JP6874672B2 - Pressurized parts - Google Patents

Description

The technique disclosed in the present specification relates to a pressurized component that presses the laminated body in the laminating direction by abutting on an end in the laminating direction of the laminated body in which a semiconductor device and a cooler are laminated.

Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose pressure components that pressurize a laminate of a plurality of semiconductor devices and a plurality of coolers in the stacking direction thereof. The pressure component includes a contact plate that contacts the end of the laminate in the stacking direction and a leaf spring that presses the contact plate against the laminate. Both the contact plate and the leaf spring are elongated. The leaf spring abuts on the center of the abutting plate in the longitudinal direction and is curved so as to move away from the abutting plate as it moves away from the center along the longitudinal direction. The center of the leaf spring is in contact with the contact plate, both ends of the leaf spring are in contact with the inner wall of the case accommodating the laminate, and the leaf spring is compressed between the laminate and the inner wall of the case to stack the laminate in the stacking direction. Pressurize. The abutting plate uniformly pressurizes the entire end face of the laminate.

A pair of ribs overhanging on the opposite side of the laminated body are provided on both sides of the abutting plate in the lateral direction. The leaf spring is arranged between the pair of ribs, and is further sandwiched between the holding portion extending from one rib and the plate surface of the contact plate and fixed to the contact plate. ..

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2009-130964 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2014-011936

As described above, the leaf spring pressurizes the contact plate only at the center. The abutting plate needs to have sufficient rigidity so as not to be curved by the force acting from the leaf spring to the center of the abutting plate. If the contact plate is curved, the load on the laminate is high at the center and low at both ends, resulting in non-uniformity. For example, if the thickness of the contact plate is increased, the rigidity of the contact plate can be increased. However, if the thickness of the contact plate is increased, it becomes difficult to form ribs and holding portions on the contact plate, and it becomes difficult to fix the leaf spring to the contact plate. Even if the ribs are not formed, if the plate thickness is increased, there may be an adverse effect such as an increase in the size of the press when mass-producing the contact plates using the press. The present specification provides a pressure component capable of fixing a leaf spring to the abutting plate while suppressing bending of the abutting plate.

The pressure component disclosed herein includes an elongated first abutment plate, an elongated second abutment plate, an elongated leaf spring, and a rivet fixed to the center of the leaf spring. The first contact plate abuts on the end of the laminate in the stacking direction. The second contact plate is in contact with the first contact plate so that the longitudinal direction is along the first contact plate. The leaf spring abuts on the center of the second contact plate in the longitudinal direction, and is curved so as to move away from the second abutment plate as it moves away from the center along the longitudinal direction. The second contact plate is provided with a through hole for fitting the rivet head, and the head is fixed to the first contact plate.

According to the above configuration, the amount of bending of the first and second contact plates by the force of the leaf spring can be suppressed as compared with the configuration of one contact plate. Further, according to the above configuration, the rivet head is fitted into the through hole of the second contact plate, and the head is fixed to the first contact plate, so that the leaf springs are first and second. It is fixed to the rivet. As described above, it is possible to achieve both suppressing the bending of the contact plate and fixing the leaf spring to the contact plate. Details of the techniques disclosed herein and further improvements will be described in the "Modes for Carrying Out the Invention" below.

It is a top view of the power converter in which a pressure component is used. It is a perspective view of a pressure component. It is an exploded perspective view of a pressure component. It is sectional drawing along the IV-IV line of FIG.

The features of the examples described below are summarized.
(Feature 1) Ribs extending in a direction away from the first contact plate may be provided on both sides of the second contact plate in the lateral direction. According to such a configuration, the strength of the second contact plate can be further increased, and the amount of bending of the second contact plate by the force of the leaf spring can be further suppressed.
(Feature 2) At least one of the first contact plate and the second contact plate may be provided with a fixing portion for fixing the posture of the first contact plate with respect to the second contact plate. .. For example, when the first contact plate rotates and the first contact plate is displaced obliquely with respect to the longitudinal direction of the second contact plate, a part of the first contact plate hits the second contact plate. The load of the leaf spring transmitted to the first contact plate via the second contact plate may become non-uniform because the contact is lost. On the other hand, according to the above configuration, the rotation of the first contact plate is prevented, the posture of the first contact plate with respect to the second contact plate changes, and the load on the laminated body becomes non-uniform. Can be prevented.

The pressure component 10 of the embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. The pressurizing component 10 is used in the power converter 2. FIG. 1 shows a plan view of the power converter 2. The power converter 2 is a device mounted on an electric vehicle that boosts the DC power of a battery and then converts it into AC power. The output power of the power converter 2 drives the traveling motor.

The power converter 2 houses various components inside the housing 7, and in FIG. 1, components other than a plurality of flat semiconductor devices 3, a plurality of flat coolers 4, and a pressurizing component 10 are included. The illustration is omitted.

The circuit of the power converter 2 includes a large number of power transistors. Two power transistors are housed in each of the plurality of semiconductor devices 3. The plurality of semiconductor devices 3 are alternately laminated one by one with the plurality of coolers 4. Each semiconductor device 3 is sandwiched between two coolers 4. The inside of each cooler 4 is a cavity through which a liquid refrigerant passes. Two refrigerant pipes 6a and 6b penetrate the plurality of coolers 4. A liquid refrigerant is supplied through one of the refrigerant pipes 6a. The refrigerant is distributed to all the coolers 4 and absorbs heat from the adjacent semiconductor device 3 while passing through the inside of each cooler 4. The refrigerant that has absorbed the heat of the semiconductor device 3 is discharged to the outside through the other refrigerant pipe 6b. Since the flat semiconductor device 3 is cooled from both sides thereof, the laminated body 5 of the flat semiconductor device 3 and the flat plurality of coolers 4 has high cooling efficiency.

The X direction of the coordinate system of FIG. 1 coincides with the stacking direction of the semiconductor device 3 and the cooler 4. The Y direction in FIG. 1 coincides with the longitudinal direction of the flat semiconductor device 3 and the cooler 4. Also in the following figures, the X direction coincides with the stacking direction of the semiconductor device 3 and the cooler 4, and the Y direction coincides with the longitudinal direction of the semiconductor device 3. The pressure component 10 described later is also elongated, and its longitudinal direction coincides with the Y direction.

The laminated body 5 of the plurality of semiconductor devices 3 and the plurality of coolers 4 is housed between the wall 7a and the support column 7b of the housing 7. The pressure component 10 is sandwiched between the end of the laminate 5 in the stacking direction and the support column 7b. The pressure component 10 includes a first contact plate 11 that is in contact with the end of the laminated body 5, a second contact plate 12 that is in contact with the first contact plate 11, and first and second contact plates. It includes a first leaf spring 14 that presses the plates 11 and 12 against the laminate 5, and a second leaf spring 15 that is sandwiched between the second contact plate 12 and the first leaf spring 14. The first leaf spring 14 pressurizes the laminated body 5 in the laminating direction via the first and second contact plates 11 and 12. By pressurizing, each semiconductor device 3 and each cooler 4 are brought into close contact with each other, and the efficiency of heat transfer from each semiconductor device 3 to each cooler 4 is increased.

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the pressure component 10, and FIG. 3 shows the pressure component 10 disassembled into a first contact plate 11, a second contact plate 12, a first leaf spring 14, and a second leaf spring 15. (Expanded perspective view) is shown, and FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view taken along the line IV-IV of FIG. The pressure component 10 further includes a rivet 16 for crimping the first leaf spring 14 and the second leaf spring 15. Note that in FIG. 2, the second leaf spring 15 is hidden by the first leaf spring 14 and cannot be seen.

The first and second contact plates 11 and 12 are elongated in the Y direction in the drawing. The first and second contact plates 11 and 12 are made by pressing from a metal sheet metal such as iron. One plate surface 11a of the first contact plate 11 is in contact with the laminated body 5, and the other plate surface 11b is in contact with the second contact plate 12.

The second contact plate 12 is in contact with the first contact plate 11 so that its longitudinal direction is along the longitudinal direction of the first contact plate 11. A pair of ribs 22a and 22b extending in a direction away from the first contact plate 11 (that is, in the positive direction of the X axis) are provided on both sides of the second contact plate 12 in the lateral direction. The pair of ribs 22a, 22b extend along the edges on both sides in the lateral direction. The height of the pair of ribs 22a and 22b is higher than the total plate thickness of the first and second leaf springs 14 and 15 arranged between the ribs 22a and 22b.

Further, a protrusion 17a is provided on the upper edge of the first contact plate 11 in the positive direction of the Z axis. Further, a protrusion 27b is also provided on the upper edge of the second contact plate 12 in the positive direction of the Z axis. The protrusions 17a and 27a are arranged at positions where they overlap each other when viewed from the X-axis direction. As shown in FIG. 2, the protrusions 17a and 27a that overlap each other are covered with a tubular tube 70a. By heat-shrinking the tube 70a, the first contact plate 11 is fixed to the second contact plate 12. The protrusions 17a and 27a function as fixing portions for fixing the posture of the first contact plate 11 with respect to the second contact plate 12. The lower edge of the first contact plate 11 in the negative direction of the Z axis and the lower edge of the second contact plate 12 in the negative direction of the Z axis are also provided with protrusions 17b and 27b similar to the protrusions 17a and 27a. .. The protrusions 17b and 27b that overlap each other are also covered with the tubular tube 70b, and the tube 70b is heat-shrinked.

The first leaf spring 14 is elongated. The first leaf spring 14 is made of a highly rigid metal such as steel. The first leaf spring 14 contacts the center of the second contact plate 12 in the longitudinal direction (Y-axis direction in the drawing), and moves away from the second contact plate 12 as it moves away from the center along the longitudinal direction. It is curved to. The center of the first leaf spring 14 abuts on the second contact plate 12 via the second leaf spring 15, and both ends 14b abut on the columns 7b of the housing 7 (see FIG. 1). The pressure component 10 is sandwiched between the laminated body 5 and the support column 7b in a state where the first leaf spring 14 is compressed in the laminating direction of the laminated body 5. The pressurizing component 10 pressurizes the laminated body 5 in the laminating direction via the first and second abutting plates 11 and 12 by the restoring force of the first leaf spring 14.

The second leaf spring 15 assists the restoring force of the first leaf spring 14. The second leaf spring 15 is elongated like the first leaf spring 14, and is arranged so that its longitudinal direction is along the first leaf spring 14. The second leaf spring 15 is also curved like the first leaf spring 14. The second leaf spring 15 is sandwiched between the first leaf spring 14 and the second contact plate 12.

The rivet 16 crimps the first leaf spring 14 and the second leaf spring 15 in the following procedure. As shown in FIG. 3, the body portion 62 of the rivet 16 is passed through the through hole 41 provided in the center of the first leaf spring 14 and the through hole 51 provided in the center of the second leaf spring 15. The end portion of the body portion 62 is plastically deformed in a state where the existing head 61 of the rivet 16 is in contact with the first leaf spring 14. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4, a large diameter portion larger than the through hole 51, that is, the second head 63 is formed at the end of the body portion 62, and the first leaf spring 14 and the second leaf spring 15 are formed. Is tightened. That is, the rivet 16 is fixed to the center of the leaf springs 14 and 15.

The process of manufacturing the pressure component 10 will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the leaf springs 14 and 15 are crimped by the rivets 16 before being placed on the second contact plate 12. The crimped unit of the first leaf spring 14 and the second leaf spring 15 is arranged between the pair of ribs 22a and 22b of the second contact plate 12. At this time, the second head 63 (see FIG. 4) of the rivet 16 is provided at the center of the second contact plate 12 in the longitudinal direction and fits into the through hole 24. As a result, the unit is positioned with respect to the second contact plate 12. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the adhesive 80 is applied to the tip of the second head 63. After that, the first contact plate 11 is arranged along the longitudinal direction of the second contact plate 12, and the first contact plate 11 is attached to the tip of the second head 63 via the adhesive 80 described above. It is joined (fixed). As a result, the above-mentioned unit is fixed to the first and second contact plates 11 and 12. Further, as described above, the protrusions 17a and 27a and the protrusions 17b and 27b are covered with the tubes 70a and 70b, and the tubes 70a and 70b are heat-shrinked. As a result, the first contact plate 11 is fixed to the second contact plate 12.

The effect of this embodiment will be described. The second leaf spring 15 contacts only the center of the second contact plate 12. Therefore, the leaf springs 14 and 15 pressurize the first and second contact plates 11 and 12 only at the center of the second contact plate 12. Here, the abutting plate that transmits the force from the leaf springs 14 and 15 to the laminated body 5 needs to have sufficient rigidity so as not to be curved by the force acting only on the center thereof. If the contact plate is curved, the load on the laminated body 5 is high at the center and low at both ends, resulting in non-uniformity.

In this embodiment, the pressure component 10 includes two contact plates 11 and 12. Therefore, the amount of bending of the first and second contact plates 11 and 12 by the force of the leaf springs 14 and 15 can be suppressed as compared with the configuration in which the number of contact plates is one.

Further, in this embodiment, the second head 63 of the rivet 16 is fitted into the through hole 24 of the second contact plate 12, and the head 63 is joined to the first contact plate 11 via the adhesive 80. Thereby, the leaf springs 14 and 15 can be fixed to the first and second contact plates 11 and 12. Further, by joining the first contact plate 11 to the head 63, it is possible to prevent the first contact plate 11 from being separated from the pressure component 10.

Further, in this embodiment, the adhesive 80 is applied only to the tip of the head 63. For example, a comparative example in which the adhesive 80 is applied not only to the tip of the head 63 but also to the plate surface of the second contact plate 12 can be considered. In this case, the thickness of the adhesive 80 may not be uniform over the entire plate surface of the second contact plate 12, and the first and second contact plates 11 and 12 may not be parallel to each other. If the first and second contact plates 11 and 12 are not parallel to each other, the load on the laminated body 5 may become non-uniform. On the other hand, in this embodiment, since the adhesive 80 is applied only to a narrow range of the head 63, the first and second contact plates 11 and 12 are not parallel to each other and are applied to the laminated body 5. It is possible to prevent the load from becoming non-uniform. In the modified example, the configuration of the above comparative example may be adopted.

Further, in this embodiment, a pair of ribs 22a and 22b are provided on both sides of the second contact plate 12 in the lateral direction. The ribs 22a and 22b can further increase the strength of the second contact plate 12, and the amount of bending of the second contact plate 12 by the forces of the leaf springs 14 and 15 can be further suppressed.

Further, as a configuration for fixing the leaf springs 14 and 15 to the second contact plate 12, for example, a holding portion that is bent and extends from the center of the rib 22b of the second contact plate 12 is provided, and the holding portion and the second 2 A comparative example in which the leaf springs 14 and 15 are sandwiched between the contact plate 12 and the plate surface can be considered. In this configuration, grooves are provided in the rib 22a on both sides of the holding portion so that the holding portion bent at a substantially right angle from the rib 22a abuts on the leaf spring 14. The distance from the second contact plate 12 to the bottom of the groove is the same as the total plate thickness of the leaf springs 14 and 15. Therefore, the height at the center of the rib 22a is eventually limited to about the total plate thickness of the leaf springs 14 and 15. On the other hand, in the configuration of the present embodiment, since the holding portion is not provided and the leaf springs 14 and 15 are fixed by using the rivet 16, the heights of the ribs 22a and 22b are not limited, and the ribs 22a are not limited. , 22b can be made equal to or more than the total thickness of the leaf springs 14 and 15, and the strength of the second contact plate 12 can be increased.

Further, if the first contact plate 11 rotates and the first contact plate 11 shifts obliquely with respect to the longitudinal direction of the second contact plate 12, a part of the first contact plate 11 becomes the first. 2 It does not come into contact with the contact plate 12. In this case, the loads of the leaf springs 14 and 15 transmitted to the first contact plate 11 via the second contact plate 12 may be non-uniform. On the other hand, in this embodiment, the posture of the first contact plate 11 with respect to the second contact plate 12 is fixed by using the protrusions 17a and 27a and the tube 70a. As a result, the rotation of the first contact plate 11 is prevented, and the posture of the first contact plate 11 with respect to the second contact plate 12 is prevented from being changed so that the load on the laminated body 5 becomes non-uniform. Can be done.

The points to be noted regarding the technique described in the examples will be described. The second contact plate 12 may not be provided with a pair of ribs 22a and 22b.

The "fixing portion" is not limited to the protrusions 17a and 27a. For example, the plate surface of the first contact plate 11 is provided with a protruding portion protruding toward the second contact plate 12, and the second contact plate 12 is provided with a hole for fitting the protruding portion. You may. In this modification, the protruding portion and the hole are examples of a “fixed portion”. Further, for example, the upper edge of the first contact plate 11 may be provided with a claw that bends toward the second contact plate 12 and is hooked on the upper edge of the second contact plate 12. In this modification, the claw is an example of a "fixing portion", and the fixing portion may be provided on one of the first contact plate and the second contact plate.

The protrusions 17a, 27a, 17b, 27b may not be provided on the first and second contact plates 11 and 12. Generally speaking, the "fixed portion" may not be provided.

Further, the pressure component 10 may not include the second leaf spring 15, or may include three or more leaf springs. Generally speaking, the "leaf spring" may be a single leaf spring or a plurality of leaf springs.

In the above embodiment, the head 63 of the rivet 16 is fixed to the first contact plate 11 via the adhesive 80. Instead of this, the head 63 may be fixed to the first contact plate 11 via double-sided tape.

In the above embodiment, the adhesive 80 is applied only to the head 63. Instead of this, the adhesive 80 may be applied not only to the head 63 but also to the plate surface of the second contact plate 12.

In the above embodiment, the pressurizing component 10 is used for pressurizing the laminated body 5 in which a plurality of semiconductor devices 3 and a plurality of coolers 4 are laminated, but the pressurizing component 10 is not limited to this. It may be adopted for pressurizing a laminated body in which one semiconductor device and one cooler are laminated.

Although specific examples of the present invention have been described in detail above, these are merely examples and do not limit the scope of claims. The techniques described in the claims include various modifications and modifications of the specific examples illustrated above. The technical elements described herein or in the drawings exhibit their technical usefulness alone or in various combinations, and are not limited to the combinations described in the claims at the time of filing. In addition, the techniques illustrated in the present specification or drawings can achieve a plurality of purposes at the same time, and achieving one of the purposes itself has technical usefulness.

2: Power converter 3: Semiconductor device 4: Cooler 5: Laminated bodies 6a, 6b: Refrigerant pipe 7: Housing 7a: Wall 7b: Strut 10: Pressurized component 11: First contact plate 11a: Plate surface 11b : Plate surface 17a, 17b: Projection 12: Second contact plate 22a, 22b: Rib 24: Through hole 27a, 27b: Projection 14: First leaf spring 14b: Both ends 41: Through hole 15: Second leaf spring 51: Through hole 16: Rivet 61: Head 62: Body 63: Second head 70a, 70b: Tube 80: Adhesive

Claims (1)

A pressure component that abuts on an end in a stacking direction of a laminated body in which a semiconductor device and a cooler are laminated to pressurize the laminated body in the stacking direction.
An elongated first contact plate that is in contact with the end of the laminated body in the stacking direction,
An elongated second contact plate that is in contact with the first contact plate so that the longitudinal direction is along the first contact plate, and
An elongated leaf spring that is in contact with the center of the second contact plate in the longitudinal direction and is curved so as to move away from the second contact plate as it moves away from the center along the longitudinal direction.
With the rivet fixed in the center of the leaf spring,
Is equipped with
The second contact plate is provided with a through hole into which the head of the rivet is fitted.
A pressure component in which the head is fixed to the first contact plate.

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