JP2011151193A - Cooler - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve cooling efficiency of a semiconductor element attached to a cooler body, and to improve mountability of a cooler housing attached to or mounted on the cooler body. <P>SOLUTION: The cooler 10 includes the cooler body 14 having a top plate 22 in which a plurality of refrigerant flow passages 26 where a refrigerant flows are formed inside and which has semiconductor elements 26 and 28 attached to an outer surface 23, and the cooler housing 14 including a bus bar attached on the outer surface 23 of the top plate 22 and electrically connected to the semiconductor elements 26 and 29. On the outer surface 23 of the top plate 22, projection portions 30, 32 and 34 are formed which are recessed toward the refrigerant flow passages 26 and protrude toward the cooler housing 14 at an attachment portion of the cooler housing 14. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a cooler, and more particularly to a cooler for cooling a semiconductor device attached to an outer surface.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an electric vehicle such as a hybrid vehicle, a DC voltage supplied from a battery is converted into an AC voltage by an inverter and applied to an AC motor that is a power source for driving. The inverter can be composed of, for example, a plurality of power semiconductor elements such as transistors and diodes. These semiconductor elements are cooled by a cooler to suppress excessive temperature rise in order to maintain operation performance and prevent thermal damage.

  The main body of the cooler (hereinafter referred to as “cooler main body”) is formed in a casing shape from a metal plate having good thermal conductivity and heat dissipation, such as an aluminum plate. On at least one outer surface of the cooler body, a plurality of semiconductor elements are attached via an insulating structure by a method such as brazing. And the semiconductor element mounted on the said outer surface is cooled by distribute | circulating a refrigerant | coolant inside a cooler main body.

  A cooler housing is attached to the outer surface of the cooler body to which the semiconductor element is attached by means such as adhesion or screwing. The cooler housing is a resin part embedded with the bus bar partially exposed. After the cooler housing is fixed to the cooler body, the semiconductor element and the bus bar are wire-bonded and electrically connected.

  In order to reliably perform the wire bonding, it is required that the cooler housing is firmly fixed without rattling on the outer surface of the cooler body to which the semiconductor element is attached. Therefore, until now, the spacer member was fixed on the outer surface of the cooler body by brazing or the like, and the mounting height of the cooler housing was sometimes adjusted by fixing the cooler housing on the spacer member. .

  However, using such a spacer member as a separate part leads to an increase in the number of parts and the number of manufacturing steps, leading to an increase in cost.

  For example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-172014 (Patent Document 1), a semiconductor element and a refrigerant flow path that has a mounting surface on which the semiconductor element is mounted and through which a coolant for cooling the semiconductor element flows are formed. A heat sink and a portion of the heat sink that is located on the opposite side of the mounting surface, extends in a direction that intersects the flow direction of the refrigerant, and extends from the wall surface of the refrigerant flow path to the inside of the refrigerant flow path. A protrusion projecting toward the semiconductor element, wherein the protrusion is provided in the vicinity of the semiconductor element and upstream of the center of the semiconductor element in the coolant flow direction. A structure is disclosed. According to this semiconductor element cooling structure, in the vicinity of the semiconductor element, the flow velocity distribution of the refrigerant on the mounting surface side is large, and the turbulence is generated in the refrigerant flow to suppress boundary layer growth. As a result, it is described that the heat transfer efficiency by the refrigerant is improved and the cooling efficiency of the semiconductor element is improved.

JP 2008-172014 A

  As described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-172014, the cooling efficiency can be improved by forming a protrusion on the bottom surface of the refrigerant flow path, but this protrusion is the cooler body of the cooler housing as described above. It does not contribute to the mounting ability.

  The objective of this invention is providing the cooler which improves the cooling efficiency of the semiconductor element attached to a cooler main body, and improves the mountability of the cooler housing attached to or mounted on a cooler main body.

  The cooler according to the present invention includes a cooler body having a heat transfer plate in which a plurality of refrigerant flow paths through which a refrigerant flows is formed and a semiconductor element is attached to an outer surface, and the outer surface of the heat transfer plate. A cooler housing including a bus bar that is mounted and electrically connected to the semiconductor element, wherein the outer surface of the heat transfer plate has a concave shape on the refrigerant flow path side and the cooling A protruding portion is formed on the cooler housing side at the mounting portion of the cooler housing.

  In the cooler according to the present invention, the refrigerant flow path in the cooler body extends in the direction in which the two semiconductor elements forming a pair extend in the direction perpendicular to or intersects with the direction in which the two semiconductor elements form a pair. A plurality of protrusions are formed corresponding to the semiconductor elements, and the protrusions are formed separately on the upstream side and the downstream side with respect to the flow direction of the refrigerant in the refrigerant flow path between the two semiconductor elements. The plurality of refrigerant flow paths corresponding to one semiconductor element, the plurality of refrigerant flow paths communicating with each other via the concave inner side of the protrusion are different from each other in the upstream protrusion and the downstream protrusion. The downstream protrusions may be arranged so as to be shifted with respect to a direction orthogonal to or intersecting with the arrangement direction.

  According to the cooler according to the present invention, the cooler housing can be mounted on the protrusion of the cooler main body at an appropriate height position without requiring a separate member, thereby improving the mountability of the cooler housing. be able to. In addition, since the protruding portion is formed in a concave shape with respect to the refrigerant flow path in the cooler body, the concave protruding portion acts as a resistance or a hook, causing disturbance of the refrigerant flow in the refrigerant flow path. As a result, the growth of the temperature boundary layer can be suppressed, and as a result, the heat transfer efficiency by the refrigerant is improved, and the cooling efficiency of the semiconductor element located downstream from the protrusion is improved.

  Further, among the plurality of refrigerant flow paths corresponding to the two semiconductor elements that form a pair, the plurality of refrigerant flow paths that communicate with each other via the concave inner side of the protrusion are different between the upstream protrusion and the downstream protrusion. If the upstream protruding portion and the downstream protruding portion are arranged so as to be shifted with respect to the direction orthogonal to or intersecting the alignment direction, separate refrigerant flow paths through which the refrigerant flows through the inside of the protruding portion are formed on the upstream side and the downstream side. As a result, the deviation of the cooling efficiency in the orthogonal or crossing direction can be suppressed for the semiconductor element located on the downstream side of the two semiconductor elements.

It is a top view which shows the cooler main body of the cooler which is one embodiment of this invention. It is the II-II sectional view taken on the line of the cooler in which the cooler housing was mounted in FIG. It is an enlarged view of the III section in FIG. It is an enlarged view of the IV section in FIG.

  Embodiments according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this description, specific shapes, materials, numerical values, directions, and the like are examples for facilitating the understanding of the present invention, and can be appropriately changed according to the application, purpose, specification, and the like.

  FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a cooler body 12 of a cooler 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. It is.

  The cooler 10 includes a cooler body 12 and a cooler housing 14 mounted thereon. The cooler body 12 is formed as a casing having a substantially rectangular planar shape. A refrigerant inlet pipe 18 and a refrigerant outlet pipe 20 are respectively connected to the side surfaces of the two short sides 16a and 16b of the cooler body 12 and at the diagonal positions of the rectangle. A refrigerant is introduced into the cooler main body 12 from the refrigerant introduction pipe 18, and the refrigerant flowing through the cooler main body 12 is discharged from the refrigerant outlet pipe 20. Here, for example, a coolant such as a long life coolant is preferably used as the coolant, but the coolant is not limited thereto, and a cooling gas may be used.

  A plurality of refrigerant channels 29 are defined in the cooler body 12. Each refrigerant flow path 29 is formed by extending in the direction along the short side portions 16 a and 16 b, and is arranged in parallel along the long side direction of the cooler body 12. That is, the refrigerant introduced into the cooler main body 12 from the refrigerant introduction pipe 18 flows into each refrigerant flow channel from the long side portion 17a side, flows in the refrigerant flow channel in the direction of arrow F, and the other long side portion 17b. The refrigerant flows out from the respective refrigerant flow paths on the side, and flows along the long side portion 17b toward the refrigerant outlet pipe 20 from there. Hereinafter, the long side portion 17a side into which the refrigerant flows into each refrigerant channel 29 is referred to as an upstream side, and the long side portion 17b side from which the refrigerant flows out from each refrigerant channel 29 is referred to as a downstream side.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the cooler body 12 includes a top plate (heat transfer plate) 22 and a bottom plate 24. The top plate 22 and the bottom plate 24, in particular, the top plate 22 can be suitably formed of a metal plate (for example, an aluminum plate) having good heat conductivity. A top plate 22 formed with a protruding portion, which will be described later, and a bottom plate 24 drawn into a substantially dish shape are formed into a casing shape by integrally joining the four edge portions by a method such as brazing.

  A plurality of refrigerant flow paths 29 formed in the cooler body 12 are partitioned by fins 25 (see FIG. 3). The fins 25 are fixed to at least one of the inner surfaces of the top plate 22 and the bottom plate 24 by a method such as brazing. For example, the fin 25 may be formed of an aluminum plate that is bent into a corrugated shape, or may be formed of a plurality of strip-shaped aluminum plates that are arranged and fixed in a comb shape.

  A first semiconductor element 26 is mounted on the outer surface or upper surface 23 of the top plate 22 of the cooler body 12 at an upstream position via an insulating structure 27 including an insulating plate and the like. The first semiconductor element 26 includes, for example, a transistor (for example, IGBT) as a switching element indicated by a large square in FIG. 1 and a diode indicated by a small square connected in antiparallel to the transistor. Consists of.

  In addition, the second semiconductor element 28 includes an insulating plate or the like on the outer surface or upper surface 23 of the top plate 22 of the cooler body 12 and at a position downstream of the first semiconductor element 26. It is mounted via structure 27. Similarly, for the second semiconductor element 26, for example, a transistor (for example, IGBT) as a switching element indicated by a large square in FIG. 1 and a diode indicated by a small square connected in reverse parallel to this transistor It is comprised including. However, in the present embodiment, the first and second semiconductor elements 26 and 28 are described as including transistors and diodes. However, each semiconductor element 26 and 28 is, for example, one semiconductor element such as a transistor. The present invention can also be applied to the case where each is constituted only by the above.

  The first and second semiconductor elements 26 and 28 are arranged side by side in the refrigerant flow direction (arrow F direction). Further, the plurality of refrigerant flow paths 29 in the cooler body 12 are arranged adjacent to each other in a direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the first and second semiconductor elements 26 and 28. As shown in FIG. 1, in the cooler 10 of the present embodiment, nine pairs of first and second semiconductor elements 26, 28 are mounted, and these semiconductor elements 26, 28 are used for an AC / DC inverter or a DC. A voltage converter such as a DC converter is configured. However, the nine pairs of the first and second semiconductor elements are merely examples, and may be appropriately changed according to the circuit configuration of the mounted inverter or converter. In addition, electrical components other than semiconductor elements (for example, a capacitor and a reactor) may be mounted on the cooler body 12 together.

  In the present embodiment, the description will be made assuming that the arrangement direction of the first and second semiconductor elements 26 and 28 and the arrangement direction of the plurality of refrigerant channels are orthogonal to each other. It may be configured to intersect at a wider angle. For example, the arrangement direction of the refrigerant flow paths may be inclined with respect to the long side direction so that the flow direction of the refrigerant in each refrigerant flow path 29 is the direction indicated by the arrow F ′.

  1 and 2, the cooler housing 14 is mounted on the outer surface 23 of the top plate 22 of the cooler body 12 by means such as adhesion. The cooler housing 14 is integrally formed with a peripheral frame portion 14a having a rectangular shape that substantially matches the contour shape of the top plate 22, and a central frame portion 14b that connects the opposing short sides of the peripheral frame portion 14a. Configured. As shown in FIG. 3, the cooler housing 14 is a resin part embedded with the bus bar 36 partially exposed. After the cooler housing 14 is fixed to the cooler body 12, the first and second semiconductor elements 26, 28 and the bus bar 36 are electrically connected by wire bonding, and then the first and second Resin molding is performed to cover the semiconductor elements 26 and 28 and the exposed portions of the wire-bonded bus bar 36.

  On the top plate 22 of the cooler body 12, a plurality of protrusions 30, 32, and 33 are formed by a method such as press molding. The protrusions 30, 32, and 34 are formed so that the refrigerant flow path 29 side in the cooler body 12 is concave and convex on the opposite side, that is, on the outer surface of the top plate 22. These protrusions 30, 32, and 34 are formed on the outer surface 23 of the top plate 22 as attachment portions to which the central frame portion 14 b of the cooler housing 14 is attached by adhesion or the like. The protrusion heights of the protrusions 30, 32, and 34 are set so that the central frame portion 14b of the cooler housing 14 is supported at a position suitable for surely and stably performing the wire bonding. Yes.

  Of the protrusions 30, 32, and 34, a protrusion (hereinafter referred to as a center protrusion) 30 located at the center in the short side direction of the cooler body 12 supports the cooler housing 14 that is mounted thereon via an adhesive layer. The main purpose of this is to extend over substantially the entire long side direction of the cooler body 12. However, when the cooler housing 14 is firmly and stably fixed on the cooler main body 12 by means other than bonding such as screwing, the central protrusion 30 is formed with the short side width as narrow as possible. Or may be omitted.

  The protrusions 32 and 34 are formed separately on the upstream side and the downstream side with the central protrusion 30 in between. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion IV in FIG. Hereinafter, the protrusion 32 positioned on the upstream side is referred to as the upstream protrusion 32, and the protrusion 34 positioned on the downstream side is referred to as the downstream protrusion 34.

  As shown in FIG. 4, in the present embodiment, the first and second semiconductor elements 26 and 28 that form a pair along the alignment direction of the first and second semiconductor elements 26 and 28 that form a pair. The case where four refrigerant flow paths 29a, 26b, 26c, and 26d are formed corresponding to is illustrated. Here, each refrigerant flow path 29a, 26b, 26c, 26d may be a refrigerant flow path adjacent to each other, or a partition that divides the refrigerant flow path in the cooler body 12 is a single corrugated plate. If configured, every other refrigerant flow path may be provided. Of course, the number of the refrigerant flow paths 29 corresponding to the first and second semiconductor elements 26 and 28 that form a pair is not limited to four, but is an arbitrary number suitable for improving the cooling efficiency. Can be set to

  The upstream protruding portion 32 and the downstream protruding portion 34 are arranged so as to be shifted with respect to a direction orthogonal to the first and second alignment directions (that is, the refrigerant flow direction indicated by the arrow F). Since each protrusion 32, 34 is formed in a concave shape on the refrigerant flow path 29 side, the plurality of refrigerant flow paths are formed in a concave shape of the protrusions 32, 34 by being formed across the plurality of refrigerant flow paths. It will communicate through the inside.

  Therefore, in the cooler 10 of the present embodiment, the plurality of refrigerant flow paths communicating with each other are made different by shifting the arrangement of the upstream protrusion 32 and the downstream protrusion 34 as described above. Specifically, the two refrigerant flow paths 29 c and 26 d communicate with each other via the upstream protrusion 32, and the two refrigerant flow paths 29 a and 26 communicate with each other via the downstream protrusion 34. By communicating in this way, in the upstream side projecting portion 32, a coolant channel farther from the coolant channel closer to the coolant introduction pipe 18 which is a coolant introduction part to the cooler body 12, that is, a coolant channel 29c. Thus, a part of the refrigerant flows into the refrigerant flow path 29d, and a part of the refrigerant flows from the refrigerant flow path 29a into the refrigerant flow path 29b in the downstream protrusion 34. As described above, in the cooler 10 according to the present embodiment, another refrigerant flow path into which the refrigerant flows through the inside of the protrusions 32 and 34 is upstream by shifting the arrangement of the upstream protrusion 32 and the downstream protrusion 34. The same refrigerant flow path is prevented from being formed on the side and the downstream side.

  In addition, since the said center protrusion part 30 is extended and formed in the long side direction of the cooler main body 12, all the said four refrigerant | coolant flow paths 29a, 26b, 26c, and 26d are connected. Therefore, inside the central protrusion 30, a part of the refrigerant moves from the refrigerant flow path closer to the refrigerant introduction pipe 18, which is the refrigerant introduction section to the cooler body 12, to the refrigerant flow path farther away. Inflow occurs. However, this is not the case when the central protrusion 30 itself is omitted as described above.

  Then, the effect of the cooler 10 of this embodiment which consists of the said structure is demonstrated.

  In the cooler 10, when the refrigerant introduced into the cooler main body 12 from the refrigerant introduction pipe 18 flows through each refrigerant flow path 29, the insulation structure 27 and the top plate 22 are changed from the first and second semiconductor elements 26 and 28. Thus, the first and second semiconductor elements 26 are cooled. At this time, the refrigerant flowing in the vicinity of the inner surface of the top plate 22 in the refrigerant flow path 29 is disturbed in the flow of the refrigerant because the protrusions 30, 32, 33 formed in a concave shape are resisted or caught. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the growth of the temperature boundary layer in the refrigerant flow in the refrigerant flow path. As a result, the heat transfer efficiency by the refrigerant is improved, and the second position located downstream of the protrusions 30, 32, 34. The cooling efficiency of the semiconductor element 28 is improved.

  Moreover, each protrusion part 30,32,34 has made the convex shape in the cooler housing 14 side, and can support and fix the center frame part 14b of the cooler housing 14 to the height position suitable for wire bonding. it can. Thereby, the spacer member which is another member used in order to adjust the height position of the cooler housing 14 can be omitted, and the mountability of the cooler housing 14 in the cooler 10 is improved.

  Further, in the cooler 10 of the present embodiment, another refrigerant flow path into which the refrigerant flows through the inside of the protrusions 32 and 34 is provided upstream by shifting the arrangement of the upstream protrusion 32 and the downstream protrusion 34. And the downstream side do not have the same refrigerant flow path. Thereby, it is possible to suppress a deviation in cooling efficiency in the direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the refrigerant flow path 29 for the second semiconductor element 28 located on the downstream side of the first and second semiconductor elements 26 and 28.

  In the above embodiment, an example in which a semiconductor element is mounted on the outer surface 23 of the top plate 22 of the cooler body 12 has been described. However, a semiconductor element and other electrical components are also mounted on the outer surface of the bottom plate 24. In such a case, the protruding portion as described above may be formed on the bottom plate.

Explanation of sign

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Cooler, 12 Cooler body, 14 Cooler housing, 14a Surrounding frame part, 14b Center frame part, 16a, 16b Short side part, 17a, 17b Long side part, 18 Refrigerant introduction pipe, 20 Refrigerant outlet pipe, 22 ceiling Plate, 23 outer surface or upper surface, 24 bottom plate, 25 fin, 26 first semiconductor element, 27 insulating structure, 28 second semiconductor element, 29, 29a, 29b, 29c, 29d refrigerant flow path, 30 central protrusion, 32 upstream protrusion, 34 downstream protrusion, 36 bus bar.

Claims (2)

A plurality of refrigerant flow paths through which the refrigerant flows, a cooler body having a heat transfer plate on which a semiconductor element is attached to the outer surface;
A cooler housing mounted on the outer surface of the heat transfer plate and including a bus bar electrically connected to the semiconductor element,
The outer surface of the heat transfer plate is formed with a concave portion on the refrigerant flow path side and a protruding portion on the cooler housing side at a mounting portion of the cooler housing. vessel. The cooler of claim 1,
A plurality of refrigerant flow paths in the cooler body extend in the direction in which the two semiconductor elements forming a pair are aligned, and are adjacent to each other in a direction orthogonal to or intersecting with the direction of the alignment and corresponding to the two semiconductor elements. And the protruding portion is formed separately between the two semiconductor elements on the upstream side and the downstream side in the refrigerant flow direction in the refrigerant flow path, and a plurality of protrusions corresponding to the two semiconductor elements. The upstream projecting portion and the downstream projecting portion are arranged such that a plurality of coolant channels communicating with each other through the concave inner side of the projecting portion of the coolant channel are different between the upstream projecting portion and the downstream projecting portion. A cooler, wherein the cooler is arranged so as to be shifted with respect to a direction orthogonal to or intersecting the arrangement direction.

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