JP2008028287A - Reactor and reactor device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a reactor device inexpensively as much as possible by improving a core structure. <P>SOLUTION: A reactor has a core 1 and a coil 2. The core 1 has a side part core 12, a middle part core 10, and a gap spacer 11. The gap spacer 11 has a center section 11a in contact with the middle part core 10 and the side part core 12, and a projection section 11b projecting outside the middle part core 10 and the side part core 12. Each annular part 21 of the coil 2 is in contact with a projection section 11b of the gap spacer 11 in the core 1, and supports the annular part 21 of the coil 2 with the projection section 11b. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention mainly relates to measures for reducing the manufacturing cost of a reactor mounted on a fuel cell vehicle, a hybrid vehicle, or the like.

  In recent years, automobiles that drive motors with a DC power source such as hybrid vehicles and fuel cell vehicles have been developed due to environmental problems. A boost converter disposed in a fuel cell vehicle or a hybrid vehicle includes a reactor that converts a voltage.

  A reactor mounted on a car is configured by attaching a coil to a straight portion of a track-shaped core. An inner bobbin is attached around the conventional core, for example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1. And it is comprised so that a coil may be attached to the circumference | surroundings of an inner side bobbin. The core is divided into a plurality of partial cores, and a gap spacer is interposed between the partial cores.

  The gap spacer is a member necessary for adjusting the inductance according to the frequency. The total thickness of the required gap spacers is determined by design for the entire core. If the thickness of one gap spacer is excessive, an excessive leakage current is generated. In order to prevent this, the number of gap spacers is determined.

JP 2006-41353 A

  In the technique of Patent Document 1, the inner bobbin is configured to prevent contact between the cylindrical portion of the coil and the intermediate portion core. However, when the performance of the inner bobbin is compared with the manufacturing cost, there is a problem that an excessive cost is spent.

  The objective of this invention is providing the reactor apparatus which can reduce a manufacturing cost by aiming at simplification of a structure, maintaining the function of the component in a reactor.

  The reactor of the present invention has a core that is divided into a plurality of partial cores inside the annular coil, and has a protruding portion that protrudes outward from the partial core as a gap spacer interposed between the partial cores. The coil is provided and supported by the protruding portion.

  Thereby, the inner bobbin which has been conventionally required can be eliminated, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  The gap spacer may have a central portion having the same shape as the cross section of the partial core, a central portion smaller than the cross section of the partial core, and a branch portion that branches from the central portion in a plurality of directions. You may do it. In the case of the latter structure, the gap spacer material can be reduced and the weight can be reduced.

  Since the protrusion part of the gap spacer is formed in a flange shape, joining between the partial cores is facilitated, so that the manufacturing cost can be reduced by simplifying the assembly process.

  Since the surface of the protrusion of the gap spacer is covered with the elastic material, damage to the inner surface of the coil can be reliably prevented.

  The reactor device of the present invention further includes a case for housing the reactor of the present invention, and as a gap spacer interposed between the partial cores of the reactor, a protruding portion that protrudes outward from the partial core is provided. The coil is supported by the above.

  Thereby, since the inner bobbin which was conventionally required can be made unnecessary, the manufacturing cost can be reduced even for the reactor device as a whole.

  Also in the reactor device, the same selective configuration as in the case of the reactor can be adopted, and the same effect can be exhibited.

  According to the reactor or the reactor apparatus of the present invention, the manufacturing cost can be reduced by providing the gap spacer with the protruding portion.

(Embodiment 1)
-Structure of the reactor device-
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of reactor B in the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing only the core 1 extracted. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the reactor B of the present embodiment includes a core 1 and a coil 2 that surrounds the core 1 in an annular shape. The core 1 has a substantially oval planar shape, and has two straight portions Ra and curved portions Rb that connect the straight portions Ra at both ends of the two straight portions Ra. Further, the core 1 includes a side partial core 12 extending over each end of the two linear portions Ra and the curved portion Rb, and intermediate partial cores 10 and gap spacers alternately arranged between the side partial cores 12 in each linear portion Ra. 11. As shown in the lower right of FIG. 1, the gap spacer 11 has a substantially rectangular plate-like structure, and includes a central portion 11 a corresponding to the cross section of the intermediate partial core 10 and the side partial core 12, the intermediate partial core 10, It protrudes outward from the side partial core 12 and has a protruding portion 11b. In this embodiment, the protruding portion 11b is an annular region that entirely surrounds the central portion 11a, but does not necessarily have to protrude entirely.

  On the other hand, the coil 2 includes two annular portions 21 that are spirally wound so as to surround a prismatic space, a connection portion 22 that connects the annular portions 21, and terminals 23 that protrude upward from both ends. It is constituted by. The coil 2 is almost entirely covered with an insulating film, and only a pair of terminals 23 are exposed from the insulating film. As described above, the coil 2 is integrated by connecting the two annular portions 21 covering the respective linear portions Ra of the core 1 by the connection portion 22, and sequentially turns the two annular portions from one terminal 23 when energized. 22, an alternating current flows through the other terminal 23. In addition, each annular portion 21 of the coil 2 is in contact with any part of the protruding portions 11b of the plurality of gap spacers 11, and in other words, the annular portion 21 of the coil 2 is supported by the protruding portions 11b. 2 is positioned. However, an adhesive layer or the like may be interposed in the contact portion.

  That is, the core 1 of the present embodiment has a structure suitable for a reactor for reducing a load during conversion between AC and DC in a large current and high frequency region, and is mounted on a hybrid vehicle or the like. .

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the reactor device of the present embodiment. FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a schematic structure thereof. However, in FIG. 4, illustration of members that are not main members such as the middle case 4 is omitted. As shown in FIG. 3, the reactor device A includes a middle case 4 that houses the reactor 1 having the above-described structure, and a case 3 that houses the entire structure incorporated in the middle case 4. As shown in FIG. 4, the bottom surface of the inner surface of the case 3 is provided with a recess for the coil 2 of the reactor B to enter, and the core 1 (side partial core 12) of the reactor B is the inner surface of the case 3. It is supported in contact with the bottom surface. Although not shown, the case 3 is installed on the heat sink, and the heat generated in the reactor B is efficiently radiated from the case 3 to the heat sink because the core 1 and the case 3 are in contact with each other.

  FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a part of the assembly procedure of reactor B in the present embodiment. Assembly is performed according to the following procedure. First, the intermediate partial core 10 and the gap spacer 11 are bonded together, and then a combined body of the gap spacer 11 and the intermediate partial core 10 is fitted into the space surrounded by the annular portions 21 of the coil 2. At this time, any part of the protruding portion of the gap spacer 11 comes into contact with the inner surface of the annular portion 21 of the coil 2, and the relative position of both is determined. Further, the gap spacers 11 at both ends are in a state of being exposed to the space in the annular portion 21 of the coil 2. Next, the two side partial cores 12 are attached so as to straddle the gap spacers 11 exposed at both ends of the assembly. Thereby, the assembly shown to the center part of FIG. 5 is assembled. Further, a closed annular core 1 is completed. The reactor B is formed by the above procedure.

  Thereafter, the outer bobbin 15 for fixing the side partial core 12 and the coil 2 to each other is attached, and the whole is housed in the middle case 4, and the reactor B housed in the middle case 4 is housed in the case 3. In a general process, the entire space of the case 3 is filled with resin by potting with heating. At this time, almost the entire reactor A excluding the terminal 23 and a portion close to the terminal 23 is almost sealed in the resin.

-Material of each part of reactor device-
Each of the side partial cores 12 and the intermediate partial core 10 of the core 1 is made of a soft magnetic material also called a high magnetic permeability material. Examples of soft magnetic materials include pure iron, soft iron, magnetic steel, silicon steel, permalloy, sendust, ferrite, and amorphous materials of magnetic alloys. A reactor that requires high frequency and high power, such as for driving an engine of a hybrid vehicle, is required to have a small iron loss in a frequency region of 1 kHz or higher. Moreover, in order to suppress vibration, it is preferable that the magnetostriction of the core 1 is small. As a soft magnetic material that meets such conditions, among non-oriented silicon steel plates, an unstrained silicon steel plate having about 6% silicon is frequently used because the magnetostriction is close to zero. However, this unstrained silicon steel sheet is expensive because it is expensive to manufacture.

  In addition, as a sintered soft magnetic material, iron-based soft magnetic powder produced by the atomization method is surface-coated with a phosphate insulating coating and a resin binder, and the surface-coated powder is press-molded and then sintered at a high temperature. It may be used. This material has low holding power characteristics and is less expensive than unstrained silicon steel sheets.

  The gap spacer 11 is made of a nonmagnetic and insulating material such as ceramics, glass, or a glass epoxy substrate. The gap spacer 11 is a member necessary for adjusting the inductance according to the frequency. In addition, since the total thickness of the gap spacers 11 required for the core 1 as a whole is determined by design, the number of gap spacers 11 is set so that the thickness of one gap spacer 11 does not cause excessive leakage current. It has been established. In the present embodiment, the gap spacer 11 has a thickness of about 1.31 μm, the adhesive layer has a thickness of about 0.02 μm, and the size of each gap is set to 1.35 μm.

  The case 3 is made of a material having good thermal conductivity such as Cu or Cu alloy, aluminum or aluminum alloy, and is configured to release heat generated in the reactor B outward from the case 3. Yes.

  According to the reactor device A or the reactor B of the present embodiment, the planar dimension of the gap spacer 11 is larger than the cross-sectional dimensions of the intermediate partial core 10 and the side partial core 12, and the protruding part 11 b is the intermediate partial core 10 and the side partial core 12. Projecting outward. The annular portion 21 of the coil 2 is supported by the protruding portion 11 b of the gap spacer 11. That is, the inner bobbin like the conventional reactor is not provided. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the component cost by reducing the number of members. Further, depending on the structure of the gap spacer 11, the manufacturing cost can be reduced by simplifying the assembly process. If the cross-sectional shape of the intermediate partial core 10 and the side partial core 12 is not uniform in the ring of the annular portion 21 of the coil 2, the protruding portion 11 b of the gap spacer 11 is formed between the intermediate partial core 10 and the side partial core 12. What is necessary is just to protrude outside the outer end part.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the structure of the gap spacer 11 in the second embodiment. As shown in the figure, in the present embodiment, the gap spacer 11 has a cross-shaped planar shape instead of a rectangular plate shape. And the protrusion part 11b which protrudes from the intermediate | middle partial core 10 or the side partial core 12 is provided in the front-end | tip of the branch part 11c extended from the center part 11a to four directions. Since the structure of other members is the same as that of the first embodiment, illustration and description thereof are omitted.

  Also in the present embodiment, the protruding portion 11 b of the gap spacer 11 protrudes outward from the intermediate partial core 10 and the side partial core 12. And since the annular part 21 of the coil 2 is supported by the protrusion part 11b of the gap spacer 11, an inner side bobbin like a conventional reactor can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the component cost by reducing the number of members. Further, depending on the structure of the gap spacer 11, the manufacturing cost can be reduced by simplifying the assembly process. In addition, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to reduce the cost by reducing the material cost of the gap spacer and to reduce the weight of the reactor.

(Embodiment 3)
7A and 7B are a plan view and a cross-sectional view showing the structure of the gap spacer 11 in the third embodiment. As shown in the figure, in the present embodiment, the gap spacer 11 has a rectangular plate-shaped central portion 11b and a flange-shaped protruding portion 11c surrounding the central portion 11b. And in this Embodiment, the internal peripheral surface of the protrusion part 11c is fitting with the outer surface of the intermediate | middle partial core 10 or the side partial core 12. FIG. Therefore, the protruding portion 11b protrudes to the outside of the intermediate partial core 10 and the side partial core 12, and is configured to support the coil 2 by the protruding portion 11b. In addition, the flange-shaped protrusion part 11b does not need to be formed over the perimeter, and should just be formed in one place on each side or each corner. Since the structure of other members is the same as that of the first embodiment, illustration and description thereof are omitted.

  Also in the present embodiment, the flange-shaped protruding portion 11 b of the gap spacer 11 protrudes outside the intermediate partial core 10 and the side partial core 12. And since the annular part 21 of the coil 2 is supported by the protrusion part 11b of the gap spacer 11, an inner side bobbin like a conventional reactor can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the component cost by reducing the number of members. In particular, the provision of such a flange-like protrusion 11b facilitates joining between the partial cores 10 and 12, and can reduce the manufacturing cost by simplifying the assembly process.

(Other embodiments)
The structure of the embodiment of the present invention disclosed above is merely an example, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope of these descriptions. The scope of the present invention is indicated by the description of the scope of claims, and further includes meanings equivalent to the description of the scope of claims and all modifications within the scope.

  Similarly to the flange-shaped protruding portion 11b shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the protruding portion 11b of the portion branched in a cross shape in the second embodiment may be formed into a flange shape. Even in that case, the inner bobbin like the conventional reactor can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the component cost by reducing the number of members. In particular, by providing such a flange-like protrusion 11b, it is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost by simplifying the assembly process.

  In the second embodiment, the gap spacer 11 having a cross-shaped planar shape that branches in four directions is provided. However, a gap spacer that branches in three directions may be provided.

  In the first and second embodiments, all the gap spacers 11 do not necessarily have to be provided with a protrusion, and a plurality of gap spacers 11 (at least two gap spacers) among all the gap spacers 11 are provided. The protrusion part 11b should just exist. Then, it is only necessary that three or more contact portions (except when all the contact portions are on the same plane) exist between the plurality of gap spacers and the annular portion 21 of the coil 2. Moreover, even if it is not in direct contact, an adhesive layer or the like is interposed, and it is only necessary to ensure a clearance between the main body portion of the core 1 and the annular portion 21 of the coil 2. Further, for example, only the gap spacer 11 interposed between the intermediate partial core 10 and the side partial core 12 is provided with the protrusion 11b, and the gap spacer 11 interposed between the intermediate partial cores 10 has a protrusion. May be a structure in which is not provided.

  You may cover the surface of the protrusion part 11b of the gap spacer 11 in said each embodiment with the film | membrane of elastic materials, such as resin. In that case, damage to the inner surface of the annular portion 21 of the coil 2 can be reliably prevented.

  The reactor and the reactor device of the present invention can be used as a component such as a boost converter in a hybrid vehicle, a fuel cell vehicle, and a factory / household power supply system.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a schematic structure of a reactor in the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a structure of a core in the first embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the reactor apparatus in Embodiment 1. FIG. It is sectional drawing of the reactor apparatus in Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a part of the procedure for assembling the reactor in the first embodiment. It is a reactor in Embodiment 2. FIG. (A), (b) is the top view and sectional drawing which show schematic structure of the gap spacer in Embodiment 3. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

A Reactor B Reactor 1 Core 2 Coil 3 Case 4 Middle case 10 Intermediate partial core 11 Gap spacer 11a Central part 11b Projection part 11c Branching part 12 Side part core 15 Outer bobbin 21 Annular part 22 Connection part 23 Terminal Ra Linear part Rb Curve Part Rp Plane part

Claims (7)

A core divided into a plurality of partial cores;
A plurality of gap spacers interposed between the plurality of partial cores;
A reactor having an annular coil provided around the partial core and the gap spacer,
At least two gap spacers of the plurality of gap spacers have a protruding portion protruding outward from the partial core,
The annular coil is a reactor supported by a protruding portion of the gap spacer. The reactor according to claim 1,
The reactor in which the plurality of gap spacers and the inner peripheral surface of the coil are in contact with each other at any part of the protruding portion of the gap spacer. In the reactor according to claim 1 or 2,
The reactor, wherein the at least two gap spacers have a central portion having the same shape as a cross section of the partial core. In the reactor according to claim 1 or 2,
The reactor, wherein the at least two gap spacers include a central portion smaller than a cross-section of the partial core and a branching portion that branches in a plurality of directions from the central portion. In the reactor in any one of Claims 1-4,
The protrusion of the at least two gap spacers is a reactor formed in a flange shape. In the reactor according to claims 1 to 5,
The surface of the protrusion part of the said at least 2 gap spacer is a reactor covered with the elastic material. A core divided into a plurality of partial cores, a plurality of gap spacers interposed between the plurality of partial cores, and a reactor having an annular coil provided around the partial cores and the gap spacer; and A reactor device including a case for storing,
At least two gap spacers of the plurality of gap spacers have a protruding portion protruding outward from the partial core,
The annular coil is a reactor supported by a protruding portion of the gap spacer.

Images