JP2002186265A - Power converter - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a power converter suitable for supplying a power converter at a low manufacturing cost within a short time limit of delivery over a wide range of demanded capacity. SOLUTION: The power converter comprises two basic capacity semiconductor stack vs unit (semiconductor unit) 6, a rectangular prism frame 5 having two sets of supports 53 and partitioners 55 for mounting the semiconductor unit 6, a wind tunnel 82, and one or a plurality of power conversion units 3 provided with two fan units 8 each comprising three fans 81. The semiconductor unit 6 comprises a plurality of IGBTs, a pair of rectangular prism air cooled cooling bodies, and a current balancer 61. The partitioner 55 introduces high temperature cooling gas 89 discharged from a lower semiconductor unit 6 to an exhaust passage 31 and introduces low temperature cooling gas 89 to an upper semiconductor unit 6 from the side fixed with the current balancer 61.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a power converter using a plurality of semiconductor elements, and more particularly to a structure suitable for supplying a power converter having a wide capacity range with a low manufacturing cost and a short delivery time.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A power conversion device is known as a device using a plurality of power semiconductor elements with a control pole having a plurality of main pole terminals such as IGBTs. In this power conversion device, there are a rectifier for converting AC to DC and an inverter for converting DC to AC as basic circuit devices.
Both circuit devices are used alone or in combination. For example, a UPS is a device that combines a rectifier and an inverter to input commercial AC power and output stable AC power. An outline of a general example of the main circuit unit of such a power converter will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 9, reference numeral 9 denotes a single-phase AC power supply.
Rectifier that obtains DC power by rectifying AC power
Unit 92 and smoothes the DC power obtained by the rectifier unit 92.
Filter 94 (shown as a capacitor in FIG. 9);
The DC power rectified by the filter 94 is input and the
Output by converting to single-phase AC power with wave number and waveform
This is a power conversion device including an inverter unit 93. Power transformation
In the conversion device 9, the rectifier unit 92 and the inverter unit 93
In both cases, the power semiconductor elements are connected in a single-phase full-bridge connection.
It is configured. The rectifier unit 92 inputs a single-phase alternating current.
AC terminal U₁, V₁And a DC terminal that outputs DC power
P₁, N₁And the inverter unit 93 supplies DC power
DC terminal P for input_Two, N_TwoAnd a single-phase AC output
Flow terminal U _Two, V_TwoAnd have

In the case of the power conversion device 9 having a relatively large capacity, a modular IGBT 91 is used as a power semiconductor element. Further, as a different general-purpose power converter, a rectifier that includes a rectifier unit 92 and a filter 94 and obtains DC power by inputting a commercial power supply, or an inverter unit 9 is different from the power converter 9 of the above-described general example.
Various types of modified examples are known, such as an inverter that includes a DC power supply 3 and a filter 94 as necessary, and receives DC power to obtain AC power. The rectifier unit 92 and the inverter unit 93
Power converters in which the main circuit configuration of the above is a multi-phase (for example, three-phase) full-bridge connection are widely known.

An IGBT for this type of power converter
A semiconductor stack of a power conversion device filed by the same applicant as a semiconductor stack using
It is publicly known from Japanese Patent No. 27573. In a conventional power converter employing a semiconductor stack based on Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-327573, a semiconductor stack using an IGBT 91 includes a plurality of IGBTs 91 and a cooling device (not shown) for removing heat from the IGBTs 91 by air. And a wiring body (not shown) for connecting between a plurality of main pole terminals (collector and emitter) of each IGBT 91. Rectifier section 92, inverter section 9
The cooling body used in 3 has a rectangular parallelepiped outer shape made of a good conductor such as a metal, and has one outer surface serving as an element mounting surface on which the IGBT 91 is mounted.

Accordingly, the element mounting surface has a substantially rectangular shape, and a heat pipe is mounted on the element mounting surface as necessary to make the temperature of the element mounting surface uniform. The plurality of IGBTs 91 used in the rectifier unit 92 and the inverter unit 93 are connected in series with each other with a positive (P ₁ or P ₂ ) side DC terminal and a negative (N ₁ or N ₂ ) side DC terminal interposed therebetween. An AC terminal (U ₁ , V ₁ or U ₂ , V ₂ ) is drawn from this series connection point. The IGBT 9 from which the AC (U ₁ ) terminal of the rectifier unit 92 is drawn out is connected to the series connection body 99 of the IGBT 91 connected with the positive DC terminal and the negative DC terminal interposed therebetween.
One series-connected body 99 is taken as a representative, and further description will be given. In the series connection body 99 of the IGBTs 91, each of the IGBTs 91 belonging to the upper arm or the lower arm of the full bridge connection circuit is actually composed of the same number of the IGBTs 91 electrically connected in parallel to each other.

The IGBTs 91 belonging to the same arm and connected in parallel to each other are arranged along one side of the element mounting surface and mounted on the cooling body.
The upper arm IGBTs 91 and the lower arm IGBTs 91 are arranged in a direction along the other side of the element mounting surface (a side substantially orthogonal to the one side). The wiring body for each series connection body 99 is configured by a wiring body connected to the positive DC terminal, a wiring body connected to the negative DC terminal, and a wiring body connected to any of the AC terminals. These wiring bodies are made of a thin plate-shaped conductive material, and are arranged substantially parallel to each other with a narrow space therebetween. The blower for supplying cooling air to the semiconductor stack and the cooling body is housed integrally in a casing (not shown).

[0008] Since the conventional power converter is configured as described above, it is possible to reduce and equalize the inductance of the wiring body, and to use the IGBT 91 when using a cooling body loaded with a heat pipe. The temperature can be equalized. Thus, it is possible to suppress the unbalance amount (current unbalance amount) of the current flowing through the IGBTs 91 belonging to the same arm and connected in parallel with each other. As a result, while the amount of current imbalance is kept within the allowable amount, I
The number of GBTs 91 can be increased, and the capacity of the semiconductor stack can be increased.

[0009] The amount of imbalance of the current flowing through the IGBTs 91 belonging to the same arm and connected in parallel to each other increases as the number of parallel IGBTs 91 increases, as is well known. Therefore, IGBT91
Even if the number of parallel connections is increased to the limit due to the allowable current imbalance amount, the capacity of the power converter may not reach the required value. In such a case, a semiconductor stack having the number of IGBTs 91 connected in parallel within the limit number is used as a basic capacitance semiconductor stack, and a plurality of the basic capacitance semiconductor stacks are arranged for each of a pair of upper and lower arms. ing. Then, the plurality of basic capacitance semiconductor stacks are connected in parallel to each other via a current balancer (not shown) at their AC terminals. As a current balancer used for this, a core-coupling type disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-327573 or a three-winding (two input windings and one output winding) transformer type is used. Things are known.

[0010]

In the power converter according to the prior art described above, the rectifier 92 and the inverter 93
The use of one or a plurality of the basic capacitance semiconductor stacks in each of the upper and lower pair of arms makes it possible to manufacture power converters in a wide capacity range. It has become a problem and a solution to it has been desired. That is, in the method of using one or more basic capacitance semiconductor stacks for each of a pair of upper and lower arms, the capacity of the power converter is 1, 2, 3,... Since only a product having a capacitance value of an intermediate value (for example, 1.5 times or 2.5 times) is required, the product is over-specified. In recent power converters, it is required to have an optimum capacity value corresponding to the load, and the required capacity value is subdivided, and the device price tends to be converted per capacity. Is getting stronger. For this reason, the frequency of requesting a power converter having an intermediate capacity value is increasing, and when a power converter having an intermediate capacity value is requested, it is a great problem that the cost cannot be justified. Has become a point. In order to deal with the above-mentioned problem, it is necessary to prepare various types of basic capacitance semiconductor stacks or semiconductor stacks having different capacities (that is, the number of IGBTs connected in parallel). Not only that there are many types of semiconductor stacks including
This means that various kinds of housings and the like for accommodating the semiconductor stack and the like are required. As a result, a structure having individual, dedicated, and non-common parts as a whole device level arises, and a new problem arises in that the manufacturing cost of the power conversion device increases and the manufacturing period becomes longer. I have. Furthermore, power converters require immediate recovery in the unlikely event of a failure (in the case of UPS, a particularly short-term recovery is strongly required). It is necessary to always prepare a semiconductor stack including a replacement basic capacitance semiconductor stack. However,
The fact that various types of semiconductor stacks are required as described in the above section means that there are many types of semiconductor stacks etc. prepared for replacement, which also reduces the manufacturing cost of the power converter. It is one of the big factors that increase.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and has as its object to provide a power converter suitable for supplying a device having a wide range of required capacity at a low production cost and a short delivery time. It is in.

[0012]

According to the present invention, there are provided the following objects: 1) a plurality of power semiconductor elements with control poles having a plurality of main pole terminals, and these power semiconductor elements as a bridge connection circuit; A wiring body for making electrical connection between the main pole terminals for interconnection, a cooling body for cooling the power semiconductor element, and a housing for accommodating the power semiconductor element, the wiring body, and the cooling body. In the power converter provided with the above, all or a part of the plurality of power semiconductor elements, the wiring body for interconnecting these power semiconductor elements, and cooling of these power semiconductor elements. And a power conversion unit device having at least one cooling unit for performing the cooling operation and a unit frame body having a rectangular parallelepiped outer shape. The unit frame body includes all or a part of the power semiconductor elements and wirings. And the number of the power semiconductor elements housed in the unit frame body and belonging to the same arm of the bridge connection circuit is determined by the value of the current flowing through each of the power semiconductor elements. The number is limited to the maximum number of parallel elements that can accommodate the unbalance amount within the allowable amount. When a plurality of the power conversion unit devices are provided, these power conversion unit devices are arranged adjacent to each other. Or 2) In the means described in the above item 1, the plurality of power semiconductor elements of the power conversion unit device are bridge-connected, and each of the cooling bodies of the power conversion unit device is It has a rectangular parallelepiped outer shape, and one outer surface thereof is a substantially rectangular semiconductor element mounting surface for mounting a power semiconductor element, and one of the cooling bodies cools down. The number of the power semiconductor elements is two groups of which the maximum number of parallel elements is limited.Each of the two power semiconductor elements has an upper arm and a lower arm connected in series with each other in a bridge connection circuit. And the power semiconductor elements belonging to the respective groups of the power semiconductor elements are arranged along one side of the semiconductor element mounting surface, and the upper arm group and the lower arm group are defined as the semiconductor element mounting surface. Is mounted on the cooling body along the other side of the semiconductor chip, and the main pole terminals are connected by the wiring body to form a semiconductor stack. One pair of the semiconductor stacks is mounted with the power semiconductor element of the cooling body. The pair of semiconductor stacks are combined with the outer surfaces not facing each other to form a pair of semiconductor stacks, and the pair of semiconductor stacks has the respective outer surfaces of the cooling body substantially parallel to the respective outer surfaces of the unit frame body. Or 3) in the means described in the above item 2, wherein the number of power semiconductor elements provided in the semiconductor stack is smaller than the maximum number of parallel elements. In this case, the dimension in the depth direction of the cooling body corresponding to the one side of the semiconductor element mounting surface is set according to the number of the power semiconductor elements, and the dimension corresponding to the one side of the wiring body is the cooling body. 4) In the means according to the above item 2 or 3, the power conversion unit device including a plurality of the semiconductor stack pairs may be configured to correspond to the respective semiconductor stack pairs. Or 5) arranged vertically and housed in the unit frame, or 5) The means according to any one of the above items 1 to 4, 6. an air cooling type, wherein a cooling air passage is formed substantially in parallel with the semiconductor element mounting surface and substantially in parallel with the other side of the semiconductor element mounting surface, or 6. The means according to claim 5, wherein the plurality of semiconductor stack pairs housed in the unit frame body are formed by cooling air discharged from the cooling body of the lower semiconductor stack pair and cooling air discharged from the upper semiconductor stack pair. A partition member for preventing mixing with cooling air supplied to the cooling member is provided below each of the semiconductor stack pairs, and the partition members are arranged vertically, or 7) the above items 2 to 6; In the means according to any one of the above, when two or more semiconductor stacks are required for each of the upper arm and the lower arm, one or more of the semiconductor stack pairs is used, and Is provided with a current balancer for equalizing the current flowing through each of the two semiconductor stacks forming the semiconductor stack pair. The current balancer has a maximum position of the outer shape in the lateral direction. The interval between the arrangement positions of the wiring bodies connected to the main pole terminals of the semiconductor elements of the two semiconductor stacks of the stack pair is substantially limited, and the maximum position of the outer shape in the height direction of the semiconductor stack pair is Provided in the unit frame body at one of the lateral outer surfaces on which the wiring body of the semiconductor stack pair is not disposed, or at a portion opposed to the outer surface, with a limit of the vertical interval. 8) The means according to any one of the above items 5 to 7, wherein the power conversion unit device is provided on a side of the cooling body on which a current balancer is mounted. An exhaust path for allowing cooling air discharged from the cooling body to flow outside the outer surface on the opposite side, wherein the partitioning body exhausts the cooling air discharged from the cooling body of the lower semiconductor stack pair. While discharging into the road,
The cooling air to be supplied to the cooling body of the upper semiconductor stack pair is formed to flow from the mounting side of the current balancer, or 9) In the means described in the above item 8, the cooling air is arranged in the front-back direction with respect to each other. The power conversion unit device may be disposed so that the exhaust path sides are adjacent to each other. Or 10) The power conversion unit device according to any one of Items 2 to 9, The cooling body of the semiconductor stack pair is formed in an integral rectangular parallelepiped shape, and is achieved by making two outer surfaces facing each other a substantially rectangular semiconductor element mounting surface for mounting a power semiconductor element.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same portions as those of the power conversion device of the general example shown in FIG. 9 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an outline of a configuration of a power conversion device according to an example of an embodiment of the present invention in a partially developed manner. FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing an outline of a power conversion unit device according to FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a part of an outline of a unit frame body included in the power conversion unit device shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a partially developed perspective view showing the outline of two basic capacitance semiconductor stack pairs provided in the power conversion unit device shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 5 is a connection diagram of the basic capacitance semiconductor stack pair unit shown in FIG. .

1 to 5, reference numeral 1 denotes power conversion unit devices 3 and 3, one base body 4 for attaching and holding both power conversion unit devices 3, and side carbers 41 and 3.
41, rear carver 42, 42 and upper carver 4
3 and 43 (see FIG. 1). In the power conversion device 1, the power conversion unit device 3 includes a unit frame 5, a basic capacitance semiconductor stack pair unit 6, 6, and a blower 8, 8 (see FIG. 2). The basic capacitance semiconductor stack pair unit (hereinafter, may be simply referred to as a semiconductor unit) 6 includes basic capacitance semiconductor stacks 7, 7, one current balancer 61, and one mounting plate 62 (see FIG. 4). reference).

The semiconductor unit 6 is cooled by a cooling gas 89 (air in the power conversion unit device 3) 89, and is adjacent to the outer surface of the unit frame body 5 on the side where the rear cover 42 of the power conversion unit device 3 is mounted. The parts that do
Cooling gas 8 that has become high temperature after cooling the semiconductor unit 6
A space used for the exhaust passage 31 for allowing the gas 9 to flow is secured. Each basic capacitance semiconductor stack 7
A plurality of IGBTs 91, one cooling body 71 having a rectangular parallelepiped outer shape, a wiring body 72 connected to the positive DC terminal, a wiring body 73 connected to the negative DC terminal,
And a wiring body 74 connected to the AC terminal, and has a structure similar to that of the basic capacitance semiconductor stack of the above-described conventional power converter.

That is, the IGBT 91 is used for the upper and lower arms of the full-bridge connection circuit, and has the maximum number of parallel elements, which is the limit number based on the allowable current imbalance amount.
BT91 are mutually connected in parallel. These IGBTs 91 belong to the same arm and are connected in parallel to each other on the element mounting surface of the cooling body 71 in the same manner as in the conventional example. Are arranged along the upper arm IGBT91 and the lower arm IGBT91 are arranged on the element mounting surface. They are arranged and mounted in a direction along the other side (side orthogonal to the one side). Note that the shapes, structures, functions, and the like of the cooling body 71 and the wiring bodies 72 to 74 are the same as those in the conventional example, and thus the description will be omitted to avoid duplication.

Each basic capacitance semiconductor stack 7 has:
Outer surfaces on the side opposite to the element mounting surface of the cooling body 71 face each other and are combined to form a basic capacitance semiconductor stack pair (hereinafter, may be abbreviated as a stack pair). In the power conversion unit 3, the current balancer 61 is the above-described core-coupled type current balancer. The current balancer 61 is mounted on a mounting plate 62, and the mounting plate 62
Opposes the outer surface (one of the side surfaces on which the wiring bodies 72 to 74 of the stack pair are not disposed) 71a opposite to the outer surface facing the exhaust passage 31 of the cooling body 71. Then, the semiconductor unit 6 is formed by attaching to a stack pair using an appropriate fastener (not shown) such as a screw.

At this time, the basic capacitance of the current balancer 61 is
The AC terminals connected to the body stack 7 are
Terminals of the wiring body 74 of the capacitive semiconductor stack 7 (for example,
U _A1). One of the features of this invention is that
The maximum horizontal position of the balancer 61 is
Of the basic capacitance semiconductor stack 7 of each
4 is set to substantially match the spacing between the
You. Also, the maximum position of the outer shape of the current balancer 61 in the height direction.
The distance is the distance between the center of the partition 55 and the cooling body 71.
Law H_TwoAnd the dimension H of the cooling air flow direction of the cooling body 71₁When
(Approximately matches the vertical spacing between stack pairs)
It is set to almost limit. Note that the current
Two AC terminals (eg,
U_Two), But these two AC terminals are
They are interconnected when connecting an external conductor (not shown).

Each of the blowers 8 includes a plurality of (three in the case of the power conversion unit 3) blowers 81 and a connection 1 between the blowers 81 and the cooling bodies 71, 71.
Each of the semiconductor units 6 has a wind tunnel 82, and is mounted on the side of the cooling body 71 of each semiconductor unit 6 from which the cooling gas 89 is discharged (see FIG. 2). The unit frame body (hereinafter, may be abbreviated as a frame body) 5 includes a frame body 51.
And a front cover 58. The frame body 51 is
As shown in FIG. 3, a frame 52 having a rectangular parallelepiped outer shape forming a skeleton of a frame main body 51, supports 53, 53 on which the respective semiconductor units 6 are mounted, and a support 53
Partition members 55, 55 attached to the surface opposite to the surface on which the semiconductor unit 6 is mounted.

The portion of the support 53 on which the semiconductor unit 6 is mounted has a flat plate shape, and openings 54, 54 corresponding to the flow paths of the cooling gas 89 of the cooling bodies 71, 71 are formed. The semiconductor unit 6 is attached to the frame 52 so as to correspond to the arrangement position of the semiconductor unit 6 on the frame 5. The partition 55 is provided with the cooling bodies 71 and 7 of the lower semiconductor unit 6.
The discharge path portion 56 for guiding the cooling gas 89 discharged from the exhaust gas 1 to the exhaust path 31 and the cooling body 7 of the upper semiconductor unit 6
The inflow path portion 5 through which the low-temperature cooling gas 89 supplied to the first and the first 71 flows from the side where the current balancer 61 is mounted.
7 (see FIG. 2). Further, the front cover 58 is formed with a suction port 59 for taking in the cooling gas 89 into the power conversion unit device 3 at a position facing each of the inflow path portions 57.

Then, the semiconductor unit 6 (with the blower 8 attached) is inserted into the upper surface of the support body 53 from the side where the front cover 58 is attached to the frame body 51 where the front cover 58 is not attached. The plate 62 is attached to the end face of the partition 55, the frame 52, and the support 53 in contact with each other.
By mounting the semiconductor unit 6 on the frame body 51 of the frame body 5 in such a positional relationship, the element mounting surface and the outer surface 71a of the cooling body 71 of the semiconductor unit 6 are provided.
The outside surface is parallel to the outside surface of the rectangular parallelepiped frame body 51. This allows the semiconductor unit 6
The space factor of the frame body 5 for housing the power conversion unit is improved, which contributes to downsizing of the power conversion unit device 3.
Further, by providing the partition 55 in the middle of the upper and lower two semiconductor units 6 and the like, the discharge path 56 for the high-temperature cooling gas 89 and the inflow path 57 for the low-temperature cooling gas 89 are provided.
Can be surely separated.

Thus, even though the air-cooled semiconductor units 6 are installed in multiple stages in the vertical direction, each semiconductor unit 6 can be cooled substantially uniformly regardless of the installation position in the vertical direction. Thereby, the plurality of semiconductor units 6 can be installed in a small required space, which contributes to a reduction in the installation area of the power conversion unit device 3. Further, the mounting plate 62 is connected to the end surface of the partition 55 or the frame 5.
2. By contacting the support 53, it is possible to prevent the high-temperature cooling gas 89 from flowing back to the inflow path portion 57 with a simple configuration. After that, the power conversion unit device 3 attaches the front cover 58 to the frame body 51,
The assembly is completed. The two power conversion unit devices 3 are arranged side by side in the left-right direction and held on the base body 4, and the rear carver 42 is provided on the outer surface of the frame body 52 on the exhaust path 31 side.
Is attached to each of the outer surfaces on both sides, and the upper surface carber 43 is attached to the upper outer surface, and the assembly of the power conversion device 1 is completed (see FIG. 1).

The upper surface carver 43 is provided with a high-temperature cooling gas 89 at a position facing the exhaust passage 31.
An exhaust port 44 for exhausting air from is formed. Since the external shape and dimensions of the power conversion unit devices 3 are the same, their positioning is easy when they are arranged adjacent to each other, and such power conversion unit devices 3 are arranged adjacently. Thereby, the installation area of the power conversion device 1 can be reduced. In the power conversion device 1, the two power conversion unit devices 3 share a rectifier unit 92 and an inverter unit 93, respectively, to constitute a power conversion unit of a UPS. 5, side carver 41, back carver 42, top carver 43
It is composed of

Next, a power converter according to an embodiment of the present invention which is different from the power converter 1 will be described. In addition,
In the following description, the same parts as those of the power converter according to the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. Also, in the drawings used in the following description, FIG.
As for the reference numerals given in FIG. 5, only representative reference numerals are described as much as possible. First, a power converter according to another example of the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Here, FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a partly developed outline of the configuration of a power converter according to a different example of the embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
In the figure, reference numeral 2 denotes four power conversion unit devices 3 and 1 for holding these power conversion unit devices 3 attached thereto.
The power converter according to the present invention includes a base body 4A, four side carvers 41, and four upper surface carvers 43.

Then, the four power conversion unit devices 3
Are arranged side by side in the left-right direction, and the two
The two sets of the sets arranged side by side in the direction
The outer surfaces on one side face each other and are arranged back to back
And hold it on the base body 4A.
A surface carver 41 is also provided on the upper outer surface.
3 and the assembly of the power conversion device 2 is completed. Electric
About the electrical connection of the semiconductor unit 6 of the force transducer 2
This will be described with reference to FIG. In the case of the power converter 2
AC by using four power conversion unit devices 3
Output (U_Two, V _Two) Exists in two sets.
Force (U_Two, V_Two) Is the terminal (U_Two) Comrades and terminals
(V_Two) Connect each other and connect them electrically in parallel.
You. This also applies to the AC input side.

The power converter 2 is connected to the power converter 1
In comparison with the above, the number of power conversion unit devices 3 used is twice as large as in the case of the power conversion device 1, and the capacity thereof is also doubled in the case of the power conversion device 1. The members used for increasing the capacity are common to the power conversion device 1 except for the base body 4A having a relatively simple structure due to the features of the present invention. In addition, since the exhaust passage 31 is provided adjacent to the outer surface of the unit frame body 5 on the side where the rear carver 42 is mounted, the power conversion unit devices 3 can be arranged back to back, and the installation area is reduced. Can be reduced, and the rear carver 42
Can be eliminated.

Next, a power conversion device according to a second different example of the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, FIG. 7 is a partially expanded perspective view showing an outline of a basic capacitance semiconductor stack pair included in a power conversion unit device of a power conversion device according to a second different example of the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a connection diagram of a pair of basic capacitance semiconductor stacks on the inverter side of the power converter having the basic capacitance semiconductor stack pairs according to FIG. 7. 7 and FIG.
A is a basic capacitance semiconductor stack pair unit (semiconductor unit) in which the current balancer 61 is removed in place of the semiconductor unit 6 of the power converter 1 according to the present invention shown in FIG. is there. The two semiconductor units 6A share the rectifier unit 92 and the inverter unit 93, respectively.

FIG. 8 shows the connection state of the semiconductor unit 6A as a representative of the inverter unit 93 side. As is clear from FIG. 8, in the semiconductor unit 6A, the basic capacitance semiconductor stack 7 is used alone and is not connected in parallel with the other basic capacitance semiconductor stacks 7, so that the current balancer 61 is not required. Has become.
The connection bar 63 is a wiring body 74 of the basic capacitance semiconductor stack 7.
Is connected to the terminal (for example, U ₂ ) of the terminal, and the terminal (U ₂ )
Is a member made of a conductive material for drawing out the outside of the mounting plate 62. The mounting plate 62 of the semiconductor unit 6A is fastened to the stack pair similarly to the mounting plate 62 of the semiconductor unit 6 to form the semiconductor unit 6A, but the connection bar 63 is connected to the terminal of the wiring body 74 at that time. .

Assuming that a power conversion unit device having two semiconductor units 6 like the power conversion unit device 3 described above is used, a power conversion unit device (not shown) using the semiconductor unit 6A shown in FIGS. Rectifier section 92
And an inverter unit 93, so that it functions as a power conversion device constituting a power conversion unit of the UPS. That is, the power conversion device (not shown) is
In comparison with the above, the number of power conversion unit devices to be used is set to の in the case of the power conversion device 1, and the capacity thereof is also reduced to の in the case of the power conversion device 1. Due to the features of the present invention, all members used in the power conversion unit device to reduce the capacity are common to the power conversion unit device 3 except for the connection bar 63 having a relatively simple structure. .

Lastly, a power converter according to still another embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the above description, the semiconductor stack 7 included in the power conversion unit device (such as the power conversion unit device 3) of the power conversion device of the present invention is a power semiconductor element (IGBT 91) for each arm of the full-bridge connection circuit. It has been described that a limited number (maximum number of parallel elements) of power semiconductor elements according to the allowable current imbalance amount are used and are electrically connected in parallel to each other. However, since it is desirable that the number of parallel elements of the power semiconductor element for the arm is a number that does not have an excess or deficiency according to the capacitance value of the power converter, from this viewpoint, when the maximum number of parallel elements is too large, There is.

In the case where a smaller number of power semiconductor elements than the maximum number of parallel elements are provided in the semiconductor stack according to the present invention, the power semiconductor elements belonging to the same arm and connected in parallel with each other include: The device is arranged and mounted along the one side (having the L dimension) of the element mounting surface. The power semiconductor element group for the upper arm and the power semiconductor element group for the lower arm are mounted in the same direction as the semiconductor stack 7 in the direction along the other side of the element mounting surface. Then, in accordance with the number of parallel semiconductor elements (the number of parallel IGBTs 91) smaller than the maximum number of parallel elements, cooling bodies (corresponding to cooling bodies 71) and wiring bodies (corresponding to wiring bodies 72 to 74) are provided. Are the cooling body 71 and the wiring body 72
Compared with No.-74, only the one side is shortened.

Further, corresponding to the shortening of the one side of the cooling body, an opening (corresponding to the opening 54) of the frame main body (corresponding to the frame main body 51) and a wind tunnel of the blower (corresponding to the blower 8) are provided. 82), only the one side is shortened, and the number of blowers 81 of the blower is reviewed. In the case of the present invention, by coping with the reduction in the number of parallel semiconductor elements of the semiconductor stack as described above, even in the case of employing a semiconductor stack in which the number of parallel semiconductor elements is smaller than the maximum number of parallel elements, The shape and dimensions of the outer shape of the frame main body can be made exactly the same as those of the frame main body 51. Thus, when compared with the case where the semiconductor stack 7 is used, the frame main body is the same as the frame main body 51 except for the opening portion, and the side carver 41, the rear carver 42, the upper carver 43, the front cover 58, the base body (Base body 4, 4A etc.) and blower 81 can be commonly used.

Further, since the maximum external position of the current balancer 61 in the lateral direction and the height direction is set as described above according to the features of the present invention, it is possible to employ a semiconductor stack with a reduced number of parallel semiconductor elements. Can be used as it is, and therefore the mounting plate 62 can be used as it is. In this case, since the shape and dimensions of the outer surface 71a of the cooling body are the same as those of the cooling body 71, the cooling body member is replaced with the cooling body 7
It can be shared by all cooling bodies including 1. Further, the cross-sectional shape of the wiring member parallel to the outer surface 71a is the same as the cross-sectional shape of the wiring members 72 to 74 parallel to the outer surface 71a. It can be shared by all wiring bodies including 72-74.

Since the power converter of the present invention has the configuration according to the above-described embodiment of the present invention, it has the following features. That is, the power conversion unit device (such as the power conversion unit device 3) has a capacity (in other words,
Even if the number of parallel connected power semiconductor elements belonging to the same arm and the presence / absence of the current balancer 61) are different, their external shapes and dimensions can be the same, so that the power conversion unit device 1
By appropriately combining a plurality of units or a plurality of units, it is possible to easily cope with a wide capacity range including the case of the above-described intermediate capacity value. Further, when a plurality of power conversion unit devices are used, the power conversion unit devices are arranged adjacent to each other and arranged in the left-right direction and / or the front-back direction, so that the positioning of the power conversion device during assembly is easy. This is advantageous for minimizing the installation area of the power converter.

In addition, in the event of a failure, the failed power conversion unit can be easily replaced with a replacement power conversion unit having the same external dimensions, so that the power conversion can be restored in a short time. be able to.
Moreover, since power conversion unit devices having different capacities can be manufactured using many common members, the manufacturing cost and the manufacturing period of the power conversion device can be reduced. Furthermore,
The fact that the external shape and dimensions can be the same even if the power conversion unit devices have different capacities means that only the power conversion unit device 3 having the basic capacity semiconductor stack 7 needs to be prepared as an emergency replacement. As a result, the types of emergency replacement products can be greatly reduced, and the problem of an increase in the manufacturing cost of the power conversion device due to the emergency replacement products can be solved.

When the emergency treatment is performed by the power conversion unit device 3 having the basic capacity semiconductor stack 7, the capacity of the power conversion device temporarily becomes excessively large. Since the semiconductor element is a power semiconductor element (IGBT) with a control electrode, the power required by the load can be supplied without any trouble by controlling the power semiconductor element.

In the above description, a pair of semiconductor stacks (including the basic capacitance semiconductor stack 7) constituting the semiconductor stack pair (including the basic capacitance semiconductor stack pair) are each provided with a dedicated cooling body (including the cooling body 71). However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, each semiconductor stack constituting a semiconductor stack pair may share one cooling body having a rectangular parallelepiped outer shape. In this case, The two outer surfaces of the common cooling body facing each other serve as semiconductor element mounting surfaces for mounting power semiconductor elements. In the above description, the main circuit configuration of the rectifier unit 92 and the inverter unit 93 of the power converter of the present invention is a single-phase full-bridge connection. However, the present invention is not limited to this. There is no problem even if it is a full bridge connection.

In the above description, the power converter of the present invention is a UPS. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be, for example, a rectifier or an inverter. In the above description, the power conversion unit device of the power conversion device according to the present invention is configured such that the semiconductor stack pairs (including the semiconductor units 6 and 6A) are vertically arranged in two stages. The number of installation stages is not limited to only two, and may be three or more. For example, a three-stage installation is suitable for a three-phase power converter, and a four-stage or higher installation is more effective in reducing the installation area of the power converter than a two-stage installation.

Furthermore, in the above description, the power conversion device of the present invention has two-dimensionally installed the power conversion unit device in the left-right direction and / or the front-rear direction.
The present invention is not limited to this, and the power conversion unit devices may be installed in multiple stages in the vertical direction. The multi-stage installation of the power conversion unit device in the vertical direction is effective for reducing the installation area of the power conversion device. Then, in the power conversion unit device, the lowermost semiconductor stack pair (semiconductor units 6,
6A) is also provided with a partition 55 on the lower surface of the support 53 on which the support 55 is placed. Accordingly, when the power conversion unit devices are installed in multiple stages in the vertical direction, the high-temperature cooling gas 89 discharged from the uppermost semiconductor stack pair of the lower power conversion unit device is discharged from the upper power conversion unit device. The lower partition 55 on the lowermost semiconductor stack pair surely guides the exhaust path 31. That is, since the partition 55 is provided below the lowermost semiconductor stack pair of each power conversion unit device, the multi-stage installation of the power conversion unit device having the air-cooled cooling body in the vertical direction is hindered. It can be done without.

[0040]

According to the power converter of the present invention, the following effects can be obtained by adopting the structure described in the section of the means for solving the above-mentioned problems. By adopting the configuration according to the first to third aspects of the present invention, the power conversion unit device can have the same external shape and size even if the capacity is different. Therefore, the power conversion device can respond to a wide capacity range including an intermediate capacity value by appropriately combining one or a plurality of the power conversion unit devices. Moreover, since power conversion unit devices having different capacities can be manufactured using many common members, it is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost and the manufacturing period of the power conversion device. In the event of a failure, the failure can be dealt with by replacing the failed power conversion unit device with a replacement power conversion unit device having the same external dimensions, so that the power conversion device can be restored in a short time. Furthermore, the fact that the external shape and dimensions can be the same even if the power conversion unit devices have different capacities means that as an emergency replacement, a limited number of power semiconductor elements based on the allowable current imbalance amount are connected in parallel. It is only necessary to prepare a power conversion unit device provided with the specified basic capacity semiconductor stack, and it is possible to greatly narrow down the types of emergency replacement items. Can solve the problem of the increase in the manufacturing cost. In addition, by adopting the configuration according to item (4) of the means for solving the above problems, it is possible to obtain a power conversion unit device having a larger capacity while maintaining the effects of the above item. It is possible to reduce the installation area of the device and further reduce the manufacturing cost. In addition, by adopting a configuration according to the above-mentioned means (5) and (6) for solving the above-mentioned problems, the cooling body of the power semiconductor element of the power conversion unit device can be air-cooled. In addition, the effects of the above items can be maintained, for example, the semiconductor stack pairs installed in multiple stages in the vertical direction can be cooled substantially uniformly regardless of the installation position in the vertical direction. In addition, by adopting the configuration according to item (7) of the means for solving the above problems, even in a power conversion unit device using a semiconductor stack pair provided with a current balancer, the effects of the items and items can be obtained. Can be held. Further, by adopting a configuration according to the above-mentioned means (8) and (9) for solving the problem, a power conversion device using a power conversion unit device having the air-cooled cooling body can be provided. Even when the power conversion unit device is installed in the front-rear direction while maintaining the effects of the above items,
Installation can be performed by back-to-back, and the installation area of the power converter can be further reduced. Furthermore, by adopting the configuration according to the mode (10) of the means for solving the above problems, each semiconductor stack constituting the semiconductor stack pair can share one cooling body. Accordingly, it is possible to further reduce the manufacturing cost of the power conversion device while maintaining the effects of the above items.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a part of an outline of a configuration of a power conversion device according to an embodiment of the present invention in a partially developed manner.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing an outline of the power conversion unit device according to FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing, in a partially unfolded manner, an outline of a unit frame body included in the power conversion unit device shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a partially developed outline of two basic capacitance semiconductor stack pairs provided in the power conversion unit device shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a wiring diagram of a basic capacitance semiconductor stack-to-unit according to FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a partially developed outline of the configuration of a power conversion device according to a different example of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a partially expanded perspective view showing an outline of a basic capacitance semiconductor stack pair included in a power conversion unit device of a power conversion device according to a second different example of the embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a wiring diagram of a pair of basic capacitance semiconductor stacks on the inverter side of the power converter having the basic capacitance semiconductor stack pairs shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a connection diagram of a main circuit unit of a power conversion device of a general example.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 3 power conversion unit device 31 exhaust path 5 unit frame body 53 support body 55 partition body 6 basic capacity semiconductor stack pair unit (semiconductor unit) 61 current balancer 8 blower 81 blower 82 wind tunnel 89 cooling gas

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H05K 7/20 H05K 7/20 G

Claims (10)

[Claims] An electrical connection between a plurality of power semiconductor elements with control poles having a plurality of main pole terminals and said main pole terminals for interconnecting these power semiconductor elements as a bridge connection circuit. , A cooling body for cooling the power semiconductor element, and the power semiconductor element, the wiring body,
A power conversion device comprising a housing for housing a cooling body, wherein the wiring body for interconnecting all or a part of the plurality of power semiconductor elements and the power semiconductor elements and the like The cooling body for cooling the power semiconductor element, and at least one power conversion unit device having a unit frame body having a rectangular parallelepiped outer shape,
The unit frame houses all or a part of the power semiconductor element and the wiring / cooling body, and is housed in the unit frame and belongs to the same arm of the bridge connection circuit. The number of the power semiconductor elements is a number limited to the maximum number of parallel elements that can keep the imbalance amount of the current value flowing in each of them within an allowable amount, and includes a plurality of the power conversion unit devices. , Wherein these power conversion unit devices are arranged adjacent to each other. 2. The power converter according to claim 1,
The plurality of power semiconductor elements of the power conversion unit device are connected in a bridge, and each of the cooling bodies of the power conversion unit device has a rectangular parallelepiped outer shape, and one of the outer surfaces thereof is a power semiconductor element. A substantially rectangular semiconductor element mounting surface for mounting, wherein the number of the power semiconductor elements to be cooled by one of the cooling bodies is two groups of a number limited to the maximum number of parallel elements; Each power semiconductor element of the group belongs to an upper arm and a lower arm of the bridge connection circuit which are connected in series to each other, and the power semiconductor elements belonging to each group of these power semiconductor elements belong to the semiconductor element mounting surface. The group for the upper arm and the group for the lower arm are mounted on the cooling body along one side along the other side of the semiconductor element mounting surface, and the wiring between the main pole terminals is provided by the wiring body. Connected to a semiconductor stack and without,
One pair of the semiconductor stacks is combined with the outer surface of the cooling body facing the power semiconductor element not mounted thereon to form a pair of semiconductor stacks, and the pair of semiconductor stacks connects the respective outer surfaces of the cooling body to the unit. A power conversion device characterized by being housed in a unit frame body so as to be substantially parallel to respective outer surfaces of the unit frame body. 3. The power converter according to claim 2, wherein
When the number of power semiconductor elements provided in the semiconductor stack is smaller than the maximum number of parallel elements, the depth dimension of the cooling body corresponding to the one side of the semiconductor element mounting surface is equal to the power semiconductor element. The power conversion device is set in accordance with the number, and a size corresponding to the one side of the wiring body is set corresponding to the dimension in the depth direction of the cooling body. 4. The power conversion device according to claim 2, wherein the power conversion unit device including a plurality of the semiconductor stack pairs is arranged such that each of the semiconductor stack pairs is arranged in a vertical direction. A power converter characterized by being housed in a body. 5. The power converter according to claim 1, wherein the cooling body is of an air-cooled type.
A power conversion device, wherein a cooling air passage is formed substantially in parallel with the semiconductor element mounting surface and in parallel with the other side of the semiconductor element mounting surface. 6. The power converter according to claim 5,
The plurality of semiconductor stack pairs housed in the unit frame body includes cooling air discharged from the cooling body of the lower semiconductor stack pair and cooling air supplied to the cooling body of the upper semiconductor stack pair. A power converter, wherein a partition body for preventing mixing of the semiconductor stacks is provided below each of the semiconductor stack pairs, and arranged vertically. 7. The power conversion device according to claim 2, wherein two or more semiconductor stacks are required for each of the upper arm and the lower arm. More than one pair is used,
Each semiconductor stack pair is provided with a current balancer for equalizing the current flowing through each of the two semiconductor stacks forming the semiconductor stack pair, and the current balancer has a maximum position of its lateral outer shape. The interval between the wiring positions connected to the main pole terminals of the semiconductor elements of the two semiconductor stacks of the semiconductor stack pair is substantially limited, and the maximum position of the outer shape in the height direction is determined by the semiconductor stack pair. Of the semiconductor stack pair, the wiring is not disposed on one of the lateral outer surfaces or the outer surface facing the outer surface. A power converter characterized by being installed. 8. The power conversion device according to claim 5, wherein the power conversion unit device cools the cooling body to an outside of an outer surface opposite to a side on which the current balancer is mounted. An exhaust passage for allowing cooling air discharged from the body to flow therethrough, wherein the partition discharges cooling air discharged from the cooling body of the lower semiconductor stack pair to the exhaust passage and an upper semiconductor. A power conversion device formed so that cooling air to be supplied to a cooling body of a stack pair flows in from a mounting side of a current balancer. 9. The power converter according to claim 8,
The power conversion device, wherein the power conversion unit devices arranged in the front-rear direction are arranged such that the exhaust path sides are adjacent to each other. 10. The power converter according to claim 2, wherein a cooling body of the semiconductor stack pair of the power conversion unit is formed in an integrated rectangular parallelepiped,
A power converter wherein two outer surfaces facing each other are substantially rectangular semiconductor element mounting surfaces for mounting a power semiconductor element.