ELECTRIC POWER CONVERTER

• US 20140003111A1
• Filed: 07/01/2013
• Published: 01/02/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/02/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: ICHIJO, Hiromi, SAKAI, Shoji
• Granted Patent: US 8,958,225 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 363/141
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 23/4006 with bolts or screws
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 23/473 by flowing liquids H01L23/4332, H01L23/4338 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 25/117 Stacked arrangements of devices
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00 Indexing scheme for arrangements or methods for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies as covered by H01L24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/0002 Not covered by any one of groups H01L24/00, H01L24/00 and H01L2224/00
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/003 Constructional details, e.g. physical layout, assembly, wiring or busbar connections

Abstract

An electric power converter has a semiconductor module that has a switching element therein, cooling pipes that contact with heat radiating surfaces of the semiconductor module and cool the semiconductor module, and a capacitor module formed by sealing a capacitor element therein by a potting material. A piled unit is formed by piling the semiconductor module and the cooling pipes. A direction in which the semiconductor module and the cooling pipes are piled is defined as a piling direction. The piled unit is sandwiched between the capacitor module disposed in a first end side in the piling direction of the piled unit and a pressing member disposed in a second end side in the piling direction of the piled unit. The first end of the piled unit is contacted to a potting surface that is a surface of the potting material in the capacitor module.

Claims

1. An electric power converter having a semiconductor module that has a switching element therein;

cooling pipes that contact with heat radiating surfaces of the semiconductor module and cool the semiconductor module; and

a capacitor module formed by sealing a capacitor element therein by a potting material;

comprising;

a piled unit formed by piling the semiconductor module and the cooling pipes, a direction where the semiconductor module and the cooling pipes are piled is defined as a piling direction, the piled unit is sandwiched between the capacitor module disposed in a first end side in the piling direction of the piled unit and a pressing member disposed in a second end side in the piling direction of the piled unit; and

the first end of the piled unit is contacted to a potting surface that is a surface of the potting material in the capacitor module.

5. The electric power converter according to claim 1, wherein,

the semiconductor module has heat radiating surfaces on a pair of principal surfaces, and the cooling pipes are arranged to contact onto both sides of the heat radiating surfaces.

6. The electric power converter according to claim 1, wherein,

each of the cooling pipes has a coolant channel therein where cooling media circulates, and

signal terminals and power terminals disposed in the semiconductor module are projected in a direction that intersects perpendicularly with both a circulating direction of the cooling medium and the piling direction in the cooling pipes.

7. The electric power converter according to claim 1, wherein,

a control circuit board having a control circuit that controls the conductor module is disposed next to the pressing member in a side opposite to the piled unit under the condition where a normal direction of a principal surface of the control circuit board matches the piling direction;

signal terminals disposed in the semiconductor module are connected to the control circuit board; and

the signal terminals are disposed inside the capacitor module and the control circuit board when seen from the piling direction.

8. The electric power converter according to claim 1,

the pressing member is fixed to the capacitor module.

10. The electric power converter according to claim 1, wherein,

an elastic member is disposes in the pressing member where at least a portion of the pressing member that contacts to the piled unit.

2. The electric power converter according to claim wherein,

a press-contacted surface with the pressing member and a press-contacted surface with the potting surface of the piled unit overlap with the switching element in the piling direction.

3. The electric power converter according to claim 2, wherein,

the semiconductor module has a plurality of switching elements therein, and the plurality of switching elements overlap with the press-contacted surface with the pressing member and the press-contacted surface with the potting surface of the piled unit in the piling direction.

4. The electric power converter according to claim 3,

the plurality of switching elements is arranged along a direction that intersects perpendicularly with the piling direction.

9. The electric power converter according to claim wherein,

the capacitor module has a guiding section that positions the piled unit in a direction that intersects perpendicularly to the piling direction.