Driver device

• US 9,742,244 B2
• Filed: 11/25/2014
• Issued: 08/22/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Matsuo, Yasufumi, Yamasaki, Masashi
• Primary Examiner(s): Lam, Thanh
• Application Number:
  US14/553,121
• Publication Number:
  US 20150155759A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,001 Days
• Field of Search: 310 64, 310 68 B, 310 71
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 5/0406 including housing for electronic control unit
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 11/215 Magnetic effect devices, e.g. Hall-effect or magneto-resistive elements
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 11/33 Drive circuits, e.g. power electronics H02K11/38 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 9/227 Heat sinks

Abstract

In a driver device, a controller substrate has a center part on which a rotation angle sensor is attached and an outer periphery portion which is fixed onto a heat sink. The heat sink has a cylinder part extending in an axial direction of the rotation shaft to contact the outer periphery portion of the controller substrate. The cylinder part of the heat sink is continuously formed along an entire periphery and has the same height at all portions. Such configuration provides an even deformation distribution of the cylinder part due to a temperature change, thereby reducing unevenness of heat stress distribution along a substrate plane and decreasing stress applied to the sensor, which facilitates a reduction of a detection error of the sensor.

Claims

1. A driver device comprising:

a housing;

a stator disposed inside the housing;

a rotor rotatably disposed inside of and rotating relative to the stator;

a rotation shaft attached to and having one body with the rotor, the rotation shaft rotatably supported by the housing and having one end portion extending outside of the housing;

a heat sink attached to the housing at a position that intersects an extension line of the one end portion of the rotation shaft;

a substrate attached to the heat sink at a position between the heat sink and the housing;

at least one semiconductor module attached to the heat sink;

a sensor target disposed on the one end portion of the rotation shaft at a position outside of the housing; and

a rotation angle sensor disposed on the substrate for detecting a rotation angle of the sensor target, wherein

the substrate has a center part on which the rotation angle sensor is attached and a periphery portion that is attached to the heat sink,

the heat sink includes (i) a cylinder part that is continuously formed to extend along an outer periphery portion of the substrate, when seen from an axial direction of the rotation shaft to overlap along an outer periphery portion of the substrate, (ii) a bottom part positioned on a housing side of the cylinder part, and (iii) a flange part protruding radially outward from the bottom part and fixed to the housing, and

the height of the cylinder part of the heat sink being the same at all portions of the extension along the outer periphery portion.

2. The driver device of claim 1, further comprising:

a plurality of first fastening members fastening the substrate to the heat sink, wherein

fastening positions of the plurality of first fastening members are axisymmetric to a predetermined virtual straight line that is perpendicular to the axial direction of the rotation shaft.

3. The driver device of claim 2, wherein

the rotation angle sensor is positioned on the virtual straight line.

4. The driver device of claim 3, further comprising:

a plurality of second fastening members fastening the flange part of the heat sink to the housing, wherein

fastening positions of the plurality of second fastening members for fastening the heat sink are positioned along the outer periphery portion of the substrate.

5. The driver device of claim 4, wherein

the substrate has a rectangular shape in cross-section with respect to the axial direction, and

the outer periphery portion of the substrate is fixed to the heat sink.

6. The driver device of claim 5, wherein

the outer periphery portion of the substrate has a first side portion facing a second side portion and a third side portion facing a fourth side portion, the first side portion and the second side portion are parallel to the virtual straight line, and the third side portion and the fourth side portion are perpendicular to the virtual straight line,

a first semiconductor module and a second semiconductor module are disposed on the substrate,

the first semiconductor modules have a first terminal that is connected to the third side portion of the substrate,

the second semiconductor modules have a second terminal that is connected to the fourth side portion of the substrate,

the first side portion and the second side portion of the substrate are fixed onto the heat sink by the first fastening member, and

the third side portion and the fourth side portion of the substrate are fixed onto the heat sink by the semiconductor modules.

7. The driver device of claim 6, further comprising:

a connector for an exchange of electrical signals with external devices, wherein

the connector has a terminal that is connected to the first side portion of the substrate, and is screw-fastened onto the heat sink together with the substrate by a first fastening member.

8. The driver device of claim 1, wherein the cylinder part is continuously formed to extend entirely along an entire outer periphery portion of the substrate, when seen in the axial direction of the rotation shaft.