to the operating temperature of said electrical components. An application to automotive vehicle-borne electrical components is described.
43 Citations
6 Claims
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1. A method for cooling electrical components within an automotive vehicle including an internal combustion engine cooled by a liquid coolant, said electrical components carrying substantial electrical power and generating large amounts of heat, said method comprising the following steps:
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transferring heat produced by said components (2), in a direct or indirect manner, to the refrigerant of a refrigerating loop (8) by means of a first heat exchanger (1,
12) provided with an evaporator, andtransferring the heat previously yielded to said refrigerant to the coolant of the internal combustion engine (30) by means of a second heat exchanger (4, 14,
25) provided with a condenser in contact with the internal combustion engine liquid coolant;
whereby said automotive vehicle electrical components are cooled by extracting heat therefrom to the liquid coolant of the internal combustion engine at a higher temperature, and wherein said cooling method operates irrespective of the ambient temperature outside of the automotive vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A system for cooling electrical components (11) of an automotive vehicle including an internal combustion engine cooled by a liquid coolant at a higher temperature than the temperature of the electrical components (11), said system comprising a refrigeration loop (8) provided with
a first heat exchanger (1, 12) incorporating an evaporator receiving heat generated by said electrical components, a second heat exchanger (14) incorporating a condenser in thermal contact with said liquid coolant of said internal combustion engine (30), whereby said automotive vehicle electrical components are cooled by extracting heat therefrom to the liquid coolant of said internal combustion engine at a higher temperature and irrespective of the ambient temperature outside the vehicle thereby eliminating the need for a fan while reducing the size of the condenser in thermal contact with the automotive vehicle internal combustion engine liquid coolant.
Specification