Power converter

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11094452-B2
Application number	US-201615579664-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 4, 2016
Priority date	Sep 1, 2015
Publication date	Aug 17, 2021
Grant date	Aug 17, 2021

Abstract

A power converter includes a magnetic core, a plurality of windings, a plurality of metal sidewalls, a first insulating member, and a second insulating member. The plurality of windings are each wound around the magnetic core and bent to have a portion extending in a direction in which the magnetic core extends. The plurality of metal sidewalls are disposed outside the plurality of windings and extend in the direction in which the magnetic core extends. The first insulating member is disposed between the plurality of windings and between the windings and the magnetic core. The second insulating member is disposed on an outside of the plurality of windings and in contact with each of the plurality of sidewalls and each of the plurality of windings. The second insulating member has a thermal conductivity higher than a thermal conductivity of the first insulating member.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A power converter comprising:
a magnetic core;
a plurality of windings each wound around the magnetic core, wherein each of the plurality of windings includes a first bent portion, a second bent portion, a first portion between one end and the first bent portion of the winding, and a second portion between the other end opposite to the one end and the second bent portion of the winding, the one end and the other end being ends relative to a plane extending along a central axis of the windings and from the central axis toward the bent portions, the first and second portions extending parallel to an axis along which the magnetic core extends through a plurality of aligned openings in the plurality of windings, the plurality of windings are each wound multiple turns around the magnetic core in a planar spiral form, from the core toward an outside of the core, and a whole plane formed by each winding of the plurality of windings that is wound multiple turns is bent, while the winding is kept in a state of being wound multiple turns in the planar spiral form, to form the first bent portion and the second bent portion;
a plurality of metal sidewalls disposed outside the plurality of windings and extending in the direction in which the magnetic core extends;
a first insulating member disposed between the plurality of windings and between the windings and the magnetic core; and
a second insulating member disposed on an outside of the plurality of windings, the second insulating member being in contact with each of the plurality of sidewalls and each of the plurality of windings,
the second insulating member having a thermal conductivity higher than a thermal conductivity of the first insulating member.

2. The power converter according to claim 1 , wherein the thermal conductivity of the second insulating member is 0.5 W/mK or more.

3. The power converter according to claim 1 , wherein
the plurality of windings are two windings, and
each of the two windings is bent so that a direction in which the first portion extends from the first bent portion is opposite to a direction in which the second portion extends from the second bent portion.

4. The power converter according to claim 3 , wherein the second insulating member is disposed on only the outside of the windings, and
each of the two windings having the first bent portion and the second bent portion is disposed to be at least partially in contact with the second insulating member.

5. The power converter according to claim 3 , wherein the first insulating member is disposed in
a region between one winding of the two windings and the other winding different from the one winding,
a region between the one winding and the magnetic core; and
a region between the other winding and the magnetic core.

6. The power converter according to claim 5 , wherein the first portion of the one winding is disposed outward of the first portion of the other winding,
the second portion of the other winding is disposed outward of the second portion of the one winding, and
the first portion of the one winding and the second portion of the other winding are in contact with the second insulating member.

7. The power converter according to claim 3 , further comprising a printed circuit board electrically connected to the windings, wherein
at least a part of the first insulating member is secured to and in contact with a member extending thorough the first insulating member and secured to the sidewalls or the printed circuit board.

8. The power converter according to claim 1 , wherein
the plurality of windings are two windings, and
each of the two windings is bent so that a direction in which the first portion extends from the first bent portion is identical to a direction in which the second portion extends from the second bent portion.

9. The power converter according to claim 8 , wherein the first insulating member is disposed in
a region between one winding of the two windings and the other winding different from the one winding,
a region between the one winding and the magnetic core, and
a region between the other winding and the magnetic core.

10. The power converter according to claim 1 , further comprising a heat dissipater disposed in contact with one end face of the magnetic core in the direction in which the magnetic core extends, wherein the heat dissipater forms a single body together with the plurality of sidewalls.

11. The power converter according to claim 1 , further comprising a heat dissipater disposed in contact with one end face and respective end faces of the plurality of sidewalls in the direction in which the magnetic core and the plurality of sidewalls extend, wherein the plurality of sidewalls each include a joint portion contacting the heat dissipater and extending in a direction traversing the direction in which the sidewalls extend.

12. The power converter according to claim 1 , wherein the second insulating member is in contact with the portion of at least one of the plurality of windings extending in the direction in which the magnetic core extends.

Assignees

• Mitsubishi Electric Corp

Inventors

• Nakajima Koji
• Kumagai Takashi
• Tahara Jun

Classifications

• H01F27/2876 Primary

  Cooling (cooling transformers and inductances in general H01F27/08) · CPC title

• H02M3/003

  Constructional details, e.g. physical layout, assembly, wiring or busbar connections · CPC title

• H02M3/33573 Primary

  Full-bridge at primary side of an isolation transformer · CPC title

• H01F27/085

  Cooling by ambient air · CPC title

• H01F27/2847

  Sheets; Strips (H01F27/2866 takes precedence) · CPC title