JP2006310490A - Capacitor device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a capacitor device which can narrow an installation space containing an attachment more than a conventional installation space when a plurality of capacitors are disposed in a plurality of columns. <P>SOLUTION: In the capacitor device 11, a plurality of capacitors 13 are arranged in a plural column on a board 12. The capacitors 13 are formed cylindrically, and the respective capacitors 13 are disposed in a staggered shape and in a state of coming into contact with each other. The board 12 is formed in a rectangular shape and has two sides in conformity with a tangent coming into contact with each capacitor 13 disposed in a column on both outsides and a tangent extending in a direction perpendicular to a columnar direction, and coming into contact with the capacitor 13 disposed outside, respectively. In the board 12, spaces 18 are generated at two corners on a diagonal line and at an end of a column separate from the corner by one column. A hole 19 for inserting a bolt is formed in each spacer 18 by one. The spacer 18 and the hole 19 constitute the attachment to be used for attaching the capacitor device 11 to an electric apparatus. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a capacitor device, and more particularly to a capacitor device in which a plurality of capacitors are arranged in a plurality of rows.

  In various power supply apparatuses, a capacitor is generally used as a smoothing element that removes an AC component from a DC voltage. When the required capacitance cannot be obtained with a single capacitor (single product), a plurality of capacitors are connected in parallel to increase the capacity in many cases. In the case of increasing the capacity by connecting small capacitors in parallel, as shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of capacitors 43 are arranged in a plurality of rows in a rectangular frame portion 42 provided with an attachment portion 41, and the attachment portion In 41, the thing fixed to a board | substrate and using is proposed (refer patent document 1).

A metallized film capacitor having a small size, a large capacity, a small number of parts, and a small inductance has been proposed (see Patent Document 2). As shown in FIGS. 6 (a) and 6 (b), the metallized film capacitor described in Patent Document 2 has a plurality of electrodes provided with electrodes at both ends in the width direction of the metallized film (vertical direction in FIG. 6 (b)). The capacitors 45 are arranged in three rows in a staggered manner in a rectangular box-shaped capacitor case 46. The middle column is provided with two capacitors 45 having the same capacity as the other columns and two capacitors 47 having a capacity that is half that capacity. The bus bar 48 for connecting the electrodes of the capacitors 45 and 47 is formed in a plate shape having substantially the same size as the opening of the capacitor case 46, and an electrode terminal 49 connected to the outside is bent. In the capacitor case 46, an empty space is filled with an epoxy resin 50 as a sealing material. In FIG. 6A, a part of the epoxy resin 50 is omitted.
JP 11-288855 A (paragraph [0007] of the specification, FIG. 1) JP 2004-186640 A (paragraph [0042] of the specification, FIG. 3)

  However, in the case where the mounting portion 41 protrudes from the frame portion 42 as shown in FIG. 5, not only the portion where the mounting portion 41 protrudes but also the arrangement of other members over the entire protruding width of the mounting portion 41. There are many restrictions. Therefore, the installation space for the capacitor is required twice as much as Wp × L, which is the product of the protruding width Wp of the mounting portion 41 and the length L in the vertical direction of the frame portion 42, and more than the area of the substrate.

  On the other hand, in the case of the capacitor device described in Patent Document 2, it is considered to make the accommodation space of the capacitors 45 and 47 compact. However, no consideration is given to the mounting of the capacitor case 46, and the capacitor housing device has a housing portion for the capacitor case 46 secured in an electrical device to which the capacitor housing device is mounted, and the capacitor housing device is provided with a mounting portion. There was no consideration.

  In the case where such a capacitor device having a large capacity with a plurality of capacitors is applied to an automobile or the like in which the arrangement restriction of the power supply device is severe, a structure that can be easily arranged in a limited space is required.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional problems, and its object is to make the installation space including the mounting portion narrower than the conventional installation space when a plurality of capacitors are arranged in a plurality of rows. An object of the present invention is to provide a capacitor device that can be used.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is a capacitor device in which a plurality of capacitors are arranged on a support member in a plurality of rows and an attachment portion to an electric device is provided. And each capacitor | condenser is arrange | positioned so that the deviation | shift amount in the column direction of the capacitor | condenser which belongs to a mutually adjacent row | line | column may be 1/2 or less of the width | variety of this capacitor | condenser, and one part or all part of the said attaching part is a said some It is configured so that it can be placed in a rectangle that touches to surround the capacitor. Here, “the width of the capacitor” means the length of the widest portion in the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction when the planar shape of the capacitor is an ellipse, an ellipse, a rectangle, etc., and the planar shape of the capacitor is a circle. In case it means diameter.

  When multiple capacitors are arranged in multiple rows, if the centers of capacitors in adjacent rows are aligned, each capacitor is placed in a rectangular space, and the mounting part is outside the rectangular space. Protruding state. And in the structure by which the attachment part protruded on the both sides of the row direction of a capacitor | condenser, an installation space becomes large by the width | variety of an attachment part on both sides of the said space. However, according to the present invention, the capacitors are arranged so that the deviation amount in the column direction of the capacitors belonging to the columns adjacent to each other is 1/2 or less of the width of the capacitor, and the mounting portion is arranged so that the capacitors are displaced. A part or the whole is arranged in the space generated by the above. Therefore, when the capacity is increased by arranging a plurality of capacitors in a plurality of rows, the installation space including the mounting portion can be made narrower than the conventional installation space.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the capacitor is formed in a cylindrical shape or an elliptical cylindrical shape, and the capacitors belonging to the adjacent rows are arranged in a staggered manner and in contact with each other. ing. Here, “arranged in a staggered manner” means that the positions of the centers of capacitors belonging to adjacent rows are arranged in a state shifted by ½ of the distance between the centers. In the present invention, the capacitor arrangement space can be narrowed also in the direction orthogonal to the direction of the row, and the arrangement space can be further reduced.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the plurality of capacitors are connected in parallel by a common electrode, and the common electrode is used to connect the outside of the capacitor device. The part serves as the mounting part. In the configuration in which the terminal portion of the common electrode connected to the plurality of capacitors protrudes laterally from the capacitor arrangement space, it is necessary to consider the mounting position so that the terminal portion does not interfere with other members. However, in this invention, since the terminal portion plays the role of the attachment portion, if the arrangement space for the attachment portion is ensured, the arrangement space for the terminal portion is automatically ensured.

  According to the present invention, when a plurality of capacitors are arranged in a plurality of rows, the installation space including the mounting portion can be made narrower than the conventional installation space.

Hereinafter, an embodiment embodying the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1A is a schematic plan view of the capacitor device, and FIG. 1B is a schematic perspective view of the capacitor.
As shown in FIG. 1A, in the capacitor device 11, a plurality (20 in this embodiment) of capacitors 13 are arranged in a plurality of rows (four rows) on a substrate 12 as a support member. The capacitors 13 are formed in a cylindrical shape, and the capacitors 13 are arranged in a staggered manner and in contact with each other. That is, each capacitor 13 is arranged so that the displacement amount of the capacitors 13 belonging to the columns adjacent to each other in the column direction (left-right direction in FIG. 1A) is ½ of the diameter of the capacitor 13.

  The capacitor 13 is an aluminum electrolytic capacitor. As shown in FIG. 2, the capacitor 13 has electrode terminals 14 and 15 projecting from one end of a cylindrical case. In the capacitor device 11 of this embodiment, two common electrodes 16 for connecting ten capacitors 13 in parallel are electrically connected to a positive electrode terminal 14 and are common to all twenty capacitors 13. The common electrode 17 for grounding is connected to the negative electrode terminal 15.

  As shown in FIG. 1 (a), the substrate 12 is formed in a rectangular shape, tangent to the capacitors 13 arranged in the outer rows, and in a direction perpendicular to the row direction of the capacitors 13 arranged on the outer sides. Each has two sides that coincide with the tangent that extends and touches. By disposing the capacitors 13 in a staggered manner on the substrate 12, a space 18 is generated on the substrate 12 at two diagonal corners and at the end of the row separated from the corner. Each space 18 is formed with one hole 19 for inserting a bolt. The space 18 and the hole 19 constitute an attachment portion for attaching the capacitor device 11 to an electric device. That is, all of the attachment portions to the electric equipment are configured to be arranged in a rectangle that touches so as to surround the plurality of capacitors 13.

  Next, the operation of the capacitor device 11 configured as described above will be described. The capacitor device 11 is used, for example, as a smoothing capacitor connected between a converter and an inverter that constitute a power supply device of a hybrid vehicle.

  The capacitor device 11 is fixed to the power supply device as an electric device through a bolt (not shown) inserted through each hole 19 and a nut screwed with the bolt. When the capacitors 13 are arranged in four rows in the conventional capacitor device arrangement, if the diameter of the capacitor 13 is D and the protrusion width of the mounting portion is Wp, the area S1 of the region necessary for the installation of the capacitor device 11 is a vertical length. Is the sum of the area of a rectangle with a length of 4D and a horizontal length of 5D and the area of two rectangles with a vertical length of 4D and a horizontal length of Wp. On the other hand, in the arrangement of this embodiment, the area S2 of the region necessary for the installation of the capacitor device 11 is a rectangular area having a vertical length shorter than 4D, a horizontal length of 5D, and a vertical length of 4D. This is the sum of the rectangular area with a shorter length and a horizontal length of D / 2 (≈Wp). That is, the horizontal direction is narrowed by the protrusion width Wp of the conventional mounting portion, and the vertical direction is narrowed by about 0.4D.

This embodiment has the following effects.
(1) In the capacitor device 11, each capacitor 13 is arranged so that the displacement amount in the column direction of the capacitors 13 belonging to the columns adjacent to each other is ½ or less of the diameter of the capacitor 13. Are arranged in a rectangular shape so as to surround the capacitor 13. Therefore, the installation space of the capacitor device 11 can be narrowed in the column direction as compared with the conventional device in which the mounting portion is protruded. Further, since the attachment portion does not protrude outside the substrate 12, interference between the attachment portion and other members hardly occurs.

  (2) The capacitors 13 are formed in a cylindrical shape, and the capacitors 13 belonging to adjacent rows are arranged in a staggered manner and in contact with each other. Therefore, the arrangement space of the capacitors 13 can be narrowed also in the direction orthogonal to the direction of the row, and the arrangement space can be further reduced.

(3) Since an aluminum electrolytic capacitor is used as the capacitor 13, the capacitor device 11 having a large capacity can be obtained at a low cost.
The embodiment is not limited to the above, and may be configured as follows, for example.

  As long as the capacitors 13 are arranged in a plurality of rows, they may be arranged in three or two rows. In the case of the arrangement of three rows, as shown in FIG. 2, six capacitors 13 are arranged at the center, seven capacitors 13 are arranged on the outer side, and a total of twenty capacitors 13 are arranged. In this case, the space 18 and the hole 19 become two each, and the capacitor | condenser apparatus 11 is fixed in two places. In this case, the length of the substrate 12 in the column direction is longer than that of the capacitor device 11 of the embodiment, but the area of the substrate 12 is 3% or less smaller than that of the capacitor device 11 of the embodiment. In FIG. 2, the electrode terminals 14 and 15 and the common electrodes 16 and 17 are not shown.

  The capacitor 13 is not limited to a configuration in which a half of the total number of capacitors 13 electrically connected in parallel is electrically connected in series, and all capacitors 13 may be electrically connected in parallel. .

  The mounting portion is not limited to the configuration in which the hole 19 is provided in the space 18 of the substrate 12. For example, instead of providing the hole 19 in the substrate 12, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, a notch 20 is provided in the space 18 of the substrate 12. A thick copper plate is used as the common electrodes 16 and 17, and bolt insertion holes 21 are formed in the terminal portions 16a and 17a. In the common electrodes 16 and 17, connection portions 16 b and 17 b connected to the electrode terminals 14 and 15, respectively, are bent at positions corresponding to the electrode terminals 14 and 15. An insulating plate 22 is interposed between the common electrode 16 and the common electrode 17. A hole (not shown) is formed in the insulating plate 22 so as not to interfere with the connection portions 16b and 17b of the common electrodes 16 and 17, and the common electrode 17 does not interfere with the connection portion 16b of the common electrode 16. A hole (not shown) is formed. In this case, since the terminal portions 16a and 17a serve as attachment portions, if the arrangement space for the attachment portions is ensured, the arrangement space for the terminal portions is automatically ensured.

As a mounting portion provided on the substrate 12, a bolt insertion portion 23 whose side is opened as shown in FIG. 4A may be provided instead of the hole 19.
The mounting portion does not have to be configured to be disposed in a rectangular shape so as to surround the plurality of capacitors 13 that are all disposed on the substrate 12, and at least a part of the mounting portion surrounds the plurality of capacitors. What is necessary is just to be comprised in the rectangle which touches. For example, as shown in FIG. 4B, the hole 19 may have a shape that protrudes outward from a rectangular virtual line L <b> 1 indicated by a chain line.

The shift amount in the column direction of the capacitors 13 belonging to the columns adjacent to each other is not limited to ½ of the width of the capacitor 13 but may be ½ or less.
The shape of the capacitor 13 is not limited to a cylindrical shape, and may be, for example, an elliptical cylindrical shape, a long cylindrical shape, or a rectangular parallelepiped shape. Also in these cases, at least a part of the mounting portion is provided by disposing each capacitor 13 so that the shift amount in the column direction of the capacitors 13 belonging to the columns adjacent to each other is ½ or less of the width of the capacitor 13. Are arranged so as to be arranged in a rectangle that touches the plurality of capacitors 13. When the capacitor 13 has an elliptic cylinder shape, the width W of the capacitor 13 means the length of the ellipse in the minor axis direction as shown in FIG.

  ○ Since there should be at least one, preferably two, mounting parts, if there are three or more spaces 18, not all of the spaces 18 are used as mounting parts, as shown in FIG. A capacitor 24 having a capacity different from that of the capacitor 13 and a small size is arranged in the space 18. The capacitor 24 is electrically connected to the capacitor 13 in parallel.

  When the capacitors 13 are cylindrical, when the capacitors 13 are arranged in a zigzag manner and in contact with each other, the length in the width direction of the substrate 12 is such that the diameter of the capacitors 13 is D and the capacitors 13 are adjacent to each other. Compared to the case where the centers of the capacitors 13 are arranged so as to coincide with each other, in the case of three rows, the length is shortened by about 0.27D. Therefore, when the capacitors 13 are arranged in three rows, the capacitors 13 in the center row protrude from the capacitors 13 in the rows on both sides in the longitudinal direction of the substrate 12 toward the end side of the substrate 12. Even if the space 18 and the hole 19 are provided on both sides of the capacitor 13, the area of the substrate 12 can be reduced. In this case, if a space 18 for one capacitor is provided in the vicinity of the center of the substrate 12 and a hole 19 is provided, and the substrate 12 is fastened and fixed with bolts in the vicinity of the center, the mounting strength is improved and the vibration of the substrate 12 is prevented. Can contribute.

  ○ Near the center of the substrate 12 when the number of capacitors 13 to be arranged is large and the space of the substrate 12 is large, or when the length in the longitudinal direction is more than twice as long as the length in the width direction of the substrate 12 A space 18 and a hole 19 that constitute the attachment portion may be provided in the upper portion. The space 18 can be easily secured by not arranging one capacitor 13. Also in this case, the substrate 12 is fastened and fixed with bolts even in the vicinity of the center, thereby contributing to improvement in mounting strength and prevention of vibration of the substrate 12.

  Each capacitor 13 is not limited to the arrangement in which the capacitors 13 are in contact with each other, but may be arranged in a state where some of the capacitors 13 are not in contact with each other or all the capacitors 13 are not in contact with each other due to the relationship of attachment state or dimensional error.

The capacitor 13 is not limited to an aluminum electrolytic capacitor, and for example, an electric double layer capacitor may be used.
The support member is not limited to the substrate 12 and may have a shape in which a frame is provided around the substrate 12, that is, a box shape. And the structure which arrange | positions the capacitor | condenser 13 on the bottom wall of a box (housing | casing) may be sufficient.

The number of capacitors 13 is not limited to 20, and may be 19 or less or 21 or more.
The following technical idea (invention) can be understood from the embodiment.
(1) In the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 3, the capacitor is an aluminum electrolytic capacitor.

  (2) In the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 3 and the technical idea (1), the capacitor device is used as a smoothing circuit of a driving power supply device in a hybrid vehicle.

(A) is a schematic top view of the capacitor | condenser apparatus in one Embodiment, (b) is a model perspective view of a capacitor | condenser. The schematic plan view of the capacitor | condenser apparatus in another embodiment. (A) is a schematic top view of the capacitor | condenser apparatus in another embodiment, (b) is the schematic cross section. (A), (b) is a partial schematic plan view of a capacitor device according to another embodiment, (c) is a schematic plan view of a capacitor according to another embodiment, and (d) is a partial schematic diagram of a capacitor device according to another embodiment. Plan view. The schematic top view of the capacitor | condenser apparatus of a prior art. (A) is a schematic top view of the capacitor | condenser apparatus in another prior art, (b) The schematic cross section.

Explanation of symbols

  W ... Width, 11 ... Capacitor device, 12 ... Substrate as support member, 13 ... Capacitor, 16, 17 ... Common electrode, 16a, 17a ... Terminal part, 18 ... Space constituting mounting part, 19, 21 ... Same hole 23 ... Bolt insertion part.

Claims (3)

  A capacitor device in which a plurality of capacitors are arranged on a support member in a plurality of rows and an attachment portion to an electrical device is provided, and a displacement amount in the column direction of capacitors belonging to adjacent rows is the width of the capacitor. A capacitor device configured such that a part or all of the mounting portion can be disposed in a rectangular contact with each other so as to surround the plurality of capacitors by disposing each capacitor to be ½ or less.   The capacitor device according to claim 1, wherein the capacitor is formed in a cylindrical shape or an elliptical cylinder shape, and the capacitors are arranged in a staggered manner and in contact with each other.   The capacitor device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of capacitors are connected in parallel by a common electrode, and a terminal portion used for connection of the common electrode to the outside of the capacitor device serves as the mounting portion.

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