JP4269535B2 - Power module type inverter device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a power module type inverter device.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, the development of electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles, and fuel cell vehicles has progressed, and even in conventional engine vehicles, attempts have been made to start the engine and generate power with the same AC generator motor. In these various vehicles, since a high-output AC rotating electric machine is usually mounted, an inverter device is required for driving control thereof.
[0003]
Further, in these various vehicles, it is also proposed to mount a high-voltage main battery and a low-voltage sub-battery, and to mount a DC-DC converter device for allowing power to be exchanged between the two batteries. Since the DC-DC converter device incorporates an inverter circuit that is well known, it is regarded as one form of the inverter device in this specification.
[0004]
This power inverter device that requires a large output is a card module that performs orthogonal power conversion as a core circuit component, can output a large current, and has a power module that generates significantly more heat than other circuit elements, and other The power module includes a part or all of the power switching elements constituting the inverter circuit.
[0005]
The power module needs to be satisfactorily adhered to a heat sink independent of the wiring board in order to improve cooling and transient heat absorption performance. In addition, since the power module has a plurality of signal terminals for control or internal state output, it is necessary to fasten these signal terminals to the wiring board.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, even if the power module and the wiring board are arranged as close as possible, unlike the case where the power module is directly mounted on the wiring board, each signal terminal of the power module is connected to these signal terminals. Since each conductor pattern on the wiring board should have a certain amount of spatial displacement, it is possible to adopt a normal circuit component mounting method in which the signal terminals of the power module are directly inserted into the via hole of the wiring board and soldered. It was difficult. In particular, when the signal terminal is extended for a long time, its rigidity is lowered and it is easy to bend. Therefore, there is a problem that the probability of failure in automatic insertion of the wiring board into the connection via hole increases, which is difficult to realize.
[0007]
This problem becomes particularly serious when a module pressing member that clamps the power module together with the heat sink is used to satisfactorily adhere the power module to the heat sink, and the wiring board is provided on the module pressing member. That is, the module pressing member is interposed between the power module and the wiring board, and it becomes difficult to shorten the distance between the power module and the wiring board, that is, shorten the signal terminal.
[0008]
In order to solve this problem, conventionally, signal relay members such as cables and bus bars have to be provided between the signal terminals of the power module and the conductor pattern of the wiring board. However, soldering both ends of a large number of cables requires a lot of man-hours and troublesome cable termination, and the use of connectors is also troublesome, so that each bus bar is connected to the signal terminal of the power module one by one. It was not easy.
[0009]
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a power module type inverter device capable of simplifying connection between a power module and a wiring board.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The power module type inverter device according to claim 1 is a plate-like power module in which a part or all of the power switching elements constituting an inverter circuit that drives an AC rotating electrical machine by performing orthogonal power conversion, and the power A metal heat sink that is in close contact with one main surface of the module, a wiring board that is disposed at a position different from the heat sink and on which other circuit components other than the power module of the inverter device are mounted, and a signal of the power module In a power module type inverter device comprising a signal relay member for connecting a terminal to a predetermined portion of the wiring board,
An electrical insulating module pressing member interposed between the wiring board and the heat sink and having both ends fixed to the heat sink and sandwiching the power module together with the heat sink, the signal relay member is The module pressing member is integrally molded.
[0011]
That is, according to the present configuration, since a large number of signal relay members are integrally formed with the module pressing member, just by setting the module pressing member to the power module, one end on the signal terminal side of each signal relay member is It is possible to set the appropriate positions at the same time and in the proper posture, and the position adjustment operation of each signal relay member and the posture holding operation at the time of connection become extremely easy.
[0012]
In addition, since the substantial length (the length protruding from the module pressing member to the wiring board side) can be shortened instead of the long signal terminal, the signal relay member becomes much less likely to bend than the long signal terminal of the power module, In addition, since it is easy to increase the rigidity, the connection failure probability on the wiring board side due to the bending can be greatly reduced.
[0013]
In addition, only the signal relay member insert process is added to the module pressing member manufacturing process. This type of structure is known as a so-called IC lead frame structure, such as metal flat plate punching, insert resin molding, and exposed terminals. Can be implemented by cutting off the connecting piece portion connecting the two, and an increase in cost can be suppressed.
[0014]
In addition, since the signal relay member can be freely wired in the module holding member, the signal relay member with the minimum exposed length can be connected to any part on the wiring board side, improving the degree of freedom of circuit component placement on the wiring board. can do.
[0015]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the power module type inverter device according to the first aspect, the one end portion of the signal relay member projects outward from the side surface or the lower surface of the module pressing member and hangs down to the vicinity of the side surface of the power module. And reaching the signal terminal protruding from the side surface of the power module.
[0016]
According to this configuration, the signal relay member that can be easily increased in cross section is lowered to the side of the power module instead of raising the signal terminal having a small cross section of the power module to the side of the module holding member. Therefore, it is possible to reduce electrical resistance and prevent difficulty in connection work due to bending of the signal terminals.
[0017]
According to the configuration of claim 3, in the power module type inverter device according to claim 1 or 2, the module pressing member further includes an alignment portion for aligning the wiring board, and other than the signal relay member. The end portion protrudes from the side surface or the upper surface of the module pressing member to reach the wiring board.
[0018]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the power module type inverter device according to any one of the first to third aspects, the power module is fixed to the module pressing member and exposed to the surface of the module pressing member on the power module side. A metal elastic member that elastically urges the heat sink to the heat sink, and the elastic member is integrally formed with the module pressing member.
[0019]
According to this configuration, since the rigidity is enhanced by the insert molding, the urging force that the module pressing member gives to the power module when the module pressing member is fixed to the heat sink can be adjusted well below a predetermined value.
[0020]
The power module type inverter device according to claim 5 is the power module type inverter device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further characterized in that the wiring board is placed on the module pressing member. .
[0021]
According to this configuration, the circuit support structure and alignment can be simplified, and the installation work is also simplified.
[0022]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
A preferred embodiment of the power module type inverter device of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. This power module type inverter device performs orthogonal power conversion to drive an AC rotating electric machine, and the power module accommodates a three-phase inverter circuit portion of this inverter device.
[0023]
FIG. 1 is a plan view of the apparatus, and FIG. However, in FIG. 1, a wiring board 4 to be described later shows the outline only by a two-dot chain line, and the main electrode terminal 22 is not shown in FIG. 2.
[0024]
1 is a heat sink, 2 is a power module, 3 is a module pressing member, 4 is a wiring board, 5 is an insulating sheet, 6 is a signal relay member, 7 is a signal terminal of the power module 2, and 8 is an elastic member.
[0025]
The heat sink 1 is made of a thick aluminum plate, and the power module 2 is mounted with a plurality of power modules 2 (only two are shown in FIG. 1) via an insulating sheet 5.
[0026]
The power module 2 houses one or more of a total of six power switching elements constituting the upper and lower arms of the three-phase inverter circuit. Main electrodes are exposed on the upper and lower surfaces of the power module 2, and main electrode terminals 21 and 22 project laterally (up and down in FIG. 1) from each main electrode as shown in FIG. A plurality of pin-shaped signal terminals 7 project from one end face of each power module 2. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, each signal terminal 7 protrudes at a right angle from one end face of the power module 2 and then bends at a right angle upward, and the tip reaches the side of the module pressing member 3. ing. Each signal terminal 7 is arranged at a predetermined interval from each other.
[0027]
The module pressing member 3 is a resin molded product in which the central portion of a total of six signal relay members 6 and both end portions of two elastic members 8 are insert-molded. The module pressing member 3 includes a central portion 31 that is spaced apart from the heat sink 1 by a predetermined distance and extends in parallel with the heat sink 1, and a pair of leg portions that are fastened to the heat sink 1 depending on both ends of the central portion 31 in the front-rear direction. One side is shown) 32 and a pair of column parts 33 (only one is shown) 33 are provided so as to stand on both ends of the central portion 31 in the front-rear direction. Thereby, the central part 31 of the module pressing member 3 presses the power module 2 against the upper surface of the heat sink 1 through the elastic member 8 with a predetermined pressing force.
[0028]
The wiring board 4 is a printed board, and is placed and fixed on the top surface of the column portion 33 of the module pressing member 3 as described above. Of the inverter device, various circuit components other than the inverter circuit configured by the power module 2 are mounted on the wiring board 4. These circuit components include a smoothing capacitor, a controller, and the like. However, since the circuit configuration of this type of inverter device is known, description thereof is omitted.
[0029]
The signal relay member 6, also referred to as a lead, is composed of a total of six bus bars that are formed by press-molding a copper flat plate and the center part is embedded in the module pressing member 3 by insert molding. After the above molding, the tie bars that connect the bus bars are formed. Each bus bar, that is, each signal relay member 6 is separated from each other. Since this type of insulating resin molded product with leads is widely known as an IC lead frame technology, detailed description thereof is omitted.
[0030]
One end 61 of each signal relay member 6 protrudes from one end surface of the module pressing member 3. One end 61 of the signal relay member 6 is provided with one hole, and the tip of the signal terminal 7 penetrates each hole individually and is soldered. The other end portion 62 of each signal relay member 6 protrudes from the top surface of the column portion 33 of the module pressing member 3 and penetrates a via hole (not shown) of the wiring board 4. A conductor pattern (not shown) is formed around each via hole of the wiring board 4, and each conductor pattern is connected to the other end 62 of each signal relay member 6 by surrounding the via hole and soldering.
[0031]
The elastic member 8 is bent in a bow shape and is made of a phosphor bronze thin plate, and its central portion elastically biases the upper surface of the power module 2 toward the heat sink 1. Of course, the connection of the signal relay member is not limited to soldering but may be, for example, welding.
[0032]
(Example effect)
According to the power module type inverter device of this embodiment described above, the following effects can be obtained.
[0033]
First, since a large number of signal relay members 6 are integrally formed with the module pressing member 3, one end of each signal relay member 6 on the signal terminal side can be obtained simply by aligning (setting) the module pressing member 3 with the power module 2. The parts 61 can be set to their proper positions in a proper posture all at once, and the position adjustment of each signal relay member 6 and the posture holding work at the time of connection are extremely easy. Further, since the length of each signal terminal 7 can be shortened, the connection failure probability due to the bending can be greatly reduced. Further, since the signal relay member 6 can be freely wired in the module pressing member 3, the signal relay member 6 having the minimum exposed length can be connected to an arbitrary portion on the wiring board 4 side. The degree of freedom in arrangement can be improved. Further, the position of the end portion 62 of the signal relay member 6 and the via hole of the wiring substrate 4 can be aligned only by aligning the wiring substrate 4 with the column portion 33 of the module pressing member 3. Further, since the end portion 62 of the signal relay member 6 is built in the wiring board mounting column portion 33 of the module pressing member 3, the exposed length of the signal relay member 6 can be shortened, and the connection failure probability due to the bending thereof. Can be reduced.
[0034]
(Modification 1)
Modification 1 will be described below with reference to FIG.
[0035]
In this embodiment, only one end of the elastic member 8 is embedded in the module pressing member 3, and the other end is in close contact with the lower surface of the module pressing member 3. Even if it does in this way, there can exist an effect similar to the above.
[0036]
(Modification 2)
Modification 2 will be described below with reference to FIG.
[0037]
In this embodiment, the elastic member 8 is formed integrally with the module pressing member 3 by resin molding. In this way, the structure and process can be simplified.
[0038]
(Modification 3)
Modification 3 will be described below.
[0039]
In this embodiment, the elastic member 8 is a press-molded product that is integral with the signal relay member 6. In this way, the structure and process can be simplified.
[0040]
(Modification 4)
Modification 4 will be described below.
[0041]
In contrast to the first embodiment, this aspect is characterized in that the end portion 61 of the signal relay member 6 is suspended to the side of the power module 2. As shown in FIG. 6, the end portion 61 has a groove 64 in which the signal terminal 7 is accommodated, and the signal terminal 7 and the end portion 61 are soldered.
[0042]
In this way, the signal relay member 6 side that can be easily made large in cross-section instead of raising the signal terminal 7 having a small cross-sectional area of the power module 2 to the side of the module pressing member 3 is provided on the power module. Since it is lowered to the side of 2, the electrical resistance can be reduced and the difficulty in connecting work due to the bending of the signal terminal can be prevented.
[0043]
(Modification 5)
In the above embodiment, the alignment of the wiring substrate 4 in the height direction is performed by bringing the top surface of the column portion 33 of the module pressing member 3 into contact with the lower surface of the wiring substrate 4. Can be aligned along the side edge of the wiring board 4 so that the front / rear or left / right alignment of the wiring board 4 can be performed, and the end 62 of the signal relay member 6 and the via hole of the wiring board 4 Can also be aligned.
[0044]
(Deformation mode 6)
In the above embodiment, the end portion 62 of the signal relay member 6 is inserted into the via hole of the wiring board 4, but may be connected to a connector provided on the wiring board 4.
[0045]
(Deformation mode 7)
In FIG. 7, a stopper portion 331 is further provided on the column portion 33 of the module pressing member 3. Since the stopper portion 331 regulates the displacement of the wiring board 4 in the Y direction, it assists the alignment between the via hole of the wiring board 4 and the end portion 62 of the signal relay member 6, further simplifying the connection work. Of course, similarly, a stopper portion 331 that restricts (aligns) the displacement of the wiring board 4 in the X direction may be provided on the column portion 33 of the module pressing member 3.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a plan view of an apparatus according to a first embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus of FIG.
FIG. 3 is a partial side view showing a modified embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a partial side view showing a modified embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a partial front view showing a modified embodiment.
FIG. 6 is a partial side view showing a modified embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a partial side view showing a modified embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Heat sink 2 Power module 3 Module pressing member 4 Wiring board 5 Insulation sheet 6 Signal relay member 7 Signal terminal 8 Elastic member

Claims (5)

A plate-like power module in which a part or all of the power switching elements constituting the inverter circuit that performs orthogonal power conversion to drive the AC rotating electrical machine are housed, and
A metal heat sink closely contacting one main surface of the power module;
A wiring board on which other circuit components other than the power module of the inverter device are mounted and disposed at a position different from the heat sink;
A signal relay member for connecting a signal terminal of the power module to a predetermined portion of the wiring board;
In a power module type inverter device comprising:
An electrical insulating module pressing member that is interposed between the wiring board and the heat sink, is fixed to the heat sink, and sandwiches the power module together with the heat sink.
The power module type inverter device, wherein the signal relay member is integrally formed with the module pressing member. In the power module type inverter device according to claim 1,
One end of the signal relay member protrudes to the outside from the side surface or the lower surface of the module pressing member, hangs down to the vicinity of the side surface of the power module, and reaches the signal terminal protruding from the side surface of the power module. Power module type inverter device. In the power module type inverter device according to claim 1 or 2,
The module pressing member has an alignment portion for aligning the wiring board,
The other end portion of the signal relay member protrudes to the outside from a side surface or an upper surface of the module pressing member and reaches the wiring board. In the power module type inverter device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A metal elastic member fixed to the module pressing member and exposed to the power module side surface of the module pressing member and elastically biasing the power module to the heat sink;
The power module type inverter device, wherein the elastic member is integrally formed with the module pressing member.   In the power module type inverter device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
  The power module type inverter device, wherein the wiring board is placed on the module pressing member.

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