Electric vehicle control device

• US 8,890,455 B2
• Filed: 10/18/2011
• Issued: 11/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Toda, Shinichi, Yasuoka, Ikuo, Nakazawa, Yosuke
• Primary Examiner(s): Leykin, Rita
• Application Number:
  US13/276,154
• Publication Number:
  US 20120249032A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,127 Days
• Field of Search: 318/34, 318/901, 318/400.27, 318/625, 318/51, 318/400.26, 361/600, 361/601, 361/760, 361/736, 361/701, 361/704, 361/713, 361/676, 361/679.46, 361/679.47, 361/688, 180/65.6, 257/712, 257/713, 257/723, 257/724
• US Class Current: 318/400.26
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 15/007 Physical arrangements or structures of drive train converters specially adapted for the propulsion motors of electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/26 Rail vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/40 DC to AC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2220/14 Synchronous machines
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/36 Temperature of vehicle components or parts
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/525 Temperature of converter or components thereof
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/003 relating to inverters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/0069 relating to the isolation, e.g. ground fault or leak current
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/04 Cutting off the power supply under fault conditions protective devices and circuit arrangements in general H01H; H02H
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/40 using propulsion power supplied by capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/51 characterised by AC-motors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 9/16 using ac induction motors
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 25/18 the devices being of types provided for in two or more different subgroups of the same main group of groups H01L27/00 - H01L33/00, or in a single subclass of H10K, H10N
• 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: H02P 3/24 by applying dc to the motor
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/64 Electric machine technologies in electromobility
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/72 Electric energy management in electromobility

Abstract

Disclosed herein are electric vehicle control device which can distribute the heat generated by the semiconductor devices in the DC/AC converter efficiently. Also disclosed herein are methods of converting DC to AC while keeping the heat value of the semiconductor devices stable.

Claims

1. An inverter unit for driving electric motors, comprising:

a plurality of inverters, each comprising a U-phase switching package, a V-phase switching package, and a W-phase switching package, configured to generate AC voltage to drive the electric motors, wherein each of the switching packages comprises a positive side switching element and a negative side switching element; and

one cooling device, on which the U-phase switching package, the V-phase switching package, and the W-phase switching package in each of the plurality of inverters are attached, configured to radiate heat from the switching packages,

wherein the U-phase switching package, the V-phase switching package, and the W-phase switching package in each of the plurality of inverters are attached on the cooling device on a line, respectively, and

wherein the switching packages of the same phase are arranged in a same row on the cooling device.

2. The inverter unit of claim 1, wherein the inverter unit comprises four inverters connected in parallel between a positive line and a negative line, wherein the positive line is connected to a current collector and the negative line is connected to a wheel.

3. The inverter unit of claim 2, wherein the inverter unit drives four permanent magnet synchronous motors.

4. The inverter unit of claim 1, wherein the inverter unit comprises a first inverter group including a first inverter connected to a second inverter in series and a second inverter group including a third inverter connected to a fourth inverter in series, and the first inverter group and the second inverter group are connected in parallel with each other between a positive line connected to a current collector and a negative line connected to a wheel.

5. The inverter unit of claim 1, wherein the inverter unit comprises a first inverter group including a first inverter connected to a second inverter in parallel and a second inverter group including a third inverter connected to a fourth inverter in parallel, and the first inverter group is connected to the second inverter group in series between a positive line connected to a current collector and a negative line connected to a wheel.

6. The inverter unit of claim 5, further comprising;

a first filter capacitor connected in parallel to the first inverter group and a second filter capacitor connected in parallel to the second inverter group.