JP6488980B2 - Power converter - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a power converter having a current sensor.

  Patent Document 1 discloses, for example, a power conversion device that performs power conversion between DC power and AC power, in which a semiconductor module including a semiconductor element and a coolant channel are stacked to form a stacked body. ing. The power converter includes a control circuit board that controls the switching operation of the semiconductor module, an output bus bar for connecting the semiconductor module and an AC load, and a current sensor that measures a current flowing through the output bus bar.

  In the power conversion device, the current sensor and the control circuit board are arranged on opposite sides of the laminate in the height direction perpendicular to both the longitudinal direction of the refrigerant flow path and the laminate direction of the laminate. . The current sensor and the control circuit board are connected via a cable.

Japanese Patent No. 5344012

  However, in the power converter, a separate member such as a cable is required to connect the current sensor and the control circuit board. Therefore, it is difficult to reduce the cost in the power conversion device.

  In addition, a space for routing the cable is required in the power conversion device. For this reason, the power converter is likely to be enlarged. Further, in the power conversion device, the current sensor and the control circuit board are arranged on the opposite sides of the stacked body in the height direction. Therefore, the power converter is easy to increase in size in the height direction.

  Moreover, since the current sensor and the control circuit board are connected via a cable, the number of assembling steps is likely to increase, and it is difficult to improve the productivity of the power conversion device.

  This invention is made | formed in view of this subject, and aims to provide the power converter device which can aim at cost reduction, size reduction, and productivity improvement.

One aspect of the present invention is a semiconductor module (2) including a semiconductor element;
A plurality of cooling pipes (3) arranged together with the semiconductor module to constitute a semiconductor lamination unit (10);
A control circuit arranged to face the semiconductor multilayer unit from a height direction (Z) orthogonal to both the stacking direction (X) of the semiconductor multilayer unit and the lateral direction (Y) which is the longitudinal direction of the cooling pipe. A substrate (4);
An output bus bar (5) constituting a current path between the semiconductor module and the external output terminal (51);
A current sensor (6) for measuring a current flowing through the output bus bar;
A case (7) for housing the semiconductor laminated unit, the control circuit board, the output bus bar, and the current sensor;
The current sensor is disposed at a position overlapping the cooling pipe in the stacking direction and overlapping the control circuit board in the height direction,
The current sensor has a sensor terminal (61) protruding downward on the control circuit board side in the height direction,
The sensor terminal is connected to the control circuit board ,
The said current sensor exists in the power converter device (1) distribute | arranged to the one side of the said semiconductor lamination unit in the lamination direction .

  In the power converter, the sensor terminal is connected to the control circuit board. Therefore, it is not necessary to use a separate member such as a cable in order to connect the current sensor and the control circuit board. Therefore, cost reduction can be achieved.

  Further, it is possible to reduce a space for routing the cable, which is necessary when the current sensor and the control circuit board are connected via a cable or the like. Therefore, the power converter can be downsized.

  Further, the number of assembling steps can be reduced and the productivity of the power conversion device can be improved more easily than connecting the current sensor and the control circuit board via a cable or the like.

  The current sensor is disposed at a position overlapping the cooling pipe in the stacking direction and overlapping the control circuit board in the height direction. Therefore, the power converter as a whole can be further reduced in size.

As described above, according to this aspect, it is possible to provide a power conversion device that can achieve cost reduction, size reduction, and productivity improvement.
In addition, the code | symbol in the parenthesis described in the means to solve a claim and a subject shows the correspondence with the specific means as described in embodiment mentioned later, and limits the technical scope of this invention. It is not a thing.

The top view of the power converter device in Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a top view of the power conversion device seen through a mold member in the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 2. The bottom view of the power converter in Embodiment 1. FIG. The side view of the power converter device in Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a top view of the case according to the first embodiment. The drawing which shows a mode that the side wall part and the partition in Embodiment 1 are regulating the inclination of an integrated module.

(Embodiment 1)
An embodiment according to a power conversion device will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the power conversion apparatus 1 of the present embodiment includes a semiconductor module 2, a plurality of cooling pipes 3, a control circuit board 4, an output bus bar 5, a current sensor 6, and a case 7. The semiconductor module 2 includes a semiconductor element. The plurality of cooling pipes 3 are stacked together with the semiconductor module 2 to constitute the semiconductor stacked unit 10. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the control circuit board 4 is disposed so as to face the semiconductor multilayer unit 10 from the height direction Z. Here, the height direction Z is defined as a direction orthogonal to both the stacking direction X of the semiconductor stacking unit 10 and the lateral direction Y that is the longitudinal direction of the cooling pipe 3. As shown in FIG. 2, the output bus bar 5 constitutes a current path between the semiconductor module 2 and the external output terminal 51. The current sensor 6 measures the current flowing through the output bus bar 5. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, the case 7 houses the semiconductor laminated unit 10, the control circuit board 4, the output bus bar 5, and the current sensor 6.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the current sensor 6 is disposed at a position overlapping the cooling pipe 3 in the stacking direction X and overlapping the control circuit board 4 in the height direction Z. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the current sensor 6 has a sensor terminal 61 that protrudes downward in the height direction Z, which is the control circuit board 4 side. The sensor terminal 61 is connected to the control circuit board 4. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in the present embodiment, the output bus bar 5 and the current sensor 6 constitute an integrated module 8 integrated with each other by a mold member 80. The integrated module 8 has an elongated shape in the stacking direction X. 2 and 3, the mold member 80 is indicated by a broken line.

The power conversion device 1 according to the present embodiment is mounted on, for example, an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle, and can be used as an inverter that converts power supply power to drive power necessary for driving a drive motor.
In the following, in the height direction Z, the control circuit board 4 side with respect to the current sensor 6 is referred to as the lower side, and the opposite side is referred to as the upper side. One side in the stacking direction X is referred to as the front, and the opposite side is referred to as the back.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 and 7, the case 7 includes a base wall portion 71, a side wall portion 72, and a partition wall 73. As shown in FIG. 3, the base wall portion 71 is disposed between the semiconductor multilayer unit 10 and the control circuit board 4 in the height direction Z. Moreover, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 and 7, the side wall 72 is erected on both sides in the height direction Z from the edge of the base wall 71. The partition wall 73 is erected upward from the base wall portion 71. The partition wall 73 has an opposing partition wall portion 731 disposed on a part of the side wall portion 72 so as to face the lateral direction Y. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the upper end of the partition wall 73 is located below the upper end of the side wall portion 72.

  As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 5, and 7, the base wall portion 71 has a rectangular plate shape. The base wall 71 has a thickness direction in the height direction Z. The side wall part 72 has a rectangular frame shape. The side wall portion 72 is open on both sides in the height direction Z. As shown in FIG. 6, both end portions of the side wall portion 72 in the height direction Z are closed by the cover 16. Except for FIG. 6, the illustration of the cover 16 is omitted as appropriate.

  As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 7, the upper space 70 formed above the base wall 71 in the case 7 is divided into a plurality of partitions 73. That is, the partition wall 73 includes a front partition wall portion 732 and a rear partition wall portion 733 formed so as to be orthogonal to the stacking direction X before and after the counter partition wall portion 731 in addition to the counter partition wall portion 731. The front partition wall 732 is formed over the entire lateral direction Y of the case 7. The rear partition wall 733 is formed so as to connect the rear end of the facing portion 731 and the side wall 72 on one side in the lateral direction Y.

  The upper space 70 in the case 7 is divided into a unit arrangement space 701, a module arrangement space 702, and a capacitor arrangement space 703. The unit arrangement space 701 is formed by being surrounded by the side wall portion 72, the front partition wall portion 732, and the base wall portion 71. The module arrangement space 702 is formed by being surrounded by the side wall portion 72, the front partition wall portion 732, the opposing partition wall portion 731, and the base wall portion 71. The capacitor arrangement space 703 is formed by being surrounded by the side wall portion 72, the front partition wall portion 732, the opposing partition wall portion 731, the rear partition wall portion 733, and the base wall portion 71.

  The unit arrangement space 701 is located at the front end of the upper space 70. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the semiconductor multilayer unit 10 is arranged in the unit arrangement space 701. A module arrangement space 702 and a capacitor arrangement space 703 are located on the rear side of the unit arrangement space 701. The module arrangement space 702 and the capacitor arrangement space 703 are arranged in the horizontal direction Y. In the present embodiment, the module arrangement space 702 has a smaller dimension in the lateral direction Y than the capacitor arrangement space 703. The integrated module 8 is arranged in the module arrangement space 702, and the capacitor 11 is arranged in the capacitor arrangement space 703. The capacitor 11 smoothes the DC voltage input to the power conversion device 1.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the control circuit board 4 is arranged in a lower space 700 formed on the lower side of the base wall portion 71 in the case 7. The control circuit board 4 controls the switching operation of the semiconductor module 2. The control circuit board 4 has a rectangular plate shape, and is arranged so as to face the base wall portion 71 from the lower side of the base wall portion 71. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the control circuit board 4 is arranged to overlap at least the semiconductor laminated unit 10 and the current sensor 6 in the height direction Z. In the present embodiment, the control circuit board 4 is arranged at a position overlapping the semiconductor laminated unit 10, the integrated module 8, and the capacitor 11 in the height direction Z.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the semiconductor stacked unit 10 includes three semiconductor modules 2. The semiconductor module 2 includes a switching element such as an IGBT and a diode such as an FWD. As shown in FIG. 3, each semiconductor module 2 includes a control terminal 21 protruding downward, a positive terminal 22, a negative terminal 23, and an AC terminal 24 protruding upward. The control terminal 21 is soldered to the through hole of the control circuit board 4 through the control terminal insertion hole 75 provided in the lower region of the unit arrangement space 701 in the base wall portion 71. 1 to 3, the positive terminal 22 and the negative terminal 23 are connected to the bus bar 12 that connects the semiconductor module 2 and the capacitor 11, and the AC terminal 24 is connected to the output bus bar 5. Yes.

  The semiconductor module 2 is sandwiched by a pair of cooling pipes 3 from both side surfaces in the stacking direction X. The cooling pipes 3 adjacent to each other in the stacking direction X are connected by connecting pipes 31 in the vicinity of both ends in the horizontal direction Y. The front end surfaces of the cooling tubes 3 arranged at the front ends of the plurality of cooling tubes 3 are in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the side wall portion 72. The cooling pipe 3 disposed at the front ends of the plurality of cooling pipes 3 is formed with a refrigerant introduction pipe 32 for introducing the cooling medium and a refrigerant discharge pipe 33 for discharging the cooling medium protruding forward. Has been. The refrigerant introduction pipe 32 and the refrigerant discharge pipe 33 penetrate the side wall portion 72 in the stacking direction X, and project outside the case 7.

  A pressure member 13 is disposed behind the semiconductor stacked unit 10 in the unit arrangement space 701. The pressure member 13 can be a leaf spring that can be elastically deformed, for example. The pressure member 13 is supported by the front partition 732 at the rear end. The pressure member 13 is arranged in a compressed state in the stacking direction X. Thereby, the pressing member 13 presses the semiconductor laminated unit 10 toward the front.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the integrated module 8 includes a part of the output bus bar 5 and the current sensor 6 embedded in a mold member 80 made of an insulating material such as resin. The integrated module 8 has three output bus bars 5 connected to the AC terminals 24 of the three semiconductor modules 2, respectively. Each output bus bar 5 is made of a metal plate. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in this embodiment, the end of the output bus bar 5 opposite to the side connected to the AC terminal 24 is the above-described external output terminal 51. That is, in the present embodiment, the external output terminal 51 is a part of the output bus bar 5. The external output terminal 51 is a terminal for connecting the power converter 1 and an external device such as a motor. The external output terminal 51 is exposed from the mold member 80. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, an output-side opening hole 77 that opens toward the external output terminal 51 is formed in the side wall portion 72 of the case 7.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, two of the three output bus bars 5 pass through the current sensor 6. That is, the current sensor 6 is formed in an annular shape so as to surround the output bus bar 5 from a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the output bus bar 5. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the current sensor 6 is disposed at a position where a part of the current sensor 6 overlaps the cooling pipe 3 in the stacking direction X. In addition, the current sensor 6 is disposed at a position where the entire current sensor 6 overlaps the control circuit board 4 in the height direction Z.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the current sensor 6 has a sensor terminal 61 protruding downward. The sensor terminal 61 is a pin terminal made of a metal core material. A part of the sensor terminal 61 is exposed downward from the mold member 80. Here, as shown in FIGS. 3, 4, and 7, the base wall portion 71 is a hole portion that is formed to penetrate in the height direction Z in at least a part of the region facing the current sensor 6 in the height direction Z. 76. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the sensor terminal 61 is connected to the control circuit board 4 through the hole 76 in the base wall 71. The sensor terminal 61 is soldered to the through hole of the control circuit board 4. That is, the sensor terminal 61 is directly bonded to the control circuit board 4.

  As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 4, in the integrated module 8, one end surface in the lateral direction Y is opposed to a part of the side wall portion 72 adjacent to the lateral direction Y. In the integrated module 8, the other end surface in the lateral direction Y is opposed to the opposing partition wall portion 731 adjacent to the lateral direction Y. In such a state, the integrated module 8 is disposed between the side wall portion 72 and the opposing partition wall portion 731.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the opposing partition wall portion 731 includes a first opposing partition wall portion 731a having a constant height, a second opposing partition wall portion 731b having a height that decreases from the first opposing partition wall portion 731a toward the rear, A third opposing partition wall portion 731c is provided extending rearward from the two opposing partition wall portions 731b and having a constant height. In addition, a protruding portion 74 is formed on a part of the opposing partition wall portion 731 so as to protrude upward from other portions of the opposing partition wall portion 731. In the present embodiment, the protruding portion 74 is formed on a part of the first opposing partition wall portion 731a. Further, the protrusion 74 has a dimension in the stacking direction X that is smaller than that of each current sensor 6. As shown in FIG. 8, the height of the projecting portion 74 is such that the integrated module 8 can be arranged in the module arrangement space 702 in a state where the integrated module 8 is inclined in the rotation direction around the axis extending in the stacking direction X. The height 21 is designed so as not to interfere with the case 7. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the upper end of the protrusion 74 is located below the upper end of the side wall 72.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the rear end portion of the integrated module 8 is a terminal block 81 on which an external input terminal 14 for connecting a DC power source to the power converter 1 is placed. The external input terminal 14 is connected to the capacitor 11 via the bus bar 15. As shown in FIG. 6, an input side opening hole 78 that opens toward the external input terminal 14 is formed in the side wall portion 72 of the case 7.

Next, the effect of this embodiment is demonstrated.
In the power conversion device 1, the sensor terminal 61 is connected to the control circuit board 4. Therefore, it is not necessary to use another member such as a cable in order to connect the current sensor 6 and the control circuit board 4. Therefore, cost reduction can be achieved.

  Further, it is possible to reduce a space for routing the cable, which is necessary when the current sensor 6 and the control circuit board 4 are connected via a cable or the like. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the size of the power conversion device 1.

  Further, the number of assembling steps can be reduced and the productivity of the power conversion device 1 can be improved more easily than connecting the current sensor 6 and the control circuit board 4 via a cable or the like.

  The current sensor 6 is disposed at a position overlapping the cooling pipe 3 in the stacking direction X and overlapping the control circuit board 4 in the height direction Z. Therefore, the power conversion device 1 as a whole can be further reduced in size.

  The integrated module 8 has a long shape in the stacking direction X. Therefore, when the integrated module 8 is assembled to the case 7, it is difficult for the integrated module 8 to tilt in the rotational direction around the axis extending in the lateral direction Y. Further, in the integrated module 8, one end surface in the lateral direction Y faces a part of the side wall portion 72 adjacent to the lateral direction Y, and the other end surface in the lateral direction Y faces the opposing partition wall portion 731 in the lateral direction Y. Is disposed between the side wall portion 72 and the opposing partition wall portion 731 so as to be opposed to each other. Therefore, when the integrated module 8 is assembled to the case 7, it is difficult for the integrated module 8 to tilt in the rotation direction around the axis extending in the stacking direction X. That is, as shown in FIG. 8, even if the integrated module 8 is inclined in the rotational direction about the axis extending in the stacking direction X, even if it is arranged in the module arrangement space 702 of the case 7, This inclination can be regulated by the opposing partition wall portion 731.

As described above, the inclination of the integrated module 8 with respect to the case 7 at the time of assembly can be suppressed, so that the position of the tip of the sensor terminal 61 at the time of mounting the integrated module 8 with respect to the case 7 can be suppressed. Thereby, it can prevent that the sensor terminal 61 interferes with the base wall part 71 and deform | transforms at the time of an assembly | attachment.
Furthermore, since the inclination of the integrated module 8 with respect to the case 7 during assembly can be suppressed, the sensor terminal 61 interferes with the base wall 71 around the hole 76 even if the hole 76 of the base wall 71 is reduced. Can be suppressed. Therefore, it is easy to make the hole 76 the minimum necessary size. Thereby, it is easy to suppress propagation of electromagnetic noise from the integrated module 8 side of the base wall portion 71 to the control circuit board 4 side through the hole portion 76.

  A protruding portion 74 is formed on a part of the opposing partition wall portion 731. Therefore, the protrusion 74 can suppress the inclination of the rotation direction around the axis extending in the stacking direction X of the integrated module 8 and reduce the height of the portion other than the protrusion 74 in the opposing partition wall portion 731. Can do. Therefore, when the components of the power conversion device 1 are assembled to the case 7, the components of the power conversion device 1 can be assembled smoothly without causing the opposing partition wall portion 731 to interfere. Therefore, the manufacturing efficiency of the power conversion device 1 can be improved.

  As described above, according to this embodiment, it is possible to provide a power conversion device that can achieve cost reduction, size reduction, and productivity improvement.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be applied to various embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, a form in which a part of the current sensor is arranged at a position overlapping with the cooling pipe in the stacking direction is shown. It may be arranged in an overlapping position. Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the whole current sensor showed the form arrange | positioned in the position which overlaps with a control circuit board in the height direction, a part of current sensor showed with respect to the control circuit board. It may be arranged at a position overlapping in the height direction. From the viewpoint of miniaturization of the power conversion device, the current sensor is disposed at a position where the entire current sensor overlaps the cooling pipe in the stacking direction and overlaps the control circuit board in the height direction. Preferably it is.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Power converter 10 Semiconductor laminated unit 2 Semiconductor module 3 Cooling pipe 4 Control circuit board 5 Output bus bar 51 External output terminal 6 Current sensor 61 Sensor terminal 7 Case X Stacking direction Y Lateral direction Z Height direction

Claims (3)

A semiconductor module (2) comprising a semiconductor element;
A plurality of cooling pipes (3) arranged together with the semiconductor module to constitute a semiconductor lamination unit (10);
A control circuit arranged to face the semiconductor multilayer unit from a height direction (Z) orthogonal to both the stacking direction (X) of the semiconductor multilayer unit and the lateral direction (Y) which is the longitudinal direction of the cooling pipe. A substrate (4);
An output bus bar (5) constituting a current path between the semiconductor module and the external output terminal (51);
A current sensor (6) for measuring a current flowing through the output bus bar;
A case (7) for housing the semiconductor laminated unit, the control circuit board, the output bus bar, and the current sensor;
The current sensor is disposed at a position overlapping the cooling pipe in the stacking direction and overlapping the control circuit board in the height direction,
The current sensor has a sensor terminal (61) protruding downward on the control circuit board side in the height direction,
The sensor terminal is connected to the control circuit board ,
The power sensor (1), wherein the current sensor is disposed on one side of the semiconductor multilayer unit in the stacking direction . The case is provided with a base wall portion (71) disposed between the semiconductor stacked unit and the control circuit board in the height direction, and is erected on both sides in the height direction from an edge of the base wall portion. A side wall portion (72), and a partition wall (73) erected from the base wall portion toward the upper side opposite to the lower side in the height direction,
The partition wall has a facing partition wall portion (731) arranged to face a part of the side wall portion in the lateral direction,
The upper end of the partition wall is located below the upper end of the side wall,
The output bus bar and the current sensor are integrated with each other by a mold member (80) to constitute an integrated module (8) that is long in the stacking direction,
In the integrated module, one end surface in the lateral direction is opposed to a part of the side wall portion in the lateral direction and the other end surface in the lateral direction is opposed to the opposing partition wall portion in the lateral direction. Are arranged between the side wall portion and the opposing partition wall portion,
The base wall portion has a hole portion (76) formed through in the height direction in at least a part of a region facing the current sensor in the height direction,
The power converter according to claim 1, wherein the sensor terminal is connected to the control circuit board through the hole of the base wall.   The power converter according to claim 2, wherein a protruding portion (74) protruding upward from the other part of the opposing partition wall is formed in a part of the opposing partition wall.

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