JP2008198751A - Cooler and power converter using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cooler that has excellent cooling efficiency and can be miniaturized easily, and to provide a power converter using the cooler. <P>SOLUTION: The cooler 3 has a plurality of cooling pipes 31 arranged so that an electronic component (semiconductor module 2) is clamped from both surfaces. The power converter 1 uses the cooler 3. The cooling pipes 31 have a refrigerant channel 33 divided into not less than three layers by a partition wall 34 in a lamination direction to the semiconductor module 2. On the partition wall 34 between the outermost and innermost refrigerant channels 332, 331 in the refrigerant channels 33, there is a jet hole 35 for jetting a cooling refrigerant to the outermost cooling channel 332 from the innermost one 331. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a cooler for cooling an electronic component and a power conversion device using the cooler.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a power conversion device such as an inverter or a DC-DC converter, there is a power conversion device having a plurality of semiconductor modules containing semiconductor elements and a cooler for cooling the semiconductor modules from both main surfaces.
In such power conversion devices, in recent years, the amount of heat generated and the heat flux of the semiconductor module are increasing as the controlled power is increased. As a result, the temperature of the semiconductor module rises excessively and may cause malfunction.

Therefore, there is a need to improve the cooling efficiency of the cooler for cooling the semiconductor module.
As a means for improving the cooling efficiency of the cooler, it is conceivable to use a collision jet. The impinging jet is a jet of a cooling medium that collides in a jet shape from a direction substantially perpendicular to the heat transfer surface. According to this impinging jet, since the temperature boundary layer of the heat transfer surface can be made thin, high cooling performance can be realized.

As a cooler using a collision jet, there are some which are shown in patent documents 1 and 2. In these coolers, a tubular nozzle is provided in a direction perpendicular to the heat transfer surface of the semiconductor element, and a jet of a cooling medium is made to collide with the heat transfer surface of the semiconductor from the nozzle.
However, in the conventional cooler, since it is necessary to provide a tubular nozzle in a direction perpendicular to the semiconductor element, there is a problem that the structure becomes complicated and the manufacturing cost increases. Moreover, in the case of said structure, the thickness of a cooler becomes large and it becomes difficult to obtain a small-sized power converter device.
Further, when the conventional cooler is applied to a cooler configured to cool the semiconductor module from both main surfaces, there is a problem that the physique of the power conversion device becomes extremely large.

JP-A-5-3274 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-32267

  The present invention has been made in view of such conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a cooler excellent in cooling efficiency and easy in size reduction, and a power conversion device using the same.

1st invention is a cooler which has a plurality of cooling pipes arranged so that electronic parts may be clamped from both sides,
The cooling pipe has a refrigerant flow path divided into three or more layers by a partition wall in the stacking direction with the electronic component,
An ejection hole for ejecting a cooling medium from the inner refrigerant channel to the outer refrigerant channel is formed in the partition wall between the outermost refrigerant channel and the inner refrigerant channel. Is provided in the cooler (claim 1).

Next, the effects of the present invention will be described.
In the cooler, the ejection hole is provided in the partition wall of the cooling pipe. As a result, the cooling medium flowing through the inner refrigerant flow path in the cooling pipe is ejected from the ejection holes to the outer refrigerant flow path, and collides with the inner wall surface of the cooling pipe. The electronic components arranged in close contact with the outer surface of the cooling pipe are efficiently cooled by the collision jet of the cooling medium.
That is, since the temperature boundary layer formed inside the inner wall surface of the cooling pipe can be thinned by the impinging jet, the heat exchange efficiency between the cooling medium and the semiconductor module through the cooling pipe is improved, and the electronic component High cooling efficiency can be realized.

  Further, since the collision jet can be formed by drilling the ejection hole in the partition wall, it is not necessary to increase the thickness of the cooling pipe. Therefore, the cooling efficiency can be improved without hindering the downsizing of the cooler.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a cooler that has excellent cooling efficiency and can be easily downsized.

A second invention is a power conversion device having a plurality of semiconductor modules containing semiconductor elements and a cooler for cooling the semiconductor modules from both main surfaces,
The cooler is arranged on both main surfaces of the semiconductor module and connects a plurality of cooling pipes stacked together with the semiconductor module, and refrigerant inlets and refrigerant outlets of the cooling pipes, or the refrigerant inlet And a connecting portion that connects the refrigerant outlet,
The cooling pipe has a refrigerant flow path divided into three or more layers by a partition wall in the stacking direction with the semiconductor module,
An ejection hole for ejecting a cooling medium from the inner refrigerant channel to the outer refrigerant channel is formed in the partition wall between the outermost refrigerant channel and the inner refrigerant channel. Is provided in a power converter (claim 7).

In the power converter of the present invention, the heat exchange efficiency between the cooling medium and the semiconductor module through the cooling pipe can be improved by the impinging jet, and the high cooling efficiency of the semiconductor module can be realized.
Further, since the collision jet can be formed by drilling the ejection hole in the partition wall, it is not necessary to increase the thickness of the cooling pipe. Therefore, the cooling efficiency can be improved without hindering the downsizing of the cooler. Thereby, size reduction of a power converter device can be achieved.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a power conversion device that is excellent in cooling efficiency of a semiconductor module and can be easily downsized.

  In the first invention (invention 1), the cooler can be used, for example, as a cooler of a power converter such as a DC-DC converter or an inverter, and the electronic component includes the power converter. It can be set as the semiconductor module which comprises some. However, the use of the cooler is not limited to this, and can be used to cool various electronic components.

The partition wall is formed with a plurality of the ejection holes from the upstream side to the downstream side of the refrigerant flow path, and the plurality of ejection holes include at least a large ejection hole having a different opening area and a small ejection hole. It is preferable that there is an ejection hole (claim 2).
In this case, the pressure of the collision jet can be changed depending on the position in the refrigerant flow path. Thereby, it becomes possible to suppress variation in cooling efficiency due to the position of the cooling pipe. For example, the cooling efficiency can be made uniform by changing the opening area of the ejection holes in the upstream portion where the relatively low temperature cooling medium flows and the downstream portion where the relatively high temperature cooling medium flows. it can.
In addition, even when electronic parts with different heat generation are arranged on the upstream and downstream sides of the cooling pipe, the electronic parts can be efficiently cooled by adjusting the arrangement of the large and small ejection holes. It becomes.

Moreover, it is preferable that the said large ejection hole exists in the downstream rather than the said small ejection hole.
In this case, a plurality of electronic components arranged on the upstream side and the downstream side can be cooled substantially uniformly. That is, when a plurality of electronic components are arranged from the upstream side to the downstream side of the refrigerant flow path, the cooling medium receives heat from the electronic components on the upstream side, becomes high temperature, and flows downstream. Therefore, the cooling efficiency of the downstream electronic component is likely to be lower than that of the upstream electronic component. Therefore, by making the downstream ejection hole a large ejection hole, the downstream collision jet can be made larger than the upstream collision jet, and the cooling efficiency of the downstream electronic component can be improved. This makes it possible to cool the plurality of electronic components arranged on the upstream side and the downstream side substantially evenly.

In addition, the cooling pipe has three layers of the refrigerant flow path, the inner refrigerant flow path becomes wider toward the downstream side, and the outer refrigerant flow path becomes narrower toward the downstream side. (Claim 4).
In this case, since the ejection hole is closer to the inner wall surface of the cooling pipe on the downstream side than on the upstream side, the cooling efficiency of the electronic component on the downstream side can be improved. As a result, substantially uniform cooling can be performed from the upstream side to the downstream side.

In addition, the cooling pipe has three layers of the refrigerant flow path, the inner refrigerant flow path becomes narrower toward the downstream side, and the outer refrigerant flow path becomes wider toward the downstream side. (Claim 5).
In this case, since the width of the upstream portion of the inner refrigerant flow path with a large flow rate can be increased, the pressure loss can be reduced over the entire refrigerant flow path.

The cooling pipe may have three layers of the refrigerant flow path, and the inner refrigerant flow path may be wider than the outer refrigerant flow path (Claim 6).
In this case, since the cross-sectional area of one inner refrigerant flow path and the total flow cross-sectional area of the two outer refrigerant flow paths can be brought close to each other, the pressure loss of the cooling medium flowing through the refrigerant flow path Can be reduced. Thereby, the cooling efficiency of an electronic component can be improved.

  In the second invention (invention 7), examples of the power converter include a DC-DC converter and an inverter. Moreover, the said power converter device can be used for the production | generation of the drive current which supplies with electricity to the alternating current motor which is motive power sources, such as an electric vehicle and a hybrid vehicle, for example.

Examples of the semiconductor element include, in addition to the switching element, a diode that is connected between the collector and the emitter of the switching element and flows current from the emitter side to the collector side.
Moreover, as the switching element, for example, an IGBT element can be used. Further, as the diode, for example, a flywheel diode can be used.

The partition wall is formed with a plurality of the ejection holes from the upstream side to the downstream side of the refrigerant flow path, and the plurality of ejection holes include at least a large ejection hole having a different opening area and a small ejection hole. It is preferable that there is an ejection hole (claim 8).
In this case, it is possible to suppress variation in cooling efficiency due to the position of the cooling pipe.

Moreover, it is preferable that the said large ejection hole exists in the downstream rather than the said small ejection hole.
In this case, the plurality of semiconductor elements arranged on the upstream side and the downstream side can be cooled substantially uniformly.

In addition, the cooling pipe has three layers of the refrigerant flow path, the inner refrigerant flow path becomes wider toward the downstream side, and the outer refrigerant flow path becomes narrower toward the downstream side. (Claim 10).
In this case, substantially uniform cooling can be performed from the upstream side to the downstream side.

In addition, the cooling pipe has three layers of the refrigerant flow path, the inner refrigerant flow path becomes narrower toward the downstream side, and the outer refrigerant flow path becomes wider toward the downstream side. (Claim 11).
In this case, since the width of the upstream portion of the inner refrigerant flow path with a large flow rate can be increased, the pressure loss can be reduced over the entire refrigerant flow path.

The cooling pipe may have three layers of the refrigerant flow path, and the inner refrigerant flow path may be wider than the outer refrigerant flow path (claim 12).
In this case, it is possible to reduce the pressure loss of the cooling medium flowing through the refrigerant flow path and improve the cooling efficiency of the semiconductor module.

In addition, when viewed from the stacking direction of the semiconductor module and the cooling pipe, it is preferable that the ejection holes overlap with the semiconductor element incorporated in the semiconductor module.
In this case, the collision jet flow ejected from the ejection hole can be made to collide with the inner wall surface of the cooling pipe at the position where the semiconductor element is disposed. Thereby, a semiconductor element can be cooled more efficiently.

In addition, both the refrigerant inlet and the refrigerant outlet are two regions separated by a central straight line passing through the geometric center of gravity of the main body of the semiconductor module that contacts the surface of the cooling pipe in which they are formed. It is preferable that they are concentrated in one of the regions (claim 14).
In this case, since neither the refrigerant inlet nor the refrigerant outlet exists in the other of the two areas, the electrode terminal and the control terminal of the semiconductor module are extended in this area. There is a space where you can. This is because the connecting portion does not exist in a region where neither the refrigerant inlet nor the refrigerant outlet exists.
Therefore, in extending the electrode terminal and the control terminal of the semiconductor module to the outside of the outer shape of the cooler, the degree of freedom in direction can be increased.

  That is, for example, the electrode terminal and the control terminal of the semiconductor module can be extended in three different directions. Thereby, the freedom degree of arrangement | positioning of the other component in the power converter device which connects the electrode terminal and control terminal of a semiconductor module can be made high. As a result, the power converter can be easily downsized.

The semiconductor module is provided with a plurality of control terminals connected to a control circuit unit for controlling the semiconductor element and a plurality of electrode terminals for inputting / outputting controlled power so as to protrude from an end surface of the main body unit. Thus, it is preferable that the plurality of control terminals and the plurality of electrode terminals extend in three or more different directions.
In this case, the plurality of control terminals and the plurality of electrode terminals can be distributed and extended in three or more different directions. Thereby, arrangement | positioning of the other component connected to each terminal can be disperse | distributed and arrange | positioned in three or more different directions. As a result, it is possible to increase the degree of freedom of arrangement of the component parts.

  For example, one electrode terminal and another electrode terminal can be extended in different directions. Thereby, the component connected to one electrode terminal can be arranged at a position close to the semiconductor module without being affected by the component connected to the other electrode terminal. Therefore, the power converter can be easily downsized. In addition, since the wiring can be simplified and shortened, inductance and power loss can be reduced.

  In addition, since the plurality of electrode terminals can be provided on different end surfaces of the main body of the semiconductor module, it is easy to provide a sufficient creepage distance between the plurality of electrode terminals, and it is not necessary to increase the size of the semiconductor module. As a result, the power converter can be easily downsized.

The main body of the semiconductor module has a rectangular shape, and both the refrigerant inlet and the refrigerant outlet are in contact with the surface of the cooling pipe in which they are formed. It is preferable that they are concentrated in a region outside the straight line including the side (claim 16).
In this case, since the outside of at least three sides in the main body of the semiconductor module is all open, the degree of freedom of arrangement of the control terminals and electrode terminals is further increased.

(Example 1)
A power converter according to an embodiment of the present invention and a cooler used therefor will be described with reference to FIGS.
The power conversion device 1 of this example includes a plurality of semiconductor modules 2 containing semiconductor elements, and a cooler 3 for cooling the semiconductor modules 2 from both main surfaces.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3, the cooler 3 is arranged on both main surfaces of the semiconductor module 2, and a plurality of cooling pipes 31 stacked together with the semiconductor module 2, and a refrigerant inlet of the plurality of cooling pipes 31. 311 and the connection part 32 which connects refrigerant | coolant exit 312 with each other.
As shown in FIG. 1, the cooling pipe 31 has a refrigerant flow path 33 divided into three layers by a partition wall 34 in the stacking direction with the semiconductor module 2.
In the partition wall 34 between the outermost refrigerant flow path 332 and the inner refrigerant flow path 331 among the refrigerant flow paths 33, the cooling medium W is supplied from the inner refrigerant flow path 331 to the outer refrigerant flow path 332. A jet hole 35 for jetting is provided.

The inner (center) refrigerant flow path 331 in each cooling pipe 31 is connected to the refrigerant inlet 311, and the outer refrigerant flow path 332 is connected to the refrigerant outlet 312.
The refrigerant inlet 311 and the refrigerant outlet 312 are respectively formed near both ends of the cooling pipe 31.

Two semiconductor modules 2 are sandwiched between adjacent cooling pipes 31. The two semiconductor modules 2 are arranged between the connecting pipe 32 at the refrigerant inlet 311 and the connecting pipe 32 at the refrigerant outlet 312.
Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of ejection holes 35 in the cooling pipe 31 are formed at positions overlapping the main body 20 of the semiconductor module 2 when viewed from the stacking direction.

  In addition, when viewed from the stacking direction, the ejection holes 35 are preferably arranged so as to overlap with semiconductor elements (a switching element 231 and a diode 232 described later) built in the semiconductor module 2. Thereby, the collision jet W1 ejected from the ejection hole 35 can be made to collide with the inner wall surface 314 of the cooling pipe 31 at the position where the semiconductor element is disposed, and the semiconductor element can be cooled more efficiently. .

As shown in FIG. 2, the semiconductor module 2 includes a switching element 211 and a diode 212 that is connected between the collector and the emitter of the switching element 211 and flows current from the emitter side to the collector side as the semiconductor element. Yes.
As the switching element 211, for example, an IGBT element can be used, and as the diode 212, for example, a flywheel diode can be used.

As shown in FIG. 2, the semiconductor module 2 includes a plurality of control terminals 22 connected to a control circuit unit (not shown) for controlling the switching element 211 and two electrode terminals 231 for inputting and outputting controlled electric power. 232 are provided so as to protrude from the end face of the main body 20.
One electrode terminal 231 is connected to a power source (not shown) and a smoothing capacitor (not shown). The other electrode terminal 232 is connected to a rotating electrical machine (not shown) via a bus bar (not shown).

  When the rotating electrical machine is driven by converting the DC power of the power supply unit into AC power in the power converter 1, the electrode terminal 231 is on the input side and the electrode terminal 232 is on the output side. When power is converted into DC power in the power converter 1 and the power supply unit is charged, the electrode terminal 231 is on the output side and the electrode terminal 232 is on the input side.

  The main body 20 in the semiconductor module 2 is formed by molding the switching element 211 and the diode 212 with resin, and the control terminal 22 and the electrode terminals 231 and 232 protrude from the end face of the main body 20. Further, a heat radiating plate (not shown) may be exposed on the main surface of the main body 20.

The cooling pipe 31 is made of aluminum or an alloy thereof. The cooling pipe 31 can be formed by combining a plurality of press-formed metal plates.
The cooling pipe 31 is in close contact with the main surface of the main body 20 of the semiconductor module 2. As the means, an adhesive may be interposed between the cooling pipe 31 and the semiconductor module 2 or may be pressed by applying an external force such as a spring in the stacking direction.
Further, when exposing the heat sink to the main surface of the main body 20 of the semiconductor module 2, an insulating material is interposed between the main surface of the main body 20 and the cooling pipe 31.

  Examples of the cooling medium W include water mixed with ethylene glycol antifreeze, natural refrigerants such as water and ammonia, fluorocarbon refrigerants such as fluorinate, chlorofluorocarbon refrigerants such as HCFC123 and HFC134a, methanol, alcohol An alcohol-based refrigerant such as acetone, or a ketone-based refrigerant such as acetone can be used. A gaseous cooling medium such as air can also be used.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the cooling pipe 31 disposed at one end in the stacking direction of the cooler 3 is provided with a refrigerant introduction part 323 and a refrigerant discharge part 324 on the surface opposite to the semiconductor module 2. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the cooling medium W is introduced from the refrigerant introduction portion 323 and travels through the connecting portion 32 to flow the refrigerant flow from the refrigerant inlet 311 of each cooling pipe 31 to the inside of each cooling pipe 31. Distributed to the path 331. The cooling medium W supplied to the inner refrigerant flow path 331 is ejected from the ejection holes 35 to the outer refrigerant flow path 332 and becomes a collision jet W1 that collides with the inner wall surface of the cooling pipe 31.

The cooling medium W ejected to the outer refrigerant flow path 332 collides with the inner wall surface 314 of the cooling pipe 31, then flows toward the refrigerant outlet 312, travels from the refrigerant outlet 312 through the connecting portion 32, and flows to the refrigerant discharge portion 324. Reached and discharged.
In this way, by circulating the cooling medium W around the cooler 3, heat exchange with the semiconductor module 2 is performed to cool the semiconductor module 2.

Next, the function and effect of this example will be described.
In the cooler 3, an ejection hole 35 is provided in the partition wall 34 of the cooling pipe 31. Thereby, the cooling medium W flowing through the inner refrigerant flow path 331 in the cooling pipe 31 is ejected from the ejection holes 35 to the outer refrigerant flow path 332 and collides with the inner wall surface 314 of the cooling pipe 31. The semiconductor module 2 disposed in close contact with the outer surface of the cooling pipe 31 is efficiently cooled by the collision jet W1 of the cooling medium.
That is, since the temperature boundary layer formed inside the inner wall surface 314 of the cooling pipe 31 can be thinned by the collision jet W1, the heat exchange efficiency between the cooling medium W and the semiconductor module 2 through the cooling pipe 31 is improved. It is possible to improve the cooling efficiency of the semiconductor module 2.

Further, since the collision jet W1 can be formed by making the ejection hole 35 in the partition wall 34, it is not necessary to increase the thickness of the cooling pipe 31 in particular. Therefore, the cooling efficiency can be improved without hindering the downsizing of the cooler 3.
As a result, the power conversion device 1 can be reduced in size, and the cooling efficiency of the semiconductor module 2 can be improved.

  In forming the cooling pipe 31, for example, two partition walls 34 having ejection holes 35 made by pressing a clad material and two sheets made by pressing an aluminum plate or the like are used. The outer shell member can be integrally formed by brazing. Thereby, the productivity of the cooler 3 can be improved.

  As described above, according to this example, it is possible to provide a cooler and a power conversion device that are excellent in cooling efficiency and easy to downsize.

(Example 2)
This example is an example of the power conversion apparatus 1 in which one semiconductor module 2 is disposed between adjacent cooling pipes 31 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.
Others are the same as in the first embodiment.
In the case of this example, the cooling variation for each semiconductor module 2 can be reduced.
In addition, the same effects as those of the first embodiment are obtained.

(Example 3)
In this example, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a large ejection hole 351 and a small ejection hole 352 having different opening areas are provided in the partition wall 34 of the cooling pipe 31.
And the large ejection hole 351 with a large opening area is arrange | positioned downstream from the small ejection hole 352 with a small opening area.

In addition, between the adjacent cooling pipes 31, two semiconductor modules 2 are disposed at a position on the upstream side and a position on the downstream side of the refrigerant flow path 33. As shown in FIG. 7, when viewed from the stacking direction, a small opening 352 is provided at a position overlapping the semiconductor module 2 disposed on the upstream side, and a large opening is disposed at a position overlapping the semiconductor module 2 disposed on the downstream side. A portion 351 is provided.
Others are the same as in the first embodiment.

In the case of this example, the two semiconductor modules 2 arranged on the upstream side and the downstream side can be cooled substantially uniformly. That is, when the two semiconductor modules 2 are arranged along the refrigerant flow path 33 from the upstream side to the downstream side, the cooling medium W receives heat from the upstream semiconductor module 2 and reaches a high temperature and flows downstream. Therefore, the cooling efficiency of the downstream semiconductor module 2 is likely to be lower than that of the upstream semiconductor module 2. Therefore, by making the downstream ejection hole the large ejection hole 351, the downstream collision jet W1 can be made larger than the upstream collision jet W1, and the cooling efficiency of the downstream semiconductor module 2 can be improved. it can. Thereby, the two semiconductor modules 2 arranged on the upstream side and the downstream side can be cooled substantially uniformly.
In addition, the same effects as those of the first embodiment are obtained.

Example 4
In this example, as shown in FIG. 8, the inner refrigerant flow path 331 in the cooling pipe 31 becomes wider toward the downstream side, and the outer refrigerant flow path 332 becomes narrower toward the downstream side. 3 is an example of the power conversion device 1 having three.
That is, the partition wall 34 in the cooling pipe 31 is inclined with respect to the inner wall surface 314 of the cooling pipe 31.
Others are the same as in the first embodiment.

In the case of this example, since the ejection hole 35 is closer to the inner wall surface 314 of the cooling pipe 31 on the downstream side than on the upstream side, the cooling efficiency of the semiconductor module 2 on the downstream side can be improved. As a result, substantially uniform cooling can be performed from the upstream side to the downstream side.
In addition, the same effects as those of the first embodiment are obtained.

(Example 5)
In this example, as shown in FIG. 9, the inner refrigerant flow path 331 in the cooling pipe 31 becomes narrower toward the downstream side, and the outer refrigerant flow path 332 becomes wider toward the downstream side. 3 is an example of the power conversion device 1 having three.
That is, the partition wall 34 in the cooling pipe 31 is inclined with respect to the inner wall surface 314 of the cooling pipe 31, and the inclination direction is opposite to that in the fourth embodiment (FIG. 8).
Others are the same as in the first embodiment.

In the case of this example, the width of the upstream portion of the inner refrigerant flow path 331 with a large flow rate can be widened, so that the pressure loss can be reduced over the entire refrigerant flow path 33.
In addition, the same effects as those of the first embodiment are obtained.

(Example 6)
Further, as shown in FIG. 10, the inner refrigerant flow path 331 in the cooling pipe 31 is an example of the power conversion device 1 having the cooler 3 wider than the outer refrigerant flow path 332.
For example, the width V1 of the inner refrigerant channel 331 is set to be twice the width V2 of the outer refrigerant channel 332.
Others are the same as in the first embodiment.

In the case of this example, the flow passage cross-sectional area of one inner refrigerant flow passage 331 and the total flow passage cross-sectional area of the two outer refrigerant flow passages 332 can be brought close to each other. The pressure loss of the cooling medium W can be reduced. Thereby, the cooling efficiency of the semiconductor module 2 can be improved.
In addition, the same effects as those of the first embodiment are obtained.

(Example 7)
In this example, as shown in FIG. 11, the refrigerant flow paths 33 of the respective cooling pipes 31 have four layers, and the collision jet W1 is jetted from the two inner refrigerant flow paths 331 to the two outer refrigerant flow paths 332. It is an example of the power converter device 1 which has the cooler 3 made into.
The cooling pipe 31 in the power conversion device 1 of the present example has a configuration in which a partition wall 340 without an ejection hole is provided in parallel with the other partition wall 34 in the center of the inner refrigerant flow path 331 in the sixth embodiment. Yes.
Others are the same as in the first embodiment.

In the case of this example, for example, one four-layer cooling pipe 31 can be manufactured by bonding two cooling pipes 31 having a two-layer structure. Therefore, the cooler 3 that is easy to manufacture can be obtained, and as a result, the productivity of the power converter 1 can be improved.
In addition, the same effects as those of the sixth embodiment are obtained.

(Example 8)
In this example, as shown in FIG. 12, both the refrigerant inlet 311 and the refrigerant outlet 312 pass through the geometric gravity center of the main body portion 20 of the semiconductor module 2 that contacts the surface of the cooling pipe 31 where they are formed. This is an example of being concentrated on one of the two areas separated by the central straight line M.

  The semiconductor module 2 has a plurality of control terminals 22 and a plurality of electrode terminals 231 and 232 extending in three different directions. That is, the two electrode terminals 231 and 232 are protruded from the opposite end surfaces of the main body 20 of the semiconductor module 2. And the control terminal 22 is made to protrude from the end surface orthogonal to these end surfaces from the end surface of the main-body part 20 of the semiconductor module 2 on the opposite side to the side where the refrigerant inlet 311 and the refrigerant outlet 312 exist.

Further, both the refrigerant inlet 311 and the refrigerant outlet 312 are concentrated in a region outside a straight line including a side (lower side 201) opposite to the control electrode 22 side of the main body 20 of the semiconductor module 2. ing.
Furthermore, both the refrigerant inlet 311 and the refrigerant outlet 312 are arranged in a region between two straight lines including the two side edges 202 and 203 of the main body 20.
Others are the same as in the first embodiment.

In the case of this example, since neither the refrigerant inlet 311 nor the refrigerant outlet 312 exists in the other area of the two areas separated by the central straight line M, the semiconductor module is included in this area. There is a space in which the two electrode terminals 231 and 232 and the control terminal 22 can be extended. This is because the connecting portion (see reference numeral 32 in FIG. 1) does not exist in a region where neither the refrigerant inlet 311 nor the refrigerant outlet 312 exists.
Therefore, in extending the electrode terminals 231 and 232 and the control terminal 22 of the semiconductor module 2 to the outside of the outer shape of the cooler 3, the degree of freedom in direction can be increased.

  That is, the electrode terminals 231 and 232 and the control terminal 22 of the semiconductor module 2 can be extended in three different directions. As a result, the component connected to one electrode terminal 231 can be arranged at a position close to the semiconductor module 2 without being affected by the component connected to the other electrode terminal 232. Therefore, it is possible to easily reduce the size of the power conversion device 1. In addition, since the wiring can be simplified and shortened, inductance and power loss can be reduced.

  Further, by providing the two electrode terminals 231 and 232 on different end surfaces of the main body 20 of the semiconductor module 2, it becomes easy to obtain a sufficient creepage distance between the two electrode terminals 231 and 232, and the semiconductor module 2 is made large. There is no need to make it. As a result, the power converter 1 can be easily downsized.

Further, both the refrigerant inlet 311 and the refrigerant outlet 312 are concentrated in a region outside a straight line including one side (lower side 201) of the main body 20 of the semiconductor module 2. Therefore, since the outside of at least three sides (the lower side 201 and the side sides 202 and 203) in the main body 20 of the semiconductor module 2 are all open, the degree of freedom of arrangement of the control terminals 22 and the electrode terminals 231 and 232 is increased. Becomes even higher.
In addition, the same effects as those of the first embodiment are obtained.

Example 9
In this example, as shown in FIG. 15, the semiconductor module 2 includes two switching elements 211 and three electrode terminals 231, 232, and 233 project from each other, and the cooling pipe 31 is formed in the eighth embodiment. It is an example which has the same structure as.
Two diodes 212 are also embedded in the main body 20 of the semiconductor module 2.
The semiconductor module 2 is functionally equivalent to a combination of two semiconductor modules disclosed in the first embodiment.

Two electrode terminals 231 and 232 out of the three electrode terminals are projected from the common side of the main body 20 of the semiconductor module 2, and the other electrode terminal 233 is the opposite side of the main body 20. It protrudes from.
Others are the same as in Example 8.

In the case of this example, the number of semiconductor modules 2 can be reduced, and the power converter 1 can be downsized.
In addition, the same effects as those of the eighth embodiment are obtained.

(Example 10)
As shown in FIGS. 16 to 18, this example is an example in which the opening areas of the plurality of ejection holes 35 in the cooling pipe 31 are different from each other with respect to the configuration shown in the ninth embodiment.
That is, the upstream ejection hole 35 near the refrigerant inlet 311 is a small opening 352, and the downstream ejection hole 35 near the refrigerant outlet 312 is a large opening 351.
Others are the same as in the ninth embodiment.
In the case of this example, it is possible to obtain the effect obtained by combining the effect of Example 9 and the effect of Example 3 described above.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the power conversion device according to the first embodiment and is a cross-sectional equivalent view taken along the line AA in FIG. 2. The some front explanatory drawing of the power converter device in Example 1. FIG. Plane explanatory drawing of the power converter device in Example 1. FIG. FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of the power conversion device according to the second embodiment, and is a cross-sectional view corresponding to a cross section taken along line BB in FIG. 5. The some front explanatory drawing of the power converter device in Example 2. FIG. FIG. 9 is a partial cross-sectional view of the power conversion device according to the third embodiment, and is a cross-sectional view corresponding to the line CC in FIG. 7. The front explanatory drawing of a part of power converter in Example 3. Sectional drawing of a part of power converter device in Example 4. FIG. Sectional drawing of a part of power converter device in Example 5. FIG. Sectional drawing of a part of power converter device in Example 6. FIG. Sectional drawing of a part of power converter device in Example 7. FIG. The front explanatory drawing of a part of power converter in Example 8. FIG. 13 is a partial cross-sectional view of the power conversion device according to Example 8 and is a cross-sectional equivalent view taken along the line DD in FIG. 12. FIG. 13 is a partial cross-sectional view of the power conversion device in Example 8, corresponding to a cross-sectional view taken along the line E-E in FIG. 12. The some front explanatory view of the power converter in Example 9. The some front explanatory drawing of the power converter device in Example 10. FIG. FIG. 17 is a partial cross-sectional view of the power conversion device according to Example 10 and is a cross-sectional view corresponding to a cross section taken along line FF in FIG. 16. FIG. 17 is a partial cross-sectional view of the power conversion device according to Example 10 and is a cross-sectional equivalent view taken along the line GG in FIG. 16.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Power converter 2 Semiconductor module 3 Cooler 31 Cooling pipe 311 Refrigerant inlet 312 Refrigerant outlet 33, 331, 332 Refrigerant flow path 34 Partition wall 35 Ejection hole

Claims (16)

A cooler having a plurality of cooling pipes arranged to sandwich an electronic component from both sides,
The cooling pipe has a refrigerant flow path divided into three or more layers by a partition wall in the stacking direction with the electronic component,
An ejection hole for ejecting a cooling medium from the inner refrigerant channel to the outer refrigerant channel is formed in the partition wall between the outermost refrigerant channel and the inner refrigerant channel. The cooler characterized by providing.   2. The partition wall according to claim 1, wherein the partition wall is formed with a plurality of the ejection holes from the upstream side to the downstream side of the refrigerant flow path, and the plurality of ejection holes have at least large ejection areas having different opening areas. A cooler characterized by having a hole and a small ejection hole.   3. The cooler according to claim 2, wherein the large ejection hole is located downstream of the small ejection hole.   4. The cooling pipe according to claim 1, wherein the cooling pipe has three layers of the refrigerant flow path, the inner refrigerant flow path becomes wider toward the downstream side, and the outer refrigerant flow path is downstream. A cooler that narrows toward the side.   The cooling pipe according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the cooling pipe has three layers of the refrigerant flow path, the inner refrigerant flow path becomes narrower toward a downstream side, and the outer refrigerant flow path is A cooler that becomes wider toward the downstream side.   4. The cooling pipe according to claim 1, wherein the cooling pipe has three layers of the refrigerant flow path, and the inner refrigerant flow path is wider than the outer refrigerant flow path. To cool. A power conversion device having a plurality of semiconductor modules containing semiconductor elements and a cooler for cooling the semiconductor modules from both main surfaces,
The cooler is arranged on both main surfaces of the semiconductor module and connects a plurality of cooling pipes stacked together with the semiconductor module, and refrigerant inlets and refrigerant outlets of the cooling pipes, or the refrigerant inlet And a connecting portion that connects the refrigerant outlet,
The cooling pipe has a refrigerant flow path divided into three or more layers by a partition wall in the stacking direction with the semiconductor module,
An ejection hole for ejecting a cooling medium from the inner refrigerant channel to the outer refrigerant channel is formed in the partition wall between the outermost refrigerant channel and the inner refrigerant channel. A power conversion device comprising:   8. The partition wall according to claim 7, wherein the partition wall forms a plurality of the ejection holes from the upstream side to the downstream side of the refrigerant flow path, and the plurality of ejection holes have at least large ejection areas having different opening areas. A power converter characterized by having a hole and a small ejection hole.   9. The power conversion device according to claim 8, wherein the large ejection hole is located downstream of the small ejection hole.   10. The cooling pipe according to claim 7, wherein the cooling pipe has three layers of the refrigerant flow path, the inner refrigerant flow path becomes wider toward the downstream side, and the outer refrigerant flow path is downstream. A power converter characterized by becoming narrower toward the side.   The cooling pipe according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein the cooling pipe has three layers of the refrigerant flow path, the inner refrigerant flow path becomes narrower toward a downstream side, and the outer refrigerant flow path is A power converter characterized by becoming wider toward the downstream side.   The cooling pipe according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein the cooling pipe has three layers of the refrigerant flow path, and the inner refrigerant flow path is wider than the outer refrigerant flow path. Power converter.   The semiconductor device according to any one of claims 7 to 12, wherein when viewed from a stacking direction of the semiconductor module and the cooling pipe, the semiconductor element built in the semiconductor module is arranged so that the ejection hole overlaps. A power converter characterized by comprising:   14. The refrigerant inlet and the refrigerant outlet both according to claim 7, wherein both the refrigerant inlet and the refrigerant outlet pass through the geometric center of gravity of the main body portion of the semiconductor module that contacts the surface of the cooling pipe in which they are formed. A power conversion device characterized by being concentrated in one of two regions separated by a central straight line.   The semiconductor module according to any one of claims 7 to 14, wherein the semiconductor module includes a plurality of control terminals connected to a control circuit unit that controls the semiconductor element, and a plurality of electrode terminals that allow the controlled power to be input and output. The power conversion device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of control terminals and the plurality of electrode terminals extend in three or more different directions.   16. The semiconductor module according to claim 14, wherein the main body of the semiconductor module has a rectangular shape, and both the refrigerant inlet and the refrigerant outlet are in contact with the surface of the cooling pipe in which they are formed. A power conversion device characterized by being concentrated in a region outside a straight line including one side of the main body.

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