JP2004364356A - Inverter device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the number of components as possible for supplying power from a battery to an inverter device for a vehicle. <P>SOLUTION: An inverter I comprises a minus-side bus plate 11 configured using a part of a conductive body 17 of a vehicle, A plus-side bus plate 12, and an insulating sheet 15 interposed between both bus plates 11 and 12. The minus terminal of a battery is grounded to the conductive body 17, while the plus terminal is connected to the plus-side bus plate 12 through a harness. Thus, a special minus-side bus plate and the harness connecting the minus-side bus plate to the conductive body 17 are not required, resulting in less number of components. Further, by increasing the area of both bus plates 11 and 12, a surge voltage is reduced to alleviate voltage strength of inverter parts 13 and 14, contributing to reducing of a loss. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a vehicle inverter device that drives a motor by converting a DC current of a battery into a polyphase AC current by an inverter.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Such a vehicle inverter device is known from the following patent documents. This vehicle has a low-voltage DC power supply for driving accessories and a high-voltage DC power supply for driving a traveling motor via an inverter. The negative terminal of the low-voltage DC power supply is grounded to the vehicle body as usual, and the positive terminal Is connected to each accessory via a harness, and both the negative terminal and the positive terminal of the high-voltage DC power supply are connected to the inverter via a harness separated from the vehicle body.
[0003]
[Patent Document]
JP-A-8-33116
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, if both the negative terminal and the positive terminal of the high-voltage DC power supply are connected to the inverter via the harness, the total length of the harness will be long. Can be reduced. However, in this case, if the negative bus plate of the inverter is connected to the vehicle body via the harness, the number of parts increases by the amount of the negative bus plate and the harness, so that the vehicle body is used for supplying high-voltage current power. There is a problem that the merits cannot be fully utilized.
[0005]
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to reduce the number of components for supplying power to a vehicle inverter device from a battery as much as possible.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, according to the invention set forth in claim 1, in a vehicle inverter device that drives a motor by converting a DC current of a battery into a polyphase AC current by an inverter, the inverter comprises: A minus side bus plate, a plus side bus plate, and an insulator interposed between the two bus plates, an inverter component connected to the both bus plates, and an inverter component formed by using a part of the conductive body. There is proposed a vehicle inverter device including a waterproof means for protecting the battery from water, wherein a negative terminal of the battery is grounded to the conductive body, and a positive terminal is connected to a positive bus plate via a harness.
[0007]
According to the above configuration, the negative side bus plate of the inverter is configured by using a part of the conductive body of the vehicle, and the plus side bus plate is overlapped with the negative side bus plate with an insulator interposed therebetween. By eliminating the need for the negative side bus plate and the harness connecting the negative side bus plate to the conductive body, the number of parts can be reduced, and the surge voltage can be reduced by increasing the area of both bus plates. The pressure resistance of the inverter component can be reduced, which can contribute to a reduction in loss. In addition, since heat generated by the inverter components can be directly released from the minus side bus plate to the conductive body having a large heat mass, the heat radiation of the inverter is improved.
[0008]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, the insulator is formed of an insulating sheet or an insulating coating applied to a minus bus plate. Inverter device is proposed.
[0009]
According to the above configuration, since the insulator is formed by the insulating sheet or the insulating coating applied to the minus bus plate, it is possible to reliably insulate the minus bus plate and the plus bus plate with a simple and compact structure. it can.
[0010]
According to the third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first or second aspect, the waterproofing means is a waterproof cover fixed to the conductive body via a sealing member or potting. A vehicle inverter device characterized by the following is proposed.
[0011]
According to the above configuration, since the waterproofing means is formed by the waterproof cover fixed to the conductive body via the sealing member or the potting, the inverter parts can be reliably waterproofed with a simple structure. In addition, since the inverter parts are covered by the cooperation of the conductive body and the waterproof cover, the waterproof cover can be formed in a simple lid shape to reduce the cost.
[0012]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of any one of the first to third aspects, the motor is a traveling motor of a hybrid vehicle. An apparatus is proposed.
[0013]
According to the above configuration, it is possible to reduce the cost and improve the reliability of the inverter that drives the motor of the hybrid vehicle.
[0014]
The switching module 13 and the smoothing capacitor 14 of the embodiment correspond to the inverter component of the present invention, the insulating sheet 15 of the embodiment corresponds to the insulator of the present invention, and the cover member 16 of the embodiment corresponds to the waterproofing means of the present invention. And the hybrid vehicle V of the embodiment corresponds to the vehicle of the present invention.
[0015]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on examples of the present invention shown in the accompanying drawings.
[0016]
1 to 4 show a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is an overall plan view of a hybrid vehicle, FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway plan view of an inverter (a sectional view taken along line 2-2 in FIG. 3), 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG.
[0017]
As shown in FIG. 1, a hybrid vehicle V includes a traveling motor M between an engine E and a transmission T, and converts a direct current of a high-voltage (for example, 144 V) battery B mounted on a rear part of the vehicle body into a front part of the vehicle body. By driving the motor M by converting it into a three-phase AC current by the inverter I mounted on the vehicle, the vehicle can run with one or both of the driving force of the engine E and the driving force of the motor M.
[0018]
As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the inverter I includes a metal negative bus plate 11, a metal positive bus plate 12, a switching module 13 as an inverter component, and three smoothing capacitors 14. An insulating sheet 15 made of silicon or ceramic and a cover member 16 made of synthetic resin are provided to cover them. The minus side bus plate 11 constitutes a part of the conductive body 17 formed by pressing a steel plate. Only the part is not coated 18 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) and the metal surface is exposed. I have. The insulating sheet 15 and the plus side bus plate 12 are overlapped on the surface of the minus side bus plate 11 and fixed by bonding or the like. The negative terminal 19 of the battery B is grounded to the conductive body 17, and the harness 21 extending from the positive terminal 20 penetrates a grommet 22 provided on the cover member 16 and is connected to the positive bus plate 12 with bolts 23.
[0019]
As described above, since the insulating sheet 15 is sandwiched between the minus side bus plate 11 and the plus side bus plate 12, the insulation between the minus side bus plate 11 and the plus side bus plate 12 is ensured with a simple and compact structure. be able to.
[0020]
The switching module 13 fixed to the upper surface of the plus side bus plate 12 has a plus terminal 24 and a minus terminal 25 (see FIG. 4), and the plus terminal 24 is electrically connected to the plus side bus plate 12 via a bolt 26. At the same time, the negative terminal 25 is electrically connected to the negative bus plate 11 via the bolt 27. Similarly, each smoothing capacitor 14 has a plus terminal 28 and a minus terminal 29 (see FIG. 3), and the plus terminal 28 is electrically connected to the plus side bus plate 12 via a bolt 30, and The terminal 29 is electrically connected to the minus bus plate 11 via a bolt 31.
[0021]
Further, the switching module 13 is provided with a U-phase terminal 32, a V-phase terminal 33 and a W-phase terminal 34 for outputting a three-phase AC (see FIG. 4), which are connected by three bolts 35, 36, 37. The three harnesses 38, 39, and 40 are connected to the motor M through a grommet 41 provided on the cover member 16.
[0022]
The lid-shaped cover member 16 having an open lower surface has a flange 16a formed at the lower end thereof fixed to the conductive body 17 with a plurality of bolts 42. At this time, by interposing the seal member 43 between the flange 16a and the conductive body 17, it is possible to prevent water from entering the inside of the cover member 16 and protect the switching module 13 and the smoothing capacitors 14. it can. In particular, since the sealed waterproof space is formed by the cooperation of the conductive body 17 and the cover member 16, the structure of the cover member 16 can be simplified to contribute to cost reduction.
[0023]
As described above, since the minus terminal 19 of the battery B is connected to the minus bus plate 11 via the conductive body 17, the necessary harness is connected to the harness 21 that connects the plus terminal 20 of the battery B to the plus bus plate 12. Can only be suppressed. Moreover, since the minus side bus plate 11 is configured by using a part of the conductive body 17, the number of parts and the number of assembling steps can be reduced as compared with the case where an independent minus side bus plate is provided.
[0024]
Further, since the plus side bus plate 12 is overlapped with the minus side bus plate 11 using a part of the conductive body 17 with the insulating sheet 15 interposed therebetween, the area of the minus side bus plate 11 and the plus side bus plate 12 can be sufficiently increased. , The surge voltage can be reduced, the withstand voltage of the switching module 13 and the smoothing capacitors 14 can be reduced, and the loss of the inverter can be reduced. Moreover, since the heat generated by the switching module 13 and the smoothing capacitors 14 can be conducted directly from the negative bus plate 11 to the conductive body 17 having a large heat mass, the heat radiation of the inverter I can be improved.
[0025]
5 to 7 show a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway plan view of the inverter (a sectional view taken along line 5-5 in FIG. 6), and FIG. 6 is a line 6-6 in FIG. FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line 7-7 of FIG. In the second embodiment, the same reference numerals are given to members corresponding to the members of the first embodiment described above, and redundant description will be omitted.
[0026]
The inverter I of the first embodiment has a common switching module 13 for the U-phase, V-phase and W-phase, but the inverter I of the second embodiment has three switching modules corresponding to the U-phase, V-phase and W-phase, respectively. Switching modules 13... The switching module 13 and the smoothing capacitor 14 of each phase are mounted on the upper surface of the positive bus plate 12 and fastened to the negative bus plate 11 and the positive bus plate 12 by two bolts 44 and 45.
[0027]
At this time, the plus terminal 24 exposed on the upper surface of the switching module 13 contacts the plus terminal 28 of the smoothing capacitor 14, and the plus terminal 28 of the smoothing capacitor 14 is connected to the plus side bus plate 12 by the bolt 44. Further, the minus terminal 25 exposed on the upper surface of the switching module 13 contacts the minus terminal 29 of the smoothing capacitor 14, and the minus terminal 29 of the smoothing capacitor 14 is connected to the minus bus plate 11 by a bolt 45.
[0028]
Thus, according to the second embodiment, the same operation and effect as those of the first embodiment can be achieved.
[0029]
The embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, various design changes can be made in the present invention without departing from the gist thereof.
[0030]
For example, in the embodiment, the insulating sheet 15 is employed as an insulator between the minus side bus plate 11 and the plus side bus plate 12. A working effect can be achieved.
[0031]
Further, in the embodiment, the waterproof means is constituted by the cover member 16 which covers the switching module 13 and the smoothing capacitor 14.... can do.
[0032]
Further, in the embodiment, the hybrid vehicle V is illustrated, but the present invention can also be applied to an electric vehicle without the engine E.
[0033]
Further, the motor M of the embodiment may be a motor generator.
[0034]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the negative side bus plate of the inverter is constituted by utilizing a part of the conductive body of the vehicle, and the negative side bus plate is provided with an insulator interposed therebetween. Since the side bus plates are overlapped, a special negative side bus plate and a harness connecting the negative side bus plate to the conductive body are not required, which not only reduces the number of parts but also reduces the area of both bus plates. By increasing the surge voltage to reduce the surge voltage, the withstand voltage of the inverter component can be reduced, which can contribute to loss reduction. In addition, since heat generated by the inverter components can be directly released from the minus side bus plate to the conductive body having a large heat mass, the heat radiation of the inverter is improved.
[0035]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the insulator is formed by the insulating sheet or the insulating coating applied to the minus side bus plate, the insulator between the minus side bus plate and the plus side bus plate has a simple and compact structure. Can be reliably insulated.
[0036]
According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the waterproofing means is formed by the waterproof cover fixed to the conductive body via the sealing member or the potting, it is possible to reliably waterproof the inverter parts with a simple structure. it can. Moreover, since the inverter parts are covered by the cooperation of the conductive body and the waterproof cover, the waterproof cover can be formed in a simple lid shape to reduce the cost.
[0037]
According to the invention described in claim 4, it is possible to reduce the cost and improve the reliability of the inverter that drives the motor of the hybrid vehicle.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an overall plan view of a hybrid vehicle. FIG. 2 is a partially broken plan view of an inverter (a sectional view taken along line 2-2 in FIG. 3).
FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2; FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2; FIG.
6 is a sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 5; FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line 7-7 of FIG. 5;
B Battery I Inverter M Motor V Hybrid vehicle (vehicle)
11 Minus side bus plate 12 Plus side bus plate 13 Switching module (inverter parts)
14 Smoothing capacitors (inverter parts)
15 Insulation sheet (insulator)
16 Cover member (waterproof means)
17 Conductive body 19 Negative terminal 20 Positive terminal 21 Harness 43 Seal member

Claims (4)

In a vehicle inverter device that drives a motor by converting a DC current of a battery into a polyphase AC current with an inverter,
The inverter is composed of a negative bus plate, a positive bus plate, an insulator interposed between both bus plates, and an inverter component connected to both bus plates, which is constructed by using a part of the conductive body of the vehicle. And waterproof means for protecting the inverter components from water,
An inverter device for a vehicle, wherein a negative terminal of a battery is grounded to a conductive body, and a positive terminal is connected to a positive bus plate via a harness. 2. The vehicle inverter device according to claim 1, wherein the insulator is made of an insulating sheet or an insulating coating applied to a minus bus plate. 3. The inverter device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the waterproofing means is a waterproof cover fixed to the conductive body via a seal member or a potting. 4. The vehicle inverter device according to claim 1, wherein the motor is a running motor of a hybrid vehicle. 5.

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