JP5640424B2 - Power converter - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a power conversion device configured by housing an inverter or the like composed of a plurality of semiconductor modules in a case, and in particular, a refrigerant supply pipe and a lead wire cable for cooling a semiconductor module in a through-hole provided in a side wall of the case. It is related with the power converter device characterized by the structure which attaches the grommet for inserting etc. to an airtight state in the airtight state.

  Conventionally, as in the electric device apparatus of Patent Document 1 as a power converter, a case main body 3 having a box-shaped opening end shown in a side view of FIG. A casing (case) that is composed of a fixed lid 4 and houses an electrical device therein, and a cord connected to the electrical device can be inserted therethrough and fitted into the mounting portion 3a and pressed by the lid 4 In the electrical equipment device provided with the grommet 5 made of an elastic seal member that is in close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the mounting portion 3a, there is a structure in which the mounting portion 3a and the grommet 5 are substantially semicircular.

  In this structure, since the attachment portion 3a of the case body 3 and the grommet 5 are substantially semicircular, when the grommet 5 is pressed by the lid body 4, the inner peripheral surface of the attachment portion 3a and the grommet 5 are formed. The entire surface is in close contact, and the surface pressure acts appropriately on each part of the contact surface. Therefore, there is an advantage that the overall sealing performance is improved.

JP 2002-369346 A

  By the way, in the structure of the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, there is a slight height between the upper surface (exposed surface) of the grommet 5 fitted to the mounting portion 3 a of the case body 3 and the upper surface of the side wall of the case body 3. A step d1 occurs. In this case, when the upper surfaces of both the grommet 5 and the case body 3 are pressed by the lid body 4 in order to seal the case, the upper surface of the grommet 5 is not pressed uniformly, and gaps are generated at both corners of the upper surface. Sometimes.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, it is necessary to insert a highly sticky sealing material 6 such as a liquid gasket or an adhesive between the upper surface of both the grommet 5 and the case body 3 and the lid body 4. However, in this case, since the upper surfaces of both the grommet 5 and the case body 3 and the lid body 4 are bonded by the sealing material 6, after the assembly, after disassembling and reassembling each, The sealing material 6 is difficult to peel off, and even if it is peeled off, there is a problem that the sealing material 6 adheres to the grommet 5 or the case body 3 and cannot be reused.

  Further, when the sealing material 6 is a member having a small spring constant such as a liquid gasket or an adhesive, the sealing material 6 is crushed by the pressure on the lid 4, and the grommet 5 is not sufficiently compressed. In this case, there is a problem that a gap is generated because the step d1 is not completely eliminated.

  Further, when the compression of the grommet 5 is insufficient, there is a problem that the contact portion between the case main body 3 and the grommet 5 does not sufficiently adhere, and the airtight state between the case main body 3 and the grommet 5 becomes insufficient.

  Furthermore, the sealing material 6 attached to the case body 3 may become a residue and fall on the electronic components or wiring patterns in the case, and in this case, an electronic device such as an inverter may cause leakage or malfunction. As a result, there is a problem that it cannot be reused.

  Furthermore, in order to disassemble the sealing material 6 so that it does not fall into the case, curing for that purpose is required, and there is a problem that man-hours are involved.

  This invention is made | formed in view of such a situation, and when a grommet and a case main body are pressed via a sealing material with a cover body, a sealing material is crushed and compression of a grommet does not become inadequate. The case body, grommet, sealing material and lid can be easily disassembled and reassembled so that no man-hours are required, so that the debris of the sealing material does not fall into the case during disassembly. An object of the present invention is to provide a power conversion device that can perform the above-described operation.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention according to claim 1 is characterized in that a case main body in which a semicircular concave through-hole is formed on a box-shaped side wall with one open and a lid that covers the opening. And a case in which an electronic component including an inverter that performs power conversion is housed in the case, and an elastic member that is fitted to the mounting portion and pressed against the lid body and closely contacts the inner peripheral surface of the mounting portion In the power conversion device having a semicircular grommet and a sealing material that is pressed between the case body and the lid body and is in close contact with the case body and the lid body, the lid body includes the lid body in the lid body. The lower surface of the case main body is in contact with the upper surface of the side wall, and has a shape in which two rail-shaped protruding portions parallel to a portion of the lower surface facing the grommet are disposed, and the protruding portion is the grommet. On the exposed top Than, have a slightly longer size on both sides perpendicular to the thickness direction of the protruding direction and the side wall wherein the mount portion is formed of the convex portion, the sealing material is fitted between the two convex portions In a state where the case body is not covered with the lid body, a shape projecting in the projecting direction of the convex portion from between the two convex portions is formed.

  According to this configuration, when the sealing material is made of a member having a small spring constant, when the opening of the case body is covered with the lid provided with the two convex portions, the sealing is performed by the pressing force of the lid. The material is crushed with grommets. As a result, even if a step remains between the upper surface of the grommet and the upper surface of the side wall of the case body, if the lid is further pressed, the grommet is pressed by the two convex portions. As a result, the grommet is compressed so that there is no level difference with the case main body, so that the lid can be tightly fixed to the case main body.

The invention according to claim 2 comprises a case main body in which a semicircular concave through-hole is formed on a box-shaped side wall with one side open, and a lid that covers the opening. A case in which an electronic component including an inverter to be stored is housed, a semicircular grommet made of an elastic member that is fitted into the mounting portion and is pressed against the lid and closely contacts an inner peripheral surface of the mounting portion, and the case In the power converter having the seal member that is pressed between the main body and the lid body and is in close contact with the case main body and the lid body, the lid body is a lower surface that contacts the upper surface of the side wall of the case body in the lid body Further, a shape of a rail-like convex portion is provided on a portion of the lower surface facing the grommet, and the convex portion is a lower surface that contacts the upper surface of the side wall of the case body in the lid. Of the lower surface Is formed only on the side, the convex portion than the exposed upper surface of the grommet, slightly longer on both sides perpendicular to the thickness direction of the protruding direction and the side wall wherein the mount portion is formed of the protrusion dimension And the sealing material has a shape protruding in the protruding direction of the convex portion rather than the convex portion in a state where the case body is not covered with the lid.

  Also in this configuration, the same effect as that of the first aspect can be obtained.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, when the grommet covers the case main body in a sealed state via the sealing material with the lid, the grommet is provided between the inner side and the outer side of the case main body. It is arrange | positioned so that it may contact | abut with the said convex part in the middle of the width | variety.

  According to this configuration, when the opening of the case body is covered, the projection provided only on the inside of the case body of the lid presses the middle of the grommet, so that the grommet is efficiently compressed.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the grommet has a through-hole through which a cooling pipe for cooling the electronic component or a conductive wire cable for transmitting and receiving signals to and from the electronic component is opened at the center of the grommet. It is characterized by.

  According to this configuration, all the components that need to be connected to the inside and outside of the case main body can be assembled from one direction of the case main body, so that the assemblability is improved.

The invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that the grommet is provided with a connector for exchanging signals with the electronic component at the center of the grommet.

  According to this configuration, when an electrical connection is made to an electronic component in the case, the electrical connection can be facilitated because the connection can be made via the connector disposed outside the case.

The invention according to claim 6 is characterized in that the sealing material is made of an elastic member containing rubber.

  According to this configuration, since the sealing material is an elastic member, the sealing material does not adhere to the lid body, etc., so that the parts of the case main body, the grommet, the sealing material, and the lid body can be easily disassembled, All can be reused.

It is a partial side view which shows the structure of the grommet periphery of the side wall of the conventional power converter device. It is a partial side view which shows the structure at the time of inserting a sealing material between the grommet and the cover body of the side wall of the conventional power converter device. It is a top view which shows the structure at the time of removing the cover body of the case of the power converter device which concerns on embodiment of this invention. FIG. 4 is a side view of the case as seen from the direction of arrow Y1 in FIG. 3. It is a side view at the time of fitting the refrigerant | coolant supply pipe | tube and the refrigerant | coolant discharge pipe in the insertion state via the sealing material in the attaching part of the side surface of the said case. It is the partial side view used as the partial perspective view of the state which covered the case main body in the part in the broken-line frame shown in FIG. 5 with the cover body. The structure of the lid in the above case is shown, (a) is a partial side view of the lid, (b) is a sectional view taken along line A1-A2 shown in (a), and (c) is shown in (a). It is a bottom view of a lid. It is a figure for demonstrating the effect | action at the time of covering the opening of the said case main body with a cover body. The cover body of the other structural example of this embodiment is shown, (a) is a bottom view of a cover body, (b) is a side view of a cover body. The cover body of the other structural example of this embodiment is shown, (a) is a partial side view of the cover body, (b) is a sectional view taken along line B1-B2 shown in (a), and (c) is ( It is a bottom view of the lid shown in a). It is a figure which shows a mode when the convex part of the cover body shown in FIG. 10 contact | abuts the center of a wide grommet. It is a side view which shows the through-hole of a grommet. (A) The front view of the connector arrange | positioned at a grommet, (b) is a side view.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, parts corresponding to each other in all the drawings in this specification are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description of the overlapping parts will be omitted as appropriate.

  FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the configuration when the cover of the case of the power conversion device according to the embodiment of the present invention is removed.

  A power conversion apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 3 is connected to a plurality of semiconductor modules 21 constituting a part of a power conversion circuit such as a DC-DC (direct current-direct current) converter circuit or an inverter circuit, and to cool these semiconductor modules 21. The semiconductor laminated unit 2 formed by alternately laminating a plurality of cooling pipes 22 and the case main body 3 that accommodates the semiconductor laminated unit 2 inside, for example, an alternating current that is a power source of an electric vehicle, a hybrid vehicle, etc. Used to generate a drive current for energizing the motor. In addition, it is also used in motor drive inverters for industrial equipment, air conditioner inverters for building air conditioning, and the like.

  The semiconductor stacked unit 2 discharges the cooling medium from the outside of the case body 3 to the outside of the case body 3 through the refrigerant supply pipe 41 for supplying the cooling medium to the inside of the plurality of cooling pipes 22 from the outside. The refrigerant discharge pipe 42 is connected to the cooling pipe 22 at one end in the stacking direction. The refrigerant supply pipe 41 and the refrigerant discharge pipe 42 are two substantially semicircular shapes formed on the side surface of the case body 3 as shown in FIG. 4 which is a side view of the case body 3 viewed from the direction of the arrow Y1 in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the mounting portion 3 a cut out in a concave shape is inserted through a grommet 5 made of an elastic member such as waterproof rubber. That is, the grommet 5 has a substantially semicircular shape that is slightly larger in size than the attachment portion 3a. Furthermore, a through-hole is formed in the central portion of the grommet 5, and the refrigerant supply pipe 41 or the medium discharge pipe 42 is inserted into the through-hole in an airtight state.

  Further, the refrigerant supply pipe 41 and the refrigerant discharge pipe 42 are jigs for engaging a holding jig (not shown) for holding the refrigerant supply pipe 41 and the refrigerant discharge pipe 42 inside the case body 3 rather than the grommet 5. A tool engaging portion 61 is fitted on the outer periphery, and a hose positioning portion 62 is fitted on the outer periphery outside the case body 3. The hose positioning portion 62 is provided with an external discharge hose 621 for supplying a cooling medium from the outside of the case body 3 to the refrigerant supply pipe 41 and an external discharge for discharging the cooling medium from the refrigerant discharge pipe 42 to the outside of the case body 3. The hose 622 is positioned.

  Further, the semiconductor stacked unit 2 is formed by alternately stacking a plurality of semiconductor modules 21 and a plurality of cooling pipes 22. The cooling pipes 22 are connected to each other on the upstream side by a supply side connecting portion 221, and on the downstream side. Are connected by a discharge side connecting portion 222. A spring member 11 having an elastic force is disposed between the case body 3 and the semiconductor laminated unit 2 on the downstream side. Here, the case main body 3 includes a main member that contacts the main surface of the cooling pipe 22 at the upstream end and the member contact portion 32 that contacts the fixing member 12 that locks both ends of the spring member 11 in the width direction. And a surface contact portion 33. The spring member 11 is disposed between the contact plate 13 that contacts the main surface of the cooling pipe 22 at the downstream end and the fixing member 12 in a biased state in which the semiconductor stacked unit 2 is pressed upstream. To do. Due to the biasing force of the spring member 11, the main surface of the cooling pipe 22 at the upstream end is in contact with the main surface contact portion 33.

  Next, FIG. 6 shows a state where the upper opening of the case body 3 is covered. FIG. 6 is a side view showing a portion surrounded by a broken line frame W1 in FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, the opening of the case body 3 is sealed with a lid 71 on the upper surface of the side wall of the case body 3 via a sealing material 73. However, the sealing material 73 is a member having a small spring constant such as a liquid gasket or an adhesive.

  The feature of this embodiment is the structure of the lid 71, and this lid 71 is shown in FIG. 7A is a partial side view of the lid 71, FIG. 7B is a cross-sectional view taken along line A1-A2 shown in FIG. 7A, and FIG. 7C is the lid 71 shown in FIG. FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the lid 71 is provided with rail-like convex portions (hereinafter referred to as parallel convex portions) 71a and 71b parallel to the contact surface of the grommet 5 on the lower surface. The parallel convex portions 71a and 71b have dimensions slightly longer on both sides than the exposed upper surface of the grommet 5 (see FIG. 6), and the sealing material 73 is provided in the elongated groove portion 71c between the parallel convex portions 71a and 71b. It is designed to be fitted.

  When the opening of the case main body 3 is covered with the lid body 71 as shown in FIG. 8A by the lid body 71 provided with the parallel convex portions 71a and 71b as shown in FIG. 8B. As described above, it is assumed that the sealing material 73 is crushed by the grommet 5 by the pressing force of the lid 71. In this case, a step d1a remains between the upper surface of the grommet 5 and the upper surface of the side wall of the case body 3. However, when the lid 71 is further pressed, the grommet 5 is pressed by the parallel protrusions 71a and 71b as shown in FIG. 8C, and the grommet 5 is compressed so that there is no step with the case body 3. Is done. If the lid 71 is fixed in this state, the case of the power converter 1 is kept airtight.

  Therefore, the height d2 of the parallel protrusions 71a and 71b shown in FIG. 7B is determined according to the spring constant of the sealing material 73. That is, when the sealing material 73 is crushed when pressed by the lid 71, the grommet 5 is set to a height d2 that can be properly compressed by the parallel protrusions 71a and 71b so that the step d1a is eliminated.

  As described above, according to the power conversion device 1 of the present embodiment, the grommet 5 is fitted to the attachment portion 3a on the side wall of the case body 3, and the opening of the case body 3 is placed on the grommet exposed surface on the opening side. In the structure of inserting and pressing the grommet 5 with the lid 71 to cover the grommet 5 in a hermetically sealed manner, the lid 71 is placed on the lower surface of the lid 71 that contacts the upper surface of the side wall of the case body 3. The rail-shaped parallel convex portions (two convex portions) 71a and 71b parallel to the contact portion are formed, and the seal material 73 is fitted between the parallel convex portions 71a and 71b. A protruding shape was made.

  According to this configuration, when the opening of the case body 3 is covered by the lid 71 provided with the parallel convex portions 71a and 71b, the sealing material 73 is crushed by the grommet 5 by the pressing force of the lid 71. Thus, even if the step d1a remains between the upper surface of the grommet 5 and the upper surface of the side wall of the case body 3, if the lid body 71 is further pressed, the grommet 5 is pressed by the parallel protrusions 71a and 71b. As a result, the grommet 5 is compressed so as to eliminate the step d1a from the case main body 3, so that the lid 71 can be tightly fixed to the case main body 3. Furthermore, since the sealing material 73 is fitted between the parallel convex portions 71a and 71b, the sealing material is not compressed too much and is not cut off as in the prior art.

  Further, as shown in the bottom view of the lid 71 of FIG. 9A and the side view of FIG. 9B, the lid 71 circulates around all the contact surfaces to the upper surface of the side wall of the case body 3 and is parallel. Rail-shaped convex portions (referred to as circumferential parallel convex portions) 71e and 71f may be provided. In this case, the sealing material 73 has a shape protruding by being fitted into the groove 71g between the circumferential parallel convex portions 71e and 71f.

  Even when the sealing member 73 is crushed by the grommet 5 by the pressing force of the lid 71 when the opening of the case main body 3 is covered by the lid 71 provided with the circumferential parallel convex portions 71e and 71f, the same as described above. If the cover body 71 is further pressed, the grommet 5 is pressed by the circumferential parallel convex portions 71e and 71f. As a result, the grommet 5 is compressed so as to eliminate the step d1a from the case main body 3, so that the lid 71 can be tightly fixed to the case main body 3.

  Further, in the case where the circumferential parallel convex portions 71e and 71f are arranged on the lid 71, when the case is disassembled, the sealing material 73 having a small spring constant is provided in the groove portion 71g between the circumferential parallel convex portions 71e and 71f. Since it becomes the state which adhered, the cover body 71 can be easily removed from the case main body 3 and the grommet 5. FIG. Accordingly, the case main body 3, the grommet 5, the sealing material 73, and the lid 71 can be easily disassembled and reassembled so that the number of man-hours is not increased.

  Further, since the sealing material 73 is attached to the groove portion 71g, the sealing material 73 does not become a residue and falls into the case and does not adhere to an electronic component or a wiring pattern. Therefore, the power conversion device 1 can be reused. Moreover, since the curing for preventing the sealing material from falling into the case is not required as in the prior art, it is possible to prevent the number of man-hours from being increased.

  Moreover, it is good also as a shape which has the convex part 71b only in the inner side of the case main body 3 in the lower surface of the cover body 71, as shown in FIG. 10A is a partial side view of the lid 71, FIG. 10B is a cross-sectional view taken along line B1-B2 shown in FIG. 10A, and FIG. 10C is a lid shown in FIG. 7 is a bottom view of a body 71. FIG. Also in this structure, even if the sealing material 73 is crushed by the grommet 5 by the pressing force of the lid 71 as described above, if the lid 71 is further pressed, the grommet 5 is pressed by the convex portion 71b, and the grommet 5 Since the case body 3 and the step d1a are compressed so as to be eliminated, the lid body 71 can be tightly fixed to the case body 3. Moreover, since the case outer side of the lower surface of the lid 71 is open, there is an advantage that the sealing material 73 can be easily inserted from this open portion.

Furthermore, when the cover 71 has a structure in which the convex portion 71b is disposed, as shown in FIG. 11 , the convex portion 71b is applied in the middle of the width between the case inner side and the outer side of the grommet 5 (indicated by the arrow Y2) . Grommet 5 is disposed so as to come into contact . If it does in this way, since convex part 71b presses the middle of grommet 5, grommet 5 will be compressed efficiently.

  However, the shape having the convex portion 71b only on the inner side of the case body 3 on the lower surface of the lid 71 may have the same structure in the case of the circumferential parallel convex portions 71e and 71f. That is, the lid body 71 includes only the convex portion 71f inside the case body 3 among the circumferential parallel convex portions 71e and 71f.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 12, the refrigerant supply pipe 41 or the refrigerant discharge pipe 42 as the cooling pipe is inserted into the through-hole 5a in the central portion of the grommet 5 in the above-described embodiment. In addition, a lead wire cable that transmits and receives signals between an electronic component such as an inverter in the case and an external device (not shown) may be inserted in an airtight state. Even in this case, the same effect as described above can be obtained. Moreover, since it is possible to assemble all the parts that need to be connected to the inside and outside of the case from one direction of the case body 3, the assembling property is improved.

  Further, a connector 81 as shown in FIG. 13 may be attached to the central portion of the grommet 5. 13A is a front view of the connector 81, and FIG. 13B is a side view. The connector 81 is connected to a predetermined electronic component inside the case of the grommet 5 and is connected to a connector of an external device (not shown) outside the case. Thus, when the connector 81 is attached to the grommet 5, the electronic component in a case and an external device can be connected easily.

  Furthermore, the sealing material 73 may be formed of a member made of an elastic member such as rubber instead of a member having a small spring constant. Also in this case, it is necessary to consider the height d2 of the parallel convex portions 71a and 71b or the circular parallel convex portions 71e and 71f. That is, after the sealing material 73 is compressed by the grommet 5 by the pressing force of the lid 71, if the lid 71 is further pressed, the grommet 5 is pressed by the parallel convex portions 71a, 71b or the circular parallel convex portions 71e, 71f, The height d2 is set so that the grommet 5 is compressed so that the step d1a is eliminated from the case body 3.

  When the sealing material 73 is made of an elastic member such as rubber, the sealing material 73 does not adhere to the lid body 71 and the like, so that the parts of the case main body 3, the grommet 5, the sealing material 73, and the lid body 71 are disassembled. It becomes easier and all parts can be reused.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Power converter 2 Semiconductor laminated unit 3 Case main body 3a Attachment part 4,71 Cover body 71a, 71b , 71e, 71f convex part 5 Grommet 5a Through-hole 6,73 Sealing material
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Spring member 12 Fixing member 13 Contact plate part 21 Semiconductor module 22 Cooling pipe 32 Member contact part 33 Main surface contact part 41 Refrigerant supply pipe 42 Refrigerant discharge pipe 61 Jig engaging part 62 Hose positioning part 81 Connector 221 Supply side connection part 222 Discharge side connection part 621 External supply hose 622 External discharge hose

Claims (6)

An electronic component including an inverter for converting power is housed in the case, which is composed of a case main body having a semicircular concave mounting portion formed in a box-shaped side wall that is open on one side and a lid that covers the opening. Between the case main body and the lid body, and a semicircular grommet made of an elastic member that is fitted to the attachment portion and is pressed by the lid body and is in close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the attachment portion. In the power conversion device having the seal body closely attached to the case body and the lid body,
The lid has a shape in which two rail-like convex portions parallel to a portion of the lower surface facing the grommet are arranged on the lower surface of the lid that contacts the upper surface of the side wall of the case body. And the projection has a slightly longer dimension on both sides orthogonal to the protruding direction of the projection and the thickness direction of the side wall on which the mounting portion is formed than the exposed upper surface of the grommet ,
The sealing material is fitted between the two convex portions, and the case main body is not covered with the lid body, and between the two convex portions in the protruding direction of the convex portion. A power converter characterized by having a protruding shape. An electronic component including an inverter for converting power is housed in the case, which is composed of a case main body having a semicircular concave mounting portion formed in a box-shaped side wall that is open on one side and a lid that covers the opening. Between the case main body and the lid body, and a semicircular grommet made of an elastic member that is fitted to the attachment portion and is pressed by the lid body and is in close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the attachment portion. In the power conversion device having the seal body closely attached to the case body and the lid body,
The lid body has a shape in which one rail-like convex portion is disposed on a lower surface of the lid body that is in contact with the upper surface of the side wall of the case main body and facing the grommet on the lower surface.
The convex portion is a lower surface that contacts the upper surface of the side wall of the case body in the lid, and is formed only on the inner side of the lower surface.
The convex part has a slightly longer dimension on both sides orthogonal to the protruding direction of the convex part and the thickness direction of the side wall on which the mounting part is formed, than the exposed upper surface of the grommet ,
The power conversion device according to claim 1, wherein the sealing material has a shape protruding in a protruding direction of the convex portion rather than the convex portion in a state where the case body is not covered with the lid.   The grommet is in contact with the convex portion in the middle of the width between the inner side and the outer side of the case main body in the grommet when the case main body is sealed with the lid through the sealing material. The power conversion device according to claim 1, wherein the power conversion device is disposed so as to be in contact with each other.   The grommet is characterized in that a through-hole through which a cooling pipe for cooling the electronic component or a conductive wire cable for transmitting and receiving signals to and from the electronic component is opened at the center of the grommet. The power converter device of any one of 1-3.   The power converter according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the grommet is provided with a connector for transmitting and receiving signals to and from the electronic component at a central portion of the grommet. The power conversion device according to claim 1, wherein the sealing material is made of an elastic member including rubber.

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