JP5273487B2 - Power control unit - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a power control unit which suppresses deformation of a plate member even when bolts are fastened in a power module while reducing the thickness of the plate member of a heat sink. <P>SOLUTION: A power control unit comprises: a housing 14 in which a flow channel groove 16 is formed at an upper surface; a plate member 15 covering the upper surface of the housing 14 and composing a heat sink; a water jacket 10 forming a cooling channel 20; and a power module 60 provided at an upper surface of the plate member 15 and incorporating multiple transistors which form at least an inverter circuit. The flow channel groove 16 is formed on the upper surface of the housing 14, and a guide rib 24, which contacts with a lower surface of the plate member 15, is provided. Bolt fastening parts 55b provided at the power module 60 are positioned above the guide rib 24 of the housing. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2012,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a power control unit, and more particularly to a power control unit used in a vehicle including an electric motor such as an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle.

  Conventionally, in order to drive an electric motor such as a hybrid vehicle or an electric vehicle, a power module that constitutes an inverter circuit with a power semiconductor element is used. However, since the power semiconductor element generates heat, the power semiconductor element is cooled. Cooling device is required. For example, in the cooling device described in Patent Document 1, the plate member of the heat sink in which the cooling fins are formed serves as a lid of the cooling device so as to separate the space through which the cooling water passes from the space in which the power semiconductor element is disposed. In addition, the power semiconductor element disposed on the heat sink via the highly heat conductive grease or adhesive is directly cooled.

JP 2007-36214 A

  Incidentally, in the configuration as described in Patent Document 1, it is desired to reduce the thickness of the plate member of the heat sink in order to effectively use the vehicle space and reduce the weight. In addition, although a three-phase wire is connected to the power module, when a connecting member such as a bus bar is bolted at a right angle to the plate member, if the plate member is thinned, the plate member is bent. As a result, deformation and cracks occur in the plate member, which may cause leakage of cooling water.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and its purpose is to reduce the thickness of the plate member of the heat sink while suppressing the deformation of the plate member even when fastening the bolt in the power module. To provide a control unit.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1
A housing (for example, a housing 14 in an embodiment described later) in which a channel groove (for example, a channel groove 16 in an embodiment described later) is formed on the upper surface, and a heat sink (for example, And a plate member (for example, a plate member 15 in the embodiment described later) constituting the cooling flow path (for example, the cooling flow path 20 in the embodiment described later). A jacket (for example, a water jacket 10 in an embodiment described later);
A plurality of switching elements (for example, transistors S1, S2, UH, UL, and the like in later-described embodiments) are provided on the upper surface of the plate member and constitute at least an inverter circuit (for example, inverter circuits 5 and 6 in later-described embodiments). VH, VL, WH, WL) with a built-in power module (for example, power module 60 in an embodiment described later),
A power control unit (for example, a power control unit 1 in an embodiment described later),
On one side surface of the housing (for example, one side surface 14a in an embodiment described later), an inlet (for example, an inlet 21 in an embodiment described later) and an outlet (for example, an embodiment described later) of the cooling channel are provided. An outlet 22) in the form is formed,
The upper surface of the housing extends from one side surface of the housing toward the other side surface facing the one side surface (for example, the other side surface 14b in the embodiment described later), and forms the flow channel groove. In addition, a guide portion (for example, a guide rib 24 in an embodiment described later) that contacts the lower surface of the plate member is provided,
A cooling channel of the water jacket includes a first channel (for example, a narrow channel 23 in an embodiment described later) extending from the inlet along the guide part of the housing, and the guide part. A second flow path (for example, a wide flow path 25 in an embodiment described later) extending along the guide portion and connected to the outflow port on the opposite side of the first flow path, and the housing A connection channel (for example, a connection channel 26 in an embodiment described later) connecting the first and second channels on the other side of the body,
A bolt fastening portion (for example, a bolt fastening portion 55b in an embodiment described later) provided in the power module is located on a guide portion of the housing.

In addition to the configuration of claim 1, the invention according to claim 2
The front SL extending guide portion on a plurality of the bolt fastening portion is characterized in that it is disposed in a direction that is out said extension.

In addition to the configuration of claim 1 or 2, the invention according to claim 3
The water jacket is disposed so as to be inclined so that the other side surface is higher than the one side surface of the housing, and an air vent (for example, an air vent in an embodiment described later) is provided on the other side surface of the housing. Part 27).

In addition to the configuration of claim 3 , the invention according to claim 4
The air vent portion is disposed so as to extend toward the other side surface side of the housing from the other side end portion of the housing of the first flow path,
The first flow path and the air vent are disposed at the other side surface end of the first flow path so that fluid passing through the first flow path is guided to the connection flow path. Guide fins (for example, guide fins 28 in the embodiments described later) for partitioning the parts are provided.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the deformation of the plate member can be suppressed by the guide portion even when the bolt is fastened in the power module, while reducing the thickness of the plate member constituting the heat sink. Further, the cooling performance can be maintained by the U-shaped cooling channel.

According to the invention of claim 2, it is possible to suppress deformation of the Plate member.

  According to invention of Claim 3, an air vent part can be formed in the upper position of a cooling flow path, air venting property improves, and cooling performance can be ensured more.

  According to the invention of claim 4, the cooling water in the cooling flow path can be rectified by the guide fins, the pressure fluctuation is suppressed from being applied to the tank provided outside the air vent, and It is possible to suppress the return of air accumulated in the air vent.

It is a circuit diagram containing the power control unit which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the hardware constitutions of a power control unit. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the hardware constitutions of a power control unit. It is a top view which shows the power module arrange | positioned on a frame member, a gate drive board | substrate, and a current sensor. (A) is a front view of the housing | casing of a water jacket, (b) is a back view of the plate member of a water jacket. FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a part VI in FIG. 5. It is a partial side view of the power control unit to which the tank was attached. It is sectional drawing along the VIII-VIII line of FIG.

  Hereinafter, a power control unit according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the figure, Fr indicates the front, Re indicates the rear, L indicates the left side, and R indicates the right side.

  FIG. 1 shows a circuit configuration including a power control unit (PCU) 1 for a hybrid vehicle. This hybrid vehicle includes an engine (not shown), a generator (GEN) 2 driven by the mechanical output of the engine, and a high-voltage battery (BAT) as a DC power source charged by the power generation output of the generator 2 ) 3, and a motor (MOT) 4 that drives drive wheels (not shown) using at least one of the discharge output of the battery 3 and the power generation output of the generator 2.

The power control unit 1 is connected between the converter circuit 7 that boosts the voltage supplied from the battery 3 or the voltage that is supplied to the battery 3, and is connected between the converter circuit 7 and the motor 4. Alternatively, the first inverter circuit (Trc / MPDU) 5 that converts an AC voltage into a DC voltage is connected between the converter circuit 7 and the generator 2, and the DC voltage is converted into an AC voltage or the AC voltage is converted into a DC voltage. And a second inverter circuit (GenPDU) 6 for conversion into The power control unit 1 boosts the DC voltage supplied from the battery 3 and then converts it to an AC voltage. When the power control unit 1 drives the motor 4 by supplying this voltage to the motor 4, the motor 4 is regenerated. Is converted into a direct current voltage, and further stepped down and supplied to the battery 3. Further, the power control unit 1 converts the voltage generated by the generator 2 into a DC voltage, and then steps down the voltage and supplies it to the battery 3 or drives the motor 4 with the voltage generated by the generator 2.
The converter circuit 7, the first inverter circuit 5, and the second inverter circuit 6 are driven and controlled through a gate drive substrate (GDCB) 9 as a drive circuit according to a control command from a control device (ECU) 8.

  The first inverter circuit 5 is, for example, a PWM inverter by pulse width modulation (PWM) including a bridge circuit formed by bridge connection using a plurality of transistors (for example, IGBT: Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor) as switching elements, The first inverter circuit 5 is connected to the converter circuit 7 and is connected to the U-phase, V-phase, and W-phase coils of the motor 4. The converter circuit 7 includes a reactor 41 and a chopper circuit 66 including two transistors (for example, IGBT: Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor) as switching elements, and is a voltage converter provided on the input side of the first inverter circuit 5. The secondary smoothing capacitor 43 is connected downstream of the chopper circuit 66, and the primary smoothing capacitor 42 is connected in parallel to the upstream of the reactor 41.

  Between the converter circuit 7 and the first inverter circuit 5, a second inverter circuit 6 having a configuration similar to that of the first inverter circuit 5 is connected to the positive terminal Pt and the negative terminal Nt. This second inverter circuit 6, the U-phase, V-phase, and W-phase coils of the generator 2 are connected. Similar to the first inverter circuit 5, the second inverter circuit 6 is a PWM inverter by pulse width modulation (PWM) having a bridge circuit formed by a bridge connection using a plurality of transistors as switching elements. A generator 2 and a converter circuit 7 are connected to the 2 inverter circuit 6.

  The first inverter circuit 5 and the second inverter circuit 6 include a high side, a low side U phase transistor UH, UL and a high side, a low side V phase transistor VH, VL and a high side, a low side W, which are paired for each phase. A bridge circuit formed by bridge-connecting phase transistors WH and WL is provided. The transistors UH, VH, and WH are connected to the positive terminal Pt of the converter circuit 7 to form a high side arm, and the transistors UL, VL, and WL are connected to the negative terminal Nt of the converter circuit 7 to form a low side arm. The transistors UH, UL and VH, VL and WH, WL that make a pair for each phase are connected in series to the converter circuit 7. Diodes DUH, DUL, DVH, DVL, DWH, and DWL are connected between the collectors and emitters of the transistors UH, UL, VH, VL, WH, and WL, respectively, in a forward direction from the emitter to the collector. ing.

  The reactor 41 of the converter circuit 7 has one end connected to the battery 3 and applied with a battery voltage, and the chopper circuit 66 has first and second transistors S1 and S2 connected to the other end of the reactor 41. It is composed of Diodes DS1 and DS2 are connected between the collectors and emitters of the transistors S1 and S2, respectively, so as to be in the forward direction from the emitter to the collector.

  One end of the reactor 41 is connected to the positive terminal of the battery 3, and the other end of the reactor 41 is connected to the collector of the first transistor S1 and the emitter of the second transistor S2. The emitter of the first transistor S1 is connected to the negative terminal of the battery 3 and the negative terminal Nt of the converter circuit 7. The collector of the second transistor S2 is connected to the positive terminal Pt of the converter circuit 7.

  Further, a signal line from the gate drive substrate 9 is connected to the gates of the transistors S1, S2, UH, UL, VH, VL, WH, WL of the first inverter circuit 5, the second inverter circuit 6, and the converter circuit 7. Yes.

  2 to 8 show the hardware configuration of the power control unit 1. The power control unit 1 is mounted, for example, in an engine room of a hybrid vehicle, and includes a water jacket 10 that forms a cooling flow path 20 (see FIG. 5), and a lower case 11 that is bolted to a lower portion of the water jacket 10. And an upper case 12 that is bolted to the upper part of the water jacket 10 and an upper cover 13 that is bolted to the upper part of the upper case 12.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in a space defined by the water jacket 10 and the lower case 11, a reactor 41, primary and secondary capacitors 42 and 43, a connection connector 44 connected to the battery 3, and the battery 3 A current sensor 45 for sending a detection signal of the current supplied from the control device 8 to the control device 8 is accommodated. Further, in a space defined by the water jacket 10, the upper case 12, and the upper cover 13, a plurality of transistors (switching elements) S1, S2, S2 constituting the inverter circuits 5, 6 and a part of the converter circuit 7, respectively. Power module 60 incorporating UH, UL, VH, VL, WH, WL, gate drive substrate 9 for driving transistors S1, S2, UH, UL, VH, VL, WH, WL of power module 60, and gate drive substrate Control device 8 for sending a control command to 9, connection connector 71 connected to motor 4, connection connector 72 connected to generator 2, and each bus that arranges between power module 60 and each of connection connectors 71, 72 A current sensor 75 for sending a detection signal of current in the plate components 73 and 74 to the control device 8 76 are accommodated.

  The water jacket 10 includes an aluminum casing 14 having a substantially rectangular shape that is concave downward, an aluminum plate member 15 that is bolted to the casing 14 to cover the upper surface of the casing 14 and that constitutes the heat sink 62. Have. As shown in FIG. 5, an inflow port 21 and an outflow port 22 are provided on one side surface 14a of the short side of the housing 14, and a cooling device (not shown) is provided via the inflow and outflow pipes 21a and 22a. Connected to other pumps and other equipment.

  On the upper surface of the housing 14, there is a guide rib 24 (guide portion) extending from between the inlet 21 and outlet 22 of the one side surface 14 a toward the other side surface 14 b of the short side facing the one side surface 14 a. A substantially U-shaped channel groove 16 is formed around the guide rib 24. Therefore, by covering the upper surface of the housing 14 with the plate member 15, the guide rib 24 comes into contact with the lower surface of the plate member 15, and the cooling flow path 20 is formed.

  The flow channel 20 includes a narrow flow channel (first flow channel) 23 extending from the inlet 21 in the longitudinal direction of the guide rib 24, and the guide rib 24 on the side opposite to the narrow flow channel 23. 24, a wide flow path (second flow path) 25 connected to the outlet 22, and a narrow flow path 23 and a wide flow path on the other side of the short side of the housing 14. 25 to form a connecting flow path 26 that connects to 25.

  As shown in FIGS. 5B and 8, the fin 63 of the heat sink 62 is formed on the lower surface of the plate member 15, and the plate member 15 is bolted to the housing 14, so that the heat sink 62 It is accommodated in a wide flow path 25.

  Further, as shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 6, the cooling flow path 20 extends further from the end of the narrow side flow path 23 toward the other side face of the casing 14 from the end of the other side 14 b of the casing 14. The air vent 27 and the other side 14b side end of the casing 14 in the narrow channel 23 so that the fluid passing through the narrow channel 23 is guided to the connecting channel 26. And a guide fin 28 that partitions the flow path 23 and the air vent portion 27.

  The water jacket 10 is arranged so as to be inclined such that the other side surface 14b of the short side is higher than the one side surface 14a of the short side of the housing 14, and the air vent 27 located at the uppermost part of the cooling flow path 20 includes: It is connected to the lower part of the tank 80 (see FIG. 7) through the air vent pipe 27a outside the housing. The tank 80 has an air-water separation function, and by disposing the tank 80 above the cooling flow path 20, spillage of cooling water when the cap 80 a is opened is prevented and water injection is good.

  The tank 80 has a liquid chamber and an air chamber. When pressure is applied from the inflow direction, expansion and contraction occur in the air chamber and the air vent pipe 27a in the tank 80. There is a possibility that vibrations occur and pressure fluctuations are applied to the tank 80. For this reason, the guide fin 28 receives the pressure from the inflow direction and suppresses the cooling water from vibrating.

  Further, the guide fins 28 provide an optimum flow of cooling water from the narrow flow path 23 to the connection flow path 26, and suppress the momentum of the cooling water flowing into the air vent section 27, so that the air vent section 27 The accumulated air is prevented from returning to the narrow flow path 23 again by the water flow, and the outflow of air is prevented.

  A bus bar 67 connected to the reactor 41, a pair of positive terminals 50a, 50b and a pair of negative terminals 51a, 51b of the secondary capacitor 43 are drawn out at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the housing 14 (see FIG. 4). ), First and second window portions 30, 31 are formed. The plate member 15 also has first and second window holes 64 and 65 corresponding to the first and second window portions 30 and 31.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, in the power module 60, the transistors S <b> 1, S <b> 2, UH, UL, VH, VL, WH, WL and the resin portion 55 are arranged on the plate member 15. The gate drive substrate 9 is bolted to the resin portion 55 above the power module 60.

  Three bus terminals 78 for the motor and three bus terminals 79 for the generator are arranged on one side in the longitudinal direction of the resin module 55 of the power module 60 extending from the gate drive substrate 9. The three bus terminals 78 for the motor 4 and each terminal of the connection connector 71 are connected by a bus plate component 73 in which three bus bars are integrated with a resin mold, and three output terminals 79 for the generator 2 Each terminal of the connection connector 72 is connected by another bus plate component 74 in which the other three bus bars are integrated with a resin mold.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 8, a plurality of bolt fastening portions 55b provided in the resin portion 55 of the power module 60 for fastening the bus plate components 73, 74 and the bus terminals 78, 79 of the power module 60 with bolts. Are arranged along the direction in which the guide ribs 24 extend and are located on the guide ribs 24 of the housing 14.

Here, the bus plate components 73 and 74 are connected to each other at the bolt fastening portion 55b provided in the resin portion 55 of the power module 60 after the plate member 15 provided with the power module 60 is fixed to the housing 14. Bolts are fastened together with the terminals 78 and 79. At this time, since the plurality of bolt fastening portions 55b are located on the guide rib 24 of the housing 14, the bending deformation of the plate member 15 due to the force of fastening the bolt is suppressed, and the plate member 15 is displaced or cracked. Can prevent the cooling water from leaking.
In the present embodiment, the plate member 15 provided with the power module 60 and the gate drive substrate 9 is fixed to the housing 14, and the reactor 41, the primary and secondary capacitors 42 and 43, the connection connector 44, and the current After the sensor 45 is fixed to the housing 14, the bus plate components 73 and 74 are fastened to the bus terminals 78 and 79 of the power module 60.

  As described above, according to the power control unit 1 according to the present embodiment, the casing 14 having the flow path groove 16 formed on the upper surface, and the plate member that covers the upper surface of the casing 14 and constitutes the heat sink 62. 15 and a plurality of transistors S1, S2, UH, UL, VH, VL, which are provided on the upper surface of the plate member 15 and constitute at least the inverter circuits 5, 6. And a power module 60 incorporating WH and WL. And the guide rib 24 which contacts the lower surface of the plate member 15 is provided in the upper surface of the housing | casing 14 while forming the flow-path groove | channel 16, and the bolt fastening part 55b provided in the power module 60 is the housing | casing. 14 guide ribs 24. Thereby, the deformation of the plate member 15 can be suppressed by the guide rib 24 even when the bolt of the power module 60 is fastened while reducing the thickness of the plate member 15 constituting the heat sink 62.

  In addition, an inlet 21 and an outlet 22 of the cooling flow path 20 are formed on one side surface 14 a of the housing 14, and the guide ribs 24 are opposed to the one side surface 14 a from the one side surface 14 a of the housing 14. A plurality of bolt fastening portions 55 b are arranged along the extending direction of the guide rib 24 on the extending guide rib 24 extending toward the side surface 14 b. Therefore, since the U-shaped cooling flow path 20 is configured and the inflow port 21 and the outflow port 22 are provided on the same side surface 14a of the casing, a piping structure connected to the cooling flow path 20 of the water jacket 10 is provided. It can be simplified, and deformation of the plate member 15 can be suppressed while maintaining the cooling performance.

  Further, the water jacket 10 is disposed so as to be inclined so that the other side surface is higher than the one side surface of the housing 14, and has an air vent 27 on the other side surface of the housing 14. Thereby, the air vent part 27 can be formed in the upper position of the cooling flow path 20, the air venting property is improved, and the cooling performance can be further secured.

  In addition, the water jacket 10 is disposed so as to be inclined so that the other side surface side is higher than the one side surface of the housing 14, and the cooling flow path 20 of the water jacket 10 extends from the inlet 21 to the guide rib 24 of the housing 14. A narrow channel 23 extending along the guide rib 24, a wide channel 25 extending along the guide rib 24 on the opposite side of the narrow channel 23 via the guide rib 24, and connected to the outlet 22; On the other side of the body 14, the connecting channel 26 connecting the narrow and wide channels 23, 25, and the other side of the casing 14 from the other side end of the casing 14 of the narrow channel 23. An air vent portion 27 extending toward the side, and a fluid that passes through the narrow channel 23 is connected to the other end of the narrow channel 23 on the other side of the casing 14. Guide fins 28 that partition the narrow channel 23 and the air vent 27 so as to guide the It is provided. Thereby, the cooling water in the cooling flow path 20 can be rectified by the guide fins 28, the pressure fluctuation is prevented from being applied to the tank 80 provided outside the air vent 27, and the air is vented. Return of the air accumulated in the portion 27 can be suppressed.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above, A deformation | transformation, improvement, etc. are possible suitably.

  In the present invention, the bus plate components 73 and 74 that connect the power module 60 and the connection connectors 71 and 72 are fastened to the bolt fastening portion 55b provided in the power module 60. After the plate member 15 provided with 60 is fixed to the housing 14, an arbitrary component connected to the power module 60 may be a bolted portion. Of course, the three bus bars that connect the power module 60 and the connection connectors 71 and 72 may be individually fastened by the bolt fastening portions 55b.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Power control unit 2 Generator 4 Motor 5, 6 Inverter circuit 7 Converter circuit 8 Control apparatus 9 Gate drive board | substrate 10 Water jacket 14 1st space 15 2nd space 20 Cooling flow path 21 Inlet 22 Outlet 55b Bolt fastening part 60 Power module S1, S2, UH, UL, VH, VL, WH, WL Transistor (switching element)

Claims (4)

A water jacket that forms a cooling flow path, comprising a housing having a flow channel groove formed on the upper surface, a plate member that covers the upper surface of the housing and that constitutes a heat sink,
A power module that is provided on the upper surface of the plate member and incorporates a plurality of switching elements constituting at least an inverter circuit;
A power control unit comprising:
An inlet and an outlet of the cooling channel are formed on one side of the housing,
On the upper surface of the housing, there is a guide portion that extends from one side surface of the housing toward the other side surface facing the one side surface, forms the flow channel groove, and contacts the lower surface of the plate member. Provided,
The cooling flow path of the water jacket includes a first flow path extending from the inlet along the guide part of the housing, and the guide part on the opposite side of the first flow path through the guide part. A second flow path connected to the outlet and a connection flow path connecting the first and second flow paths on the other side surface of the housing,
The power control unit is characterized in that a bolt fastening portion provided in the power module is located on a guide portion of the housing. Power control unit according to claim 1, in the prior SL extending guide portion on a plurality of the bolt fastening portion is characterized in that it is disposed in a direction that is out said extension.   The water jacket is disposed so as to be inclined so that the other side surface is higher than the one side surface of the housing, and has an air vent on the other side surface of the housing. Or the power control unit of 2. The air vent portion is disposed so as to extend toward the other side surface side of the housing from the other side end portion of the housing of the first flow path,
The first flow path and the air vent are disposed at the other side surface end of the first flow path so that fluid passing through the first flow path is guided to the connection flow path. The power control unit according to claim 3 , further comprising a guide fin that partitions the portion.

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