JP6900896B2 - Heat exchanger for vehicles - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a heat exchange device for a vehicle.

In a heat exchange device for a vehicle, a structure in which a watering device for sprinkling water is provided on the heat exchanger is known (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). For example, Patent Document 1 below discloses a heat exchange device having a structure in which a part of wastewater from a fuel cell (FC stack) is used to sprinkle water on a radiator by a sprinkler. In such a technique, the temperature of the radiator can be lowered by evaporating the sprinkled water.

JP-A-2002-372385 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2017-128197

However, in the above-mentioned prior art, when the tank for storing water used in the watering device is small, the amount of water required for watering cannot be secured, but when the size of the tank is set in anticipation of the amount of water required for watering, the tank Will become large.

In consideration of the above facts, an object of the present invention is to obtain a heat exchange device for a vehicle that can secure water to be used in a watering device while suppressing an increase in the size of a tank.

The vehicle heat exchanger of the present invention according to claim 1 is arranged on the vehicle rear side of the heat exchanger mounted on the vehicle and the vehicle rear side of the heat exchanger, and operates from the vehicle front side to the vehicle rear side. A fan that generates an air flow to the fan, a fan shroud that is provided on the outer side in the radial direction of the fan and covers the outer periphery of the fan, a sprinkler that sprinkles water on the heat exchanger from the front side of the vehicle, and the sprinkler. A heat exchange device for a vehicle including a tank for storing water to be supplied to the device, wherein the terminal portion of the fan shroud on the rear side of the vehicle is folded back in a U shape toward the inner peripheral side of the fan shroud. the fan shroud is a portion of the vehicle rear side of the fan at the inner peripheral side thereof, along said circumferential direction of the fan shroud, are open groove-like water channel formation toward the vehicle front side A recirculation pipe is provided at the lower end of the fan shroud to connect a portion on the rear side of the vehicle with respect to the fan and the tank to introduce water transmitted through the water channel into the tank.

According to the above configuration, the fan arranged on the vehicle rear side of the heat exchanger operates to generate an air flow flowing from the vehicle front side to the vehicle rear side. The heat exchange efficiency of the heat exchanger is improved by passing this air flow through the heat exchanger. In addition, the watering device uses the water supplied from the tank to sprinkle water on the heat exchanger from the front side of the vehicle. Then, a part of the sprinkled water evaporates on the surface of the heat exchanger to cool the heat exchanger. This improves the cooling capacity of the heat exchanger.

On the other hand, a part of the water sprinkled by the sprinkler passes through the heat exchanger without evaporating on the surface of the heat exchanger and is scattered. Some of the water scattered in this way adheres to the fan. The water adhering to the fan is blown off by the centrifugal force accompanying the rotation of the fan and adheres to the inner peripheral surface of the fan shroud, and then is flowed to the rear side of the vehicle by the air flow generated by the fan. Here, in the present invention, the terminal portion of the fan shroud on the vehicle rear side is folded back in a U shape toward the inner peripheral side of the fan shroud, so that the fan shroud is on the inner peripheral side of the fan shroud on the vehicle rear side of the fan. to the site of, along the circumferential direction of the fan shroud, the opened groove-like water channel is formed toward the vehicle front side. Therefore, when the water blown by the fan flows to the rear side of the vehicle and reaches the fan shroud waterway, the water flows downward along the fan shroud waterway by gravity and is collected at the lower end of the waterway. ..

Further, at the lower end of the fan shroud, a portion rearward of the vehicle from the fan and the tank are connected by a reflux pipe, and water that has passed through the water channel is introduced into the tank by the reflux pipe. As a result, the water that has been sprinkled by the sprinkler and has passed through the heat exchanger is returned to the tank as water for sprinkling.

As described above, the heat exchange device for a vehicle of the present invention has an excellent effect that the water used in the watering device can be secured while suppressing the increase in size of the tank.

It is a schematic side view which shows the heat exchange apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment (reference example). It is a schematic side view which shows the heat exchange apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment (the Embodiment of this invention).

The vehicle heat exchange device according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. This first embodiment is not an embodiment of the present invention but a reference example. FIG. 1 shows a schematic side view of the heat exchange device for a vehicle according to the present embodiment. The arrow FR shown in FIG. 1 indicates the front side of the vehicle, and the arrow UP indicates the upper side of the vehicle.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle (more specifically, the automobile) 10 on which the heat exchange device 20 is mounted is equipped with the fuel cell 12 as a drive source. The fuel cell 12 is a battery that generates electricity by supplying hydrogen and air. A cooling water circulation path 14 for circulating cooling water is connected to the fuel cell 12. In the figure, the piping portion of the cooling water circulation path 14 is simplified by a thick line. However, of the piping portion of the cooling water circulation path 14, the portion intersecting with the reflux pipe 36, which will be described later in the vehicle side view, is not shown by a thick line. The cooling water circulation path 14 is provided with a pump 16 for circulating cooling water and a heat exchanger (more specifically, a radiator) 22 for cooling the cooling water by exchanging heat with the outside air. Further, a water storage tank 26 is connected to the fuel cell 12 via a water supply pipe 24. Water (drainage from the fuel cell 12) generated by the power generation of the fuel cell 12 is stored in the tank 26.

In the heat exchanger 20, a fan (also referred to as a “blower fan”) 28 is arranged on the rear side of the vehicle of the heat exchanger 22. The fan 28 includes a rotating shaft portion 28A that is rotationally driven by a motor (not shown), and a plurality of blades 28B extending radially outward from the rotating shaft portion 28A. In the figure, the center of rotation of the fan 28 is indicated by the alternate long and short dash line CL. When the fan 28 operates, it generates an air flow that flows from the front side of the vehicle to the rear side of the vehicle (in the direction of arrow A). A fan shroud 30 is provided on the outer side in the radial direction of the fan 28, and the fan shroud 30 is cylindrical and covers the outer circumference of the fan 28. In the schematic view of FIG. 1, the fan shroud 30 is shown in a state where the front half of the paper surface of FIG. 1 is broken. The fan shroud 30 will be described later.

A watering device 34 is connected to the tank 26. In other words, the tank 26 stores the water to be supplied to the watering device 34. The watering device 34 is provided in the middle of the flow path of the piping portion 34A having one end connected to the tank 26, the nozzle portion 34B for injection provided on the other end side (tip side) of the piping portion 34A, and the piping portion 34A. It is configured to include a pump 34C for injection. The nozzle portion 34B includes an injection port (not shown) arranged on the front side of the vehicle with respect to the heat exchanger 22 and facing the heat exchanger 22 side. Although not shown, a plurality of nozzle portions 34B are provided side by side along the vehicle width direction as an example. Further, the pump 34C is operated to supply the water in the tank 26 to the nozzle portion 34B. As a result, the watering device 34 is set to sprinkle water on the heat exchanger 22 from the front side of the vehicle (injecting water in this embodiment). In the figure, the water sprinkled by the watering device 34 is schematically shown by reference numeral W1.

The fan shroud 30 is formed with a groove-shaped water channel 30A along the circumferential direction of the fan shroud 30 at a portion on the inner peripheral side thereof on the rear side of the vehicle with respect to the fan 28. The water channel 30A in the present embodiment opens inward in the radial direction of the fan shroud 30. Further, at the lower end 30B of the fan shroud 30, a portion rearward of the vehicle from the fan 28 and the tank 26 are connected by a reflux pipe 36. The reflux pipe 36 is a piping portion for introducing water that has traveled downward (see the direction of arrow D) through the water channel 30A into the tank 26 (flowing in the direction of arrow E). In the present embodiment, the upper end of the recirculation pipe 36 is set to be directly connected to the lower end of the water channel 30A, and has a structure in which water can flow directly from the water channel 30A to the recirculation pipe 36.

The fan 28, the fan shroud 30 having the water channel 30A, the reflux pipe 36, the tank 26, and the device portion including the sprinkler 34 can also be grasped as a cooling device that lowers the temperature of the heat exchanger 22 by the latent heat of vaporization of water. It is an element.

Next, the operation and effect of the above embodiment will be described.

In the present embodiment, the fan 28 operates to generate an air flow flowing from the front side of the vehicle to the rear side of the vehicle. The heat exchange efficiency of the heat exchanger 22 is improved by passing this air flow through the heat exchanger 22. Further, the watering device 34 uses the water supplied from the tank 26 to water the heat exchanger 22 from the front side of the vehicle. Then, a part of the sprinkled water W1 evaporates on the surface of the heat exchanger 22, so that the heat exchanger 22 is cooled. This improves the cooling capacity of the heat exchanger 22.

On the other hand, a part of the water W1 sprinkled by the sprinkler 34 passes through the heat exchanger 22 without evaporating on the surface of the heat exchanger 22 and scatters (see reference numeral W2). A part of the water W2 scattered in this way adheres to the fan 28 (see reference numeral W3). Then, the water W3 adhering to the fan 28 is blown off by the centrifugal force accompanying the rotation of the fan 28 (see arrow B) and adheres to the inner peripheral surface of the fan shroud 30, and then the air flow (blower) generated by the fan 28. (See arrow C). Here, the fan shroud 30 is formed with a groove-shaped water channel 30A along the circumferential direction of the fan shroud 30 at a portion on the inner peripheral side thereof on the rear side of the vehicle with respect to the fan 28. Therefore, when the water W3 blown by the fan 28 is flowed to the rear side of the vehicle (see arrow C) and reaches the water channel 30A of the fan shroud 30, the water W4 travels through the water channel 30A of the fan shroud 30 by gravity. It flows downward (see arrow D) and is collected at the lower end of the channel 30A. As described above, in the present embodiment, water is collected by the fan shroud 30.

Further, at the lower end 30B of the fan shroud 30, the portion rearward of the vehicle from the fan 28 and the tank 26 are connected by a reflux pipe 36, and the water transmitted through the water channel 30A is introduced into the tank 26 by the reflux pipe 36. .. As a result, the water that has been sprinkled by the sprinkler 34 and has passed through the heat exchanger 22 is collected and returned to the tank 26 as water for sprinkling. That is, most of the water for watering can be circulated and reused until it is evaporated. Then, since a part of the circulated water is sequentially evaporated on the surface of the heat exchanger 22, the utilization rate of latent heat (in other words, heat dissipation) for evaporating the water is increased, and the cooling performance can be improved with a small amount of water. Can be improved.

When the running wind of the vehicle 10 at high speed and high load (see arrow X) and the air volume of the fan 28 increase, the speed of the sprinkled water W1 also increases, and the amount of water W1 scattered through the heat exchanger 22. However, in the present embodiment, the water reuse rate can be increased by efficiently recovering the water through the water channel 30A.

As described above, according to the vehicle heat exchange device 20 of the present embodiment, it is possible to secure the water used in the watering device 34 while suppressing the increase in size of the tank 26. As a result, a low-cost and lightweight heat exchange device 20 can be obtained. Further, by improving the cooling performance, it is possible to reduce the size, weight and cost of the heat exchanger 22.

As a supplementary explanation regarding the suppression of the increase in size of the tank 26, in order to cool the heat exchanger (22) by watering at high speed and high load of the vehicle, a large amount of water is required for watering. I had no choice but to deal with it. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, it is possible to suppress the increase in size of the tank 26 by circulating and using the water for watering.

Next , the heat exchange device 40 for a vehicle according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. This second embodiment is an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 shows a schematic side view of the heat exchange device 40 for a vehicle according to the present embodiment. As shown in this figure, the heat exchange device 40 has the heat exchange of the first embodiment in that the fan shroud 42 includes the water channel 42A instead of the water channel 30A (see FIG. 1) in the first embodiment. It is different from the device 20 (see FIG. 1). The other configurations are substantially the same as those of the first embodiment. Therefore, the components substantially the same as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

A fan shroud 42 is provided on the outer side in the radial direction of the fan 28, and the fan shroud 42 is cylindrical and covers the outer circumference of the fan 28. In the schematic view of FIG. 2, the fan shroud 42 is shown in a state where the front half of the paper surface of FIG. 2 is broken. The fan shroud 42 is formed with a groove-shaped water channel 42A along the circumferential direction of the fan shroud 42 at a terminal portion on the inner peripheral side thereof on the rear side of the vehicle with respect to the fan 28. That is, in the present embodiment, the terminal portion of the fan shroud 42 on the rear side of the vehicle is folded back in a U shape, and the water channel 42A opens toward the front side of the vehicle.

Further, at the lower end portion 42B of the fan shroud 42, a portion rearward of the vehicle from the fan 28 and the tank 26 are connected by a reflux pipe 36 as in the first embodiment, and the reflux pipe 36 connects the water channel 42A. It is a piping part that introduces the water transmitted to the lower side into the tank 26. In the present embodiment, the upper end of the return pipe 36 is set at a position slightly deviated from the lower end of the water channel 42A toward the front side of the vehicle.

With the above configuration, substantially the same actions and effects as those of the first embodiment described above can be obtained.

Although an example of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above, and it goes without saying that the present invention can be variously modified and implemented within a range not deviating from the gist thereof. ..

10 Vehicle 20 Heat exchanger 22 Heat exchanger 26 Tank 28 Fan 30 Fan shroud 30A Waterway 30B Lower end of fan shroud 34 Sprinkler 36 Circulation pipe 40 Heat exchanger 42 Fan shroud 42A Waterway 42B Lower end of fan shroud

Claims (1)

The heat exchanger mounted on the vehicle and
A fan that is arranged on the rear side of the vehicle and operates to generate an air flow that flows from the front side of the vehicle to the rear side of the vehicle.
A fan shroud provided on the outer side in the radial direction of the fan and covering the outer circumference of the fan,
A watering device that sprinkles water on the heat exchanger from the front side of the vehicle,
A tank for storing water to be supplied to the watering device,
A heat exchange device for vehicles equipped with
The terminal portion of the fan shroud on the rear side of the vehicle is folded back in a U shape toward the inner peripheral side of the fan shroud, so that the fan shroud has a portion on the inner peripheral side of the fan shroud on the rear side of the vehicle . A groove-shaped water channel that opens toward the front side of the vehicle is formed along the circumferential direction of the fan shroud.
A heat exchange device for a vehicle provided with a reflux pipe at the lower end of the fan shroud, which connects a portion rearward of the vehicle with respect to the fan and the tank to introduce water transmitted through the water channel into the tank.

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