Cooling apparatus for on-vehicle electronic device

- DENSO Corporation

A cooling apparatus for cooling an electronic device 100 mounted on a vehicle in combination with an automotive climate control system 10 having a refrigeration cycle for compressing and expanding a first heating medium is disclosed. The cooling apparatus includes a second heating medium in liquid form, a tubular path 60 for circulating the second heating medium flowing therein, a heat absorber 30 for transmitting the heat from the electronic device 100 to the second heating medium, a heat dissipator 40 for transmitting the heat from the second heating medium to the evaporator 15, and a pump 50 for circulating the second heating medium. The heat dissipator 40 is coupled to the tank unit 15c of the evaporator 15.

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Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a cooling apparatus for cooling an object to be cooled such as an electronic device mounted on a vehicle in combination with an automotive climate control system, or in particular to a cooling apparatus using brine as a heat transfer medium.

2. Description of the Related Art

The evaporator of an automotive climate control system exchanges heat between refrigerant flowing in the evaporator and air in the passenger compartment. A cooling apparatus for cooling an on-vehicle object using this evaporator is known as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-1753. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-1753 describes an air conditioning system having a cooling storage cycle for cooling a cool storage medium to supply cool air even when the vehicle engine is stopped. This cooling storage cycle uses brine as a heat transfer medium, and evaporator tubes are integrated as a double tube, in which the refrigerant flows in the inner tube while brine flows in the outer tube, so that the brine is cooled thereby cooling the cooling storage medium making up the object to be cooled.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The brine in the cooling storage cycle described above cools the cooling storage medium satisfactorily. The brine flowing in the outer tube of the double tube, however, constitutes a thermal resistance against heat exchange between the refrigerant and air in the passenger compartment, with the result that the quick-acting characteristic of the cooling operation of the climate control system may be deteriorated. Also, the process of integrally forming a double tube is complicated, and an evaporator having such a double tube is specially structured and expensive.

This invention has been achieved to solve the aforementioned problem of the prior art and the object thereof is to provide a cooling apparatus for cooling the object to be cooled such as an on-vehicle electronic device in combination with an automotive climate control system without deteriorating the quick-acting cooling characteristic of the automotive climate control system.

In order to achieve the object described above, the present invention employs the technical means described below.

According to this invention, there is provided a cooling apparatus for cooling an object to be cooled (100) mounted on the vehicle in combination with an automotive climate control system (10) having a refrigeration cycle for compressing and expanding a first heating medium,

    • wherein the climate control system (10) includes an evaporator (15) having a plurality of juxtaposed tubes with the first heating medium flowing therein and a tank unit (15c) connected to the ends of the plurality of tubes for distributing and collecting the first heating medium to and from the plurality of tubes, and in which an evaporator exchanges heat between air blown by a blower (16) of the climate control system (10) and the first heating medium, the cooling apparatus including a second heating medium in liquid form, a tubular path (60) for circulating the second heating medium flowing therein, a heat absorber (30) for transmitting the heat from the object (100) to the second heating medium, a heat dissipator (40) for transmitting the heat from the second heating medium to the evaporator (15), and a pump (50) for circulating the second heating medium, the heat dissipator (40) being coupled to the tank unit (15c) of the evaporator (15).

The heat dissipator of the cooling apparatus, which is coupled to the tank unit of the evaporator of the climate control system, has no adverse effect on heat exchange between the first heating medium (refrigerant) flowing inside the tubes and air blowing between the tubes and fins of the evaporator, and therefore, the quick-acting cooling characteristic of the climate control system is not deteriorated. Also, even in the case where the climate control system is not being operated with no refrigerant flowing in the evaporator, heat can be normally radiated using an evaporator formed of aluminum as a heat radiator having a large surface area.

According to this invention, the second heating medium in liquid form is brine having a solidification point of lower than 0° C., and therefore, can be prevented from being frozen even in a cold environment.

According to this invention, the heat dissipator (40) is configured independently of the evaporator (15) and coupled to by being mounted on the tank unit (15c) of the evaporator. With this configuration, the evaporator used for the cooling apparatus according to the invention can be realized with a minor design change or without any design change of the existing evaporator.

According to this invention, the cooling apparatus may comprise a plurality of heat dissipators (40), the evaporator (15) may include a plurality of tank units (15b, 15c) connected to the each end of the tubes, and the plurality of the heat dissipators (40) are coupled to the plurality of the tank units (15b, 15c). As a result, a more uniform temperature distribution of the core unit of the evaporator is obtained and the cooling capacity of the cooling apparatus is improved.

According to this invention, the cooling apparatus may further comprise a temperature sensor (70) for detecting the temperature (Tb) of the second heating medium, and a control unit (80) for activating the blower (16) of the climate control system (10) when the temperature (Tb) detected by the temperature sensor (70) reaches a predetermined temperature (T1).

With this configuration, even in the case where the climate control system is not being operated and no refrigerant is flowing in the evaporator, heat transmitted to the evaporator from the heat dissipators of the cooling apparatus can be efficiently radiated by applying the air of the blower to the evaporator.

According to this invention, the climate control system (10) includes an air blowing unit case (17) having a heat discharge outlet port (25) for accommodating the evaporator (15) and the blower (16) and adapted to be opened or closed, and the control unit (80) controls the heat discharge outlet port (25) to open upon activation of the blower (16). As a result, even in the case where the climate control system is not being operated and the cool air outlet of the air blowing unit case is closed, the blower can be activated of the cooling apparatus.

According to this invention, the control unit (80) controls the pump (50) to reduce the flow rate of the second heating medium in liquid form when the temperature (Tb) detected by the temperature sensor (70) drops to or below a predetermined temperature (T3). As a result, condensation or the like, which otherwise might be caused by excessively cooling the electronic device can be prevented.

According to this invention, the cooling apparatus further comprises a flow rate control valve, and the control unit (80) controls the flow rate control valve in place of the pump (50). As a result, condensation or the like, which otherwise might be caused by excessively cooling the electronic device can be prevented.

According to this invention, the cooling apparatus may further comprise a second temperature sensor (72) for detecting the temperature (Tk) of the heat absorber (30), wherein the tubular path (60) for circulating the second heating medium in liquid form includes a tubular bypass (61) for circumventing the heat absorber (30) and a switching valve (62) arranged at a diverging point of the tubular bypass (61), and wherein the control unit (80) activates the switching valve (62) in such a manner that the second heating medium in liquid form circumvents the heat absorber (30) and flows through the tubular bypass (61) when the temperature (Tb) detected by the temperature sensor (70) drops to or below a predetermined temperature (T3) and the second heating medium flows through the heat absorber (30) when the temperature (Tk) detected by the second temperature sensor (72) rises to or above another predetermined temperature (T5). As a result, condensation or the like, which otherwise might be caused by excessive cooling of the electronic device can be also prevented.

According to this invention, the cooling apparatus may further comprise a temperature sensor (70) for detecting the temperature (Tb) of the second heating medium and a control unit (80) for activating the blower (16) of the climate control system (10) when the temperature (Tb) detected by the temperature sensor (70) reaches a predetermined temperature (T1), wherein the climate control system (10) includes an air blowing unit case (17) for accommodating the evaporator (15) and the blower (16) and having a heat discharge outlet (25) adapted to open/close, wherein the air blowing unit case (17) includes an external air inlet (19), an internal air inlet (18) and an internal/external air switching door (20) for opening/closing the external air inlet (19) and the internal air inlet (18), wherein in the case where the temperature (Tb) detected by the temperature sensor (70) while the vehicle is running at a predetermined speed or higher reaches a predetermined temperature (T1), the control unit (80) controls the operation of the internal/external air switching door (20) to introduce air from the external air inlet (19) while at the same time opening the heat discharge outlet port (25). As a result, the heat from the heat dissipator of the cooling apparatus can be radiated by cooling the evaporator with air flow caused by driving the vehicle without activating the blower.

Incidentally, the reference numeral in each parenthesis attached to each name of the means described above shows an example of correspondence with the specific means described in the embodiments below.

The present invention may be more fully understood from the description of preferred embodiments of the invention, as set forth below, together with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the cooling apparatus according to a first embodiment of the invention, and the cooling circuit of the climate control system collaborating with the cooling apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the state in which the heat dissipator of the cooling apparatus is coupled to the evaporator of the climate control system.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the state in which the heat dissipator of the cooling apparatus according to a second embodiment of the invention is coupled to the evaporator of the climate control system.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the cooling circuit of the cooling apparatus according to a third embodiment and the air blowing unit case and the blower of the climate control system.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the cooling circuit of the cooling apparatus according to a fourth embodiment and the air blowing unit case and the blower of the climate control system.

FIG. 6 is a control flowchart for the cooling apparatus according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the cooling circuit of the cooling apparatus according to a fifth embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 8 is a control flowchart for the cooling apparatus according to the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing the cooling circuit of the cooling apparatus according to a sixth embodiment and the air blowing unit case and the blower of the climate control system.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference to the accompanying drawings, a preferred first embodiment of the invention will be explained in detail. The cooling apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment is for cooling an electronic device mounted on a vehicle and configured to radiate heat generated in the electronic device to the evaporator of an automotive climate control system. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the cooling apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment and the climate control system 10 collaborating with the cooling apparatus 1. With reference to FIG. 1, the climate control system 10 includes, interconnected by tubes, a compressor 11 for compressing a first heating medium (hereinafter referred to as the refrigerant), a condenser 12 for condensing and liquefying by cooling the refrigerant compressed into a high temperature by heat exchange with the atmospheric air, a liquid tank 13 for separating the refrigerant into a liquid and gas, an expansion valve 14 for expanding the refrigerant, and an evaporator 15 for exchanging heat between the low temperature refrigerant and the air in the passenger compartment. The refrigerant flows in the tubular paths in the direction of the white arrows. The evaporator 15 is accommodated in an air blowing unit case 17 together with a blower 16 for blowing air to the evaporator 15. An internal air inlet 18, an external air inlet 19 and an internal/external air switching door 20 for opening/closing these inlets are arranged upstream of the blower 16 of the air blowing unit case 17. A heater core 21 for the heating operation, an air outlet 22 directed toward the upper half bodies of the vehicle occupants, an air outlet 23 directed to the feet of the occupants, a defroster air outlet 24, a heat discharge air outlet 25, doors 26, 27, 28 for opening/closing these air outlets and an auto/manual switching door 29 are arranged downstream of the evaporator 15.

The evaporator 15 according to this embodiment is of an ordinary type called a “drone cup” used for the automotive climate control system, and therefore, only a general structure thereof is shown in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the evaporator 15 includes a core unit 15a formed of a multiplicity of fins and tubes arranged in alternate layers in the vertical direction of the drawing, an upper tank unit 15b and a lower tank unit 15c connected to the upper and lower ends, respectively, of the plurality of the tubes and extending in the horizontal direction in the drawing to distribute the refrigerant to and collect the refrigerant from the plurality of the tubes, and a refrigerant inlet port 15d and a refrigerant outlet port 15e. Although the evaporator 15 according to this embodiment has upper and lower tank units, the invention may alternatively employ an evaporator having a tank unit on one side, or on the lower side thereof.

In the cooling apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the on-vehicle electronic device 100 is cooled by circulating a second heating medium in liquid form flowing in the directions of the black arrows between the high-temperature on-vehicle electronic device 100 and the low-temperature evaporator 15. According to this embodiment, the second heating medium in liquid form is brine having a solidification point of lower than 0° C. The cooling apparatus 1 is configured of, connected by a tubular path 60, a heat absorber 30 for transmitting heat from the electronic device 100 to the brine, a heat dissipator 40 for transmitting heat from the brine to the evaporator 15 and a pump 50 for circulating the brine.

The heat dissipator, as designated by reference numeral 40 in FIG. 2, includes a heat dissipator case 41 formed of aluminum substantially in the shape of a parallelepipedal box, and a brine inlet port 42 and a brine outlet port 43 arranged on the opposed side surfaces of the heat dissipator case 41. The brine is filled and flows in the space formed in the case. The heat dissipator 40 has one large-area side of the parallelepiped thereof brazed or caulked fixedly in close contact on the bottom surface of the lower tank unit 15c of the evaporator. The use of the lower tank unit 15c causes the refrigerant stored therein to exhibit a function equivalent to a heat pipe, and therefore, improvement in cooling capacity is expected.

The heat absorber 30, though not shown in detail, like the aforementioned heat dissipator 40, includes a heat absorber case formed of aluminum substantially in the shape of a parallelepipedal box, and a brine inlet port and a brine outlet port arranged on the opposed side surfaces of the case. The brine is filled and flows in the space formed in the case. The heat absorber case has one side surface thereof fixed in contact with the high-temperature parts of the electronic device 100 with a band or the like to receive heat therefrom. For this purpose, fixing means such as a screw may be used in accordance with the structure of the electronic device 100 to be cooled, or depending on the cooling conditions, the heat absorber unit case may be placed in a casing of the electronic device, surrounded by high-temperature air but not in contact with any heat-generating parts thereof.

The operation of the cooling apparatus 1 according to this embodiment will now be explained. The heat generated in the electronic device 100 is transmitted to the brine through the heat absorber 30, and the brine is sent to the heat dissipator 40 by the pump 50. The heat contained in the brine is transmitted to the low-temperature refrigerant in the lower tank unit 15c of the evaporator through one side of the heat dissipator case 41 and the bottom of the lower tank unit 15c thereby to cool the electronic device 100.

The heat transmission explained above concerns a case in which the compressor 11 of the climate control system 10 is activated and the low-temperature refrigerant flows in the evaporator 15. Nevertheless, the cooling apparatus 1 according to the invention can cool the electronic device 100 even when the compressor 11 of the climate control system is not being operated. Specifically, in a case where the compressor 11 is not in operation, the temperature of the evaporator 15 is substantially equal to ambient air temperature. However, since the electronic device 100 generates heat, the temperature thereof is higher than ambient air temperature, as well as the temperature of the brine for transmitting the heat of the electronic device 100. Thus, heat contained in the brine of the heat dissipator 40, after being transmitted to the metal case forming the lower tank unit 15c of the evaporator and the tubes and fins of the evaporator, is dissipated into ambient air thereby to cool the electronic device 100. The core unit of the evaporator has a large surface area, and therefore, the evaporator, even if no refrigerant flows therein, can be used as a heat radiator. Also, heat transmitted from the brine to the evaporator 15 is not only radiated from the evaporator 15 by the natural cooling function of air, but also can be radiated efficiently by being forcibly cooled by air blown from the blower 16 to the evaporator 15. As another alternative, without activating the blower 16, heat can be radiated forcibly by atmospheric air introduced and blown to the evaporator 15 while the vehicle is moving.

The heat dissipator of the cooling apparatus according to the first embodiment described above is mounted on and coupled to the lower tank unit of the evaporator. Alternatively, the heat dissipator case and the lower tank unit of the evaporator may be formed integrally with each other. In such a case, contact heat resistance which otherwise might be generated between the independent heat dissipator 40 and the lower tank unit according to the first embodiment is eliminated, and therefore heat conductivity is improved.

A cooling apparatus 2 according to a second embodiment will not be explained with reference to FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the heat dissipators 40 are coupled to the evaporator 15. The cooling apparatus 2 according to this embodiment includes two heat dissipators 40 mounted on the lower tank unit 15c and the upper tank unit 15b, respectively. As a result, a more uniform temperature distribution of the core unit 15a of the evaporator is obtained and cooling capacity improved. Incidentally, since the brine is supplied to the two heat dissipators 40 from a single heat absorber, a diverging point (not shown) is formed midway of the tubular path 60.

A cooling apparatus 3 according to a third embodiment will now be explained with reference to FIG. 4. In FIG. 4, the compressor, the condenser and the like making up the refrigeration cycle of the climate control system are not shown. The cooling apparatus 3 according to the third embodiment includes a temperature sensor 70 and a control unit 80 in addition to the cooling apparatus according to the first embodiment. Further, the cooling apparatus 3 includes three heat absorbers 30. The temperature sensor 70 is arranged midway of the tubular path 60 leading from the heat dissipator 40 to the heat absorber 30 to detect the brine temperature, and the control unit 80 can receive a signal from the temperature sensor 70. Also, the three heat absorbers 30 are mounted on three electronic devices 100, respectively.

The control unit 80 activates the blower 16 in the air blowing unit case 17 in accordance with temperature detected by the temperature sensor 70 while the compressor is not being operated. Specifically, in a case where the brine temperature Tb rises to a predetermined temperature T1 or higher, the blower 16 is activated to forcibly cool the evaporator 15 by air, however when the detected temperature Tb drops to a predetermined temperature T2 lower than the predetermined temperature T1, the blower 16 is stopped. Also, the control unit 80 activates an electric motor (not shown) for opening the door 28 on the heat discharge outlet 25 at the same time as the blower 16. In order to reduce the failure rate of the blower motor 16a, the r.p.m. of the blower 16 may be increased or decreased without starting/stopping the blower 16 as described above. Also, the brine temperature may be measured at other points than the aforementioned points. For example, the temperature of the brine in the heat absorber 30 or the heat dissipator 40 may be measured, or the temperature of the case of the heat absorber or the heat dissipator may be measured as the brine temperature. As another alternative, the temperature of the electronic device 100 may be measured by a temperature sensor.

A cooling apparatus 4 according to a fourth embodiment will now be explained with reference to FIG. 5. When the climate control system is operating to cool the passenger compartment, i.e. when both the compressor and the blower 16 are in operation, the cooling power of the cooling apparatus 4 is maximised. An excessive cooling operation, however, may reduce the surface temperature of the electronic device 100 below ambient air temperature and may form condensation on the electronic device 100. In view of this, with the cooling apparatus 4 according to the fourth embodiment, the control unit 80 further has the function of adjusting the output of the pump 50 and thus regulate the flow rate of the circulating brine. As a result, the electronic device 100 is prevented from excessively decreasing in temperature and forming condensation. In a case where the brine temperature Tb detected by the temperature sensor 70 drops to a predetermined temperature T3 or lower, the control unit 80 decreases the pump output and thus reduces the flow rate of the circulating brine, however when the temperature Tb rises to a predetermined temperature T4 or higher, the pump output is increased for an increased flow rate. Incidentally, the temperature T3 is determined by comparing the internal air temperature Ta detected by the internal air temperature sensor 71 normally held in the climate control system with the brine temperature Tb, and therefore, the temperature T3 changes according to internal air temperature Ta.

A control flowchart of the cooling apparatus according to the fourth embodiment is shown in FIG. 6. As shown in FIG. 6, the control unit 80 controls the on/off operation of the blower for the cooling apparatus and the on/off operation of the heat discharge outlet when the compressor and the blower of the climate control system are not being operated, and controls the flow rate of the brine when the compressor and the blower of the climate control system are both in operation.

Instead of controlling the flow rate of the circulating brine by controlling the output of the pump 50 as in the cooling apparatus 4 according to the fourth embodiment, a flow rate control valve may be arranged in the brine circulating path, and the flow rate may be controlled by the control unit 80 adjusting the valve opening degree of the flow rate control valve.

A cooling apparatus 5 according to a fifth embodiment will now be explained with reference to the schematic diagram of FIG. 7 and the flowchart of FIG. 8. In FIG. 7, neither the compressor and the condenser making up the refrigeration cycle of the climate control system nor the air blowing unit case and the blower are shown. The cooling apparatus 5, like the cooling apparatus according to the fourth embodiment, can control the on/off operation of the blower and the flow rate of the brine to prevent excessive cooling. In the cooling apparatus 5, the tubular bypass 61 circumventing the heat absorbers 30 is formed in the tubular path 60 of the brine, and a three-way valve 62 is arranged at the diverging point of the tubular bypass 61. Further, the cooling apparatus 5 according to this embodiment, in addition to the first temperature sensor 70 for detecting the brine temperature, includes a second temperature sensor 72 for detecting the temperature Tk of the case of one of the three heat absorbers 30 which is coupled to the electronic device 100 having the lowest allowable temperature. In a case where the brine temperature Tb drops to a predetermined temperature T3 or lower, the control unit 80 switches the three-way valve 62 so that the brine flows in the tubular bypass 61, however when the temperature Tk of the case of the heat absorber 30 detected by the second temperature sensor 72 rises to another predetermined temperature T5 or higher, on the other hand, the three-way valve 62 is switched so that the brine flows in the heat absorbers 30.

A cooling apparatus 6 according to a sixth embodiment will now be explained with reference to FIG. 9. The cooling apparatus 6 according to this embodiment, like the cooling apparatus according to the third embodiment, includes a brine tubular path 60, heat absorbers 30, a heat dissipator 40, a pump 50, a temperature sensor 70 and a control unit, but differs from the cooling apparatus according to the third embodiment in that in this embodiment, the evaporator 15 is cooled using the air flow caused by a running vehicle. Assuming that the vehicle is moving at a higher than predetermined speed with the compressor and the blower 16 not in operation. The cooling apparatus according to the sixth embodiment operates so that in the case where the brine temperature Tb rises to a predetermined temperature T1 or higher, the internal/external air switching door 20 of the air blowing unit case 17 is switched to introduce atmospheric air in accordance with a command from the control unit 80. Also, the control unit 80 activates an electric motor (not shown) to open the door 28 of the heat discharge outlet 25 when the internal/external switching door 20 is switched to introduce atmospheric air. As a result, the evaporator 15 and the brine are forcibly cooled by air flow caused by a moving vehicle.

While the invention has been described by reference to specific embodiments chosen for purposes of illustration, it should be apparent that numerous modifications could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the basic concept and scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A cooling apparatus for cooling an object to be cooled mounted on a vehicle in combination with an automotive climate control system having a refrigeration cycle for compressing and expanding a first heating medium,

wherein the climate control system includes an evaporator having a plurality of juxtaposed tubes with a first heating medium flowing therein and a tank unit connected with the ends of the plurality of the tubes for distributing and collecting the first heating medium in the plurality of the tubes, the evaporator exchanges heat between air blown by the blower of the climate control system and the first heating medium;
the cooling apparatus comprising a second heating medium in liquid form, a tubular path for circulating the second heating medium flowing therein, a heat absorber for transmitting the heat from the object to the second heating medium, a heat dissipator for transmitting the heat from the second heating medium to the evaporator, and a pump for circulating the second heating medium, the heat dissipator being coupled to the tank unit of the evaporator.

2. The cooling apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the second heating medium in liquid form is brine having a solidification point of lower than 0° C.

3. The cooling apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the heat dissipator is a unit independent of the evaporator and mounted on and coupled to the tank unit of the evaporator.

4. The cooling apparatus according to claim 1, comprising a plurality of heat dissipators,

wherein the evaporator includes a plurality of tank units connected to the each end of the tubes, and the plurality of the heat dissipators are coupled to the plurality of the tank units.

5. The cooling apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the second heating medium and a control unit for activating the blower of the climate control system when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor reaches a predetermined temperature.

6. The cooling apparatus according to claim 5,

wherein the climate control system includes an air blowing unit case for accommodating the evaporator and the blower and having a heat discharge outlet adapted to be opened or closed, and the control unit controls the heat discharge outlet to open upon activation of the blower.

7. The cooling apparatus according to claim 5,

wherein the control unit controls the pump to reduce the flow rate of the second heating medium in liquid form when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor drops to or below a predetermined temperature.

8. The cooling apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising a flow rate control valve,

wherein the control unit controls the flow rate control valve in place of the pump.

9. The cooling apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a second temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the heat absorber,

wherein the tubular path for circulating the second heating medium in liquid form includes a tubular bypass for circumventing the heat absorber and a switching valve arranged at a diverging point of the tubular bypass, and
wherein the control unit activates the switching valve in such a manner that the second heating medium in liquid form circumvents the heat absorber and flows through the tubular bypass when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor drops to or below a predetermined temperature, and the second heating medium flows through the heat absorber when the temperature detected by the second temperature sensor rises to or above another predetermined temperature.

10. The cooling apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the second heating medium and a control unit for activating the blower of the climate control system when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor reaches a predetermined temperature,

wherein the climate control system includes an air blowing unit case for accommodating the evaporator and the blower and having a heat discharge outlet adapted to open/close,
wherein the air blowing unit case includes an external air inlet, an internal air inlet and an internal/external air switching door for opening/closing the external air inlet and the internal air inlet,
wherein in the case where the temperature detected by the temperature sensor while the vehicle is moving at a predetermined speed or higher reaches a predetermined temperature, the control unit controls the operation of the internal/external air switching door to introduce air from the external air inlet while at the same time opening the heat discharge outlet.

11. The cooling apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the object to be cooled is an electronic device mounted on vehicle.
Patent History
Publication number: 20080148755
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 21, 2007
Publication Date: Jun 26, 2008
Applicant: DENSO Corporation (Kariya-city)
Inventors: Takahisa Fujii (Kariya-city), Yuji Ito (Okazaki-city), Yasuhiko Niimi (Handa-city)
Application Number: 11/894,529
Classifications
Current U.S. Class: With Electrical Component Cooling (62/259.2); Combined (62/331)
International Classification: F25D 23/12 (20060101);