JP2002112403A - Power converting device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a power converting device for a vehicle in which miniaturization and weight saving of cooling units and a power converting device is realized. SOLUTION: The power converting device is equipped with heat-radiating parts of plurality of cooling units arranged so that the parts protrude out from a device housing and cools down the cooling units by discharging to outside air heat generated from the cooling units through the heat-radiating units, utilizing natural convection of air and traveling air of the vehicle. The heat-radiating part of each cooling unit is serially arranged along a flow of the traveling air, and a filter capacitor constituting a filter circuit, connected with the cooling units is also arranged between the cooling units in this device. In this arrangement, temperature of air entering a backward unit in an advancing direction is lowered because the temperature does not suffer from a repercussion of exhaust air from a frontward unit, which enables miniaturization and weight saving of the cooling units. As a result, miniaturization and weight saving of the entire power converting device is realized.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a power converter for a vehicle, which houses a unit for cooling a semiconductor element which generates heat.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional power converter for a vehicle containing a plurality of cooling units will be described with reference to a plan view of FIG. 7 and a front view of FIG. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a power converter main body, in the power converter main body 1, a plurality of cooling units 2 and 3 for cooling a semiconductor element such as a semiconductor element which generates heat, and filter capacitors 4a and 4a of the cooling unit.
4b and other units 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d are housed. The filter capacitors 4a and 4b are built in the cooling units 2 and 3, depending on the case. The cooling units 2 and 3 have heat radiating portions 2a and 3a for cooling the self-heated elements.

Incidentally, the plurality of cooling units 2 and 3 housed in the power conversion device main body 1 are provided on the vehicle side in expectation that the traveling wind of the vehicle hits the radiator to cool the radiator. It is arranged so that the heat radiating portion comes out so as to protrude, and is installed in the power converter in order to reduce the wiring inductance of the main circuit portion. Therefore, the filter capacitors 4a and 4b are arranged on the back side of the unit (the center side of the vehicle body). Also, the remaining units 5a, 5b, 5
c and 5d are arranged in the remaining space in the power converter 1.

The heat generated in the cooling units 2 and 3 is transmitted to the heat radiating units 2a and 3a, and is radiated to the outside air by natural cooling, so that the cooling units 2 and 3 are cooled. When the vehicle is running, in addition to the natural cooling described above, the running wind hits the heat radiating portions 2a and 3a, thereby contributing to the improvement of the cooling performance.

[0005]

However, in the case of such a vehicle control device, the traveling wind entering the cooling unit heat radiating portion 3a located rearward in the traveling direction of the vehicle is not affected by the traveling cooling air radiating portion 3a. Because it becomes the traveling wind dissipated in 2a,
The traveling wind having a higher temperature than the traveling wind that enters the front cooling unit enters the rear cooling unit.

Accordingly, the cooling unit of the cooling unit has to take into account the tilt of the preceding unit, so that the cooling unit becomes large. As a result, the cooling unit becomes large, which hinders reduction in size and weight. There is a problem.

On the other hand, the filter capacitor must be placed near the cooling unit in order to reduce the wiring inductance in the filter circuit, and is built in the cooling unit or placed in a space formed on the back side. There must be.

If the cooling unit is incorporated in the cooling unit, it becomes difficult to handle the cooling unit because the outer shape and the mass of the unit are increased. In addition, when the cooling unit is disposed in the space on the back surface side of the unit, the cooling unit is closed, so that it is difficult to access the unit and the maintenance performance is deteriorated.

In view of the foregoing, the present invention provides a filter condenser between a plurality of cooling units and increases the interval between the cooling units, thereby providing a cooling unit located downstream in the traveling direction. The cooling performance is improved by preventing the incoming air from being affected by the exhaust air of the preceding unit, and the filter condenser is not built in the cooling unit.
Further, an object of the present invention is to provide a power conversion device for a vehicle in which the cooling unit and the power conversion device are reduced in size and weight by adopting a configuration in which access to the cooling unit is improved without obstructing a maintenance space on the back side. And

[0010]

The invention according to claim 1 is
The heat radiating portions of the plurality of cooling units are arranged so as to protrude out of the device box, and the heat generated from the cooling unit through the heat radiating portion by natural convection of air and traveling wind of the vehicle is discharged to the outside air. In a power converter for a vehicle that cools a cooling unit, a radiator of each cooling unit is arranged in series along a flow of a traveling wind, and a filter capacitor connected to the cooling unit to form a filter circuit is provided in the device. It is characterized by being arranged between cooling units.

According to the first aspect, since the interval between the plurality of cooling units is increased, the temperature of the traveling wind entering the heat radiation portion of the cooling unit located downstream in the traveling direction is reduced. Further, since the filter capacitor is also disposed in the immediate vicinity, the inductance of the main circuit wiring between the filter capacitor and the cooling unit is reduced.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the terminal of the filter capacitor is oriented toward the cooling unit to which the filter capacitor is connected. According to the second aspect, as compared with the first aspect, the wiring length between the filter capacitor and the cooling unit is further reduced, and the wiring inductance of the main circuit is reduced.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the terminal of the filter capacitor is oriented toward the rear side of the apparatus, which is located at the center of the vehicle body. According to the third aspect, since the terminals of the filter capacitor face the inspection surface, the wiring work for wiring the filter capacitor can be performed directly.

The invention according to claim 4 is characterized in that the wiring between the filter capacitor and the cooling unit is connected by a plurality of thin plate conductors. According to the fourth aspect, the main circuit wiring inductance is reduced by a skin effect between semiconductors having different potentials.

The invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that the arrangement relationship between the plurality of cooling units and the filter capacitors is the same in the apparatus. According to the fifth aspect, since the configuration around the cooling unit and the filter capacitor can be made identical, the number of components can be reduced by using standard components.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view of a vehicle power converter according to a first embodiment (corresponding to claim 1) of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a front view.

In the figure, a plurality of cooling units 12,
Reference numerals 13 are arranged on the power conversion device main body 11 at intervals along the vehicle traveling direction. This cooling unit 12,
13, a filter condenser 14 of the cooling unit.
a and 14b are arranged close to the cooling unit. Further, other units 15a, 15b, 15c, 1 are provided in the space between the filter capacitors 14a, 14b.
5d is arranged.

During operation of the vehicle power converter, the semiconductor elements in the cooling unit generate heat, and the heat is transmitted to the heat radiating portions 12a and 13a and is radiated to the outside air.
While the vehicle is traveling, the circulation of outside air is promoted by the traveling wind, so that the cooling performance is improved.

The exhaust air blown by the traveling wind from the cooling unit 12 at the front in the traveling direction mixes with the outside air before entering the cooling unit at the rear, and the temperature thereof is lowered. The cooling effect of the cooling unit 13 is improved, and the size and weight of the cooling mechanism including the heat radiating portion can be reduced. Therefore, the power converter 11 can be reduced in size and weight.

The filter capacitors 14a, 14b
Is disposed between the cooling units 12 and 13, so that there is no obstruction on the back side of the cooling unit, so that the cooling units 12 and 13 can be easily accessed and the maintainability is improved. In addition, since the size of the vehicle power converter main body 11 in the sleeper direction can be reduced, the size of the heat radiating portions 12a and 13a of the cooling unit can be increased, the cooling performance of the cooling unit is improved, and the cooling mechanism including the heat radiating portion is provided. Small size
The weight can be reduced. Therefore, as a result, the size and weight of the vehicle power converter can be reduced.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a vehicle power converter according to a second embodiment (corresponding to claims 1 and 2) of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the present embodiment has a configuration in which the terminals of the filter capacitors 14a and 14b are arranged toward the cooling units 12 and 13 in the power converter of the first embodiment.

In the present embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the temperature of the traveling wind entering the cooling unit 12 located rearward in the traveling direction is reduced, the cooling effect is improved, and the cooling unit is improved. In addition to improving maintainability, electrical performance is also improved.

Incidentally, in order to improve the electric performance of the cooling unit, it is required to reduce the main circuit wiring inductance in the filter circuit. According to the present embodiment, the wiring length between the filter capacitor and the cooling unit is shortened, and the main circuit wiring inductance can be reduced.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a vehicle power converter according to a third embodiment of the present invention (corresponding to claims 1 and 3). As shown in the figure, the present embodiment has a configuration in which the terminals of the filter capacitors 14a and 14b are arranged facing the back side of the device in the vehicular power converter of the first embodiment.

In the present embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the temperature of the traveling wind entering the cooling unit 13 located rearward in the traveling direction is reduced, the cooling effect is improved, and the cooling unit is improved. The maintenance of the filter capacitors 4a and 4b is also improved since the work of wiring to the terminals of the filter capacitor can be performed directly from the back side.

FIG. 5 is a conductor configuration diagram of a vehicle power converter according to a fourth embodiment (corresponding to claims 1 and 4) of the present invention. As shown in the figure, in the present embodiment, the first
In the vehicle power converter according to the embodiment, the terminals of the filter capacitors 14a, 14b and the cooling units 12,
13 are connected by a plurality of thin plate conductors. The conductors 16a and 16b having different potentials are insulated from each other with a thin insulating plate 17 interposed therebetween. By arranging the conductors of the respective potentials along a thin plate, the skin effect occurs in the conductors, and the wiring inductance therebetween can be reduced.

In this embodiment, as in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the temperature of the traveling wind entering the cooling unit 13 at the rear in the traveling direction is reduced, and the cooling effect is improved. In addition, the maintainability of the cooling unit is improved, and the electric performance is also improved.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a vehicular power converter according to a fifth embodiment (corresponding to claims 1 and 5) of the present invention. As shown in the drawing, in the present embodiment, in the vehicle power converter according to the first embodiment, a plurality of cooling units 12, 13 and filter capacitors 14a, 14
The arrangement of b is the same.

In the present embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the temperature of the traveling wind entering the cooling unit 13 located rearward in the traveling direction is reduced, the cooling effect is improved, and the cooling unit is controlled. The maintainability of is improved. Further, since the arrangement configuration of the cooling unit and the filter capacitor is the same, the box configuration can be simplified, the number of parts can be reduced, and the configuration can be standardized.

[0030]

As described above, according to the present invention,
By arranging the filter condenser between the cooling units, the incoming air temperature of the rear unit in the traveling direction is reduced by not being affected by the exhaust air of the front unit. Furthermore, the unit located rearward in the traveling direction can also be effectively cooled, and the unit can be reduced in size and weight, and as a result, the entire power converter can be reduced in size and weight. Further, it is possible to provide a vehicular power converter excellent in maintainability.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a first embodiment of a vehicle power converter according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front view of a vehicle power converter according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a vehicle power converter according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a conductor of a vehicle power converter according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a vehicle power converter according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a front view of a conventional vehicle power converter.

FIG. 8 is a front view of FIG. 7;

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 11 power converter main body, 2, 12 cooling unit in the front in the traveling direction, 3, 13 cooling unit in the rear in the traveling direction, 2a, 3a, 12a, 13a cooling unit radiator, 4a, 4b, 14a, 14b: filter capacitors, 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d, 15a, 15b, 15
c, 15d: other units, 16a, 16b: conductor, 17: insulating plate.

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Katsuya Umeda 1 Toshiba-cho, Fuchu-shi, Tokyo F-term in Fuchu office, Toshiba Corporation 5H006 AA05 HA02 5H115 PV21 QE02 QE03 QE05 UI28 5H740 MM08 MM10 PP03 PP06

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A heat radiating portion of a plurality of cooling units is disposed so as to protrude out of an apparatus box, and heat generated from the cooling unit through the heat radiating portion by natural convection of air and traveling wind of a vehicle is supplied to the outside air. In the vehicle power converter for discharging the cooling unit and cooling the cooling unit, a filter capacitor which arranges a heat radiating portion of each cooling unit in series along a flow of a traveling wind and connects to the cooling unit to form a filter circuit Is disposed between the cooling units in the device, wherein the power converter for a vehicle is provided. 2. The vehicle power converter according to claim 1, wherein the terminal of the filter capacitor is oriented toward a cooling unit to which the filter capacitor is connected. 3. The vehicular power converter according to claim 1, wherein the direction of the terminal of the filter capacitor is directed toward the rear side of the device, which is the center side of the vehicle body. 4. The power converter according to claim 1, wherein the wiring between the filter capacitor and the cooling unit is connected by a plurality of thin conductors. 5. The power conversion device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the arrangement relationship between the plurality of cooling units and the filter capacitors is the same in the device.