JP6631154B2 - Power converter - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a power converter.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a power conversion device having a power conversion circuit unit that converts input power. The power conversion circuit section has a high voltage section to which the voltage of the main power to be converted is applied. In the above power conversion device, the power conversion circuit is housed in a case.

Japanese Patent No. 5157408

  However, when the case is deformed by an external force or the like, it is necessary to prevent the case from coming into contact with the high-voltage part of the power conversion circuit unit and short-circuiting the case and the high-voltage part. Therefore, for example, it is conceivable to increase the distance between the case and the high-pressure section. However, in that case, the size of the case is increased.

  Further, in order to prevent a short circuit between the case and the high-voltage portion, an insulating sheet may be provided on a surface of the case facing the high-voltage portion. However, when the case is deformed by an external force or the like, there is a possibility that a terminal or the like of an electronic component constituting the high-voltage portion breaks through the insulating sheet and comes into contact with the case.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a power conversion device that can ensure electrical insulation between a case and a high-voltage unit without increasing the size of the case. .

One embodiment of the present invention is a power conversion circuit unit (2) including a high-voltage unit (21) to which a voltage of main power to be converted is applied;
A metal case (3) for housing the power conversion circuit unit,
The case has a case body (4) having an opening (40), and a cover (5) for closing the opening of the case body.
The cover is formed by attaching an insulating laminated sheet (6) to an inner surface (50) which is a surface on the case body side.
The insulating laminated sheet is formed by laminating a metal layer (61) and a pair of insulating layers (62) having an electrical insulation property formed to sandwich the metal layer from both sides,
The insulating laminated sheet is disposed in a region facing the high-pressure portion on the inner side surface of the cover ,
The high-voltage unit has a semiconductor module (22) including a module main body (221) containing a semiconductor element and module terminals (222) protruding from the module main body toward the insulating laminated sheet . It is in the power converter (1).

  In the above power converter, the insulating laminated sheet is formed by laminating a metal layer and a pair of insulating layers. The insulating laminated sheet is disposed in a region on the inner surface of the cover facing the high-pressure portion. Therefore, even if the cover is deformed by an external force, it is possible to prevent the high voltage portion from penetrating the insulating laminated sheet and short-circuiting with the case. That is, since the insulating laminated sheet has the metal layer, it is easy to prevent the high voltage portion from penetrating through the insulating laminated sheet even if the high voltage portion comes into contact with the insulating laminated sheet due to deformation of the case. Therefore, electrical insulation between the high-voltage part and the case can be ensured. Further, even if the high voltage portion breaks through the insulating layer on the case body portion side of the insulating laminated sheet, insulation between the high voltage portion and the case can be achieved by the insulating layer on the cover side.

As described above, according to this aspect, it is possible to provide a power conversion device that can ensure electrical insulation between the case and the high-voltage portion without increasing the size of the case.
The reference numerals in the parentheses described in the claims and the means for solving the problems indicate the correspondence with the specific means described in the embodiments described below, and limit the technical scope of the present invention. Not something.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the power conversion device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a diagram of the cover according to the first embodiment as viewed from below. FIG. 2 is a top view of the power conversion device with the cover removed in the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram further illustrating the outer shape of the insulating laminated sheet in FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI of FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a top view of the insulating laminated sheet according to the first embodiment. FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII in FIG. 7.

An embodiment according to a power converter will be described with reference to FIGS.
The power conversion device 1 of the present embodiment includes a power conversion circuit unit 2 and a case 3 as illustrated in FIG. The power conversion circuit unit 2 includes a high-voltage unit 21 to which the voltage of the main power to be converted is applied. The case 3 houses the power conversion circuit unit 2. The case 3 is made of metal.

  The case 3 has a case body 4 and a cover 5. The case body 4 has an opening 40. The cover 5 closes the opening 40 of the case body 4. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cover 5 is formed by attaching an insulating laminated sheet 6 to an inner side surface 50 which is a surface on the case body 4 side. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 8, the insulating laminated sheet 6 is formed by laminating a metal layer 61 and a pair of insulating layers 62. The pair of insulating layers 62 are formed so as to sandwich the metal layer 61 from both sides. Further, the insulating layer 62 has an electrical insulating property. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the insulating laminated sheet 6 is disposed in a region of the inner surface 50 of the cover 5 facing the high-pressure portion 21.

The power converter 1 of 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 into drive power required for driving a drive motor.
In the following, the direction in which the case body 4 and the cover 5 are arranged is referred to as a height direction Z. The cover 5 side with respect to the case main body 4 in the height direction Z is referred to as an upper side, and the opposite side is referred to as a lower side. One of the directions orthogonal to the height direction Z is called a vertical direction X, and the direction orthogonal to both the height direction Z and the vertical direction X is called a horizontal direction Y.
Further, in FIG. 5, the outline of the insulating layer 62 in the insulating laminated sheet 6 is indicated by a broken line, and in FIGS. 3, 5, and 7, the outline of the metal layer 61 is indicated by a chain line.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the case 3 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped outer shape. The case main body 4 has a main body base wall 41 and a main body side wall 42. The main body base wall portion 41 has a rectangular plate shape. In the present embodiment, the main body base wall portion 41 has an elongated shape in the vertical direction X. The main body side wall portion 42 is erected from the edge of the main body base wall portion 41 in the thickness direction of the main body base wall portion 41 (that is, the height direction Z), and has an opening 40 at the upper end. In the present embodiment, the main body side wall portion 42 is erected from the edge of the main body base wall portion 41 toward both sides in the height direction Z. The main body side wall portion 42 has a pair of first opposed wall portions 421 facing each other in the vertical direction X, and a pair of second opposed wall portions 422 facing each other in the horizontal direction Y.

  The cover 5 closes the opening 40 of the main body side wall 42 from above the main body side wall 42. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cover 5 includes a top plate portion 51 facing the main body base wall portion 41 of the case main body portion 4 in the height direction Z, and a downward direction from an edge of the top plate portion 51. And a projecting cover side wall portion 52. The top plate portion 51 has a flat portion 511 formed on a plane orthogonal to the height direction Z, and a bead formed at substantially the center of the top plate portion 51 in the vertical direction X and recessed downward from the flat portion 511. A part 512. The insulating laminated sheet 6 is attached to the flat portion 511.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 8, in the present embodiment, the insulating laminated sheet 6 is formed by laminating a sheet-shaped metal layer 61 and a pair of sheet-shaped insulating layers 62 in the thickness direction thereof. As described above, the insulating laminated sheet 6 is formed by laminating the metal layer 61 and the pair of insulating layers 62 such that the metal layer 61 is sandwiched between the pair of insulating layers 62 from both sides. Thereby, the insulating layer 62 is disposed on the uppermost layer and the lowermost layer of the insulating laminated sheet 6. The metal layer 61 and the insulating layer 62 are attached via an adhesive such as a double-sided tape (not shown). Further, the insulating laminated sheet 6 is adhered to the flat portion 511 on the upper surface thereof via an adhesive such as a double-sided tape (not shown).

  The pair of insulating layers 62 have the same shape as each other, and are arranged at positions overlapping each other in the height direction Z. The insulating layer 62 is made of, for example, an insulating material such as PET (that is, polyethylene terephthalate). As shown in FIGS. 3 and 7, the insulating layer 62 has a rectangular plate shape elongated in the vertical direction X. As shown in FIG. 5, when viewed from the height direction Z, both ends in the vertical direction X and both ends in the horizontal direction Y of the insulating layer 62 are close to the main body side wall portion 42, respectively. Thereby, both ends of the insulating laminated sheet 6 in the vertical direction X and both ends in the horizontal direction Y when viewed from the height direction Z are close to the main body side wall portion 42, respectively. That is, in both the vertical direction X and the horizontal direction Y, the dimensions of the insulating laminated sheet 6 are slightly smaller than the dimensions of the opening 40 of the case main body 4. Further, the insulating layer 62 has a through hole 621 penetrating in the height direction Z at substantially the center in the vertical direction X. The insulating laminated sheet 6 is adhered to the flat portion 511 of the cover 5 so that the bead portion 512 is arranged inside the through hole 621.

  As shown in FIGS. 2, 3, 5, and 7, the metal layer 61 is provided in a pair on both sides of the through hole 621 of the insulating layer 62 in the vertical direction X. The metal layer 61 is made of stainless steel. The metal layer 61 is located inside the insulating layer 62 in the spreading direction of the insulating laminated sheet 6. That is, the metal layer 61 is not exposed from the insulating layer 62 when viewed from the height direction Z.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the case body 4 and the cover 5 have a flange portion 31 protruding in a direction orthogonal to the height direction Z. The case body 4 and the cover 5 are fastened and fixed at the flange 31 by bolts and nuts. The power conversion circuit unit 2 is housed in the space inside the case 3.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, the high-voltage unit 21 of the power conversion circuit unit 2 has a semiconductor module 22 described later. Further, as shown in FIGS. 2, 4, and 5, the power conversion circuit unit 2 includes a control circuit board 23 described later. When the power converter 1 is used, a voltage of about 200 V is applied to the high voltage unit 21. As shown in FIG. 2, the semiconductor module 22 is disposed in a lower space 301 which is lower than the main body base wall portion 41 in the space in the case 3. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, the case main body 4 has a partition wall 43 extending downward from the main body base wall 41 and dividing the lower space 301 in the vertical direction X. The semiconductor module 22 is arranged on one side of the partition 43 in the lower space 301 in the vertical direction X (hereinafter, referred to as front, and the opposite side is referred to as rear). As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the control circuit board 23 is disposed in an upper space 302 that is above the main body base wall portion 41 in the space inside the case 3.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, the semiconductor module 22 includes a module main body 221 having a built-in semiconductor element, and module terminals 222 protruding upward from the module main body 221 on the insulating laminated sheet 6 side. In the present embodiment, a plurality of semiconductor modules 22 are arranged in the case 3. Then, a plurality of module terminals 222 protrude upward from the module main body 221 of each semiconductor module 22. To some of the module terminals 222, a voltage of main power that is power-converted by the power conversion circuit unit 2 is applied. That is, some of the module terminals 222 constitute a part of the high voltage unit 21.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the metal layer 61 of the insulating laminated sheet 6 is located on the projecting side of the module terminal 222. That is, the module terminal 222 is disposed at a position overlapping the metal layer 61 of the insulating laminated sheet 6 in the height direction Z. The metal layer 61 has a higher Vickers hardness than the module terminal 222. In the present embodiment, the metal layer 61 is made of stainless steel as described above, and the module terminal 222 is made of copper. The module terminal 222 passes through an insertion portion 410 formed to penetrate the main body base wall portion 41 in the height direction Z, and a part of the module terminal 222 is disposed in the upper space 302.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the module terminal 222 is connected to the control circuit board 23. The control circuit board 23 is arranged to face the cover 5 in the height direction Z. As shown in FIG. 2, the control circuit board 23 is disposed in the case main body 4. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the module terminal 222 is inserted into a through hole of the control circuit board 23 and connected to the control circuit board 23. The upper end of the module terminal 222 projects above the control circuit board 23. In the present embodiment, the module terminals 222 are connected to a region in front of the center of the control circuit board 23 in the vertical direction X. Then, an area around the part to which the module terminal 222 is connected in the control circuit board 23 becomes a board high-voltage area 230 which forms a part of the high-voltage unit 21. In the control circuit board 23, at least the substrate high-pressure area 230 overlaps the insulating laminated sheet 6 in the height direction Z.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the control circuit board 23 has three or more fixing portions 231 that are fastened and fixed to the case 3 by the fastening members 11. The insulating laminated sheet 6 covers, from the height direction Z, three or more fixing portions 231 that are displaced from a straight line. The fastening member 11 is a bolt. As shown in FIG. 2, the main body base wall portion 41 has a plurality of boss portions 44 protruding upward. The fastening member 11 fastens and fixes the control circuit board 23 to the boss 44. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, at least one of the fixing portions 231 is formed at a position overlapping with the bead portion 512 in the height direction Z. In the present embodiment, the plurality of fixing portions 231 overlap the bead portion 512 in the height direction Z. The space between the top plate 51 and the control circuit board 23 is the smallest at the facing portion between the bead portion 512 and the fixed portion 231 overlapping each other in the height direction Z. As shown in FIG. 4, the fixing portions 231 are formed at a plurality of locations on the outer peripheral end of the control circuit board 23. The fixing part 231 is also formed at the center of the control circuit board 23.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, in the present embodiment, the plurality of semiconductor modules 22 are stacked in the vertical direction X together with the plurality of cooling pipes 71 for cooling the semiconductor modules 22 to configure the semiconductor stacked unit 8. . As shown in FIG. 6, cooling pipes 71 adjacent in the vertical direction X are connected by connecting pipes 72 near both ends in the horizontal direction Y. As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 6, the front end face of the cooling pipe 71 arranged at one end in the vertical direction X (hereinafter, referred to as front, and the opposite side is referred to as rear) among the plurality of cooling pipes 71. , And is in contact with the front first opposing wall portion 421. Further, from the cooling pipe 71 at the front end, a refrigerant introduction pipe 73 for introducing a cooling medium and a refrigerant discharge pipe 74 for discharging the cooling medium are formed to protrude forward. The refrigerant introduction pipe 73 and the refrigerant discharge pipe 74 penetrate the first opposing wall 421 in the vertical direction X, and protrude outside the case 3. A pressing member 75 constituted by a leaf spring or the like is arranged between the rear end of the semiconductor laminated unit 8 and the partition 43. The pressing member 75 is arranged in a state of being elastically compressed in the vertical direction X. Thus, the pressing member 75 presses the semiconductor laminated unit 8 forward.

  Although not shown, components constituting the power conversion circuit unit 2 such as a capacitor are disposed behind the partition 43 in the lower space 301.

Next, the operation and effect of the present embodiment will be described.
In the power conversion device 1, the insulating laminated sheet 6 is formed by laminating a metal layer 61 and a pair of insulating layers 62. The insulating laminated sheet 6 is disposed in a region of the inner surface 50 of the cover 5 facing the high-pressure portion 21. Therefore, even if the cover 5 is deformed by an external force, it is possible to prevent the high voltage portion 21 from penetrating the insulating laminated sheet 6 and short-circuiting with the case 3. That is, since the insulating laminated sheet 6 has the metal layer 61, even if the high voltage portion 21 abuts on the insulating laminated sheet 6 due to the deformation of the case 3, it is easy to prevent the high voltage portion 21 from penetrating the insulating laminated sheet 6. . Therefore, electrical insulation between the high-voltage part 21 and the case 3 can be ensured. Further, even if the high voltage portion 21 breaks through the lower insulating layer 62 in the insulating laminated sheet 6, the insulation between the high voltage portion 21 and the case 3 can be achieved by the upper insulating layer 62.

  Further, an insulating layer 62 is provided below the metal layer 61. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the metal layer 61 from directly contacting the high voltage portion 21 when the insulating laminated sheet 6 is peeled off from the cover 5 or the like. Therefore, when the insulating laminated sheet 6 is peeled off from the cover 5 or the like, the high-voltage unit 21 is short-circuited with other electronic components or the like constituting the power conversion circuit unit 2 via the metal layer 61, and the power conversion device 1 can be prevented from breaking down.

  Further, the metal layer 61 is accommodated inside the insulating layer 62 in the spreading direction of the insulating laminated sheet 6. Therefore, the contact of the metal layer 61 with the case 3 can be reliably prevented. Therefore, even if the high voltage portion 21 breaks through the lower insulating layer 62 due to the deformation of the case 3 and comes into contact with the metal layer 61, a short circuit between the high voltage portion 21 and the case 3 can be prevented.

  The high-voltage unit 21 has a semiconductor module 22 including a module main body 221 and module terminals 222 protruding from the module main body 221 toward the insulating laminated sheet 6. As described above, when a relatively sharp and hard component such as the module terminal 222 protrudes toward the cover 5, it is easy to break through the insulating layer 62 having relatively low strength. However, in the present embodiment, the insulating laminated sheet 6 has the metal layer 61. Therefore, even if the module terminal 222 pierces the lower insulating layer 62 due to the deformation of the case 3, the module terminal 222 is prevented from penetrating the insulating laminated sheet 6 by the metal layer 61 harder than the insulating layer 62. Can be. Therefore, if this configuration is adopted, the insulation between the high-voltage portion 21 and the case 3 can be effectively achieved.

The metal layer 61 has a Vickers hardness greater than that of the module terminal 222. Therefore, even if the module terminal 222 contacts the metal layer 61 due to the deformation of the case 3, it is possible to prevent the module terminal 222 from penetrating the metal layer 61. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the module terminal 222, which is a part of the high voltage unit 21, from being short-circuited to the case 3.
The metal layer 61 is made of stainless steel, and the module terminals 222 are made of copper. Therefore, it is easy to adopt a configuration in which the Vickers hardness of the metal layer 61 is larger than the Vickers hardness of the module terminal 222.

  The control circuit board 23 is disposed so as to face the cover 5 in the height direction Z. Further, when viewed from the height direction Z, both ends in the vertical direction X and both ends in the horizontal direction Y of the insulating laminated sheet 6 are close to the main body side wall portion 42, respectively. Therefore, even if the insulating laminated sheet 6 is peeled off from the cover 5, the position of the insulating laminated sheet 6 is shifted with respect to the case 3 by the control circuit board 23 in the height direction Z by the control circuit board 23. Y can be prevented by the main body side wall portion 42. Thereby, the state where the insulating laminated sheet 6 is located between the high-voltage part 21 and the cover 5 can be easily maintained, and the insulation between the high-voltage part 21 and the cover 5 can be further easily ensured.

  Further, the insulating laminated sheet 6 covers, from the height direction Z, three or more fixing portions 231 that are displaced from the straight line. Therefore, even if the insulating laminated sheet 6 is peeled off from the cover 5, the insulating laminated sheet 6 is stably mounted on the three or more fixing portions 231 of the control circuit board 23. Therefore, it is easy to suppress that the insulating laminated sheet 6 falls below the control circuit board 23 or moves to a position that does not overlap the high-voltage part 21 in the height direction Z. Thereby, the insulating laminated sheet 6 is easily positioned between the high-voltage unit 21 and the cover 5, and the insulation between the high-voltage unit 21 and the cover 5 is more easily ensured.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide a power converter that can ensure electrical insulation between the case and the high-voltage unit without increasing the size of the case.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be applied to various embodiments without departing from the gist of the invention. For example, in the first embodiment, the insulating laminated sheet is formed by laminating a sheet-shaped metal layer and a pair of sheet-shaped insulating layers. For example, the insulating laminated sheet may be configured by resin molding around the metal layer. Good.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Power conversion device 2 Power conversion circuit part 21 High voltage part 3 Case 4 Case main body 40 Opening 5 Cover 50 Inner side surface 6 Insulating laminated sheet 61 Metal layer 62 Insulating layer

Claims (6)

A power conversion circuit unit (2) including a high-voltage unit (21) to which a voltage of main power to be converted is applied;
A metal case (3) for housing the power conversion circuit unit,
The case has a case body (4) having an opening (40), and a cover (5) for closing the opening of the case body.
The cover is formed by attaching an insulating laminated sheet (6) to an inner surface (50) which is a surface on the case body side.
The insulating laminated sheet is formed by laminating a metal layer (61) and a pair of electrically insulating layers (62) having electrical insulation formed so as to sandwich the metal layer from both sides,
The insulating laminated sheet is disposed in a region facing the high-pressure portion on the inner side surface of the cover ,
The high-voltage section includes a semiconductor module (22) including a module main body (221) containing a semiconductor element and module terminals (222) protruding from the module main body toward the insulating laminated sheet . Power converter (1).   The power converter according to claim 1, wherein the metal layer is located inside the insulating layer in a direction in which the insulating laminated sheet spreads. The power converter according to claim 1 , wherein the metal layer has a Vickers hardness greater than that of the module terminal . The power converter according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the metal layer is made of stainless steel, and the module terminal is made of copper . The power conversion circuit section has a control circuit board (23) connected to the module terminal, and the control circuit board is disposed so as to face the cover in a thickness direction thereof, and the case body section A main body base wall portion (41) in the shape of a rectangular plate, and an upright end, which is erected from the edge of the main body base wall portion in the thickness direction of the main body base wall portion, and is located on the upper end which is one side in the thickness direction. A main body side wall portion having the opening; a main body side wall portion having a pair of first opposing wall portions opposing each other in a vertical direction orthogonal to the thickness direction; And a pair of second opposing wall portions (422) opposing each other in a horizontal direction (Y) orthogonal to both the vertical direction and the vertical direction, and the insulating laminated sheet has a vertical configuration when viewed from the thickness direction. Direction ends and the horizontal direction ends It is close to the body side wall portion, a power conversion device according to any one of claims 1-4. The control circuit board has three or more fixing portions (231) that are fastened and fixed to the case by a fastening member (11), and the insulating laminate sheet is three or more that are arranged off a straight line. The power converter according to claim 5 , wherein the fixing part is covered from the thickness direction .

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