KR102542936B1 - Cooling structure of power converting apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A cooling passage through which a refrigerant exchanging heat with the power module of the inverter flows therein; and a cooling plate having one side in contact with the cooling passage to exchange heat, the other side in contact with the capacitor to exchange heat, and a cooling plate having cooling fins formed on the capacitor side.

Description

Cooling structure of power converter {COOLING STRUCTURE OF POWER CONVERTING APPARATUS}

The present invention relates to a cooling structure of a power converter, and more particularly, to a cooling structure including cooling fins for cooling the inside of a capacitor of a power converter.

An eco-friendly vehicle represented by an electric vehicle, a fuel cell vehicle, or a hybrid vehicle using both an engine and the like drives the vehicle using a drive motor driven by electric energy.

These use a battery stored in electric energy, and require a power converter including a power module and a capacitor therein to adjust the output of a driving motor while converting DC power of the battery into AC power.

The power module is a key component that receives DC power from the battery, converts it into AC power, and controls the output and frequency of the drive motor. A capacitor is a component for temporarily storing power supplied from a battery and maintaining a constant amount of power supplied to a power module. In particular, since the capacitor occupies the largest volume in the power conversion device, reducing the volume of the capacitor can reduce the overall size of the high voltage power conversion unit (HPCU), reduce additional volume, weight and cost, and furthermore, is environmentally friendly. It is possible to improve the marketability and competitiveness of automobiles.

Conventionally, the capacitor and the power module have been cooled using a cooling structure in which the cross section of the capacitor is additionally cooled by bringing the capacitor into contact with a cooling passage for cooling the power module of the power converter.

1 is a cross-sectional view of a power converter according to the prior art.

Referring to FIG. 1, the power converter has an inverter on the top and a converter (LDC) on the bottom, and includes other control boards and cooling structures.

The power module 10 of the inverter is a component with high heat generation and is directly cooled by the cooling passage 20 , but only the end surface of the capacitor 30 of the inverter is cooled by the cooling plate 40 . Therefore, a temperature deviation occurs between the internal elements 31 of the capacitor 30 depending on the position, and a hot-spot, which is an area exposed to a relatively high temperature, is formed, thereby shortening the service life of the capacitor 30. there was

In addition, the capacitor 30 occupies a large volume and weight among the sub-components of the power converter, and in order to stably mount and fix the capacitor 30, a space between the housing (not shown) and the cooling plate 40 of the capacitor 30 is provided. A mounting boss 50 for fixed coupling was required. Therefore, in that the mounting boss 50 occupies a separate space, it acts as a limiting factor in reducing the size of the power converter.

The matters described as the background art above are only for improving understanding of the background of the present invention, and should not be taken as an admission that they correspond to prior art already known to those skilled in the art.

KR 10-1000594 B KR 10-1294077 B

The present invention has been proposed to solve these problems, and is intended to provide a cooling structure of a power converter that reduces a temperature deviation according to a location inside a capacitor and reduces a space occupied by the capacitor.

A cooling structure of a power converter according to the present invention for achieving the above object includes a cooling passage in which a refrigerant that exchanges heat with a power module of an inverter flows therein; and a cooling plate having one side in contact with the cooling passage to exchange heat and the other side in contact with the capacitor to exchange heat and having cooling fins protruding toward the capacitor.

Internal elements of the capacitor may be disposed in a shape surrounding an outer surface of the cooling fin.

The cooling fin may be formed in a cylindrical shape having a circular cross section, and the internal element may have a cylindrical shape surrounding an outer surface of the cooling fin.

The cooling fin may be formed in a polygonal column shape having a polygonal cross section, and the internal element may have the same polygonal column shape as the cooling fin surrounding the outer surface of the cooling fin.

The cooling fin may further include a fixing portion that penetrates the internal device from a lower portion of the internal device and couples an end portion of the cooling fin to an upper housing of the capacitor.

A plurality of cooling fins may be formed at spaced apart positions, and internal elements of the capacitor may be positioned in spaced apart spaces between the cooling fins.

The cooling fins or internal elements of the capacitor may have a shape extending in parallel in a direction perpendicular to a direction in which the cooling fins are spaced apart from each other.

The cooling fin may further include a fixing portion that extends higher than the internal element and couples an end of the cooling fin to an upper housing of the capacitor.

An inlet groove may be formed in the lower housing of the capacitor and the cooling fin may be inserted into the inlet groove.

The cooling fin may further include a fixing unit that couples the lower housing of the capacitor and the upper housing of the capacitor to the end of the cooling fin.

According to the cooling structure of the power conversion device of the present invention, the internal elements of the capacitor can be uniformly cooled, thereby minimizing the temperature deviation according to the position of the internal elements.

In addition, as the internal elements of the capacitor are fixed by the structure of the fixing bolt, the mounting boss protruding outside the capacitor can be eliminated, thereby reducing the volume occupied by the capacitor and reducing the overall volume of the power conversion device. .

As a result, the capacity of the capacitor itself is reduced, the volume of the entire power converter is reduced as the mounting boss is removed, and ultimately, the weight and cost of the power converter are reduced.

1 is a cross-sectional view of a power converter according to the prior art.
2 is a cross-sectional view of a power conversion device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a cross-sectional perspective view of a power converter according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 illustrates cooling fins and capacitors according to various embodiments of the present invention.

Specific structural or functional descriptions of the embodiments of the present invention disclosed in this specification or application are merely exemplified for the purpose of explaining the embodiments according to the present invention, and the embodiments according to the present invention may be implemented in various forms. and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments described in this specification or application.

Embodiments according to the present invention can apply various changes and can have various forms, so specific embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in this specification or application. However, this is not intended to limit the embodiments according to the concept of the present invention to a specific disclosed form, and should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, or substitutes included in the spirit and technical scope of the present invention.

Terms such as first and/or second may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms. The above terms are only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another component, e.g., without departing from the scope of rights according to the concept of the present invention, a first component may be termed a second component, and similarly The second component may also be referred to as the first component.

It is understood that when an element is referred to as being "connected" or "connected" to another element, it may be directly connected or connected to the other element, but other elements may exist in the middle. It should be. On the other hand, when an element is referred to as “directly connected” or “directly connected” to another element, it should be understood that no other element exists in the middle. Other expressions describing the relationship between elements, such as "between" and "directly between" or "adjacent to" and "directly adjacent to", etc., should be interpreted similarly.

Terms used in this specification are only used to describe specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In this specification, terms such as "comprise" or "having" are intended to designate that the described feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof exists, but one or more other features or numbers However, it should be understood that it does not preclude the presence or addition of steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs. Terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning in the context of the related art, and unless explicitly defined herein, they are not interpreted in an ideal or excessively formal meaning. .

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail by describing preferred embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. Like reference numerals in each figure indicate like members.

The power converter may be included in a hybrid power control unit (HPCU) mounted on a vehicle driven by a driving motor. A power conversion device according to an embodiment may include components such as a control board, a gate board, a converter (LDC), an inverter (power module, capacitor, etc.), a housing, and a cooling module. In particular, power devices may be disposed around the cooling module, and parts to which cooling is applied may be the power module of the inverter, the capacitor of the inverter, and the converter (LDC).

2 is a cross-sectional view of a power conversion device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional perspective view of the power conversion device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3 , a cooling structure of a power converter according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a cooling passage 20 in which a refrigerant exchanging heat with a power module 10 of an inverter flows therein; and a cooling plate 40 having one side in contact with the cooling passage 20 to exchange heat and the other side in contact with the capacitor 30 to exchange heat and having cooling fins 41 protruding toward the capacitor 30.

The power conversion device according to an embodiment of the present invention may be composed of an inverter at an upper part and a converter (LDC) at a lower part with the cooling passage 20 as a center. Since the power module 10 of the inverter generates a lot of heat and is a particularly important component for cooling, the cooling effect can be maximized by directly contacting the cooling passage 20 . To this end, the power module 10 may be configured to be in contact with the cooling passage 20 from both sides to exchange heat. One side of the converter LDC may also be cooled by being in contact with the cooling passage 20 . For reference, the meaning of being in contact here means not only a direct contact but also an indirect contact by placing a separate plate therebetween.

An internal space of the capacitor 30 is formed by the housing, and an internal element 31 may be located inside the housing. The internal element 31 may be formed by winding a cell element. The housing of the capacitor 30 may include an upper housing 32 and a lower housing 33, and the lower housing 33 means a housing on the side of the cooling passage 20 and is constrained in the upper or lower direction. It is not.

As the refrigerant of the cooling passage 20, various refrigerants such as water cooling using cooling water or air cooling using air may be used.

The cooling plate 40 may be a metal plate covering the outside of the cooling passage 20 . One side of the cooling plate 40 is in contact with the cooling passage 20 to exchange heat with the refrigerant inside the cooling passage 20, and the other side of the cooling plate 40 is in contact with the capacitor 30 to form the capacitor 30. can be cooled

Cooling fins 41 protruding toward the capacitor 30 may be formed on the cooling plate 40 . The cooling fins 41 may be manufactured separately and fixedly coupled to the cooling plate 40 , or may be integrally formed with the cooling fins 41 . As will be described later, the cooling fin 41 may be formed in a shape having various cross sections.

The internal elements 31 of the capacitor 30 can exchange heat as a whole by the cooling fins 41, and thus, cooling deviation according to the position of the internal elements 31 can be reduced. Not only the cooling deviation in the vertical direction (vertical direction), but also the cooling deviation in the horizontal direction can be reduced.

Therefore, as the cooling of the capacitor 30 is sufficiently performed, the operating efficiency of the capacitor 30 is improved, and accordingly, the capacity of the capacitor 30 can be reduced compared to the conventional one. That is, it has an effect of reducing the volume and weight of the entire capacitor 30 .

The cooling fins 41 have a structure inserted into the capacitor 30 and are arranged at a minimized interval to maximize the cooling effect while securing insulation between the internal elements 31 included in the capacitor 30. Heat exchange between (31) and cooling fin (41) can be maximized.

The cooling fin 41 may have a structure inserted into the capacitor 30 through the lower housing 33, but the lower housing 3 of the capacitor 30 has an inlet groove 33 formed into the capacitor 30. ') may be formed, and the cooling fin 41 may have a structure inserted into the inlet groove 33'.

4 illustrates a cooling fin 41 and a capacitor 30 according to various embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the inside of the capacitor 30 by removing the upper housing 32 .

Referring further to FIG. 4 , the internal element 31 of the capacitor 30 may be disposed in a shape surrounding the outer surface of the cooling fin 41 . In particular, the cooling fin 41 is formed in a protruding shape, and the internal element 31 of the capacitor 30 can be formed by winding the cell element around the cooling fin 41 . Accordingly, the shape of the internal element 31 may be a shape surrounding the outer surface of the cooling fin 41 .

In particular, as shown in FIG. 4(a), the cooling fin 41 is formed in a cylindrical shape having a circular cross section, and the internal element 31 is formed in a cylindrical shape surrounding the outer surface of the cooling fin 41. can

Alternatively, the cooling fin 41 may be formed in a polygonal column shape having a polygonal cross section, and the internal element 31 may have the same polygonal column shape as the cooling fin 41 surrounding the outer surface of the cooling fin 41 . In particular, as shown in FIG. 4(b), the cooling fin 41 may be formed in a rectangular column shape having a rectangular cross section, and thus the internal element 31 surrounds the cooling fin 41 of the rectangular column. can be formed into shapes.

The cooling fin 41 passes through the internal element 31 and is exposed to the outside of the internal element 31, and the fixing part 60 that couples the end of the cooling fin 41 and the upper housing 32 of the capacitor 30. ); may further include. The fixing part 60 may be inserted into and fixed to the cooling fin 41 outside the upper housing 32 of the capacitor 30 . In particular, the fixing part 60 may be formed of bolts and may be screwed and fixed to the cooling plate having threads. The number of fixing parts 60 may be formed in plural and the same number as the number of cooling fins 41 may be formed.

When an inlet groove 33' formed into the capacitor 30 is formed in the lower housing 33 of the capacitor 30 and the cooling fin 41 is inserted into the inlet groove 33', the fixing part 60 may couple the lower housing 33 of the capacitor 30 and the upper housing 32 of the capacitor 30 to the end of the cooling fin 41 . That is, the fixing part 60 may pass through the lower housing 33 and the upper housing 32 of the capacitor 30 and be coupled to the end of the cooling fin 41, and thus the capacitor 30 may be connected to the cooling fin ( 41) can be fixed.

Depending on the configuration of the fixing part 60 , the capacitor 30 may be fixed to the cooling plate 40 . Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 2 , the mounting boss 50, which is a component for fixing the capacitor 30 to the power converter, can be deleted. Therefore, it is possible to have an advantageous effect in securing space inside the power converter.

Also, as described above, the capacitance of the capacitor 30 can be reduced. Therefore, the volume occupied by the capacitor 30 is reduced in that a portion of the space X of the mounting boss 50 and the capacitor 30 shown in FIG. 2 can be reduced, and accordingly, the volume of the power converter itself is also reduced. have an effect that can be reduced.

In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4 (c), a plurality of cooling fins 41 are formed at spaced apart positions, and the internal elements of the capacitor 30 ( 31) may be located. A plurality of cooling fins 41 may be spaced apart in a certain direction.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 4(d), the cooling fins 41 may be spaced apart in a certain direction, and the cooling fins 41 may have a shape elongated in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the cooling fins 41 are spaced apart.

That is, the internal elements 31 of the capacitor 30 may be respectively positioned in spaced apart spaces between the cooling fins 41, and the cooling fins 41 have a cylindrical shape with a circular cross section as shown in FIG. 4(c). 4(d), or may have an elliptical column shape having an elliptical cross section elongated in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the cooling fins 41 are spaced apart.

According to this configuration, the cooling fin 41 can come into contact with the capacitor 30 over a wide area, thereby improving cooling efficiency and minimizing cooling deviation.

In addition, although not shown, the cooling fins 41 may be formed in a rectangular column shape having a rectangular cross section elongated in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the cooling fins 41 are spaced apart from each other. Alternatively, all other polygonal columnar shapes are also possible.

The cooling fin 41 may extend higher than the internal element 31 and be exposed to the upper part of the internal element 31 . A fixing part 60 coupling an end of the cooling fin 41 exposed upward and a housing of the capacitor 30 may be further included.

In another embodiment, although not shown, the fixing part 60 protrudes laterally from the end of the cooling fin 41 to cover a part of the upper part of the internal element 31, and thus, even without the housing of the capacitor 30. The internal element 31 of the capacitor 30 may be fixed.

Although shown and described in relation to specific embodiments of the present invention, it is known in the art that the present invention can be variously improved and changed without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention provided by the claims below. It will be self-evident to those skilled in the art.

10: power module of the inverter 20: cooling passage
30: capacitor 40: cooling plate
50: mounting boss 60: fixing part

Claims (10)

A cooling passage through which a refrigerant exchanging heat with the power module of the inverter flows therein; and
A cooling plate having one side contacting the cooling passage to exchange heat and the other side exchanging heat with the capacitor and having cooling fins protruding toward the capacitor;
The capacitor is seated in the lower housing, the lower housing is in contact with the cooling plate, the lower housing has an inlet groove protruding toward the capacitor and inserted into the capacitor, and the cooling fin of the cooling plate is inserted into the inlet groove of the lower housing. Cooling structure of the characterized power converter. The method of claim 1,
The cooling structure of the power converter, characterized in that the internal element of the capacitor is arranged in a shape surrounding the outer surface of the cooling fin. The method of claim 2,
The cooling structure of the power converter, characterized in that the cooling fin is formed in a cylindrical shape with a circular cross section, and the inner element is a cylindrical shape surrounding the outer surface of the cooling fin. The method of claim 2,
The cooling structure of the power converter, characterized in that the cooling fin is formed in a polygonal column shape with a polygonal cross section, and the internal element has the same polygonal column shape as the cooling fin surrounding the outer surface of the cooling fin. The method of claim 2,
The cooling fin penetrates the inner element from the bottom of the inner element,
The cooling structure of the power conversion device further comprising; a fixing portion coupling the end of the cooling fin and the upper housing of the capacitor. The method of claim 1,
A cooling structure of a power converter, characterized in that a plurality of cooling fins are formed at spaced apart positions, and internal elements of the capacitor are located in spaced apart spaces between the cooling fins. The method of claim 6,
The cooling structure of the power converter, characterized in that the internal elements of the cooling fins or capacitors have a shape extending in parallel in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the cooling fins are spaced apart. The method of claim 6,
The cooling fin extends higher than the internal element,
The cooling structure of the power conversion device further comprising; a fixing portion coupling the end of the cooling fin and the upper housing of the capacitor. The method of claim 1,
A cooling structure of a power converter, characterized in that an inlet groove is formed in the lower housing of the capacitor and the cooling fin is inserted into the inlet groove. The method of claim 9,
The cooling structure of the power conversion device further comprising: a fixing part for coupling the lower housing of the capacitor and the upper housing of the capacitor to the end of the cooling fin.

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