POWER CAPACITOR

• US 20090059467A1
• Filed: 04/25/2006
• Published: 03/05/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/02/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TDK Electronics AG (TDK Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Conti Temic Microelectronic GmbH (Continental AG)
• Inventors: Baumel, Hermann, Hubscher, Wilhelm, Dietrich, George, Hiemer, Gerhard, Schirmer, Edmund, Vetter, Harald, Grimm, Wilhelm, Kilian, Hermann
• Granted Patent: US 8,416,556 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 361/301.500
• CPC Class Codes: H01G 4/224 Housing; Encapsulation
• CPC Class Codes: H01G 4/236 leading through the housing, i.e. lead-through
• CPC Class Codes: H01G 4/38 Multiple capacitors, i.e. structural combinations of fixed capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: H01G 9/008 Terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H01G 9/10 Sealing, e.g. of lead-in wires

Abstract

A power electronics module includes a capacitor having a trough-shaped housing and at least one capacitor winding. An electronic unit includes a base on which the capacitor is mounted. A cooling plate in thermal contact with a cooling surface of the capacitor is formed by a bus bar. The cooling plate is on the base of the electronic unit.

Claims

1. A capacitor comprising:

a housing;

at least one capacitor winding; and

bus bars to feed current to the capacitor windings.

2. The capacitor of claim 1, which is configured to receive electrical current between 50 amperes and 300 amperes.

3. The capacitor of claim 1, wherein the at least one capacitor winding comprises several capacitor windings, and wherein the several capacitor windings are electrically connected via the bus bars.

4. The capacitor of claim 1, further comprising:

a sheet that comprises the bus bars, wherein the at least one capacitor winding is fed current via contact layers of the sheet on opposite sides of the at least one capacitor winding.

5. The capacitor of claim 1, wherein the bus bars form a twin lead.

6. The capacitor of claim 1, further comprising:

an electrical conductor between two of the bus bars configured to form a Y-capacitor.

7. The capacitor of claim 5, wherein the twin lead comprises an insulating layer having a thickness between 10 μ

m and 100 μ

m.

8. The capacitor of claim 1, wherein a bus bar corresponds to an essentially exposed cooling surface in an edge region of the capacitor.

14. The capacitor of claim 6, wherein the, electrical conductor is insulated from the bus bars via a two or more layer film insulation.

19. The capacitor of claim 2, wherein the at least one capacitor winding comprises several capacitor windings, and wherein the several capacitor windings are electrically connected via the bus bars.

20. The capacitor of claim 19, further comprising:

a sheet that comprises the bus bars, wherein the at least one capacitor winding is fed current via contact layers of the sheet arranged on opposite sides of the at least one capacitor winding.

9. A capacitor comprising:

a housing;

one or more capacitor windings; and

contact fingers that are flexible in mutually orthogonal directions, the contact fingers being electrically connectable to the one or more capacitor windings.

10. The capacitor of claim 9, wherein the contact fingers are stamped from a sheet.

11. The capacitor of claim 9, wherein contact between a contact finger and a contact surface of a capacitor winding is effected in an end region of the contact finger.

12. The capacitor of claim 9, wherein the contact fingers are part of a sheet-metal strip that forms a bus bar for feeding current to the one or more capacitor windings.

13. The capacitor of claim 9, wherein the contact fingers are bent in several places.

18. The capacitor of claim 9, wherein the contact fingers are electrically connected to bus bars, wherein an electrical conductor is between two of the bus bars, and wherein the electrical conductor is insulated from the two bus bars via film insulation.

15. A power electronics module, comprising:

a capacitor comprising;

a trough-shaped housing; and

at least one capacitor winding;

an electronic unit having a base on which the capacitor is mounted; and

a cooling plate in thermal contact with a cooling surface of the capacitor formed by a bus bar, the cooling plate being on the base of the electronic unit.

16. The module of claim 15, further comprising:

an electrical insulating film on a side of the cooling surface facing the electrical unit.

17. The module of claim 15, wherein the electronic unit comprises IGBTs.