DC-DC Converter for Electric Automobile

• US 20090167079A1
• Filed: 11/29/2006
• Published: 07/02/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Iwata, Shuichi, Nozawa, Natsuki
• Application Number:
  US12/085,391
• Publication Number:
  US 20090167079A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 307/10.100
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/007 Plural converter units in cascade push-pull DC/DC converters with pre-regulator H02M3/3374; DC-AC converters following a DC-DC stage including a high frequency transformer H02M7/4807; DC-AC converters following a DC-DC conversion stage generating periodically varying voltages H02M7/4826
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/088 for the simultaneous control of series or parallel connected semiconductor devices
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/1582 Buck-boost converters H02M3/1584 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 27/08 with pulse width modulation

Abstract

Provided is a cost-reduced DC-DC converter for an electric automobile. This DC-DC converter is interposed between an accumulation device and a drive motor of the electric automobile for raising the electric power of the accumulation device at the power driving time of the drive motor by using a reactor, a boosting switching element and a boosting diode, and for lowering a regenerative electric power at the regenerating time of the drive motor by using the reactor, a step-down switching element and a step-down diode. The boosting switching element has a higher current allowance than that of the step-down switching element.

Claims

1. A DC-DC converter for an electric automobile interposed between an accumulation device and a drive motor of the electric automobile for raising electric power of the accumulation device by means of a reactor, a boosting switching element, and a boosting diode at the time of power driving by the drive motor and for lowering regenerative electric power by means of the reactor, a step-down switching element, and a step-down diode at the time of regeneration of the drive motor, wherein:

a current allowance of the boosting switching element is larger than a current allowance of the step-down switching element.

2. The DC-DC converter for an electric automobile according to claim 1, wherein:

the boosting switching element is formed of multiple switching elements connected in parallel to one another, and the number of elements, which are the switching elements connected in parallel, is larger in the boosting switching element than in the step-down switching element.

3. The DC-DC converter for an electric automobile according to claim 2, wherein:

the multiple switching elements forming the boosting switching element and the step-down switching element are almost identical to one another.

4. The DC-DC converter for an electric automobile according to claim 1, wherein:

heat release efficiency of the boosting switching element is higher than heat release efficiency of the step-down switching element.

5. The DC-DC converter for an electric automobile according to claim 4, wherein:

an element area of the boosting switching element is larger than an element area of the step-down switching element.

6. The DC-DC converter for an electric automobile according to claim 1, wherein:

heat resistance of the boosting switching element is higher than heat resistance of the step-down switching element.

7. The DC-DC converter for an electric automobile according to claim 1, further comprising:

a controller that substantially inhibits passage of electricity through the boosting switching element when a detection temperature of the boosting switching element has reached a specific boosting upper limit temperature, and substantially inhibits passage of electricity through the step-down switching element when a detection temperature of the step-down switching element has reached a specific step-down upper limit temperature,

wherein the DC-DC converter is configured in such a manner that the boosting upper limit temperature becomes higher than the step-down upper limit temperature.

8. The DC-DC converter for an electric automobile according to claim 7, wherein:

each of the boosting switching element and the step-down switching element is formed of multiple switching elements connected in parallel to one another, and the controller substantially inhibits passage of electricity when a highest detection temperature among multiple detection temperatures of the multiple switching elements forming the boosting switching element has reached the boosting upper limit temperature.

9. The DC-DC converter for an electric automobile according to claim 7, wherein:

the multiple switching elements forming the boosting switching elements and the step-down switching elements are almost identical to one another.

10. The DC-DC converter for an electric automobile according to claim 1, wherein:

a current allowance of the boosting diode is also larger than a current allowance of the step-down diode.

12. The DC-DC converter for an electric automobile according to claim 10, wherein:

the boosting diode is formed of multiple diodes connected in parallel to one another, and the number of elements, which are the diodes connected in parallel, is larger in the boosting diode than in the step-down diode.

13. The DC-DC converter for an electric automobile according to claim 12, wherein:

the multiple diodes forming the boosting diode and the step-down diode are almost identical to one another.

14. The DC-DC converter for an electric automobile according to claim 10, wherein:

heat release efficiency of the boosting diode is higher than heat release efficiency of the step-down diode.

15. The DC-DC converter for an electric automobile according to claim 14, wherein:

an element area of the boosting diode is larger than an element area of the step-down diode.

16. The DC-DC converter for an electric automobile according to claim 10, wherein:

heat resistance of the boosting diode is higher than heat resistance of the step-down diode.

17. A motor driving device for an electric automobile, including the DC-DC converter for an electric automobile set forth in claim 1.

11. A DC-DC converter for an electric automobile interposed between an accumulation device and a drive motor of the electric automobile for raising electric power of the accumulation device by means of a reactor, a boosting switching element, and a boosting diode at the time of power driving by the drive motor and for lowering regenerative electric power by means of the reactor, a step-down switching element, and a step-down diode at the time of regeneration of the drive motor, wherein:

a current allowance of the boosting diode is larger than a current allowance of the step-down diode.

18. The DC-DC converter for an electric automobile according to claim 11, wherein:

the boosting diode is formed of multiple diodes connected in parallel to one another, and the number of elements, which are the diodes connected in parallel, is larger in the boosting diode than in the step-down diode.

19. The DC-DC converter for an electric automobile according to claim 11, wherein:

heat release efficiency of the boosting diode is higher than heat release efficiency of the step-down diode.

20. The DC-DC converter for an electric automobile according to claim 11, wherein:

heat resistance of the boosting diode is higher than heat resistance of the step-down diode.