JP6606938B2 - Power converter - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a power conversion device including a casing that houses a power semiconductor module for power conversion and a control circuit board, and a cooler fixed to the casing.

As this type of power conversion device, a power conversion device described in Patent Document 1 is known.
This power conversion device forms a cooler having a cooling chamber therein, a power semiconductor module installed on the cooler, a control circuit board that drives the power semiconductor module, and a flow path that communicates with the cooling chamber. A tubular member, a power semiconductor module, a control circuit board, a cooler, a cover member that accommodates the tubular member, and a recessed space forming member that forms a recessed space recessed on the inner side of the cover member are accommodated. Then, the coolant flows from the tubular member to the cooling chamber of the cooler, whereby the power semiconductor module is cooled by the cooler.
By the way, the power converter of patent document 1 has many operations | work which assembles components, maintaining a liquid-tight state (a connection part of a cover member and a concave space formation member, a connection part of a tubular member, a cooler, etc.), assembly, manufacture There is a problem in terms of cost.

Japanese Patent No. 5425029

Therefore, it is conceivable to improve the assemblability of the cooler by attaching the cooler to the outside of the cover member.
The cooler is usually attached to the cover member with a screw member. However, the attachment of the cooler to the cover member by the screw member has a large contact thermal resistance at the joint between the cooler and the cover member, so that the heat generated in the control circuit board is hardly transmitted from the cover member to the cooler. For this reason, if the cooler is fixed to the cover member with a screw member, the control circuit board cannot be efficiently cooled.
The present invention has been made paying attention to the unsolved problems of the above conventional example, and an object thereof is to provide a power conversion device capable of improving the cooling efficiency of a control circuit board housed in a housing. .

To achieve the above object, a power conversion device according to an aspect of the present invention includes a power semiconductor module for power conversion, a control circuit board on which circuit components for driving the power semiconductor module are mounted, a power semiconductor module, and a control A housing that houses the circuit board, and a cooler that is joined to the housing and cools the power semiconductor module and the control circuit board, and a heat conduction member is interposed between the joining surfaces of the housing and the cooler. A plurality of joint portions are formed, and the housing and the cooler are fixed by screw fastening means that passes through a predetermined joint portion among the plurality of joint portions.

  According to the power conversion device of the present invention, since the heat conducting member is interposed between the joint surfaces of the housing and the cooler, the contact thermal resistance between the housing and the cooler can be reduced. Therefore, the heat generated in the control circuit board is easily transferred from the housing to the cooler, and the cooling efficiency of the control circuit board can be increased.

It is a perspective view showing the power converter of a 1st embodiment concerning the present invention. It is sectional drawing of the power converter device of 1st Embodiment which follows the plane A in FIG. It is sectional drawing of the power converter device of 1st Embodiment which follows the plane B orthogonal to the plane A in FIG. It is an expansion | deployment perspective view which shows the structural member of the power converter device of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the periphery of the opening part of the housing | casing by which the cooler is detachably fixed in the power converter device of 1st Embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the cooler currently used with the power converter device of 1st Embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the power semiconductor module used with the power converter device of 1st Embodiment. It is an equivalent circuit of the power semiconductor module used with the power converter device of a 1st embodiment. It is a figure which shows the state by which the cooler was fixed to a part of housing | casing in the power converter device of 1st Embodiment, and the holding | maintenance part integrated with the housing | casing is shown with the dashed-two dotted line. In the power conversion device according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the structure indicated by a circle C in FIG. 2 (FIG. 10A) and the structure indicated by a circle D in FIG. 2 (FIG. 10B). is there. In the power converter according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the structure indicated by a circle E in FIG. 3 (FIG. 11A) and the structure indicated by a circle F in FIG. 3 (FIG. 11B). is there. In the power converter according to the second embodiment of the present invention, the structure indicated by a circle C in FIG. 2 (FIG. 12A) and the structure indicated by a circle D in FIG. 2 (FIG. 12B). is there. In the power converter according to the second embodiment of the present invention, the structure indicated by a circle E in FIG. 3 (FIG. 13A) and the structure indicated by a circle F in FIG. 3 (FIG. 13B). is there.

Next, first and second embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description of the drawings, the same or similar parts are denoted by the same or similar reference numerals. However, it should be noted that the drawings are schematic, and the relationship between the thickness and the planar dimensions, the ratio of the thickness of each layer, and the like are different from the actual ones. Therefore, specific thicknesses and dimensions should be determined in consideration of the following description. Moreover, it is a matter of course that portions having different dimensional relationships and ratios are included between the drawings.
In addition, the first and second embodiments shown below exemplify apparatuses and methods for embodying the technical idea of the present invention, and the technical idea of the present invention is the material of components, The shape, structure, arrangement, etc. are not specified below. The technical idea of the present invention can be variously modified within the technical scope defined by the claims described in the claims.

[Power Converter of First Embodiment]
Hereinafter, the power converter of a 1st embodiment concerning one mode of the present invention is explained, referring to drawings suitably.
As shown in FIG. 1, the power conversion device 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a housing 2 and a cooler 3 that is detachably fixed to the bottom surface of the housing 2.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the housing 2 has three insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) modules 10U, 10V, and 10W joined to the cooler 3, and these IGBT modules 10U, 10V, and 10W. A control circuit board 11, a smoothing capacitor 12, a DC input connector 13, and an AC output connector 14 on which a drive circuit and the like are mounted are housed.

[Case]
The housing 2 includes a case 4, a cover 5, and a gasket 6.
Case 4 is formed of aluminum or an aluminum alloy.
As shown in FIG. 4, the case 4 includes a bottom portion 4a and a side wall portion 4b that rises from the entire circumference of the bottom portion 4a. A pair of the upper portions 4c having a polygonal shape open at the upper end of the side wall portion 4b and face each other. The holding portion 32 is formed integrally with the case 4 across the side wall portions 4b, 4b.
The case 4 is a member that is long in the left-right direction in FIG. 4. When the upper opening 4 c is closed with the cover 5 via the gasket 6, a rectangular storage space S <b> 1 is formed at the center in the long direction, Storage spaces S2, S3 narrower than the storage space S1 are formed at both ends in the longitudinal direction.

A mounting flange portion 7 is formed on the entire periphery of the upper end of the side wall portion 4 b of the case 4 so as to protrude outward, and a screw hole 7 a is formed at a predetermined location of the mounting flange portion 7.
A rectangular IGBT module opening 8 that opens in the storage space S <b> 1 is formed in the bottom 4 a of the case 4. The longitudinal direction of the IGBT module opening 8 is formed so as to extend in the short direction of the bottom 4a (oblique vertical direction in FIG. 4), and both ends of the IGBT module opening 8 in the longitudinal direction are sidewalls. It opens to the lower end of the part 4b.

In addition, a plurality of first female screw portions 25 are formed at predetermined intervals on the bottom portion 4a along one long side edge of the IGBT module opening 8, and the other length of the IGBT module opening 8 is formed. A plurality of second female screw portions 26 and third female screw portions 27 are formed at a predetermined interval in the bottom portion 4a along the side edge.
As shown in FIG. 5A, the first male screw portion 25 is a cap nut-shaped member that bulges inside the case 4, and has a female screw 25 a that opens downward.

As shown in FIG. 5B, the second male screw portion 26 is a cap nut-shaped member that bulges inside the case 4, and has a female screw 26 a that opens downward. The third female screw portion 27 is formed with a female screw 27 a that protrudes from the outer periphery of the second male screw portion 26 toward the IGBT module opening 8 and communicates toward the inside and the outside of the case 4.
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the holding portion 32 is integrally formed between the pair of side wall portions 4 b, 4 b facing each other, and is rectangular in plan view located above the IGBT module opening 8. It is a member. A plurality of holding projections 40a to 40e are formed on the surface of the holding portion 32 so as to protrude, and a plurality of lead frame insertion slits 41 communicating in the front and back direction are formed.

As shown in FIG. 4, the cover 5 is a plate-like member made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy and formed in the same shape as the outer peripheral shape of the mounting flange portion 7 of the case 4. A screw insertion hole 5 a is formed at a position corresponding to the screw hole 7 a of the mounting flange portion 7 of the case 4 of the cover 5. Note that the cover 5 may also be formed using copper or a copper alloy as a material.
As shown in FIG. 4, the gasket 6 is formed in the same shape as the mounting flange portion 7, and a screw insertion hole 6 a is formed at a position corresponding to the screw hole 7 a of the mounting flange portion 7.

[Cooler]
The cooler 3 is a member formed of aluminum or an aluminum alloy as a material, and includes a cooling water supply port 15a and a cooling water discharge port 15b as shown in FIG. The block-shaped cooler body 15 provided with a rectangular joining surface 15c and a pair of plate-like fixing portions projecting outward from a pair of long sides of the joining surface 15c and provided with screw insertion holes 16a at a predetermined interval 16.

[IGBT module]
The IGBT module 10U shown in FIG. 7 has a rectangular parallelepiped resin package 17, an upper arm semiconductor chip, an upper arm wiring pattern portion, an upper arm wiring conductor plate, a lower arm semiconductor chip, and a lower arm wiring pattern (not shown). , A lower arm wiring conductor plate and a ground wiring pattern portion are embedded.
On the first side surface 17a of the resin package 17, a positive side connection terminal 18 connected to the collector of the upper arm semiconductor chip via the upper arm wiring pattern portion, a ground wiring pattern portion, and a lower arm wiring conductor plate are provided. The negative electrode side connection terminal 19 connected to the emitter of the lower arm semiconductor chip protrudes outward through the second side surface 17b on the back surface with respect to the first side surface 17a, and the lower arm wiring pattern portion and the upper arm An output terminal 20 connected to the emitter of the upper arm semiconductor chip and the collector of the lower arm semiconductor chip protrudes outward through the wiring conductor plate.

Further, on the upper surface of the resin package 17, a plurality of upper arm lead frames 21 connected to a plurality of upper arm control electrodes (a gate electrode, an emitter current sense electrode, a temperature detection electrode, etc. described later), and a lower arm A plurality of lower arm lead frames 22 connected to a plurality of arm control electrodes are provided protruding upward.
The other two IGBT modules 10V, 10W also have the same configuration as the IGBT module 10U shown in FIG.

  FIG. 8 shows an equivalent circuit of three IGBT modules 10U, 10V, and 10W. Between the positive electrode side connection terminal 18 and the negative electrode side connection terminal 19, a reverse conducting IGBT module QU constituting an upper arm, The reverse conducting IGBT module QL constituting the lower arm is connected in series, and the output terminal 20 is provided between the reverse conducting IGBT module QU and the reverse conducting IGBT module QL. Here, reference numeral 21g is a gate electrode of the reverse conducting IGBT module QU, reference numeral 21es is an emitter current sense electrode of the reverse conducting IGBT module QUI, reference numeral 22g is a gate electrode of the reverse conducting IGBT module QUI, and reference numeral 22es is It is an emitter current sense electrode of the reverse conducting IGBT module QL.

[Assembly of Power Converter of First Embodiment]
Next, the assembly procedure of the power conversion device 1 of the first embodiment will be described.
The three IGBT modules 10U, 10V, and 10W are sintered at a position indicated by a two-dot chain line quadrilateral shape of the joint surface 15c of the cooler 3 shown in FIG. 6 (a position at a predetermined interval in the longitudinal direction of the joint surface 15c). It joins by the metal sintered material and solder by a process (refer FIG. 4).
The three IGBT modules 10U, 10V, and 10W integrated with the cooler 3 are as shown in FIG. 9 (in FIG. 9, the holding portion 32 is indicated by a two-dot chain line). 8 is inserted into the storage space S1 of the case 4 from the bottom 4a side.

At this time, the upper arm lead frame 21 and the lower arm lead frame 22 protruding from the upper surfaces of the IGBT modules 10U, 10V, and 10W pass through the plurality of lead frame insertion slits 41 of the holding portion 32 and Project upward.
Here, FIGS. 10A and 10B show in detail the structures of symbols C and D indicated by circles in FIG. In these drawings, the heat conduction grease 44 is interposed between the lower surface of the bottom portion 4a along the pair of long side edges of the IGBT module opening 8 and the upper surface of the fixing portion 16 of the cooler 3. . Then, the screw member 30 having the first female screw portion 25 and the second female screw portion 26 associated with the screw insertion holes 16a of the pair of fixing portions 16 of the cooler 3 is passed through the screw insertion holes 16a. The cooler 3 is fixed to the case 4 by screwing into the case 4.

FIGS. 11A and 11B show details of structures E and F indicated by circles in FIG. In these drawings, heat conduction grease 44 is interposed between the lower surface 4b1 of the side wall 4b along the pair of short side edges of the IGBT module opening 8 and the upper surface of the cooler 3 on the short side. ing.
Thereby, the cooler 3 is detachably attached to the bottom 4a of the case 4 in a state where the IGBT modules 10U, 10V, and 10W are disposed in the storage space S1 of the case 4.

The control circuit board 11 is a slightly small rectangular member with respect to the holding portion 32 of the case 4 and is mounted with a circuit component 43 (see FIG. 3) for driving the IGBT modules 10U, 10V, and 10W. .
The control circuit board 11 is placed on the holding projections 40 a to 40 e of the holding unit 32. And the control circuit board 11 is hold | maintained at the holding | maintenance part 32 by screwing the screw member inserted in the screw insertion hole of holding | maintenance protrusion part 40a-40e to the internal thread part formed in the top part of holding | maintenance protrusion part 40a-40e. The

  Here, as shown in FIG. 3, the upper arm lead frame 21 and the lower arm lead frame 22 that protrude from the upper surfaces of the three IGBT modules 10U, 10V, and 10W and pass through the lead frame insertion slit 41 of the holding portion 32 are as follows. The control circuit board 11 is inserted into a through hole (not shown) having a land, and the upper arm lead frame 21, the lower arm lead frame 22 and the through hole are soldered.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a smoothing capacitor 12 is disposed adjacent to the three IGBT modules 10U, 10V, and 10W in the storage space S1 of the case 4, and the positive side connection of the three IGBT modules 10U, 10V, and 10W is connected. The terminal 18 and the negative electrode side connection terminal 19 are connected to the positive and negative electrodes of the smoothing capacitor 12.
The AC output connector 14 is disposed in the storage space S <b> 2 of the case 4, and the three IGBT 10 </ b> U, 10 V, and 10 W output terminals 20 and the AC output connector 14 are connected via the bus bar 33. The bus bar 33 is supported by AC output terminal blocks 29 and 31 arranged in the storage space S <b> 1 of the case 4.

Further, the DC input terminal block 28 and the DC input connector 13 are disposed in the storage space S3 of the case 4, and the DC input connector 13 and the smoothing capacitor 12 are connected via the bus bar 34. The bus bar 34 is supported on the upper part of the DC input terminal block 28.
2 and 3, the gasket 6 is placed on the mounting flange portion 7 of the case 4, the outer peripheral edge portion of the cover 5 is placed on the gasket 6, and the screw insertion hole 5 a of the cover 5 and the screw of the gasket 6 are placed. By screwing the screw member 35 inserted into the insertion hole 6 a into the screw hole 7 a of the mounting flange portion 7, the upper opening of the case 4 is closed. As a result, the IGBT modules 10U, 10V, and 10W, the control circuit board 11, the smoothing capacitor 12, the DC input connector 13, and the AC output connector 14 housed in the housing 2 are liquid-tightly sealed with the outside air. .

[Operation of Power Conversion Device of First Embodiment]
In this state, DC power is supplied from an external converter (not shown) via the DC input connector 13, and a gate signal composed of, for example, a pulse width modulation signal is supplied from the control circuit board 11 to the IGBT modules 10U, 10V, and 10W. To do. That is, by controlling on / off with a gate signal shifted by 120 degrees with respect to the three IGBT modules 10U, 10V, and 10W, a three-phase alternating current of U phase, V phase, and W phase is loaded via the AC output connector 14. Is output.

  In the control circuit board 11, the circuit components 43 that operate the IGBT modules 10U, 10V, and 10W are heated. The heat generated in the control circuit board 11 is transmitted to the case 4 and is transmitted to the cooler 3 fixed to the bottom 4 a of the case 4. The heat transferred to the cooler body 15 of the cooler 3 is supplied from the coolant supply port 15a of the cooler 3 and is cooled by the coolant that circulates inside and is discharged from the coolant discharge port 15b. The

  The power semiconductor module according to the present invention corresponds to the IGBT modules 10U, 10V, and 10W, the casing according to the present invention corresponds to the case 4, and the joint surface of the casing according to the present invention has an opening for the IGBT module. 8 corresponds to the lower surface of the bottom portion 4a along the pair of long side edges and the lower surface 4b1 of the side wall portion 4b along the pair of short side edges of the IGBT module opening 8, and the cooler according to the present invention. The joint surface corresponds to the upper surface of the fixing part 16 of the cooler 3 and the upper surface of the short side of the cooler 3, the heat conducting member according to the present invention corresponds to the heat conducting grease 44, and the circuit component according to the present invention. Corresponds to the circuit component 43.

[Effect of the power conversion device of the first embodiment]
Next, the effect of the power converter device 1 of 1st Embodiment is demonstrated.
In the power conversion device 1 of the first embodiment, the periphery of the IGBT module opening 8 of the case 4 (the lower surface of the bottom 4a and the lower surface 4b1 of the side wall 4b along the pair of long side edges), the cooler 3 Thermal conduction grease 44 is interposed between the entire upper surface of the fixed part 16 (the upper surface of the fixed part 16 and the upper surface on the short side of the cooler 3), and the contact thermal resistance of the joint between the case 4 and the cooler 3. And the heat conductivity to the control circuit board 11, the case 4, the heat conduction grease 44, and the cooler 3 is improved. Therefore, the heat generated in the control circuit board 11 is easily transmitted to the cooler 3, so that the cooling efficiency of the control circuit board 11 can be increased.

Here, in the power converter 1 of 1st Embodiment, it replaces with the heat conductive grease 44 interposed between the periphery of the opening part 8 for IGBT modules of the case 4, and the upper surface perimeter of the fixing | fixed part 16 of the cooler 3. FIG. Even if a heat conductive sheet is interposed, the same effect can be obtained. In that case, the heat conductive member according to the present invention corresponds to a heat conductive sheet.
Further, the peripheral edge of the IGBT module opening 8 of the case 4 and the cooler 3 are fixed by the screw member 30, so that the peripheral edge of the IGBT module opening 8 and the entire upper surface of the fixing part 16 of the cooler 3 are Adhesion of the heat conductive grease 44 disposed between them can be improved.

[Power Converter of Second Embodiment]
Next, the power converter device of 2nd Embodiment which concerns on 1 aspect of this invention is demonstrated with reference to FIG.12 and FIG.13. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same component as the power converter device 1 of 1st Embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-11, and description is abbreviate | omitted.
Here, FIGS. 12A and 12B show in detail the structures of symbols C and D indicated by the circles in FIG. 2 in the power conversion device of the second embodiment. In these drawings, the lower surface of the bottom portion 4 a along the pair of long side edges of the IGBT module opening 8 and the upper surface of the fixing portion 16 of the cooler 3 are soldered together by a solder portion 45. Then, the screw member 30 having the first female screw portion 25 and the second female screw portion 26 associated with the screw insertion holes 16a of the pair of fixing portions 16 of the cooler 3 is passed through the screw insertion holes 16a. The cooler 3 is fixed to the case 4 by screwing into the case 4.

FIGS. 13A and 13B show the structures of symbols E and F indicated by circles in FIG. 3 in detail. In these drawings, the lower surface 4b1 of the side wall portion 4b along the pair of short side edges of the IGBT module opening 8 and the upper surface on the short side of the cooler 3 are soldered by a solder portion 45. .
According to the power conversion device of the second embodiment, the periphery of the IGBT module opening 8 of the case 4 (the lower surface of the bottom 4a and the lower surface 4b1 of the side wall 4b along the pair of long side edges) and the cooler 3 Since the entire upper surface of the fixed part 16 (the upper surface of the fixed part 16 and the upper surface on the short side of the cooler 3) is joined by the solder part 45, the contact thermal resistance of the joint part of the case 4 and the cooler 3 And the thermal conductivity to the control circuit board 11, the case 4, the solder part 45, and the cooler 3 is improved. Therefore, the heat generated in the control circuit board 11 is easily transmitted to the cooler 3, so that the cooling efficiency of the control circuit board 11 can be increased.
In addition, the peripheral edge of the IGBT module opening 8 of the case 4 and the cooler 3 are fixed by the screw member 30, so that the cooling integrated with the case 4 can be performed even if an external force is transmitted from the outside to the cooler 3. The structure of the vessel 3 can be held for a long time.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Power converter 2 Case 3 Cooler 4 Case 4a Bottom part 4b Side wall part 4b1 Bottom surface 4c of side wall part 4b Upper opening part 5 Cover 5a Screw insertion hole 6 Gasket 6a Screw insertion hole 7 Mounting flange part 7a Screw hole 8 For IGBT module Opening 10U, 10V, 10W IGBT module 11 Control circuit board 11a Insertion hole 11b Bottom surface 12 of control circuit board Smoothing capacitor 13 DC input connector 14 AC output connector 15 Cooler body 15a, 46a Cooling water supply port 15b, 46b Cooling water discharge Outlet 15c Joint surface 16 Fixing portion 16a Screw insertion hole 17 Resin package 17a First side surface 17b Second side surface 18 Positive side connection terminal 19 Negative side connection terminal 20 Output terminal 21 Lead arm for upper arm 21g Reverse conducting IGBT module QU Gate electrode 21es Reverse conducting IGBT Module QU emitter current sense electrode 22 Lower arm lead frame 22
22g Gate electrode 22es of reverse conducting IGBT module QU Emitter current sensing electrode 25 of reverse conducting IGBT module QL First female screw portion 25a Female screw 26 Second female screw portion 26a Female screw 27 Third female screw portion 27a Female screw 28 DC input terminal block 29, 31 AC Output terminal block 30, 35 Screw member 32 Holding part 33, 34 Busbar S1, S2, S3 Storage space 40a-40e Holding projection part 41 Lead frame insertion slit 43 Circuit component 44 Thermal conduction grease 45 Solder part QUI Reverse conduction IGBT module QL Reverse Conductive IGBT module

Claims (4)

A power semiconductor module for power conversion;
A control circuit board on which circuit components for driving the power semiconductor module are mounted;
A housing for housing the power semiconductor module and the control circuit board;
A cooler joined to the housing to cool the power semiconductor module and the control circuit board,
A plurality of joints in which a heat conducting member is interposed between the housing and the joint surface of the cooler are formed,
The said converter and the said cooler are fixed by the screw fastening means which passes the predetermined | prescribed junction part among these several junction parts, The power converter device characterized by the above-mentioned .   The power conversion device according to claim 1, wherein the heat conducting member is heat conducting grease.   The power conversion device according to claim 1, wherein the heat conducting member is a heat conducting sheet. A power semiconductor module for power conversion;
A control circuit board on which circuit components for driving the power semiconductor module are mounted;
A housing for housing the power semiconductor module and the control circuit board;
A cooler joined to the housing to cool the power semiconductor module and the control circuit board,
A plurality of joints are formed by soldering the joint surfaces of the housing and the cooler ,
Given the housing and the condenser power converter you characterized in that it is fixed by screw fastening means passing through the junction of the plurality of joints.

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