JP2007014171A - Power converter - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a power converter having a low wiring-inductance structure irrespective of the number of moduled semiconductor elements and a main circuit configuration. <P>SOLUTION: In the power converter, the moduled semiconductor elements 1 constituting a main circuit of the power converter are arranged on a heat receiving block 11 of an element cooling cooler; a collector-side DC conductor 7a is connected to a collector-side terminal C1 of the moduled element 1, via a columnar connecting conductor 9 mounted to the collector-side terminal; and an emitter-side conductor 7b connected to one emitter-side terminal E1 is arranged in parallel with the collector-side conductor 7a, by keeping a necessary distance with the collector-side conductor. By vertically arranging the DC conductors in parallel with each other as above, the low wiring-inductance structure can be obtained irrespective of the number of the module-type semiconductor elements and the main circuit configuration. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a structure of a power conversion device, such as a rectifier or an inverter device, including a plurality of module type semiconductor elements, a semiconductor element cooler, a conductor, and other electrical appliances.

  A power conversion device such as a rectifier and an inverter device includes a plurality of power semiconductor elements, a heat pipe type cooler for cooling the power semiconductor elements, an electrical appliance, and the like.

  3 and 4 show a conventional example, and FIG. 5 shows a circuit diagram. 3 and 4, the upper diagram is a front view, and the lower diagram is a bottom view.

  As a conventional example, module-type elements 1 to 6 represented by IGBT or the like as semiconductor elements are mounted on a heat receiving block 11 of a cooler that cools the elements.

  3 to 4, reference numerals 1 to 6 denote module type semiconductor elements, 7a denotes a collector side conductor, 7b denotes an emitter side conductor, 8 denotes a U, V, W phase AC conductor, and 11 denotes a heat receiving block of the cooler. The structure shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 is the configuration shown in the circuit diagram of FIG. 5, and constitutes the main circuit (rectifier circuit or inverter circuit) of the power converter.

  In a main circuit of a high-current, high-voltage device such as a power conversion device, an increase in heat loss of a semiconductor element due to an increase in capacity of the device rating becomes a problem. As the heat loss increases, it is necessary to increase the performance and size of the cooler, and the heat receiving block 11 and the heat radiating fins are increased in size. Increasing the size of the cooler is not only the problem, but also causes the size of the apparatus itself to increase, and an optimum method has been considered for each.

  In FIG. 4, the main circuit is configured by three units that cool two elements, which are upper and lower arm units of the inverter circuit, by one cooler. In each unit, the collector-side conductor 7a and the emitter-side conductor 7b have a structure capable of minimizing the inductance of the conductor as much as possible by ensuring a necessary insulation distance and making them parallel. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses that the collector-side conductor 7a and the emitter-side conductor 7b in each unit ensure the necessary insulation distance and are parallel to suppress the conductor inductance as much as possible.

  In the example of FIG. 3, three elements 1 to 6 constituting the main circuit are arranged on both sides of the heat receiving block 11 of the cooler, and the cooler is composed of one cooler and six elements. The main circuit is a single unit. 3, the collector-side conductor 7a and the emitter-side conductor 7b have a structure that suppresses the inductance of the conductor as much as possible by securing a necessary insulation distance and arranging them in parallel.

In the case of the method of FIG. 3, since it is arranged on both sides of the cooler, it is a target structure on both sides, and the conductor length on the collector side and the emitter side can be made the same, so the inductance reduction effect As a result, further effects can be expected. For example, Patent Document 2 discloses that the structure is an object on the front and back sides and the conductor lengths on the collector side and the emitter side are the same.
JP-A-2-174564 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-131978

  However, in the conventional method shown in FIG. 4, the conductor lengths on the emitter side and the collector side are not the same, so there is a portion that becomes a single wiring, and it cannot be said that the structure is optimal as an inductance reduction effect. If the conductors are arranged two-dimensionally on the same plane and the main circuit shown in FIG. 5 is formed, the collector-side conductor 7a, the emitter-side conductor 7b, the AC conductor 8 One of these causes interference. Further, when the main circuit of FIG. 5 is configured by combining a plurality of minimum units as in the method of FIG. 4, a conductor for connecting the dispersed units is required. Therefore, there is a problem that the inductance of the extension of the conductor for connecting between the units increases, and that the conductor inductance which is extended as the number of units increases due to the main circuit configuration increases.

  On the other hand, in the method of FIG. 3, since the arms on the front and back are symmetrical by arranging them on the front and back of the heat receiving block 11 of the cooler, there is no wiring length imbalance as shown in FIG. The structure can be realized. However, in the method of FIG. 3 as well, the single wiring portion up to the position where it is arranged in parallel is indispensable in terms of structure, and in addition, if the heat receiving block 11 becomes larger as the element heat generation increases, the single wiring portion is further extended. Inductance increases. Furthermore, when the number of series elements in the main circuit increases, the total length of the wiring and the wiring length of the single part both increase, and it is difficult to obtain the effect of reducing the wiring inductance with this method.

  As a basic measure for obtaining an inductance reduction effect, it is necessary to place the collector-side conductor 7a and the emitter-side conductor 7b as close as possible and arrange them in parallel at the shortest distance. In addition, as the conductor is as thin as possible, the distance between the centers of the opposing conductors becomes shorter, which is another condition for obtaining the inductance reduction effect.

  When the conductor thickness is reduced, it is necessary to increase the size in the width direction in order to ensure the necessary cross-sectional area of the conductor for a predetermined rated current value in terms of thermal design. When this condition is applied to FIG. 4, the dimension in the height direction is increased, and an increase in the size of the apparatus is inevitable. Similarly, when applied to FIG. 3, it interferes with the collector-side and emitter-side terminals, respectively, so that it is impossible to achieve a necessary insulation distance.

  Therefore, in order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a power converter having a main circuit composed of a plurality of module type semiconductor elements, and has a low wiring inductance structure regardless of the number of module type semiconductor elements and the main circuit configuration. It aims at providing the power converter device which has.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the module type semiconductor element constituting the main circuit of the power converter is arranged on the heat receiving block of the semiconductor element cooler, and the first and second module type semiconductor elements are arranged. The first and second DC conductors are respectively connected to the first and second terminals via a columnar conductor attached to at least one of the two terminals, and the first and second DC conductors are moved up and down. It is characterized by being arranged in parallel with.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, a plurality of module type semiconductor elements constituting a main circuit of a power conversion device are arranged on one side of a heat receiving block of a semiconductor element cooler, and at least of a plurality of terminals of the module type semiconductor element A plurality of conductors are connected to a plurality of terminals via columnar conductors attached to one unit, and a unit or a main circuit is connected by a plurality of conductors arranged in parallel vertically.

  According to the present invention, the conductor constituting the main circuit of the power converter can be minimized regardless of the configuration of the main circuit. Therefore, the main wiring line inductance is small and the adverse effect on the switching operation is minimized. A power conversion device having a circuit can be provided.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following drawings, the same symbols indicate the same or corresponding parts.

(First embodiment)
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1 is a plan view, and the lower view is a front view.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the module type semiconductor element 1 constituting the main circuit of the power conversion device is arranged on the heat receiving block 11 of the element cooling cooler and attached to the collector side terminal C1 of the module type semiconductor element 1. The collector-side conductor 7a, which is a DC conductor, is connected via the connecting conductor 9, and the emitter-side conductor 7b, which is a DC conductor connected to one emitter-side terminal E1, is parallel to the collector-side conductor 7a while maintaining a necessary insulation distance. It is comprised so that it may be arrange | positioned.

  A plurality of main circuits of the power conversion device configured as described above are combined as a unit, thereby forming a rectifier circuit or an inverter circuit as shown in FIG. When a main circuit is configured by combining a plurality of these in a power conversion device, it is necessary to arrange a plurality of devices in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction in consideration of downsizing of the outer shape of the device. 1, the collector-side conductor 7a and the emitter-side conductor 7b can be connected to each other without crossing in any of the upper, lower, left and right directions. Even in the case of two or more units and an odd number of unit configurations, the conductors do not cross each other by being arranged in the vertical direction, so that the conductor lengths connecting the terminals can be made the shortest and even.

  Moreover, even if the required energization area of the collector side 7a and the emitter side conductor 7b increases and the conductor width increases as the rated current of the power converter increases, it interferes with the terminals of the opposite poles arranged in parallel vertically. Therefore, the size in the width direction can be easily increased, so that it is possible to easily cope with an increase in the device rating without changing the outer shape of the device.

  The collector-side conductor 7a and the emitter-side conductor 7b are characterized by being arranged close to each other in parallel in the vertical direction, and do not specify the positional relationship between the upper side and the lower side. In addition, the columnar connection conductor 9 is not attached only to the collector side terminal C1 side, but may be attached to the emitter side terminal E1, or conductors of different heights may be attached to both sides. The columnar connection conductor is used for the DC conductor to form a parallel conductor, and does not limit the cross-sectional shape such as a cylindrical shape or a prismatic shape and the connection method with the terminal portion of the element.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 2 is a side view, the upper right view is a front view, and the lower right view is a front view showing a state in which the collector-side conductor 7a is removed. Module-type semiconductor elements 1 to 6 constituting the main circuit of the power conversion device are arranged on the heat receiving block 11 of the element cooling cooler and attached to the collector side terminals C4 to C6 of the module type elements 4 to 6 A collector-side conductor 7a, which is a DC conductor, is connected via a conductor 9, and the AC conductor 8 connected to one of the emitter-side terminals E4 to E6 and the collector-side terminals C1 to C3 of the module type semiconductor elements 1 to 3, and the other Each of the emitter-side conductors 7b connected to the emitter-side conductors E1 to E3 is disposed close to and parallel to each other in the vertical direction.

  In this way, a rectifier circuit and an inverter circuit which are power converters as shown in FIG. 5 are configured. With this configuration, each conductor can be taken out at an optimum position as an apparatus without any interference from the AC side conductor 8, the emitter side conductor 7a, and the collector side conductor 7b. In addition, since the circuit of FIG. 5 can be configured on one side of the block 11, that is, one plane, instead of a plurality of divided units, the length of the conductor portion for connecting the units is minimized. Wiring inductance can be minimized.

  Moreover, even if the required energizing areas of the collector-side conductor 7a, the emitter-side conductor 7b, and the AC conductor 8 increase as the rated current of the power converter increases, it is easy because it is arranged vertically and does not interfere with the terminals of the opposite poles. In addition, since the size in the width direction can be increased, it is possible to easily cope with an increase in the device rating without changing the outer shape of the device.

  Note that the collector-side conductor 7a, the emitter-side conductor 7b, and the AC conductor 8 are arranged close to each other in parallel in the vertical direction, and do not specify the positional relationship between the upper side and the lower side. Further, the columnar connection conductor 9 is not attached only to the collector side terminals C4 to C6 side of the module type semiconductor elements 4 to 6, but may be attached to other terminal portions, and these are not limited. The columnar connection conductor 9 is for the collector-side conductor 7a, the emitter-side conductor 7b, and the AC conductor 8 to constitute a parallel conductor. It is not what limits.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Schematic block diagram which shows 1st Embodiment of the power converter device concerning this invention. The schematic block diagram which shows 2nd Embodiment of the power converter device concerning this invention. The schematic block diagram which shows an example of a prior art example. The schematic block diagram which shows the other example of a prior art example. The circuit diagram of the power converter device of the 1st, 2nd embodiment of this invention, and a prior art example.

Explanation of symbols

1 to 6 Module type semiconductor element 7a Collector side conductor (DC conductor)
7b Emitter-side conductor (DC conductor)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 8 ... AC conductor 9 ... Columnar connection conductor 10 ... Connection conductor 11 ... Cooler heat receiving block C1-C6 ... Element collector side terminal E1-E6 ... Element collector side terminal

Claims (2)

  A module type semiconductor element constituting the main circuit of the power conversion device is arranged on a heat receiving block of a semiconductor element cooler, and is attached to at least one of the first and second terminals of the module type semiconductor element. The first and second DC conductors are connected to the first and second terminals through conductors, respectively, and the first and second DC conductors are arranged in parallel vertically. apparatus. A plurality of module type semiconductor elements constituting the main circuit of the power conversion device are arranged on one side of the heat receiving block of the semiconductor element cooler and attached to at least one of the plurality of terminals of the module type semiconductor element. A power converter, wherein a plurality of conductors are connected to the plurality of terminals via conductors, and a unit or a main circuit is connected by the plurality of conductors arranged in parallel vertically.

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