JP2010239811A - Inverter device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a high-reliability inverter device superior in vibration resistance and noise resistance while achieving the miniaturization of the inverter device. <P>SOLUTION: The inverter device includes a circuit board having a main circuit board part and a control board part, and a base member mounted with the circuit board. The circuit board includes an almost rectangular circuit forming region 30 for forming the main circuit board part and the control board part on one board. The base member includes each element abutment surface arranged along a first side 35 being one of four sides constituting the outer edge of the circuit forming region 30. The main circuit board part is formed in a main circuit region 31 set over an area of a first region 33 and a second region 34. The control board part is formed in a control region 32. A plurality of switching elements are arrayed and mounted in the first region 33 along the first side 35 in line. Discrete components other than the switching elements are arranged and mounted in the second region 34. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an inverter device that performs drive control of a rotating electrical machine.

  For example, in an inverter device for driving a rotating electrical machine mounted on a hybrid vehicle, an electric vehicle, or the like, it is required to reduce the size of the entire inverter device due to weight reduction, mounting space restrictions, and the like. With regard to such a technique, for example, the following Patent Document 1 discloses the following configuration of an inverter device. That is, this inverter device includes a control circuit board that outputs a pulse width modulation signal and an inverter circuit that generates a phase current based on the pulse width modulation signal output from the control circuit board. Here, components constituting the inverter circuit, such as a transistor module having a switching element and a smoothing capacitor, are fixed to the upper surface of a heat sink plate disposed below the control circuit board. Further, the control circuit board is fixed to the top wall portion of the inverter case that forms the inverter housing chamber that houses the inverter device. In this configuration, it is not necessary to dispose a bracket or the like for fixing the control circuit board in the inverter accommodating chamber, so that the inverter accommodating chamber can be made smaller, and thereby the inverter device can be miniaturized. Yes.

JP 09-182459 A

  However, in the inverter device as described above, the control circuit board is arranged at a predetermined distance from the heat sink plate to which the transistor module or the like constituting the inverter circuit is fixed. Therefore, a cable for inputting the pulse width modulation signal output from the control circuit board to the transistor module and a connector for connecting the cable to the control circuit board or the transistor module are required, and these components are arranged. It is necessary to secure the space. In addition, it is necessary to secure a space necessary for wiring work by a cable between the control circuit board and the transistor module. Therefore, in the configuration described in Patent Document 1, the control circuit board and the transistor module are arranged apart from each other by a predetermined distance, which leads to an increase in size of the inverter device. Further, in the configuration in which the control circuit board and the transistor module are connected by a cable, it is difficult to improve vibration resistance and noise resistance.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to reduce the size of the inverter device in an inverter device that performs drive control of a rotating electrical machine, and is excellent in vibration resistance and noise resistance. Another object of the present invention is to provide an inverter device having high reliability.

  In order to achieve the above object, a characteristic configuration of an inverter device that performs drive control of a rotating electrical machine according to the present invention includes a main circuit board portion on which a plurality of components constituting an inverter circuit are mounted, and controls the inverter circuit A circuit board having a control board portion on which a plurality of components constituting the control circuit are mounted, and a base member to which the circuit board is attached, and the circuit board is mounted on a single board. A substantially rectangular circuit forming region for forming the substrate portion and the control substrate portion is provided, and the base member extends along a first side that is one of four sides constituting the outer edge of the circuit forming region. The main circuit board portion includes a first region provided along the first side and a second region provided along a second side adjacent to the first side. Main circuit area set across The control board portion is formed in a control region set in a region other than the main circuit region in the circuit formation region, and a plurality of switching elements among the components constituting the main circuit board portion are formed. Discrete parts other than the switching element, wherein the element main body of each switching element is in contact with the element abutting surface while being arranged and mounted in a row along the first side in the first region. Is arranged and mounted in the second region.

  In the present application, the “rotary electric machine” is used as a concept including any of a motor (electric motor), a generator (generator), and a motor / generator functioning as both a motor and a generator as necessary.

According to the above characteristic configuration, the main circuit area in which the main circuit board part is formed and the control area in which the control board part is formed are provided on one board, so that there is a gap between the control circuit and inverter circuit. These wirings can be performed in the substrate or on the substrate. Therefore, when the main circuit area and the control area are provided on different boards, a cable for electrically connecting both boards and a connector for connecting the cables to the board are not required. The apparatus can be miniaturized. In addition, the wiring between the control circuit and the inverter circuit can be performed in or on the board, and the wiring between the control circuit and the inverter circuit can be shortened, so that vibration resistance and noise resistance are improved. Can do. Therefore, not only can the inverter device be miniaturized, but also an inverter device having excellent vibration resistance and noise resistance and high reliability can be obtained. Moreover, since the wiring work using the cable between the control circuit and the inverter circuit is not required, the assembly process at the time of manufacture can be simplified.
In addition, since the switching elements and other discrete components are arranged and mounted in the first region and the second region of the circuit formation region, large components can be concentrated on a specific region on the circuit board. . Therefore, the low profile area | region where the protrusion amount from the board | substrate surface of components is low can be ensured as a continuous area | region, and the mountability of an inverter apparatus can be improved.
Furthermore, since the element contact surface that contacts and supports the element body of the switching element is provided on the base member to which the circuit board is attached, the element body of the switching element can be appropriately contacted and supported. In addition, since the switching elements are arranged in a line and mounted, the distance between each switching element and the control circuit can be easily arranged almost uniformly, and the switching characteristics of each switching element vary. Can be suppressed.

  Here, the circuit board includes two circuit forming regions arranged in a mirror image inverted positional relationship on a single substrate, and the base member includes the first side of each of the two circuit forming regions. It is preferable that each of the main circuit board portions formed in each of the two circuit forming regions is in charge of driving control of different rotating electrical machines.

According to this configuration, in the case of including two inverter circuits that perform drive control of different rotating electrical machines, the switching element and the line are symmetrical with respect to a straight line parallel to the first side passing through the boundary portion of the two circuit formation regions. Other discrete components can be easily arranged. In such a configuration, the impedance characteristics of the two inverter circuits can be made substantially uniform, and the characteristics of the respective inverter circuits can be made substantially uniform. Therefore, when two inverter circuits perform drive control of rotating electrical machines of the same standard, it is easy to perform control so that the same output characteristics are obtained for each rotating electrical machine.
In this configuration as well, switching elements and other discrete components are mounted in a concentrated manner in a specific region of the circuit formation region, so that the low-profile region with a low protrusion amount from the board surface of the component is continuous. This can be ensured as a region, and the mountability of the inverter device can be improved.

  The circuit board includes a plurality of types of wiring metal foils having different thicknesses in a single board, and the thickness of the wiring metal foil in the main circuit region is equal to the wiring metal in the control region. It is preferable that the thickness is set larger than the thickness of the foil.

  Generally, the allowable current in the circuit board is determined according to the thickness and width of the wiring metal foil. According to this configuration, since the thickness of the metal foil for wiring in the main circuit region where a large current flows as compared with the control region is set to be large, the current flowing in the main circuit region may be less than the allowable current. It has become easy. Therefore, a circuit formation region having a main circuit region and a control region, which are two regions having different magnitudes of flowing currents, can be provided on the same circuit board without using a special wiring structure.

  The main circuit board portion includes a power input connector, a drive current output connector for driving the rotating electrical machine, a power supply smoothing capacitor, and a current sensor as the discrete components mounted in the second region. It is preferable.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to concentrate particularly large components among the components necessary for configuring the inverter circuit in the second region. Therefore, the low-profile region where the amount of protrusion of the component from the board surface is low can be ensured as a continuous region, and the mountability of the inverter device can be further enhanced.

  Preferably, a plurality of power supply smoothing capacitors are provided, and the power supply input connectors are arranged so that the distances from the power supply input connectors to the plurality of power supply smoothing capacitors are substantially equal.

  According to this configuration, when a plurality of power smoothing capacitors of the same standard are provided, substantially uniform characteristics can be exhibited for each power smoothing capacitor.

  Further, the plurality of switching elements are mounted on the surface of the circuit board, and the base member is formed so as to cover the back surface of the circuit board, and a main body provided with an attachment part of the circuit board; The element contact surface includes an element contact portion provided on the surface, and at least a heat radiating portion that dissipates heat of the element contact portion, and the element contact surface is disposed on the circuit board with respect to the main body portion. It is preferable that the circuit board is disposed substantially parallel to the circuit board at a position separated from the surface of the circuit board.

  According to this configuration, since the heat dissipating part that dissipates the heat of the element contact part is provided, heat transfer from the switching element to the element contact part can be promoted. Moreover, since the element main body of the switching element is disposed substantially parallel to the circuit board, the thickness in the direction orthogonal to the circuit board of the inverter device can be suppressed. Therefore, the switching element can be efficiently cooled and the inverter device can be thinned.

  In addition, a cover member that is disposed and fixed so as to face the base member across the circuit board is provided, and the cover member has a height corresponding to the height of each component mounted on the circuit board. It is preferable that a step portion is formed between the cover surfaces having different heights.

  According to this configuration, the component mounted on the circuit board can be stored and protected inside the cover member. Furthermore, since the height of each cover surface of the cover member can be appropriately set according to the height of each component mounted on the surface of the circuit board, the cover member has a single cover surface without a stepped portion. Compared with the case where it has and is comprised, it can suppress that the external shape of a cover member enlarges.

  Further, it is preferable that the heat dissipating part has a plurality of heat dissipating fins standing on the back surfaces of the main body part and the element contact part.

  According to this configuration, when the base member includes the heat radiating portion that radiates the heat of the element contact portion, the configuration of the heat radiating portion can be a relatively lightweight and low-cost configuration.

  In addition, one or both of the height of the radiation fin from the back surface of the element contact portion and the thickness of the element contact portion in the direction orthogonal to the circuit board is larger than those of the main body portion. It is preferable that it is set.

  According to this configuration, in the case where the base member includes the heat radiating portion, and the heat radiating portion includes a plurality of heat radiating fins erected on the back surface of the main body portion and the element contact portion, the element of the switching element At least one of the heat capacity of the element abutting portion having the element abutting surface with which the main body portion abuts and the heat radiation area of the radiating fin standing on the back surface of the element abutting portion can be increased. Therefore, heat transfer from the switching element to the element contact portion is promoted in the vicinity of the switching element that requires cooling, and the switching element can be cooled more efficiently.

  Further, a step portion is formed so that the back surface of the element contact portion is located on the element contact surface side with respect to the back surface of the main body portion, and the tip of the radiation fin standing on the back surface of the main body portion It is preferable that the portion and the tip end portion of the radiating fin provided upright on the back surface of the element abutting portion are positioned substantially on the same plane.

  According to this configuration, one or both of the height of the radiation fin from the back surface of the element contact portion and the thickness of the element contact portion in the direction orthogonal to the circuit board is set larger than those of the main body portion. In the configuration to be provided, it is possible to suppress the tip portions of the heat dissipating fins from being unevenly arranged. Therefore, mounting efficiency can be improved by making the outer shape of the bottom of the inverter device planar while efficiently cooling the switching element.

  Further, it is preferable that the heat dissipating fins are provided along the arrangement direction of the plurality of switching elements.

  According to this configuration, when the base member includes the heat radiating portion, and the heat radiating portion includes a plurality of heat radiating fins erected on the back surface of the main body portion and the element contact portion, the heat radiating fins are switched. The direction is along the direction in which the elements are arranged. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently cool a plurality of switching elements in a configuration in which the inverter apparatus is mounted so that air or coolant flows along the arrangement direction of the switching elements at the bottom of the inverter apparatus.

  In addition, the base member includes a fan that circulates air through the gaps between the plurality of heat radiating fins on the back surface of the base member, and the fan is disposed apart from the back surface of the base member. It is preferable that the rotation axis of the fan is arranged so as to be in a direction substantially orthogonal to the circuit board.

  According to this configuration, when the base member includes the heat radiating portion, and the heat radiating portion includes a plurality of heat radiating fins erected on the back surfaces of the main body portion and the element contact portion, the switching element is generated. Since the heat radiation from the heat radiation portion to which the heat is transmitted can be promoted, the switching element can be cooled more efficiently. Further, since the rotation axis of the fan is arranged along the direction perpendicular to the circuit board, the thickness in the direction perpendicular to the circuit board of the inverter device due to the arrangement of the fan can be suppressed. Further, since the fan is disposed away from the back surface of the base member, there is an advantage that air can be easily circulated between the heat radiation fins.

  The inverter circuit is an inverter circuit for three-phase alternating current, and two switching elements are provided for each phase, the two switching elements having the same phase are arranged adjacent to each other, and the temperature of the switching element is controlled. The temperature detection element to be detected is any one of the two switching elements of each phase, and the other switching elements are adjacently arranged on both sides in the arrangement direction of the plurality of switching elements arranged in a row. It is preferable to be attached to the switching element.

  According to this configuration, the number of temperature detection elements can be reduced by half compared to a configuration in which the temperature detection elements are arranged in all the switching elements, the manufacturing cost of the inverter device can be reduced, and the manufacturing process can be simplified. Can also be achieved. In a state where an abnormal overheating state of a specific switching element does not occur, other switching elements are arranged on both sides in the arrangement direction as compared to a switching element in which another switching element is adjacently arranged only on one side in the arrangement direction. The switching elements arranged adjacent to each other usually have a higher temperature. Therefore, in the above configuration, it is possible to detect the temperature of the switching element that is expected to have substantially the same or higher temperature among the two switching elements corresponding to each phase. Therefore, even if temperature management is performed using only the temperature detection results of some switching elements, the temperature of the switching elements does not exceed a predetermined guaranteed operating temperature, and no problem occurs.

  In addition, it is preferable that the element main body portions of the plurality of switching elements are fastened and fixed to the element contact portions by fastening members in a state of being in contact with the element contact surfaces via insulating materials.

  According to this configuration, switching is performed when at least a part of the outer surface of the element body of the switching element is formed of a conductive material, such as when the element body of the switching element is placed on a metal base. Insulation between the element and the element contact surface can be appropriately ensured.

It is a top view of the inverter apparatus of the state which removed the cover member. It is explanatory drawing which shows the main circuit area | region and control area which were formed in the circuit board in FIG. It is a top view of a base member. It is a rear view of a base member. It is a bottom view of a base member. It is a partial expanded sectional view of the base member in the state where the circuit board and the switching element were attached. It is a perspective view of an inverter apparatus. It is explanatory drawing of a positioning process. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state after a soldering process. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state after a discard board | substrate part removal process. It is explanatory drawing of a circuit board attachment process. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the manufacturing method of an inverter apparatus.

  An embodiment of an inverter device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Here, a case where the present invention is applied to an inverter device for driving and controlling a rotating electrical machine mounted on an electric vehicle (hereinafter simply referred to as “vehicle”) will be described as an example. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the inverter device 1 according to the present invention is characterized in that a circuit formation region 30 having a main circuit region 31 and a control region 32 is formed on a single circuit board 20. have. The main circuit area 31 is formed with a main circuit board portion 21 on which a plurality of components constituting the inverter circuit are mounted, and the control area 32 includes a plurality of components constituting the control circuit for controlling the inverter circuit. The control board part 22 to be mounted is formed. Hereinafter, the configuration of the inverter device 1 according to the present embodiment will be described in detail in order.

  In the following description, unless otherwise specified, the vertical direction in FIG. 1 is referred to as “front-rear direction”, and the upper and lower directions in FIG. 1 are referred to as “front” and “rear”, respectively. Further, the left-right direction in FIG. 1 is “left-right direction”, and the left and right in FIG. 1 are “left” and “right”, respectively. Further, the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 1 is referred to as “vertical direction”, and the front side and the back side in FIG. 1 are referred to as “upper” and “lower”, respectively. Needless to say, these definitions are provided for convenience of explanation, and the arrangement configuration of the inverter device 1 is not limited to the direction defined by the above definitions.

1. Schematic Configuration of Inverter Device First, a schematic configuration of the inverter device 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, the inverter device 1 includes a base member 40 to which the circuit board 20 (see FIG. 1) is attached and a plurality of heat radiation fins 46 are formed on the bottom surface, and the base member 40 with the circuit board 20 interposed therebetween. The cover member 50 is arranged and fixed so as to face each other. As will be described in detail later, the circuit board 20 is formed with an inverter circuit including a plurality of switching elements 70 (see FIG. 1) and a control circuit for controlling the inverter circuit. Further, the input / output connector 83 and the plurality of connectors 84 to 86 are disposed so as to protrude from the cover member 50. Then, the inverter device 1 converts the DC voltage supplied from the power storage device (not shown) into an AC voltage and outputs the AC voltage to the rotating electrical machine (not shown) to control the driving of the rotating electrical machine. The power storage device is configured by, for example, a battery or a capacitor. A plurality of types of power storage devices may be used in combination. Further, the power storage device may be configured to be rechargeable by an external power source such as a household power source.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, the inverter apparatus 1 becomes a structure which carries out drive control of the two rotary electric machines driven by a three-phase alternating current independently. Therefore, the circuit board 20 includes two three-phase AC inverter circuits that can operate independently of each other. Then, the inverter device 1 supplies a driving current for driving the two rotating electrical machines to the rotating electrical machine via the input / output connector 83 in accordance with a command value such as a vehicle required torque input from the vehicle side via the connector 84. Output.

2. Configuration of Circuit Board FIG. 1 is a plan view of the inverter device 1 with the cover member 50 removed. As shown in this figure, the circuit board 20 is fixed to the base member 40 by a fixing seat 42 (see FIG. 3) and a bolt 28 provided on the base member 40. As shown in FIG. 3, the fixing seat 42 is formed with a fastening hole in which the bolt 28 can be fastened and fixed.

  The circuit board 20 has a front surface 24 on which a switching element 70 and a discrete component 80 described later are arranged and mounted, and a back surface 25 (see FIG. 6) on which mainly surface mounted components are mounted. In this example, the surface 24 of the circuit board 20 is a surface facing upward, and is a surface facing the cover member 50 (see FIG. 7). The back surface 25 of the circuit board 20 is a surface facing downward and is a surface facing the main body portion 41 of the base member 40. As shown in FIG. 1, the circuit board 20 is mounted with a main circuit board portion 21 on which a plurality of parts constituting the inverter circuit are mounted and a plurality of parts constituting a control circuit for controlling the inverter circuit. And a control board unit 22. The main circuit board part 21 and the control board part 22 are formed in a circuit formation region 30 provided in the circuit board 20. Hereinafter, the configurations of the circuit formation region 30, the main circuit board portion 21, and the control board portion 22 will be described in detail in order.

2-1. Configuration of Circuit Forming Region As shown in FIG. 2, in the present embodiment, the circuit board 20 has a substantially rectangular circuit for forming the main circuit board part 21 and the control board part 22 on a single board. A formation region 30 is formed. Specifically, the circuit formation region 30 includes a substantially U-shaped main circuit region 31 and a substantially rectangular control region 32 set in a region other than the main circuit region 31 in the circuit formation region 30. Configured. The main circuit region 31 includes two first regions 33 extending in the front-rear direction and one second region 34 extending in the left-right direction. The main circuit board portion 21 is formed in the main circuit area 31 and the control board portion 22 is formed in the control area 32. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the main circuit region 31 and the control region 32 are arranged apart from each other by a predetermined insulation distance. And the main circuit area | region 31 and the control area | region 32 are comprised so that a signal can be transmitted with the insulation component which can couple | bond two area | regions in an insulation state, for example. Examples of such parts include photocouplers and transformers.

  In the present invention, of the four sides constituting the outer edge of the circuit formation region 30, the side along which the first region 33 extends is defined as the first side 35. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the two sides extending in the front-rear direction at the left and right ends of the circuit formation region 30 are the first sides 35. In the present invention, among the four sides constituting the outer edge of the circuit formation region 30, the side along the second region 34 is defined as the second side 36. Therefore, in the present embodiment, one side extending in the left-right direction at the rear end portion of the circuit formation region 30 is the second side 36. In other words, the first region 33 is provided along the first side 35, and the second region 34 is provided along the second side 36 adjacent to the first side 35. The main circuit area 31 is set across the first area 33 and the second area 34. The main circuit region 31 and the control region 32 are not limited to those formed so that the boundary line between these regions is a line segment having a substantially right-angled bent portion. For example, the main circuit region 31 and the control region 32 are formed so that the boundary line is a substantially semicircular arc segment, or the line segment constituting the boundary line is not line-symmetric with respect to the symmetry axis 100. In addition, the main circuit region 31 and the control region 32 can be formed.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in the present embodiment, the circuit formation region 30 is formed line-symmetrically with respect to the symmetry axis 100. Here, the circuit formation region 30 is divided into two left and right circuit formation regions 30a and 30b with the symmetry axis 100 as a boundary line, and the circuit formation region 30 is formed by these circuit formation regions 30a and 30b. Then, it can be said that the circuit board 20 includes two circuit forming regions 30a and 30b arranged in a mirror image inverted positional relationship on a single substrate. In this example, each of the main circuit board portions 21 formed in each of the two circuit formation regions 30a and 30b is configured to take charge of drive control of different rotating electrical machines. Further, as will be described in detail later, as shown in FIG. 1, the base member 40 includes two element contact surfaces 44 along the first sides 35 of the two circuit formation regions 30 a and 30 b.

  In order to realize the above-described configuration, the circuit board 20 includes a plurality of types of copper foils having different thicknesses in one board. In the present embodiment, the copper foil corresponds to the “wiring metal foil” in the present invention. In the main circuit area 31 where the main circuit board portion 21 is formed, a larger current flows than in the control area 32 where the control board portion 22 is formed. In this example, since the thickness of the copper foil in the main circuit region 31 is set to be larger than the thickness of the copper foil in the control region 32, the allowable current in the main circuit region 31 can be increased. It has become. By using such a circuit board 20, it is possible to form two regions with different magnitudes of flowing currents on the same circuit board 20 without using a special wiring structure. In addition, the metal foil for wiring is not limited to the copper foil, and a metal foil formed of a conductive metal other than copper can be appropriately employed. For example, the wiring metal foil may be formed of silver, or the wiring metal foil may be formed of an alloy of a plurality of types of elements.

  Although a detailed description is omitted, a predetermined circuit pattern is formed on the copper foil provided in the circuit board 20. That is, a circuit pattern for configuring an inverter circuit is formed in the main circuit region 31, and a circuit pattern for configuring a control circuit for controlling the inverter circuit is formed in the control region 32. Since the inverter circuit and the control circuit are formed on the same substrate, the wiring between the inverter circuit and the control circuit can be shortened.

2-2. Configuration of Main Circuit Board Unit A plurality of components that constitute an inverter circuit are mounted on the main circuit board unit 21. As described above, the main circuit board portion 21 is formed in the main circuit region 31 having the first region 33 and the second region 34 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Specifically, among the components constituting the main circuit board portion 21, a plurality of switching elements 70 are arranged in a row along the first side 35 and mounted in the first region 33. In other words, the plurality of switching elements 70 are arranged and mounted in a line along the outer edge of the circuit board 20. In addition, among the components constituting the main circuit board portion 21, the discrete component 80 other than the switching element 70 is disposed and mounted in the second region 34. In FIG. 1, surface mount components such as chip resistors and other small components are omitted.

  In the present embodiment, the switching element 70 is a lead insertion type MOSFET (metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor) in which a flywheel diode is incorporated in a package. Although not described in detail, the MOSFET includes a metal base and a package placed on the metal base, and the element main body 71 is configured. The switching element 70 is mounted on the circuit board 20 so that at least a part of the element body 71 is located outside the circuit formation region 30. Specifically, the lead 72 of the switching element 70 is inserted into a through hole formed in the circuit board 20 in the first region 33 and connected to the circuit board 20 by soldering.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the element main body 71 of the switching element 70 is in contact with the element abutting surface 44 of the element abutting part 43 of the base member 40 via the insulating sheet 73 with the bolt 74. Fastened and fixed to the contact portion 43. In the present embodiment, the insulating sheet 73 corresponds to the “insulating material” in the present invention, and the bolt 74 corresponds to the “fastening member” in the present invention. Thus, since the element main body 71 contacts the element contact surface 44 via the insulating sheet 73, insulation between the switching element 70 and the element contact surface 44 is appropriately ensured. Details of the element contact surface 44 will be described later. The switching element 70 can employ power transistors having various structures such as a bipolar type, a field effect type, and a MOS type. For example, an IBGT (insulated gate bipolar transistor) may be used instead of the MOSFET. Is preferred. Further, the flywheel diode may not be built in the package of the switching element 70.

  As described above, the vehicle is provided with two rotating electrical machines, and the main circuit board portion 21 is formed with an inverter circuit so that each rotating electrical machine can be driven independently. Specifically, in FIG. 1, an inverter circuit (hereinafter referred to as “right inverter circuit”) that includes six switching elements 70 mounted in the first region 33 on the right side and performs drive control of one rotating electrical machine. Is sometimes formed). In FIG. 1, an inverter circuit (hereinafter referred to as “left inverter circuit”) that includes six switching elements 70 mounted in the left first region 33 and performs drive control of the other rotating electrical machine. Is formed).

  In this embodiment, the rotating electrical machine is a rotating electrical machine driven by a three-phase alternating current. Therefore, each of the right and left inverter circuits is provided with a U-phase arm, a V-phase arm, and a W-phase arm corresponding to each of the U-phase coil, V-phase coil, and W-phase coil of the rotating electrical machine. . Each arm for each phase has a pair of switching elements 70 that can operate in a complementary manner. That is, two switching elements 70 are provided for each phase. Therefore, in this example, each of the right and left inverter circuits is configured to include six switching elements 70. As shown in FIG. 1, the six switching elements 70 are arranged and mounted in a line along the first side 35 in the first region 33. For this reason, it is possible to make the distance between each switching element 70 and the control circuit substantially equal or substantially uniform, and it is possible to suppress the switching characteristics of each switching element 70 from varying. In this example, the two switching elements 70 having the same phase are arranged adjacent to each other.

  In addition, the arm for each phase may be configured to include two pairs of switching elements 70 that can operate complementarily, and each of the inverter circuits on the right side and the left side may include twelve switching elements 70. Is preferred. In this case, the twelve switching elements 70 are arranged and mounted in a line along the first side 35 in the first region 33. Alternatively, one of the right and left inverter circuits may be configured with six switching elements 70 and the other may be configured with twelve switching elements 70. Of course, the number of switching elements 70 is not limited to six or twelve, and can be changed as appropriate.

  In the present embodiment, the discrete component 80 disposed and mounted in the second region 34 includes an input / output connector 83, a power supply smoothing capacitor 81, and a current sensor 82. In the present embodiment, the input / output connector 83 corresponds to a “power input connector” and a “drive current output connector for driving a rotating electrical machine” in the present invention. That is, in this example, the power input connector and the drive current output connector for driving the rotating electrical machine are constituted by one input / output connector 83. These discrete components 80 are mounted on the surface 24 of the circuit board 20 as shown in FIG. These discrete components 80 are particularly large components among the components necessary for configuring the inverter circuit, and these large components are concentrated in the second region 34. Therefore, the amount of protrusion of the component from the surface 24 of the circuit board 20 is arranged by concentrating and arranging the components that can increase the amount of protrusion of the component from the surface 24 of the circuit board 20 in the specific region (second region 34). It is possible to concentrate and secure a small low-profile region in other regions. In this example, the control area 32 is such a low-profile area. As will be described later, the cover member 50 (see FIG. 7) includes a plurality of cover surfaces 51 having heights corresponding to the protruding amounts of components from the circuit board 20 in each region.

  A configuration may be adopted in which discrete components 80 other than the input / output connector 83, the power supply smoothing capacitor 81, and the current sensor 82 are arranged and mounted in the second region 34. Further, a configuration in which a part of the input / output connector 83, the power supply smoothing capacitor 81, and the current sensor 82 is arranged and mounted in the first region 33 is also preferable. Further, the power supply smoothing capacitor 81 and the current sensor 82 may be provided outside the inverter device 1.

  The input / output connector 83 is a connector for outputting a drive current for driving the rotating electrical machine generated in the main circuit board unit 21 to the rotating electrical machine and inputting electric power of a power storage device provided in the vehicle. Therefore, although not illustrated, the input / output connector 83 includes a terminal for connecting to the rotating electrical machine and a terminal for connecting to the power storage device. As described above, in the present embodiment, the inverter device 1 performs drive control on a rotating electrical machine driven by a three-phase alternating current. Therefore, the input / output connector 83 includes three terminals corresponding to the U phase, the V phase, and the W phase. These three terminals are respectively connected to the U-phase, V-phase, and W-phase stator coils of the rotating electrical machine via wiring cables (not shown) connected to the input / output connector 83.

  In the present embodiment, the right input / output connector 83 is provided with one power supply terminal connected to the positive electrode terminal of the power storage device, and the left input / output connector 83 is connected to the negative electrode terminal of the power storage device. One terminal is provided. Therefore, each of the input / output connectors 83 is provided with a total of four terminals. The left input / output connector 83 includes one power supply terminal connected to the positive electrode terminal of the power storage device, and the right input / output connector 83 includes one power supply terminal connected to the negative electrode terminal of the power storage device. It is good also as a structure to be made. Each of the input / output connectors 83 includes both a power supply terminal for connecting to the positive electrode of the power storage device and a power supply terminal for connecting to the negative electrode, and each of the input / output connectors 83 includes a total of five terminals. It can also be set as the structure which is made. It is also preferable to configure the power input connector separately from the input / output connector 83. The main circuit board unit 21 is a board unit that operates at a much higher voltage than the control circuit board unit 22, and a high-voltage power source is supplied from the power storage device. The two input / output connectors 83 are mounted on the circuit board 20 so as to have a line-symmetric relationship with respect to the symmetry axis 100.

  The power supply smoothing capacitor 81 is a capacitor for stabilizing the power supply voltage supplied from the power storage device. In the present embodiment, a plurality of power supply smoothing capacitors 81 are mounted on the main circuit board portion 21. In the example shown in FIG. 1, two power supply smoothing capacitors 81 of the same standard are provided. The two power supply smoothing capacitors 81 are connected in parallel to function as one large power supply smoothing capacitor on the left and right inverter circuits, and stabilize the power supply voltage. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the two power supply smoothing capacitors 81 are mounted on the circuit board 20 so as to have a line-symmetric relationship with respect to the symmetry axis 100.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the two power supply smoothing capacitors 81 are arranged so that the distances from the input / output connector 83 are substantially equal. As described above, the input / output connector 83 is formed integrally with the power input connector. Therefore, in other words, the two power supply smoothing capacitors 81 are arranged so that the distances from the power input connector are substantially equal. Specifically, the right input / output connector 83 includes a power supply terminal connected to the positive electrode terminal of the power storage device. The left input / output connector 83 includes a power supply terminal connected to the negative terminal of the power storage device. The distance between the right power supply smoothing capacitor 81 and the power supply terminal provided in the right input / output connector 83, and the left power supply smoothing capacitor 81 and the left input / output connector 83 are provided. Two power supply smoothing capacitors 81 are arranged so that the distances between the power supply terminals are substantially equal.

  From another point of view, if the right input / output connector 83 and the left input / output connector 83 are integrally viewed as one power input connector, this power input connector is configured. Is located on the axis of symmetry 100 in FIG. In this way, the distance between the right power supply smoothing capacitor 81 and the power supply input connector and the distance between the left power supply smoothing capacitor 81 and the power supply input connector are substantially equal. It can be said that two power supply smoothing capacitors 81 are arranged.

  Since the two power supply smoothing capacitors 81 are thus arranged, it is possible to exhibit substantially uniform characteristics for each of the power supply smoothing capacitors 81. Note that only one power supply smoothing capacitor 81 may be provided, or three or more power supply smoothing capacitors 81 may be provided. Further, in the case where a plurality of power supply smoothing capacitors 81 are provided, a configuration in which power supply smoothing capacitors 81 of different standards are combined may be employed. A plurality of power supply smoothing capacitors 81 may be arranged so that the distances from the power supply input connectors are not equal.

  The current sensor 82 is a sensor for measuring the current flowing through the stator coil of the rotating electrical machine. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, two current sensors 82 are arranged in front of each input / output connector 83, and two of the three-phase drive currents generated by the inverter circuit are detected. It is configured to detect current. The three phase currents are in equilibrium and their sum is zero. Therefore, if the current of two phases out of the three phases is detected, the remaining current of one phase can be obtained by calculation. In the present embodiment, the current value acquired by the current sensor 82 is output to the control circuit of the control board unit 22, and the control circuit calculates the remaining one-phase current value. Then, the control circuit performs feedback control of the inverter circuit using the acquired three-phase current values.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a temperature detection element 90 that detects the temperature of the switching element 70 is attached to the upper surface of the switching element 70. Specifically, the temperature detecting element 90 is fastened to the element contact portion 43 integrally with the element body portion 71 by a bolt 74 for fastening and fixing the element body portion 71 of the switching element 70 to the element contact portion 43. Fixed. As described above, in the six switching elements 70, the two switching elements 70 having the same phase are arranged adjacent to each other. The temperature detection element 90 is one of the two switching elements 70 of each phase, and other switching elements 70 are adjacently arranged on both sides in the arrangement direction of the plurality of switching elements 70 arranged in a line. It is attached to the switching element 70.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, with respect to a pair of switching elements 70 arranged in front and rear, a temperature detection element 90 is attached to the switching element 70 located on the center side in the front-rear direction. Yes. Regarding the pair of switching elements 70 arranged in the center in the front-rear direction, a temperature detection element 90 is attached to the switching element 70 on the rear side. By doing in this way, it is possible to detect the temperature of the switching element 70 that is expected to have substantially the same or high temperature among the pair of switching elements 70 of each phase. Then, the voltage between the terminals that varies depending on the temperature is detected as temperature information, and the detection result is input to a control circuit formed on the control board unit 22, and the temperature management of the switching element 70 is performed by the control circuit. Therefore, the temperature management of the switching elements 70 can be appropriately performed only by providing half of the temperature detection elements 90 as compared with the configuration in which the temperature detection elements 90 are provided in all the switching elements 70.

  Regarding the pair of switching elements 70 arranged in the center in the front-rear direction, the difference between the temperature of the switching element 70 on the front side and the temperature of the switching element 70 on the rear side is not expected to be so large. . Therefore, with respect to the pair of switching elements 70 arranged in the center in the front-rear direction, the temperature detecting element 90 may be attached to the switching element 70 on the front side. Moreover, the temperature detection element 90 can be comprised including a thermistor and a diode, for example. Note that the temperature detection elements 90 may be attached to all the switching elements 70 or the temperature detection elements 90 may not be attached to the switching elements 70. Furthermore, the temperature detection element 90 may be configured to be attached to only one of the pair of switching elements 70 arranged in the center in the front-rear direction.

  By the way, as described above, the circuit formation region 30 is formed line-symmetrically with respect to the symmetry axis 100. Thereby, it is easy to arrange the switching element 70 and other discrete components 80 so as to have a line-symmetrical relationship with respect to the symmetry axis 100 as shown in FIG. In other words, the switching element 70, the current sensor 82, the power supply smoothing capacitor 81, and the input / output connector 83 disposed on the left side of the symmetry axis 100 in FIG. 1 and the switching element disposed on the right side of the symmetry axis 100. 70, the current sensor 82, the power supply smoothing capacitor 81, and the input / output connector 83 have a positional relationship in which the mirror image is inverted and the positional relationship in the left-right direction is switched. By disposing the main components constituting the inverter circuit in this way, the impedance characteristic in the right inverter circuit formed by the right switching element 70 and the impedance in the left inverter circuit formed by the left switching element 70 are arranged. The characteristics are substantially uniform. Therefore, when each inverter circuit performs drive control of rotating electrical machines of the same standard, it is easy to perform control so that the same output characteristics can be obtained for each rotating electrical machine.

2-3. Configuration of Control Board Unit A plurality of components constituting a control circuit that controls the inverter circuit are mounted on the control board unit 22. The control circuit includes a gate drive circuit. Further, as described above, the control board portion 22 is formed in the control region 32 as shown in FIGS. Although a detailed description is omitted, the control circuit includes a microcomputer, a DSP (digital signal processor), and the like as core components. In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, these core components and other components (for example, surface mount components such as chip resistors) are omitted. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, connectors 84 to 86 are arranged on the control board unit 22. The connector 84 is a connector for performing communication with the vehicle. The connectors 85 and 86 are connectors for connecting to a temperature sensor (not shown) or a resolver (not shown) provided in the rotating electrical machine.

  The connector 84 is a connector for communicating with an ECU (electronic control unit) that controls the operation of the vehicle mounted on the vehicle side. In the present embodiment, the inverter device 1 is configured to communicate with the ECU via a CAN (controller area network). And according to the command (external command) acquired from the vehicle side via the connector 84, a control circuit performs drive control of a rotary electric machine. From the vehicle side, for example, a command value related to the vehicle required torque is input.

  The connectors 85 and 86 are connectors for connecting to resolvers and temperature sensors (for example, thermistors) provided in each of the two rotating electric machines. In this example, each of the two rotating electric machines is provided with a resolver and a temperature sensor. The detected value of the resolver and the temperature sensor provided in one rotating electrical machine is input to the control board unit 22 via the connector 85, and the detected value of the resolver and the temperature sensor provided in the other rotating electrical machine passes through the connector 86. To the control board unit 22. That is, each of the connectors 85 and 86 includes a terminal for connecting to the resolver and a terminal for connecting to the temperature sensor in one connector. In addition, it is good also as a structure with which the terminal connected with a resolver and the terminal connected with a temperature sensor are provided in another connector instead of the same connector.

  In the present embodiment, DC power is supplied from the vehicle side to the control board unit 22 via the connector 84. Specifically, 12V DC power is supplied. The control board unit 22 includes a regulator circuit that generates ± 15 V power from a 12 V power supplied from the vehicle side. The regulator circuit includes a switching element such as a regulator IC or a power transistor as a core component. Then, the generated ± 15 V power supply is supplied to the current sensor 82 of the main circuit board unit 21 and becomes a driving power supply for the current sensor 82. Further, the generated ± 15 V power is also supplied to the resolver via the connectors 85 and 86 and serves as a drive power for the resolver.

  The control board unit 22 is also provided with a regulator circuit that generates a 5V power source from a 12V power source supplied from the vehicle side. This regulator circuit also includes a switching element such as a regulator IC or a power transistor as a core component. The generated 5V power supply serves as a drive power supply for the control circuit. The DC power is not supplied from the vehicle side to the control board unit 22 via the connector 84, but the DC power supplied via the input / output connector 83 is stepped down and supplied to the control board unit 22. It is good also as a structure.

  When the temperature of the rotating electrical machine input from the temperature sensor via the connectors 85 and 86 rises above a predetermined reference, the control circuit performs control such as operation stop of the rotating electrical machine. Further, the control circuit calculates the rotational speed (angular velocity) of the rotating electrical machine based on the rotational angle of the rotor of the rotating electrical machine input from the resolver via the connectors 85 and 86. Then, the control circuit acquires from the required torque acquired from the vehicle, the temperature of the switching element 70 detected by the temperature detection element 90, the three-phase current values acquired from the detection result of the current sensor 82, and the detection result of the resolver. Based on the rotational speed and the like of the rotating electrical machine, feedback control corresponding to the operating state of the rotating electrical machine is executed. Specifically, the control circuit performs switching control of the switching element 70 mounted on the main circuit board portion 21 according to the operating state of the rotating electrical machine, and supplies a 3-phase AC drive current to the rotating electrical machine. The control circuit performs switching control based on pulse width modulation (PWM) control, rectangular wave control, or the like, but since these control methods are known, detailed description thereof is omitted here.

3. Configuration of Base Member The base member 40 is a member for attaching the circuit board 20, and includes an element contact surface 44 disposed along the first side 35 of the circuit formation region 30. Specifically, the base member 40 includes a main body portion 41, an element contact portion 43, and heat radiating fins 46. In the present embodiment, the heat radiating fins 46 correspond to the “heat radiating portion” in the present invention. The base member 40 is made of a metal such as aluminum or copper having excellent thermal conductivity, and is formed by die casting or extrusion.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the main body 41 is formed so as to cover the back surface 25 (see FIG. 6) of the circuit board 20, and includes a fixing seat 42 for attaching the circuit board 20. The circuit board 20 is fixed to the base member 40 by the fixing seat 42 and the bolt 28. In the present embodiment, the fixed seat 42 corresponds to an “attachment portion” in the present invention.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the element contact portion 43 includes an element contact surface 44 on a surface that faces the same direction (upward in this example) as the surface 24 of the circuit board 20. As shown in FIG. 6, the element contact surface 44 is disposed substantially parallel to the circuit board 20 at a position spaced apart from the main body 41 from the surface 24 of the circuit board 20. Thereby, the element main body 71 of the switching element 70 can be disposed substantially parallel to the circuit board 20, and the thickness of the inverter device 1 in the vertical direction can be suppressed. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the element contact surface 44 is a plane extending in a direction parallel to the outer edge of the circuit board 20 on which the plurality of switching elements 70 are arranged. Further, as described above, in the present embodiment, the circuit formation region 30 (see FIG. 2) has two first sides 35. The element contact surface 44 is disposed along the first side 35 on each of the left and right sides.

  By providing the main body 41 and the element contact portion 43 as described above, the base member 40 is formed with a housing recess for housing the circuit board 20 as shown in FIG. Specifically, the housing recess is constituted by a bottom part and a peripheral wall part. As shown in FIG. 3, the bottom part is formed by a main body part 41, and the peripheral wall parts on both the left and right sides are formed by element contact parts 43. And the fixing seat 42 for fixing the circuit board 20 is formed in the inside of an accommodation recessed part so that the circuit board 20 can be mounted in the said accommodation recessed part. In the present embodiment, components such as surface mount components are mounted on the back surface 25 of the circuit board 20. Further, depending on the state of attachment of the discrete component mounted on the front surface 24 of the circuit board 20, the lead of the discrete component protrudes from the back surface 25. For this reason, in the present embodiment, the fixed seat 42 is positioned above the bottom of the housing recess in order to prevent the components and leads mounted on the back surface 25 of the circuit board 20 from contacting the bottom of the housing recess. Is formed. The element contact surface 44 is formed so as to be positioned above the surface 24 of the circuit board 20 attached to the fixed seat 42 positioned above the bottom of the housing recess. Therefore, the height from the bottom of the housing recess to the element contact surface 44 is increased.

  The heat radiating fins 46 are heat radiating portions that radiate heat of at least the element contact portions 43. In the present embodiment, a plurality of radiating fins 46 erected on the back surfaces of the main body portion 41 and the element contact portion 43 are arranged in parallel. The heat transmitted from the switching element 70 to the element abutting portion 43 is radiated from the radiation fins 46 standing on the back surface of the element abutting portion 43, and part of the heat is transferred from the element abutting portion 43 to the main body 41. The heat is also radiated from the heat radiating fins 46 erected on the back surface of the main body 41. In this way, the heat transmitted from the switching element 70 is dissipated not only from the element contact part 43 but also from the main body part 41 through the radiation fins 46, so that the heat transmitted to the element contact part 43 can be quickly dissipated. Is possible. Accordingly, heat transfer from the switching element 70 to the element contact portion 43 is promoted, and the switching element 70 is efficiently cooled.

  Further, in order to cool the switching element 70 more efficiently, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the radiating fins 46 erected on the back surface of the element contact portion 43 are formed on the back surface of the main body portion 41. The base member 40 is formed so as to be higher than the standing radiating fins 46. Further, the base member 40 is formed such that the thickness of the element contact portion 43 in the direction (vertical direction) orthogonal to the circuit board 20 is larger than the thickness of the main body portion 41 in the direction. That is, in the present embodiment, both the height of the heat radiation fin 46 from the back surface of the element contact portion 43 and the thickness of the element contact portion 43 in the direction perpendicular to the circuit board 20 are the same as those of the main body portion 41. It is set large compared to. As a result, the heat capacity of the element abutting portion 43 is increased, and the heat radiation area of the radiating fins 46 erected on the back surface of the element abutting portion 43 is increased, so that the heat from the switching element 70 to the element abutting portion 43 is increased. Movement is further promoted. By the way, as described above, the base member 40 is configured so that the height from the bottom of the housing recess to the element contact surface 44 is increased. Accordingly, it is easy to increase the height of the radiation fin 46 from the back surface of the element contact portion 43 or to increase the thickness of the element contact portion 43 in the direction orthogonal to the circuit board 20. Yes. Note that only one of the height of the radiation fin 46 from the back surface of the element contact portion 43 and the thickness of the element contact portion 43 in the direction perpendicular to the circuit board 20 is set larger than those of the main body portion 41. It is good also as the structure currently made.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, a stepped portion 47 is formed so that the back surface of the element contact portion 43 is positioned on the element contact surface 44 side with respect to the back surface of the main body portion 41. Thereby, despite the fact that the radiating fins 46 are erected on the back surface of the element contact portion 43 as described above, the tips of the radiating fins 46 erected on the back surface of the main body portion 41, The front end portion of the heat radiating fin 46 erected on the back surface of the element contact portion 43 can be positioned substantially on the same plane. Therefore, it is suppressed that the front-end | tip part of the radiation fin 46 is arrange | positioned unevenly, and the mountability is improved by making the external shape of the bottom part of the inverter apparatus 1 planar. In addition, it is set as the structure which the front-end | tip part of the radiation fin 46 standingly arranged by the back surface of the main-body part 41 and the front-end | tip part of the radiation fin 46 standingly arranged by the back surface of the element contact part 43 are not located in the substantially same plane shape. You can also

  Further, in the present embodiment, a fan 60 is provided on the back surface of the base member 40, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the base member 40 includes a fastening hole 63 for attaching the fan 60, and the fan 60 is attached to the back surface of the base member 40 by the fastening hole 63 and a bolt. In addition, in the attachment position of the fan 60, the radiation fin 46 is formed low. Further, power for driving the fan 60 is supplied from the control board unit 22 via a cable 62 (see FIGS. 1 and 5). The control circuit formed on the control board unit 22 determines whether or not to operate the fan 60 based on the temperature of the switching element 70 detected by the temperature detection element 90. For example, when the temperature of the switching element 70 reaches a predetermined first temperature, the fan 60 is operated, and when the temperature reaches a predetermined second temperature set higher than the first temperature, the switching operation of the switching element 70 is stopped. It can be set as the structure which performs control.

  In the present embodiment, the fan 60 is configured to discharge air to the lower side (the front side in FIG. 5). As a result, the heat radiation efficiency of the heat radiation fins 46 erected on the back surfaces of the element contact portion 43 and the main body portion 41 is improved, and the switching element 70 can be cooled more efficiently. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the fan 60 is arranged such that the rotation shaft 61 of the fan 60 is in a direction (vertical direction) substantially orthogonal to the circuit board 20. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, the fan 60 can be attached so as not to protrude downward from the tip end portion of the heat radiation fin 46. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the fan 60 is disposed away from the back surface of the base member 40, and thus has a structure in which air is easily circulated between the radiating fins 46. In addition, it is good also as a structure which attaches the fan 60 so that the upper and lower sides of the fan 60 may be reversed and air may be discharged to the upper side (back side of the paper surface in FIG. 5).

  In the present embodiment, the base member 40 includes one fan 60 on each of the left and right sides. However, a configuration having a plurality of fans 60 on both the left and right sides is also suitable. For example, a configuration in which two fans 60 are provided on each of the left and right sides can be employed. Further, the position of the fan 60 in the front-rear direction is not limited to the center position in the front-rear direction as shown in FIG.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the radiation fins 46 are provided along the arrangement direction of the plurality of switching elements 70. Therefore, the air heated by the heat generated by the switching element 70 on the one side in the left-right direction is not supplied to the vicinity of the radiation fin 46 that radiates the heat generated by the switching element 70 on the other side. The element 70 can be efficiently cooled. Note that the heat dissipating fins 46 may be provided in a direction intersecting the arrangement direction of the plurality of switching elements 70. For example, the radiating fins 46 can be formed so as to be orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the plurality of switching elements 70, or can be formed so as to be inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the arrangement direction.

  Further, when the inverter device 1 is mounted in a place where the traveling wind flows when the vehicle travels, it is preferable to form the radiation fins 46 so that the extending direction of the radiation fins 46 and the wind direction of the traveling wind substantially coincide. . By doing in this way, traveling wind can distribute | circulate favorably through the channel | path between fins formed between the radiation fins 46, and the improvement of the cooling efficiency of the switching element 70 can be aimed at. In such a configuration, the fan 60 may be stopped when the vehicle is traveling, and the fan 60 may be operated when the cooling efficiency is not sufficiently improved by traveling wind, such as when the vehicle is stopped.

4). Configuration of Cover Member As shown in FIG. 7, the cover member 50 is fastened and fixed to the base member 40 by fastening holes 49 (see FIG. 3) provided in the base member 40 and bolts 53. The cover member 50 includes a plurality of cover surfaces 51 having different heights. In this example, the cover member 50 has four cover surfaces 51. Each of the cover surfaces 51 has a height corresponding to the height of each component mounted on the surface 24 of the circuit board 2. A stepped portion 52 is formed between the cover surfaces 51 having different heights. As described above, the power supply smoothing capacitor 81, the current sensor 82, and the input / output connector 83, which are particularly large components among the components necessary for configuring the inverter circuit, are provided in the second region 34 (see FIG. 2). In this region, the protruding amount of the component from the surface 24 of the circuit board 20 is particularly large. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 7, the upper cover surface 51 of the second region 34 is the uppermost cover surface 51.

  By providing such a cover member 50, each component mounted on the surface 24 of the circuit board 2 can be protected, and the outer shape of the cover member 50 is prevented from becoming unnecessarily large. The cover member 50 is made of, for example, a metal such as aluminum or copper having excellent thermal conductivity. The cover member 50 is not limited to the above configuration, and may be configured to include only a single cover surface 51. In this case, the cover surface 51 is not arranged along the horizontal direction, and it is also preferable that the cover surface 51 is arranged obliquely so that the components mounted on the circuit board 20 do not come into contact with each other.

5). Method for Manufacturing Inverter Device Finally, a method for manufacturing the inverter device 1 according to the present embodiment will be described. In the method for manufacturing the inverter device 1 according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the element main body 71 is in contact with the element contact surface 44 located above the surface 24 of the circuit board 20. The method is characterized in that a plurality of switching elements 70 are mounted on the circuit board 20. Therefore, here, the method for mounting the switching element 70 on the circuit board 20 will be mainly described.

  In the method for manufacturing the inverter device 1 according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, a circuit board 20 and a board on which a discarded board part 26 is detachably provided around the periphery of the circuit board 20 are used. In order to make it easier to remove the discarded substrate portion 26 after the switching element 70 is mounted, a long hole or the like along the boundary portion is formed at the boundary portion between the circuit board 20 and the discarded substrate portion 26. Then, the positioning substrate 27 has a positioning hole 27 at a position corresponding to the fastening hole 48 for fastening and fixing the element main body 71 of the switching element 70 formed on the element contact surface 44 of the base member 40. Is formed. In the present embodiment, the positioning hole 27 corresponds to the “positioning portion” in the present invention. As described above, since the positioning hole 27 is formed in the discarding board portion 26 formed integrally with the circuit board 20, high positional accuracy with respect to a circuit pattern (not shown) formed in the circuit board 20. Thus, the positioning hole 27 can be provided. Hereinafter, the manufacturing method of the inverter apparatus 1 using such a board | substrate is demonstrated based on explanatory drawing of the manufacturing process shown to FIGS. 8-11, and the flowchart shown in FIG.

  First, as shown in FIG. 8, the gap adjusting jig 91 is placed on the surface of the board including the circuit board 20 and the discard board portion 26. As shown in FIG. 9, the gap adjusting jig 91 has a thickness h in a direction orthogonal to the circuit board 20. As shown in FIG. 6, the thickness h is a value equal to the distance h between the front surface 24 of the circuit board 20 and the back surface of the element main body 71 when attached to the base member 40. That is, the gap adjusting jig 91 has a thickness corresponding to the distance between the surface 24 of the circuit board 20 and the element contact surface 44 in a state where the circuit board 20 is attached. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, the element main body 71 of the switching element 70 contacts the element contact surface 44 via the insulating sheet 73. Therefore, in the present embodiment, strictly speaking, the gap adjusting jig 91 is configured such that “the thickness of the insulating sheet 73 is set to the distance between the surface 24 of the circuit board 20 and the element contact surface 44 in a state where the circuit board 20 is attached. It has a thickness corresponding to “added”.

  In addition, an insertion hole 92 is formed in the interval adjustment jig 91 at a position corresponding to the positioning hole 27 provided in the discarded substrate portion 26. Then, the switching element 70 is placed on the upper surface of the gap adjustment jig 91. At this time, the insertion hole provided in the element main body 71 of the switching element 70, the insertion hole 92 formed in the gap adjustment jig 91, and the positioning hole 27 formed in the discard board part 26 are provided in the circuit board 20. The switching element 70 and the spacing adjustment jig 91 are disposed on the substrate part 26 so as to be located at the same position in a direction parallel to the surface (horizontal direction). In this state, the lead 72 of the switching element 70 is inserted into the through hole 29 formed in the circuit board 20. Then, using the bolts 93, washers 94, and nuts 95, the spacing adjustment jig 91 is interposed between the surface of the discarded substrate portion 26 and the element body portions 71 of the plurality of switching elements 70 are disposed on the discarded substrate portion 26. Fasten and fix against. Thereby, the element main body 71 of the switching element 70 is positioned and fixed with respect to the positioning hole 27. This process corresponds to the “positioning process” in step # 01 in FIG.

  In the example shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the insertion direction of the bolt 93 is the direction from the bottom to the top. Conversely, the positioning of the switching element 70 is performed by inserting the bolt 93 from the top to the bottom. It is good also as a structure. Moreover, it is suitable also as a structure which replaces with nut 95 and fastens and fixes with the volt | bolt 93 using the plate-shaped body in which the internal thread part was formed. Furthermore, instead of the interval adjustment jig 91 in which the same number of insertion holes 92 as the positioning holes 27 are formed, an interval adjustment jig in which one long hole that includes all the positioning holes 27 in plan view is formed. It is good also as a structure which performs a positioning process using the structure which performs a positioning process using two, or uses two space | interval adjustment jigs in which the hole is not formed.

  As described above, the switching element 70 is discarded and fixed to the board portion 26 by using the positioning hole 27, so that the switching element 70 is accurately positioned in a direction parallel to the surface of the circuit board 20 (horizontal direction). It is possible to do. Further, by using the gap adjustment jig 91 having the thickness h set as described above, the element contact surface in a state where the circuit board 20 is attached also in the direction (vertical direction) perpendicular to the circuit board 20 Positioning can be performed with high accuracy in accordance with the height of 44 (strictly, the height obtained by adding the thickness of the insulating sheet 73 to this height).

  Next, as shown in FIG. 9, the lead 72 of the switching element 70 is soldered to the circuit board 20. This process corresponds to the “soldering process” of step # 02 in FIG. As described above, the switching element 70 is positioned and fixed with respect to the discarded substrate portion 27 with high accuracy in the horizontal and vertical directions with respect to the circuit pattern formed on the circuit board 20. Since the lead 72 is soldered to the circuit board 20 with respect to the switching element 70 in such a state, the switching element 70 is mounted on the circuit board 20 with high accuracy. Simultaneously with the soldering process, discrete components 80 and surface-mounted components (not shown) mounted on the front surface 24 and the back surface 25 of the circuit board 20 are also solder-mounted on the circuit board 20. Note that the timing of mounting elements other than the switching element 70 is not limited to the time of performing this soldering process, and may be performed at any time as long as the circuit board 20 is not attached to the base member 40.

  Next, the positioning and fixing of the switching element 70 with respect to the discarded substrate portion 26 is released. Specifically, the fastening and fixing of the switching element 70 to the discarded board portion 26 by the bolt 93, the washer 94, and the nut 95 is released. Then, the distance adjusting jig 91 is taken out between the switching element 70 and the discard board portion 26, and the discard board portions 26 provided at the four corners of the circuit board 20 are separated from the circuit board 20 and removed. FIG. 10 is a view showing a state in which the discarded substrate portion 26 is removed. This process corresponds to the “throwing board part removing process” of step # 03 in FIG.

  Finally, as shown in FIG. 11, the circuit board 20 on which the switching element 70 is mounted on the surface 24 is fixed to the base member 40. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the circuit board 20 is fastened and fixed to the base member 40 by bolts 28 and a fixing seat 42 (see FIG. 3). Further, the element main body 71 of the switching element 70 is fastened and fixed to the element contact surface 44 by the bolt 74 and the fastening hole 48. This process corresponds to the “circuit board mounting process” in step # 04 in FIG. As described above, the switching element 70 is mounted on the circuit board 20 with high accuracy. Therefore, when the element main body 71 of the switching element 70 is fastened and fixed to the element contact surface 44, it is possible to suppress excessive stress from being applied to the lead 72 and the soldering part 75, and the reliability of the switching element 70 and the soldering part 75 can be prevented. The improvement of the property is aimed at.

[Other Embodiments]
(1) In the above-described embodiment, the circuit board 20 includes two circuit forming areas arranged in a mirror image inverted positional relationship on a single board, and the main circuit board formed in each of the circuit forming areas. The case where each of the units 21 is in charge of drive control of different rotating electric machines has been described as an example. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the main circuit region 31 formed on the circuit board 20 may be formed as a substantially L-shaped region having one first region 33 and one second region 34. This is one of the embodiments. In this case, only one element contact surface 44 is arranged along the first side 35 of the circuit formation region 30, and twelve switching elements 70 are arranged in a line and mounted. In this case, the main circuit board unit 21 may be configured to perform drive control of a single rotating electrical machine, and the six switching elements 70 may be arranged and mounted in a row.

(2) In the above embodiment, the circuit board 20 includes a plurality of types of copper foils having different thicknesses in one board, and the thickness of the copper foil in the main circuit area 31 is within the control area 32. The case where it was set larger than the thickness of the copper foil was described as an example. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the circuit board 20 may be configured to include only a metal foil formed of a copper foil or other conductive material having the same thickness in a single board. One. In this case, the thickness may be set in accordance with the allowable current required in the main circuit region 31. In the main circuit region 31, a wire formed of a conductive material such as copper is fixed to the upper surface of the circuit board 20 in accordance with the circuit pattern, so that the allowable current in the main circuit region 31 is improved. It is.

(3) In the above-described embodiment, the base member 40 is formed so as to cover the back surface 25 of the circuit board 20 and the main body part 41 provided with the mounting part of the circuit board 20 and the element contact surface 44 are provided. The case where the element contact portion 43 provided on the front surface and the plurality of heat radiation fins 46 provided upright on the back surface of the main body portion 41 and the element contact portion 43 have been described as an example. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. That is, it is also one of preferred embodiments of the present invention that the radiation fins 46 are formed only on the back surface of the element contact portion 43. Further, the heat dissipating fins 46 may not be erected on the back surface of the base member 40, and the back surfaces of the main body portion 41 and the element contact portion 43 may be formed as flat surfaces. In addition, a heat radiating part that radiates the heat of the element contact part 43 can be formed by circulating a coolant such as a coolant so as to be in contact with at least the bottom surface of the element contact part 43. Furthermore, it is preferable that the main body 41 covers only a part of the back surface 25 of the circuit board 20.

(4) In the above embodiment, as an example, the element contact surface 44 is disposed substantially parallel to the circuit board 20 at a position separated from the main body 41 from the surface 24 of the circuit board 20. explained. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the element contact surface 44 is disposed on the same plane as the surface 24 of the circuit board 20, or is disposed at a position closer to the main body 41 than the surface 24 of the circuit board 20. This is also a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Further, the element contact surface 44 is not parallel to the circuit board 20 but is inclined to the circuit board 20 (for example, approximately 45 degrees), or substantially orthogonal to the circuit board 20. It is good also as a structure arrange | positioned in direction.

(5) In the above embodiment, one or both of the height of the radiation fin 46 from the back surface of the element contact portion 43 and the thickness of the element contact portion 43 in the direction orthogonal to the circuit board 20 is the main body portion. The case where it is set larger than those for 41 has been described as an example. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. That is, both the height of the radiation fin 46 from the back surface of the element contact portion 43 and the thickness of the element contact portion 43 in the direction orthogonal to the circuit board 20 are set in the same manner as those for the main body portion 41. This is also one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention.

(6) In the above embodiment, the base member 40 includes the fan 60 that circulates air through the gaps between the plurality of heat radiation fins 46 on the back surface of the base member 40, and the fan 60 is the back surface of the base member 40. As an example, the case where the rotating shaft 61 of the fan 60 is disposed so as to be in a direction substantially orthogonal to the circuit board 20 has been described. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. That is, it is also a preferred embodiment of the present invention that the rotation shaft 61 of the fan 60 is arranged so as to be in a direction substantially parallel to the circuit board 20. It is also one of preferred embodiments of the present invention that the fan 60 is disposed so as to contact the back surface of the base member 40 or the base member 40 does not include the fan 60.

(7) In the above embodiment, the vehicle is provided with a rotating electrical machine driven by three-phase alternating current, and the inverter circuit formed on the main circuit board portion 21 is an inverter circuit for three-phase alternating current. Described as an example. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the inverter device 1 includes an inverter circuit for performing drive control of a rotating electrical machine driven by a single-phase alternating current or a rotating electrical machine driven by a two-phase or four-phase or more alternating current power supply in the main circuit board unit 21. The configuration is also one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention.

(8) In the above embodiment, the element main body 71 of the switching element 70 is fastened and fixed to the element abutting portion 43 by the bolt 74 in a state where the element main body 71 abuts the element abutting surface 44 via the insulating sheet 73. The case has been described as an example. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. That is, instead of the insulating sheet 73, a configuration in which the element main body 71 is brought into contact with the element contact surface 44 through a gel-like insulating material is also one preferred embodiment of the present invention. When the entire element main body 71 is covered with resin or the like, the element main body 71 is brought into direct contact with the element contact surface 44 without using an insulating material, and the element contact 43 with the bolt 74 is used. It is also suitable as a structure to be fastened and fixed to. The element main body 43 of the switching element 71 may be fixed to the element contact surface 44 with an adhesive instead of the bolt 74.

(9) In the above embodiment, the case where the switching element 70 is cooled by heat exchange between the plurality of radiating fins 46 formed on the back surface of the base member 40 and the air has been described as an example. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the switching element 70 may be cooled by circulating a refrigerant such as a cooling liquid through a fin-to-fin passage formed between the radiating fins 46 and exchanging heat between the radiating fins 46 and the refrigerant. It is one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention.

(10) In the above embodiment, the case where the inverter device 1 performs drive control of a rotating electrical machine mounted on an electric vehicle has been described as an example. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the inverter device 1 may be configured to perform drive control of a rotating electrical machine mounted on a hybrid vehicle including an engine (internal combustion engine) as a driving force source in addition to the rotating electrical machine. One. The inverter device 1 is also suitable as a configuration that performs drive control of a rotating electrical machine that is provided in a device other than a vehicle.

  The present invention can be suitably used for an inverter device that performs drive control of a rotating electrical machine.

1: Inverter device 20: Circuit board 21: Main circuit board part 22: Control board part 24: Front face 25: Back face 30: Circuit formation area 31: Main circuit area 32: Control area 33: First area 34: Second area 35 : First side 36: second side 40: base member 41: main body portion 42: fixed seat (mounting portion)
43: Element contact part 44: Element contact surface 46: Heat radiation fin (heat radiation part)
47: Step part 50: Cover member 51: Cover surface 52: Step part 60: Fan 61: Rotating shaft 70: Switching element 71: Element body part 73: Insulating sheet (insulating material)
74: Bolt (fastening member)
80: Discrete component 81: Power source smoothing capacitor 82: Current sensor 83: Input / output connector (power input connector, output connector)
90: Temperature detection element

Claims (14)

An inverter device that performs drive control of a rotating electrical machine,
A circuit board having a main circuit board part on which a plurality of components constituting the inverter circuit are mounted, and a control board part on which a plurality of parts constituting the control circuit for controlling the inverter circuit are mounted, and the circuit board A base member to which is attached,
The circuit board includes a substantially rectangular circuit forming region for forming the main circuit board part and the control board part on a single board,
The base member includes an element contact surface disposed along a first side that is one of four sides constituting an outer edge of the circuit formation region,
The main circuit board portion is formed in a main circuit region set over a first region provided along the first side and a second region provided along a second side adjacent to the first side. And
The control board portion is formed in a control region set in a region other than the main circuit region in the circuit formation region,
Among the components constituting the main circuit board portion, a plurality of switching elements are mounted in a row along the first side in the first region, and an element body portion of each switching element is the element. An inverter device that is in a state of being in contact with the contact surface and in which discrete components other than the switching element are arranged and mounted in the second region.   The circuit board includes two circuit forming regions arranged in a mirror image inverted positional relationship on a single substrate, and the base member extends along the first side of each of the two circuit forming regions. 2. The inverter device according to claim 1, comprising two element abutting surfaces, wherein each of the main circuit board portions formed in each of the two circuit forming regions is responsible for driving control of different rotating electrical machines.   The circuit board includes a plurality of types of wiring metal foils having different thicknesses in one board, and the thickness of the wiring metal foil in the main circuit region is equal to that of the wiring metal foil in the control region. The inverter device according to claim 1, wherein the inverter device is set larger than the thickness.   The main circuit board unit includes a power input connector, a drive current output connector for driving the rotating electrical machine, a power supply smoothing capacitor, and a current sensor as the discrete components mounted in the second region. The inverter apparatus as described in any one of 1-3.   5. The inverter device according to claim 4, wherein a plurality of power supply smoothing capacitors are provided, and the distances from the power supply input connector to each of the plurality of power supply smoothing capacitors are substantially equal. The plurality of switching elements are mounted on the surface of the circuit board,
The base member is formed so as to cover the back surface of the circuit board and is provided with a body part provided with a mounting part of the circuit board, an element contact part provided with the element contact surface on the surface, and at least A heat dissipating part for dissipating the heat of the element contact part,
6. The inverter device according to claim 1, wherein the element contact surface is disposed substantially parallel to the circuit board at a position spaced apart from the surface of the circuit board with respect to the main body portion. A cover member that is disposed and fixed so as to face the base member across the circuit board;
The said cover member has a cover surface of the height according to the height of each component mounted in the said circuit board, and the level | step-difference part is formed between the said cover surfaces of different height. The inverter apparatus as described in any one of.   The inverter device according to claim 6, wherein the heat dissipating part includes a plurality of heat dissipating fins standing on the back surfaces of the main body part and the element contact part.   One or both of the height of the radiation fin from the back surface of the element contact portion and the thickness of the element contact portion in the direction orthogonal to the circuit board is set larger than those of the main body portion. The inverter device according to claim 8.   A stepped portion is formed so that the back surface of the element contact portion is positioned on the element contact surface side with respect to the back surface of the main body portion, and a tip portion of the radiation fin standing on the back surface of the main body portion; 10. The inverter device according to claim 9, wherein the inverter device is configured such that a front end portion of the heat radiating fin provided upright on the back surface of the element contact portion is positioned substantially in the same plane.   The inverter device according to claim 8, wherein the radiating fin is provided along an arrangement direction of the plurality of switching elements. The base member includes a fan that circulates air through a gap between the plurality of heat radiating fins on the back surface of the base member.
12. The fan according to claim 8, wherein the fan is disposed so as to be separated from the back surface of the base member, and the rotation axis of the fan is disposed in a direction substantially orthogonal to the circuit board. The inverter device described in 1. The inverter circuit is an inverter circuit for three-phase alternating current, and the switching element is provided two for each phase,
The two switching elements having the same phase are arranged adjacent to each other, and the temperature detection elements for detecting the temperature of the switching elements are either one of the two switching elements of each phase and are arranged in a line The inverter device according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the inverter device is attached to the switching element in which the other switching elements are adjacently arranged on both sides in the arrangement direction of the switching elements.   14. The element main body portion of the plurality of switching elements is fastened and fixed to the element contact portion by a fastening member in a state of being in contact with the element contact surface via an insulating material. The inverter device described in the paragraph.

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