Sealed Enclosure for Power Electronics Incorporating a Heat Exchanger

摘要

A functional heat exchanger structure provides a hermetic seal for the power electronics. The heat exchanger includes one or more features built into the design. The features include a closed loop liquid circuit, air, or extended surfaces built-in to the design to transfer heat from the heat generating devices, spring clips snapped in built-in slots to mount heat-generating devices, preformed threaded rails to mount the printed circuit board (PCB), electrical isolation between the heat sink/cold plate and the electrical components, a sealed enclosure to provide environmental protection for the electronic components, a mounting feature to mount the sealed enclosure onto an external surface, an opening to accept a snap-in style cover, a stackable design, and an easily manifoldable configuration.

主权项

1. An enclosure for electronic components comprising:
a) a heat exchanger body for housing a printed circuit board, comprising:
i) a base having an upper surface, a lower surface, a first end and a second end, and two sides;ii) a first side wall and a second side wall, each side wall having a first end adjacent the first end of the base and a second end adjacent the second end of the base, a lower edge joined to the upper surface of the base along a side of the base and an upper edge;iii) at least one cooling channel extending through each side wall from the first end to the second end;iv) a first end cap sealed to the first end of the base and the first end of each of the side walls, having an internal bore extending across the first end cap and having openings aligned with the at least one cooling channel in each of the two side walls, so that the cooling channels in the two side walls are connected through the internal bore in the first end cap; andv) a second end cap sealed to the second end of the base and the second end of each of the side walls, the second end cap having a fluid passage through the end cap aligned with the at least one cooling channel in each side wall; and b) a cover sealably fitting over the upper edge of the first side wall and the second side wall and over the first end cap and the second end cap, sealing the body and forming a sealed enclosure.