JPH11329565A - Connecting structure and cooling structure for capacitor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize efficient cooling in a simple structure by providing the outer surface of a capacitor container storing a capacitor element with a connecting terminal for connecting a wiring cable of the capacitor element with an external cable, and by covering a water proof cover on the end of the external cable connected with the connecting terminal and the connecting terminal. SOLUTION: As a cylindrical capacitor 1, for example, an aluminum electrolytic capacitor or the like is assumed. A capacitor container 10 accommodates a capacitor element. A connecting terminal 11 is provided on the outer surface side of the capacitor container 10. This connecting terminal 11 is connected with the inside capacitor element. When an external cable 20 is connected with the connecting terminal 11, by covering them by a water proof cover 12, this entire connecting terminal is formed in a water proof structure, and addtionally a dust proof structure. As material of the water proof cover 12, rubber or the like can be used. Thus, a casing having water proof and dust proof functions can by eliminated to provide a simple structure.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a connection structure of a capacitor such as an aluminum electrolytic capacitor mounted on an electric vehicle and a cooling structure thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Capacitors are basic electrical components used in various industrial equipment, including small and large ones. As a form of the capacitor, there is also a form in which a plate-shaped cathode and an anode are stacked, for example, in the case of a relatively large aluminum electrolytic capacitor or the like, an anode foil and a cathode foil around the winding core, and other separators There are many types of capacitors wound together with the above. An element obtained by winding an anode foil or the like around a core may be called a capacitor element. The capacitor element is impregnated with an electrolytic solution, and the entire capacitor element is housed in a capacitor container to form a capacitor. The wiring cable coming out of the capacitor is electrically connected to external wiring.

[0003]

A capacitor generates a certain amount of heat during its operation. In the case of a relatively small capacitor, the problem is small, but in the case of a capacitor in which an anode foil or the like is wound around the winding core as described above, if the size of the capacitor is increased to some extent, there is a problem of a rise in temperature due to heat generation. Is becoming apparent. If the temperature rises excessively, the performance of the capacitor may be reduced, or the useful life of the capacitor may be shortened.

By the way, as a method of suppressing a rise in the temperature of a capacitor, a method of storing a capacitor element in a capacitor container having a sufficient space or, if there are a plurality of capacitors, increasing a distance between adjacent capacitors. It has been known. However, such a method is inconvenient because the outer shape of the capacitor container becomes large. In addition, there has been a problem that even if the vicinity of the outer periphery of the capacitor element is cooled relatively satisfactorily, the cooling of the center part, that is, the vicinity of the winding core tends to be insufficient.

In recent years, for example, for an electric vehicle, a plurality of capacitors may be used in a form housed in a housing. Cooling is an important technical issue, as the capacitors also self-heat during use. Storing multiple capacitors in the housing
In addition to protecting individual capacitors, it is also applicable to cooling the internal capacitors indirectly by exposing the housing to cooling water or blowing air to the housing to cool it in an air-cooled manner. Is done. Water cooling or air cooling of individual capacitors themselves that are not housed in the housing,
This may cause problems such as defective wiring.

[0006]

Means for Solving the Problems The present inventors mainly relate to a connection structure of a capacitor mounted on an electric vehicle, and provide a waterproof / dustproof function with the intention of realizing efficient cooling with a simple structure. We have invented a connection structure for capacitors with. That is, in the connection structure of the capacitor of the present invention, a connection terminal for connecting a wiring cable of the capacitor element and an external cable is provided on an outer surface of the capacitor container in which the capacitor element is stored, and the connection terminal is connected to the connection terminal. Further, the end of the external cable and the connection terminal are covered with a waterproof cover.

[0007] Further, a connection structure of a capacitor, in which a wiring cable protrudes from a capacitor container having a waterproof / dustproof function and an end of the wiring cable and an end of an external cable are connected by a waterproof connector, is proposed. I do.

A wiring cable comes out of a capacitor container having a waterproof / dustproof function, and a connection portion between the end of the wiring cable and the end of the external cable is sealed with two lids to provide a waterproof / dustproof. There is also a capacitor connection structure that is housed in a space.

Further, when a heat pipe is arranged at the core of the above-mentioned capacitor element, it is very suitable for cooling the capacitor.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a connection structure of a capacitor according to the present invention. FIG. 1A is a schematic view showing the appearance of a cylindrical capacitor 1 (assuming an aluminum electrolytic capacitor or the like), and reference numeral 10 in the figure denotes a capacitor container for housing a capacitor element (not shown). A connection terminal 11 is provided on the outer surface of the capacitor container 10.
The connection terminal 11 is wired to an internal capacitor element (not shown). When supplying a current to the capacitor 10, an external cable is connected to the connection terminal 11.

In the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1A, when the external cable 20 is connected to the connection terminal 11, they are covered with a waterproof cover 12, so that the entire connection end is waterproof and dustproof. Make structure. The material of the waterproof cover 12 may be rubber or the like. Therefore, when this capacitor is used, a housing having a waterproof / dustproof function can be omitted, which is simple. Although the waterproof cover also has a dustproof function, the term “waterproof cover” is used here in terms of terms.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view illustrating an example of the waterproof cover. The external cable 20 and the wiring cable 21 (the cable on the inner side of the capacitor container 10) are connected through the lid 100 of the capacitor container. A waterproof cover 120 is arranged on the outer surface side of the lid 100 as shown in FIG.
To prevent water and dust from entering the capacitor. In the example of FIG. 2, the waterproof cover 120 is configured to cut into the inside of the lid 100, but by doing so, the waterproof and dustproof functions are further enhanced.

FIG. 3 shows a case where the wiring cable 22 of the capacitor element (not shown) stored in the capacitor container 10 extends to the outside of the capacitor container 10. Distribution cable 2 extended to outside of capacitor container 10
2 is connected to an end of the external cable 23 by a waterproof connector 30. Also in this case, the waterproof cover 12 is arranged at a portion where the wiring cable 22 penetrates from the inside of the capacitor container 10 to the outside, and the waterproof and dustproof function of this portion is also maintained. The connector 30 has a dustproof function in addition to a waterproof function.

FIGS. 4 to 6 are explanatory views showing examples of connectors having a waterproof function. The connector 31 shown in FIG.
A tapered connector lid 311 is inserted into the connector case 310, and a portion where the conductor 40 and the conductor 41 are connected has a waterproof and dustproof structure. The connector 32 shown in FIG. 5 has a rubber portion 322 joined to a connector case portion 320, and a part of the rubber portion 322 is inserted into the connector case portion 320. The reference numeral 323 in the figure indicates that the rubber portion 322 and the connector lid 321 are connected to the connector case 3.
It is a stopper for fixing to 20. The connector 33 shown in FIG. 6 connects the wiring cable 22 and the external cable 23 in a space formed by one curved lid portion 330 and the other lid portion 331 which comes into contact with and seals the edge. This is an example.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a case where the heat pipe 50 is arranged at the core of the capacitor element 14 housed inside the capacitor container 13. As shown in FIG. Capacitor container 1
3 is composed of a container part 130 and a lid part 131. The wiring of the capacitor element 14 is connected to an external cable 25 via a lead piece 24. Lead piece and external cable 2
5 is connected through the lid 131, and a waterproof cover 15 is disposed at the portion to keep the waterproof and dustproof inside the capacitor container 13.

Here, the heat pipe will be briefly described. A heat transfer device generally known as a heat pipe is provided with a cavity sealed therein, and heat is transferred by phase transformation and movement of a working fluid contained in the cavity. Of course, some heat is transferred by conducting heat through the container (container) that constitutes the heat pipe, but the heat pipe is intended mainly for the heat transfer action by the working fluid.

The operation of the heat pipe is briefly described as follows. That is, in the heat absorbing section of the heat pipe, the working fluid evaporates due to the heat transmitted through the material of the container (container) constituting the heat pipe, and the vapor moves to the heat radiating section of the heat pipe. In the heat radiating portion, the vapor of the working fluid is cooled and returns to the liquid state again. Then, the working fluid that has returned to the liquid phase moves (recirculates) again to the heat absorbing section. Heat is transferred by such phase transformation and movement of the working fluid.

The recirculation of the working fluid is realized by gravity or capillary action. In the case of a gravity type heat pipe, the heat radiating portion may be arranged above the heat absorbing portion. In the case of non-gravitational type, for example, when the heat absorbing section is located above or horizontally above the heat radiating section, a wick or the like is arranged inside the heat pipe so that the working fluid returned to the liquid phase at the heat radiating section by the capillary action is moved. I do.

In FIG. 7, the heat pipe 50 penetrates the lid 131 and extends to the outside. The waterproof and dustproof of this penetrating part is also maintained. If the portion of the heat pipe 50 extended to the outside of the condenser container 13 is cooled by immersing it in cooling water or the like, the capacitor element 1
4 can be efficiently cooled. In the case of the present invention, since the capacitor is connected in a waterproof and dustproof state, effective cooling of the capacitor can be achieved with a simple structure in which the housing is omitted.

[0020]

The connection structure and the cooling structure of the capacitor of the present invention described above are in a form which can be suitably applied to a capacitor device mounted on an electric vehicle. The cooling structure is practical because effective cooling can be realized with a simple structure.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a connection structure of a capacitor according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a main part of an example of a connection structure of a capacitor according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a main part of an example of a connection structure of a capacitor according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a main part of an example of a connection structure of a capacitor according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a main part of an example of a connection structure of a capacitor according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a main part of an example of a connection structure of a capacitor according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a cooling structure for a condenser according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Capacitor 10 Capacitor container 11 Connection terminal 12 Waterproof cover 20 External cable 100 Lid 120 Waterproof cover 21 Wiring cable 22 Wiring cable 23 External cable 30 Connector 31 Connector 310 Connector case 311 Connector cover 40 Conductor 32 Connector 320 Connector case 321 Connector lid part 322 Rubber part 33 Connector 323 Clasp 331 Connector lid part 41 Conductor part 330 Lid part 331 Lid part 13 Capacitor container 130 Container part 131 Lid part 14 Capacitor element 15 Waterproof cover 24 Lead piece 25 External cable 25 50 Heat pipe

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Kenichi Namba, Inventor 2-6-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Jun Sakagawa 2-6-1, Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Inside Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yoshishige Ikeda, 4085 Toyoshina, Toyoshina-cho, Minamiazumi-gun, Nagano Prefecture Inside Nichicon Corporation

Claims (4)

[Claims] A connection terminal for connecting a wiring cable of the capacitor element and an external cable is provided on an outer surface of a capacitor container in which the capacitor element is stored,
A capacitor connection structure, wherein an end of an external cable connected to the connection terminal and the connection terminal are covered with a waterproof cover. 2. A capacitor connection structure in which a wiring cable extends from a capacitor container having a waterproof / dustproof function, and an end of the wiring cable and an end of an external cable are connected by a waterproof connector. 3. A waterproof cable having a waterproof / dustproof function and a wiring cable protruding from a capacitor container having a waterproof / dustproof function. A connection portion between an end of the wiring cable and an end of an external cable is sealed with two lids. Capacitor connection structure housed in dustproof space. 4. A cooling structure for a capacitor, wherein a heat pipe is arranged on a core portion of the capacitor element according to claim 1.