Power conversion apparatus with a laminated bus bar comprising an exposed heat radiating portion

• US 9,270,199 B2
• Filed: 02/10/2011
• Issued: 02/23/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/10/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Inventors: Kobayashi, Tomohiro, Sakamoto, Kohei, Yamamoto, Takeshi, Mamoto, Yasuaki, Nakashima, Yukio
• Primary Examiner(s): Behm, Harry
• Application Number:
  US13/984,216
• Publication Number:
  US 20130322141A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,839 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H02G 5/005 Laminated bus-bars
• CPC Class Codes: H02G 5/10 Cooling
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/003 Constructional details, e.g. physical layout, assembly, wiring or busbar connections
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/537 using semiconductor devices only, e.g. single switched pulse inverters
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/5387 in a bridge configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/14329 specially adapted for the configuration of power bus bars
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/209 Heat transfer by conduction from internal heat source to heat radiating structure H05K7/20909 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/20918 the components being isolated from air flow, e.g. hollow heat sinks, wind tunnels or funnels

Abstract

A filter capacitor accumulating direct-current power and a semiconductor device module performing a switching operation that converts the direct-current power accumulated in the filter capacitor to alternating-current power are electrically connected with each other through a laminated bus bar. The laminated bus bar has a first bus bar and a second bus bar in which a plurality of connection conductors are laminated through an insulator. The second bus bar is provided with heat radiating portions that are formed by exposing a part of the conductor in each flat plate surface.

Claims

1. A power conversion apparatus comprising:

a filter capacitor accumulating direct-current power;

a semiconductor device module performing a switching operation that converts the direct-current power accumulated in the filter capacitor to alternating-current power; and

a laminated bus bar electrically connecting the filter capacitor and the semiconductor device module,

wherein the laminated bus bar comprises;

a bus bar in which a plurality of conductors are laminated through an insulator;

an external laminate material coating an external surface of the bus bar;

connection portions electrically connected to the semiconductor device module and the filter capacitor; and

a heat radiating portion in which the external laminate material is not provided and a conductor of the bus bar is exposed to air, and

wherein every surface of the exposed conductor of the heat radiating portion is formed to be along a vertical direction.

2. The power conversion apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a surface of the exposed conductor of the heat radiating portion is formed on a surface of a flat plate of the laminated bus bar.

3. The power conversion apparatus according to claim 2, wherein every surface of the flat plate of the laminated bus bar is a surface along a vertical direction.

4. The power conversion apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the laminated bus bar has a first bus bar electrically connected to the semiconductor device module and a second bus bar electrically connected to the filter capacitor, and the first bus bar and the second bus bar are formed separately.

5. The power conversion apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a heat radiating fin is provided on a part or whole of the heat radiating portion.

6. The power conversion apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a switching device provided in the semiconductor device module is formed based on a wide band-gap semiconductor.

7. The power conversion apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the wide band-gap semiconductor is a semiconductor using silicon carbide, a gallium nitride material, or diamond.