JP6299618B2 - Power converter and manufacturing method thereof - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a power conversion device having a semiconductor module and a heat generating electronic component, and a manufacturing method thereof.

  Conventionally, there is a power conversion device for converting power between an AC motor, which is a power source of an electric vehicle, a hybrid vehicle, and the like, and a DC battery mounted on the vehicle. In the power converter, a plurality of semiconductor modules each including a switching element are disposed. The semiconductor module generates heat due to the controlled current flowing through the switching element.

  In addition to the semiconductor module, the power conversion device incorporates a heat generating electronic component such as a reactor. Therefore, it may be required to cool not only the semiconductor module but also other heat generating electronic components.

  Therefore, in the power conversion device described in Patent Document 1, a plurality of cooling pipes are stacked together with the semiconductor module and the reactor to form a stacked body. Thereby, both a semiconductor module and a reactor can be cooled with a cooling pipe. And the said laminated body is pressurized from the both sides of a lamination direction, raises the adhesiveness of a semiconductor module, a reactor, and a cooling pipe, and aims at the improvement of cooling performance.

JP 2014-138812 A

  However, in recent years, the amount of heat generated by the heat-generating electronic components tends to increase due to the increase in current accompanying the increase in output of the power converter. Therefore, it is desired to further improve the cooling performance of the heat generating electronic component.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a background, and an object of the present invention is to provide a power conversion device capable of improving the cooling performance of heat-generating electronic components and a method for manufacturing the same.

One embodiment of the present invention is a semiconductor module including a semiconductor element;
Heat-generating electronic components that generate heat when energized;
A housing member for housing the heat generating electronic component;
A cooler for cooling the semiconductor module and the heat generating electronic component,
The cooler has a plurality of cooling pipes arranged at intervals between each other,
The housing member is composed of a member having thermal conductivity, and includes a bottom surface portion, and a side surface portion erected from the entire circumference of the edge of the bottom surface portion,
The semiconductor module, the heat generating electronic component housed in the housing member, and the cooling pipe are stacked to form a stacked body,
The semiconductor module and the housing member are sandwiched by the cooling pipes from both sides in the stacking direction,
The housing member is arranged so that the standing direction of the side surface portion is a direction orthogonal to the stacking direction,
The laminate is pressurized in the lamination direction,
The power storage device is characterized in that the housing member is joined to the cooler by brazing.

Another aspect of the present invention is a method for manufacturing the above power converter,
In the state where the brazing material is disposed on the joining surfaces of the constituent members of the cooler and the joining surfaces of the constituent members of the cooler and the housing member, the constituent members and the housing member are temporarily assembled and temporarily installed. A temporary assembly process for forming an assembly;
The temporary assembly is heat-treated, the plurality of joint surfaces are brazed, the plurality of constituent members and the housing member are fixed to each other, and the cooler integrated with the housing member is formed. Process,
The semiconductor module is disposed between the adjacent cooling pipes, and a component disposing step of disposing the heat generating electronic component on the housing member.

  The power converter includes a housing member that houses a heat generating electronic component. The housing member includes a member having thermal conductivity, and includes a bottom surface portion and a side surface portion erected from the entire periphery of the edge of the bottom surface portion. Therefore, since the heat generating electronic component is surrounded by the bottom surface portion and the side surface portion of the housing member, the heat transfer distance from each part of the heat generating electronic component to the housing member can be shortened. And since the accommodating member is clamped by the cooling pipe from both sides in the stacking direction, the heat transfer distance from the accommodating member to the cooling pipe can be reduced. As a result, the heat transfer distance from each part of the heat generating electronic component to the cooling pipe can be reduced, and the cooling performance of the heat generating electronic component can be improved.

  Further, the housing member is brazed to the cooler. Therefore, the thermal resistance between the housing member and the cooler can be reduced, and accordingly, the thermal resistance from each part of the heat generating electronic component housed in the housing member to the cooler can be reduced, The cooling performance of the heat generating electronic component can be further improved.

  Further, in the method for manufacturing the power conversion device, the temporary assembly is heat-treated, the plurality of joining surfaces are brazed, the plurality of the constituent members and the housing member are fixed to each other, and the housing member is integrated. A brazing step for forming a cooler; Therefore, it is possible to simultaneously braze the joint surface between the constituent members of the cooler and the joint surface of the constituent member of the cooler and the housing member, and the power converter can be efficiently manufactured.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a power conversion device capable of improving the cooling performance of a heat generating electronic component and a manufacturing method thereof.

The top view of the power converter device in Embodiment 1. FIG. The perspective view of the cooler with which the accommodating member in Embodiment 1 was integrated. The top view of the cooler with which the accommodating member in Embodiment 1 was integrated. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 3. The VV arrow directional cross-sectional view of FIG. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a housing member and a cooler in the first embodiment.

(Embodiment 1)
An embodiment of a power conversion device will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 1, the power conversion device 1 includes a semiconductor module 2 including a semiconductor element, a heat generating electronic component 3 that generates heat when energized, a housing member 4 that stores the heat generating electronic component 3, a semiconductor module 2, And a cooler 5 that cools the heat generating electronic component 3. As shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3 and FIG. 5, the cooler 5 includes a plurality of cooling pipes 51 that are arranged with a space therebetween. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the housing member 4 is composed of a member having thermal conductivity, and includes a bottom surface portion 41 and a side surface portion 42 erected from the entire periphery of the edge of the bottom surface portion 41.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the semiconductor module 2, the heat generating electronic component 3 housed in the housing member 4, and the cooling pipe 51 are stacked and constitute a stacked body 11. The semiconductor module 2 and the housing member 4 are sandwiched by cooling pipes 51 from both sides in the stacking direction X, respectively. As shown in FIGS. 2, 4, and 5, the accommodating member 4 is arranged such that the standing direction of the side surface portion 42 is a direction orthogonal to the stacking direction X. As shown in FIG. 1, the stacked body 11 is pressurized in the stacking direction X. The housing member 4 is joined to the cooler 5 by brazing.

In the present embodiment, the heat generating electronic component 3 is a reactor that constitutes a part of a booster circuit that boosts the power supply voltage in the power conversion device 1 to a predetermined voltage. Hereinafter, it is referred to as a reactor 3 as appropriate.
In the following, the direction perpendicular to the stacking direction X and in which the side surface portion 42 of the housing member 4 stands is referred to as the height direction Z. A direction perpendicular to both the stacking direction X and the height direction Z is referred to as a width direction Y.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the cooler 5 is formed by laminating a plurality of cooling pipes 51 whose longitudinal direction is the width direction Y while providing gaps therebetween. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, among the gaps between the cooling pipes 51, the housing member 4 is arranged in the gap on one end side in the stacking direction X, and the semiconductor module 2 is arranged in the other gap.

  In the following, for convenience, the side of the cooler 5 where the housing member 4 is disposed is referred to as a rear side, and the opposite side is referred to as a front side.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the cooling pipes 51 adjacent in the stacking direction X are connected to each other in the vicinity of both ends in the width direction Y. The pair of cooling pipes 51 that sandwich the housing member 4 are connected by a connecting pipe 52. That is, the cooler 5 includes a pair of connecting pipes 52 that connect the cooling pipes 51 adjacent to each other in the stacking direction X across the housing member 4 at both ends of the cooling pipe 51 in the flow path direction. The accommodating member 4 is joined to the connecting pipe 52 by brazing. The connecting portion 53 between the cooling pipes 51 that are adjacent to each other with the semiconductor module 2 interposed therebetween may be configured by brazing portions protruding from the cooling pipe 51 in the stacking direction X, or another member may be a pair of cooling pipes. 51 may be brazed.

  In the present embodiment, the reactor 3 is larger in dimension in the stacking direction X than the semiconductor module 2. Accordingly, the gap in the cooler 5 in which the housing member 4 is arranged has a larger dimension in the stacking direction X than the gap in which the semiconductor module 2 is arranged, and the connecting pipe 52 is longer than the connecting portion 53.

  At the front end of the cooler 5 in the stacking direction X, a refrigerant introduction pipe 54 that introduces a refrigerant into the cooler 5 and a refrigerant discharge pipe 55 that discharges the refrigerant from the cooler 5 are provided.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, the housing member 4 includes a substantially rectangular cylindrical side surface 42 erected in the height direction Z, and a substantially rectangular bottom surface that closes one end of the side surface 42 in the height direction Z. Part 41. The accommodation member 4 is open on the side opposite to the bottom surface portion 41 of the side surface portion 42 in the height direction Z. In the following, for convenience, the opening side of the housing member 4 in the height direction Z is referred to as the upper side, and the opposite side is referred to as the lower side.

  The accommodating member 4 has a pair of surface contact portions 43 having a substantially arc shape with a cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the stacking direction X projecting downward from both ends of the side surface portion 42 in the width direction Y, and an upper end of the side surface portion 42. A pair of extending portions 44 that extend and connect the side surface portion 42 and the end portion of the surface contact portion 43 near the side surface portion 42 are provided. In the present embodiment, the surface contact portion 43 has a dimension in the stacking direction X that is not less than half the dimension of the connecting pipe 52 and not more than the entire length of the connecting pipe 52.

  The upper surfaces of the pair of surface contact portions 43 of the housing member 4 are in surface contact with the outer peripheral surfaces of the pair of connection tubes 52, and the surface contact portions 43 and the connection tubes 52 are joined by brazing over the entire contact surfaces. Has been. Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the front end surface 421 and the rear end surface 422 of the side surface portion 42 of the housing member 4 are in surface contact with the cooling pipe 51, respectively. The front end surface 421 and the rear end surface 422 are connected to the cooling pipe 51 by brazing.

  In the present embodiment, the housing member 4 is made of the same material as the cooler 5. The housing member 4 and the cooler 5 are made of aluminum.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the reactor 3 is accommodated in the accommodating member 4. The reactor 3 includes a magnetic powder mixed resin 31 and a coil (not shown) embedded in the magnetic powder mixed resin 31. The reactor 3 has a surface other than the upper surface in close contact with the inner surface of the housing member 4. That is, the bottom surface of the magnetic powder mixed resin 31 of the reactor 3 is in surface contact with the bottom surface portion 41 of the housing member 4, and the side surface of the magnetic powder mixed resin 31 is in surface contact with the side surface portion 42 of the housing member 4. .

  The semiconductor module 2 is arranged in a gap between the cooling pipes 51 connected by the connecting portion 53. The semiconductor module 2 is in surface contact with the cooling pipe 51 via, for example, grease on both main surfaces. A stacked body 11 is configured by the semiconductor module 2, the housing member 4, and the cooling pipe 51.

  The refrigerant introduced from the refrigerant introduction pipe 54 passes through the connecting pipe 52 as appropriate, is distributed to each cooling pipe 51, and circulates in the longitudinal direction (width direction Y) via the refrigerant flow path inside the cooling pipe 51. . Then, the refrigerant exchanges heat between the semiconductor module 2 and the reactor 3 while flowing through the cooling pipes 51. The refrigerant whose temperature has increased due to heat exchange passes through the downstream connection pipe 52 as appropriate, is led to the refrigerant discharge pipe 55, and is discharged from the cooler 5.

  Examples of the refrigerant include natural refrigerants such as water and ammonia, water mixed with ethylene glycol antifreeze, fluorocarbon refrigerants such as Fluorinert (trademark), chlorofluorocarbon refrigerants such as HCFC123 and HFC134a, methanol, alcohol, and the like. A refrigerant such as an alcohol refrigerant or a ketone refrigerant such as acetone can be used.

  As described above, the stacked body 11 is pressurized in the stacking direction X. That is, the power conversion device 1 is configured by disposing the stacked body 11 in the case 6 and the pressing member 7 on the rear end side of the stacked body 11. The pressing member 7 pressurizes the rear end surface 111 of the stacked body 11 in the stacking direction X toward the front. The pressure member 7 is made of, for example, a leaf spring, and is interposed between the rear end surface 111 of the multilayer body 11 and the inner wall surface 61 of the case 6 facing the rear end surface 111 in a state of being compressed and elastically deformed in the stacking direction X. It is installed. However, the configuration and arrangement of the pressure member 7 are not particularly limited.

  The power conversion device 1 is mounted on, for example, an electric vehicle, a hybrid vehicle, or the like, and is used as an inverter that converts power supply power to drive power necessary for driving a drive motor.

Next, the manufacturing method of the power converter device 1 is demonstrated.
The manufacturing method of the power converter device 1 includes the following temporary assembly process, brazing process, and component placement process.

  In the temporary assembly process, in the state where the brazing material is disposed on the joint surfaces between the constituent members 50 (see FIG. 6) of the cooler 5 and the joint surfaces of the constituent members 50 and the housing member 4 of the cooler 5, The component member 50 and the housing member 4 are temporarily assembled to form a temporary assembly. In the brazing process, the temporary assembly is heat-treated, the plurality of joining surfaces are brazed, the plurality of constituent members 50 and the housing member 4 are fixed to each other, and the cooler 5 in which the housing member 4 is integrated is provided. Form. In the component placement step, the semiconductor module 2 is placed between the adjacent cooling pipes 51, and the reactor 3 is placed in the housing member 4.

  The component member 50 of the cooler 5 includes the above-described cooling pipe 51, refrigerant introduction pipe 54, refrigerant discharge pipe 55, connection pipe 52, and connection portion 53. In this example, the cooling pipe 51 is formed by joining a pair of outer shell plates 510 and fins 511 disposed between the outer shell plates 510. Therefore, the outer shell plate 510 and the fins 511 are also constituent members 50 of the cooler 5. The connecting portion 53 may be configured by connecting parts of the outer shell plate 510 to each other.

  The outer shell plate 510 can be configured by press-molding a clad material having a brazing material layer on one side or both sides. Similarly, the fins 511 can also be configured by press molding a clad material provided with a brazing material layer on one or both sides. The housing member 4 can also be constituted by a clad material provided with a brazing material layer.

  Thereby, for example, between outer shell plates 510, between outer shell plates 510 and fins 511, outer shell plate 510, connecting pipe 52, connecting portion 53, refrigerant introduction pipe 54, refrigerant discharge pipe 55, etc. The component member 50 is temporarily assembled in a state where a brazing material is interposed between the member 50 and the housing member 4 or between the connecting pipe 52 and the housing member 4 (surface contact portion 43). can do. That is, in the state where the brazing filler metal layer is disposed on at least one of the two constituent members 50 constituting the joining surface, or the constituent member 50 and the containing member 4, the constituent member 50 and the containing member 50 are accommodated. The member 4 is temporarily assembled.

  In addition, even if it does not form the structural member 50 with a clad material, after arrange | positioning a brazing material to a joint surface by application | coating etc., you may comprise a temporary assembly.

  In the brazing step, the temporary assembly is heated in the heating furnace to the melting point or higher of the brazing material, the joining surfaces of the constituent members 50 of the cooler 5, the cooler 5, the refrigerant introduction pipe 54, and the refrigerant discharge pipe 55. And the joining surfaces of the housing member 4 and the component member 50 of the cooler 5 are brazed. Thereby, the some component member 50 and the accommodating member 4 are mutually fixed, and the cooler 5 with which the accommodating member 4 was integrated can be formed.

  Next, in the component placement step, the semiconductor module 2 is placed in the gap between the cooling pipes 51 connected by the connecting portion 53. In addition, a coil is disposed inside the housing member 4, and the magnetic powder mixed resin 31 is filled around the coil and cured. Thereby, the reactor 3 can be arrange | positioned at the accommodating member 4. FIG. Thus, the laminated body 11 can be comprised.

  And the laminated body 11 is accommodated in the case 6 with the refrigerant introduction pipe 54 and the refrigerant discharge pipe 55 protruding, and is compressed between the rear end surface 111 of the laminated body 11 and the inner wall surface 61 of the case 6. By arranging the pressure member 7, the power conversion device 1 can be manufactured.

Next, the effect of this embodiment is demonstrated.
The power conversion device 1 includes a housing member 4 that houses the reactor 3. The housing member 4 is made of a member having thermal conductivity, and further comprises a bottom surface portion 41 and a side surface portion 42 erected from the entire circumference of the edge of the bottom surface portion 41. Therefore, since the reactor 3 is surrounded by the bottom surface portion 41 and the side surface portion 42 of the housing member 4, the heat transfer distance from each part of the reactor 3 to the housing member 4 can be shortened. Since the housing member 4 is sandwiched by the cooling pipes 51 from both sides in the stacking direction X, the heat transfer distance from the housing member 4 to the cooling pipe 51 can be reduced. As a result, the heat transfer distance from each part of the reactor 3 to the cooling pipe 51 can be reduced, and the cooling performance of the reactor 3 can be improved.

  The accommodating member 4 is brazed to the cooler 5. Therefore, the thermal resistance between the accommodating member 4 and the cooler 5 can be reduced, and accordingly, the thermal resistance from each part of the reactor 3 accommodated in the accommodating member 4 to the cooler 5 is reduced. The cooling performance of the reactor 3 can be further improved.

  Further, the reactor 3 is larger in dimension in the stacking direction X than the semiconductor module 2. Therefore, compared to the semiconductor module 2, the reactor 3 tends to have a longer heat transfer distance from each part to the cooling pipe 51. Therefore, by accommodating the reactor 3 in the accommodating member 4, the reactor 3 can be effectively cooled from the five directions of both sides in the stacking direction X, both sides in the width direction Y, and the height direction Z. .

  The accommodating member 4 is made of the same member as the cooler 5. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a difference in linear expansion coefficient between the cooler 5 and the housing member 4. As a result, it is possible to prevent the stress caused by the difference in linear expansion coefficient between the cooler 5 and the housing member 4 from being applied to the joint portion between the cooler 5 and the housing member 4.

  The accommodating member 4 is joined to the connecting pipe 52 by brazing. Therefore, the housing member 4 can be efficiently cooled also by the connecting pipe 52, and the cooling performance of the reactor 3 housed in the housing member 4 can be further improved. Moreover, although the laminated body 11 is pressurized in the lamination direction X, in this embodiment, since the connecting pipe 52 is longer than the connecting part 53, the rigidity is likely to be lower than that of the connecting part 53. Therefore, the rigidity of the connecting pipe 52 can be improved by joining the housing member 4 to the connecting pipe 52 by brazing.

  Moreover, the manufacturing method of the power converter device 1 fixes the some structural member 50 and the accommodating member 4 mutually in the brazing process, and forms the cooler 5 which integrated the accommodating member 4. FIG. Therefore, it is possible to simultaneously braze the joint surfaces between the constituent members 50 of the cooler 5 and the joint surfaces of the constituent members 50 of the cooler 5 and the housing member 4, and efficiently manufacture the power conversion device 1. can do.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide a power conversion device that can improve the cooling performance of heat-generating electronic components and a method for manufacturing the same.

In the above-described embodiment, the reactor is used as the heat generating electronic component. For example, the heat generating electronic component can be a capacitor.
Further, the shape of the housing member is not limited to that shown in the above embodiment as long as it has a bottom surface and a side surface erected from the entire periphery of the edge of the side surface. Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the extending part and the surface contact part were provided in the accommodating member as a structure for joining an accommodating member to a connecting pipe, it is not restricted to this. That is, various modes can be adopted as long as the housing member is joined to the connecting pipe by brazing.
Moreover, about the arrangement | positioning position of the accommodating member in a laminated body, it can also be set as other arrangement | positioning positions, such as the clearance gap of a front end, not only in the clearance gap of the rear end of a laminated body.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Power converter 11 Laminate body 2 Semiconductor module 3 Heat generating electronic component (reactor)
4 housing member 41 bottom face part 42 side face part 5 cooler 51 cooling pipe X stacking direction

Claims (5)

A semiconductor module (2) comprising a semiconductor element;
A heat generating electronic component (3) that generates heat when energized;
A housing member (4) for housing the heat generating electronic component (3);
A cooler (5) for cooling the semiconductor module (2) and the heat generating electronic component (3),
The cooler (5) has a plurality of cooling pipes (51) arranged at intervals between each other,
The housing member (4) is made of a member having thermal conductivity, and includes a bottom surface portion (41) and a side surface portion (42) erected from the entire periphery of the edge of the bottom surface portion (41).
The semiconductor module (2), the heat generating electronic component (3) housed in the housing member (4), and the cooling pipe (51) are laminated to form a laminate (11),
The semiconductor module (2) and the housing member (4) are sandwiched by the cooling pipe (51) from both sides in the stacking direction (X),
The housing member (4) is arranged so that the standing direction of the side surface portion (42) is a direction orthogonal to the stacking direction (X),
The laminate (11) is pressurized in the lamination direction (X),
The power conversion device (1), wherein the housing member (4) is joined to the cooler (5) by brazing.   The power conversion device (1) according to claim 1, wherein the heat generating electronic component (3) has a dimension in the stacking direction (X) larger than that of the semiconductor module (2).   The power conversion device (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the housing member (4) is made of the same material as the cooler (5).   The cooler (5) connects the cooling pipes (51) adjacent to each other in the stacking direction (X) across the housing member (4) at both ends of the cooling pipe (51) in the flow path direction. A pair of connecting pipes (52), wherein the housing member (4) is joined to the connecting pipe (52) by brazing. The power converter (1) described. It is a method of manufacturing the power converter device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A state in which a brazing material is disposed on the joint surface between the constituent members (50) of the cooler (5) and the joint surface between the constituent member (50) of the cooler (5) and the housing member (4). A temporary assembling step of temporarily assembling the component member (50) and the housing member (4) to form a temporary assembly;
The temporary assembly is heat-treated, the plurality of joining surfaces are brazed, the plurality of the constituent members (50) and the housing member (4) are fixed to each other, and the housing member (4) is integrated. Brazing step to form the cooler (5),
The semiconductor module (2) is disposed between the adjacent cooling pipes (51), and the component disposing step of disposing the heat generating electronic component (3) in the housing member (4). The manufacturing method of the power converter device (1) to do.

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