Bus bar and power electronic device with current shaping terminal connector and method of making a terminal connector

• US 10,128,625 B2
• Filed: 11/18/2015
• Issued: 11/13/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GE Global Sourcing LLC (Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation)
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Young, Henry Todd, Mari Curbelo, Alvaro Jorge, Kuttenkuler, Jason Daniel, Bertoncelli, Tiziana, Cillessen, Sean Patrick
• Primary Examiner(s): Hoffberg, Robert J
• Application Number:
  US15/524,288
• Publication Number:
  US 20170358897A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,091 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 23/46 involving the transfer of heat by flowing fluids H01L23/42, H01L23/44 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 23/492 Bases or plates or solder therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 23/562 Protection against mechanical damage H01L23/02, H01L23/28 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 25/115 the devices being arranged next to each other
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 25/162 Electrical connections between or with rails or bus-bars rails having primarily a non electrical function H01R4/64
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 43/16 for manufacturing contact members, e.g. by punching and by bending
• CPC Class Codes: H02G 5/005 Laminated bus-bars
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/155 using semiconductor devices only
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/003 Constructional details, e.g. physical layout, assembly, wiring or busbar connections
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/537 using semiconductor devices only, e.g. single switched pulse inverters
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/2089 for power electronics, e.g. for inverters for controlling motor
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/20927 Liquid coolant without phase change

Abstract

A current shaping phase leg bus bar for power electronics systems includes a first terminal connector, a second terminal connector, insulated from the first terminal connector, and a third terminal connector, insulated from the first and second terminal connectors. At least one of the terminal connectors is a current shaping terminal connector that includes one or more layers having a plurality of pre-defined locations for electrical connections, said plurality of pre-defined locations including one or more first locations and a plurality of second locations, and includes one or more gaps within or among its one or more layers, to provide substantially balanced conductive pathways among its one or more first locations and its plurality of second locations.

Claims

1. A bus bar comprising:

plural terminal connectors comprising;

a first terminal connector;

a second terminal connector insulated from the first terminal connector; and

a third terminal connector insulated from the first terminal connector and the second terminal connector;

wherein the first terminal connector is a first current shaping terminal connector comprising;

an even number of layers overlaid to provide first substantially discrete conductive pathways, a magnetic field induced by a current in a conductive pathway of the first substantially discrete conductive pathways in the first terminal connector is substantially canceled by a magnetic field induced by a current in a corresponding conductive pathway of the first substantially discrete conductive pathways in another conductive pathway of the first terminal connector,

the even number of layers having a plurality of pre-defined locations for electrical connections, said plurality of pre-defined locations including one or more first locations and a plurality of second locations, the first terminal connector includes the first substantially discrete conductive pathways amongst the one or more first locations and the plurality of second locations,

the even number of layers of the first current shaping terminal connector comprises a bridge layer overlaying and substantially insulated from an island layer,

the bridge layer has lateral wings conductively joined by a central bridge,

the island layer has lateral islands that are not conductively joined within the island layer,

each lateral island of the island layer includes either at least one of the one or more first locations or at least one of the plurality of second locations, and is conductively joined by at least one hot spot to an overlying one of the lateral wings of the bridge layer,

one or more first gaps are formed in the lateral islands and lateral wings to define the first substantially discrete conductive pathways from each of the one or more first locations to a corresponding one of the plurality of second locations,

each of the first substantially discrete conductive pathways includes the central bridge, and

each conductive pathway includes a portion in the bridge layer that overlies in anti-parallel a portion of the corresponding conductive pathway in the island layer.

2. The bus bar of claim 1, wherein the second and third terminal connectors are second and third current shaping terminal connectors, respectively, that are configured to provide second substantially balanced conductive pathways among one or more third locations of the second and third current shaping terminal connectors and a plurality fourth locations of the second and third current shaping terminal connectors.

3. The bus bar of claim 2, wherein the second and third terminal connectors are matching inverts of each other.

4. The bus bar of claim 3, wherein the second and third terminal connectors are overlaid adjacent an intervening insulative layer.

5. The bus bar of claim 2, wherein the second and third terminal connectors are arranged such that a magnetic field induced by a current in a conductive pathway of the second substantially balanced conductive pathways in one of the second and third terminal connectors is substantially canceled by a magnetic field induced by a current in a corresponding conductive pathway of the second substantially balanced conductive pathways in another of the second and third terminal connectors.

6. The bus bar of claim 2, wherein the second and third current shaping terminal connectors includes one or more second gaps within or among the second and third current shaping terminal connectors to provide the second substantially discrete conductive pathways amongst the one or more third locations and the plurality of fourth locations.

7. The bus bar of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more first gaps of the first current shaping terminal connector includes at least one window.

8. The bus bar of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more first gaps is a region of reduced material thickness.

9. A power electronic device comprising:

a heat sink with a coolant inlet and a coolant outlet;

first and second switch packages, each package having supply terminals and load terminals, the supply terminals of the first and second switch packages are substantially thermally equidistant from the coolant inlet at a first thermal distance and the load terminals of the first and second switch packages are substantially thermally equidistant from the coolant inlet at a second thermal distance that is less than the first thermal distance; and

at least one first current shaping terminal connector connecting the load terminals of the first and second switch packages, the current shaping terminal connector including an even number of layers having a plurality of pre-defined locations for electrical connections, said plurality of pre-defined locations including one or more first locations and a plurality of second locations, and including a plurality of gaps within or among the even number of layers, to provide substantially balanced conductive pathways among the one or more first locations and the plurality of second locations,

wherein the at least one first current shaping terminal connector comprises;

the even number of layers overlaid to provide the substantially balanced conductive pathways amongst the one or more first locations and the plurality of second locations, a magnetic field induced by a current in a conductive pathway of the substantially balanced conductive pathways in the at least one first current shaping terminal connector is substantially canceled by a magnetic field induced by a current in a corresponding conductive pathway of the substantially discrete conductive pathways in another conductive pathway of the at least one first current shaping terminal connector,

the even number of layers of the at least one first current shaping terminal connector comprises a bridge layer overlaying and substantially insulated from an island layer,

the bridge layer has lateral wings conductively joined by a central bridge,

the island layer has lateral islands that are not conductively joined within the island layer,

each lateral island of the island layer includes either at least one of the one or more first locations or at least one of the plurality of second locations, and is conductively joined by at least one hot spot to an overlying one of the lateral wings of the bridge layer,

the plurality of gaps are formed in the lateral islands and lateral wings to define the substantially balanced conductive pathways from each of the one or more first locations to a corresponding one of the plurality of second locations,

each of the substantially balanced conductive pathways includes the central bridge, and

each conductive pathway includes a portion in the bridge layer that overlies in anti-parallel a portion of the corresponding conductive pathway in the island layer.

10. The power electronic device of claim 9, wherein at least one of the plurality of gaps is a region of reduced material thickness.

11. The power electronic device of claim 9, wherein at least one of the plurality of gaps of each of the lateral wings of the bridge layer includes at least one window.

12. The power electronic device of claim 9, wherein at least one of the plurality of gaps of each of the lateral islands of the island layer includes at least one window.

13. The power electronic device of claim 9, wherein the at least one first current shaping terminal connector has the first locations aligned substantially along a first line defined by the load terminals of the first switch package, and has the plurality of second locations aligned substantially along a second line connected with the load terminals of the second switch package, the first line collinear with the second line, with the one or more first locations of equal number as the plurality of second locations, and the at least one first current shaping terminal connector includes the plurality of gaps defining the substantially discrete conductive paths connecting pairs of the one or more first locations and the plurality of second locations.

14. The power electronic device of claim 9, further comprising:

second and third current shaping terminal connectors respectively connected to the supply terminals of the first switch package and to the supply terminals of the second switch package, wherein the second and third current shaping terminals connectors are matching inverts of each other.

15. The power electronic device of claim 14, wherein the second and third current shaping terminal connectors are arranged such that a magnetic field induced by a current in a conductive pathway in one of the second and third current shaping terminal connectors is substantially canceled by a magnetic field induced by a current in a corresponding conductive pathway in another of the second and third current shaping terminal connectors.

16. A bus bar comprising:

plural terminal connectors comprising first, second, and third terminal connectors insulated from one another;

wherein the first terminal connector is a current shaping terminal connector comprising;

an even number of layers having a plurality of pre-defined locations for electrical connections, said plurality of pre-defined locations including one or more first locations and a plurality of second locations, wherein the layers are overlaid to provide plural substantially discrete conductive pathways amongst the one or more first locations and the plurality of second locations,

the even number of layers comprises a bridge layer overlaying and substantially insulated from an island layer,

the bridge layer has lateral wings conductively joined by a central bridge,

the island layer has lateral islands that are not conductively joined within the island layer,

each lateral island of the island layer includes either at least one of the one or more first locations or at least one of the plurality of second locations, and is conductively joined by at least one hot spot to an overlying one of the lateral wings of the bridge layer,

one or more first gaps are formed in the lateral islands and lateral wings to define the conductive pathways from each of the one or more first locations to a corresponding one of the plurality of second locations,

each of the conductive pathways includes the central bridge, and

each conductive pathway includes a portion in the bridge layer that overlies in anti-parallel a portion of the corresponding conductive pathway in the island layer so that a magnetic field induced by a current in the portion of the conductive pathway in the bridge layer is substantially canceled by a magnetic field induced by a current in the portion of the corresponding conductive pathway in the island layer.

17. A method of making a current shaping terminal connector, comprising:

forming at least one conductive plate;

forming on the at least one conductive plate a plurality of pre-defined locations, including at least one first location and a plurality of second locations; and

forming in or about the at least one conductive plate at least one gap that is configured to impose substantially balanced electrical pathways among the at least one first location and the plurality of second locations,

wherein the at least one conductive plate comprises;

an even number of layers overlaid to provide the substantially balanced conductive pathways amongst the at least one first location and the plurality of second locations, a magnetic field induced by a current in a conductive pathway of the substantially balanced conductive pathways in the at least one conductive plate is substantially canceled by a magnetic field induced by a current in a corresponding conductive pathway of the substantially discrete conductive pathways in another conductive pathway of the at least one conductive plate,

the even number of layers of the at least one conductive plate comprises a bridge layer overlaying and substantially insulated from an island layer,

the bridge layer has lateral wings conductively joined by a central bridge,

the island layer has lateral islands that are not conductively joined within the island layer,

each lateral island of the island layer includes either at least one of the at least one first location or at least one of the plurality of second locations, and is conductively joined by at least one hot spot to an overlying one of the lateral wings of the bridge layer,

the at least one gap is formed in the lateral islands and lateral wings to define the substantially balanced conductive pathways from each of the one or more first locations to a corresponding one of the plurality of second locations,

each of the substantially balanced conductive pathways includes the central bridge, and

each conductive pathway includes a portion in the bridge layer that overlies in anti-parallel a portion of the corresponding conductive pathway in the island layer.