Power electronics assemblies and methods of fabricating the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11856689-B2
Application number	US-202217587255-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 28, 2022
Priority date	Jan 28, 2022
Publication date	Dec 26, 2023
Grant date	Dec 26, 2023

Abstract

Disclosed herein are power electronics assemblies which include a printed circuit board (PCB) having a plurality of conductive layers and a cold plate contacting the PCB. The cold plate includes a manifold constructed from an electrically insulating material and including a first cavity and a second cavity. The cold plate further includes a first heat sink positioned in the first cavity and thermally coupled to the plurality of conductive layers. The cold plate further includes a second heat sink positioned in the second cavity and thermally coupled to the plurality of conductive layers.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A power electronics assembly comprising:
a printed circuit board (PCB) having a plurality of conductive layers; and
a cold plate contacting the PCB and comprising:
a manifold constructed from an electrically insulating material and comprising a first cavity and a second cavity;
a first heat sink disposed in the first cavity and contacting a first conductive layer of the plurality of conductive layers; and
a second heat sink disposed in the second cavity and contacting a second conductive layer of the plurality of conductive layers,
wherein the first heat sink and the second heat sink have a dielectric coating layer.

2. The power electronics assembly of claim 1 , wherein the manifold includes an inlet for dielectric coolant, and wherein the dielectric coolant electrically isolates the first heat sink from the second heat sink.

3. The power electronics assembly of claim 1 , wherein the manifold further comprises a plurality of trenches positioned between the first cavity and the second cavity thereby electrically isolating the first cavity from the second cavity, and wherein the plurality of trenches is in contact with the cold plate.

4. The power electronics assembly of claim 1 , further comprising a second PCB in contact with the cold plate, the second PCB having a conductive layer thermally coupled to the cold plate.

5. The power electronics assembly of claim 1 , further comprising a capacitor pack in contact with the cold plate, the capacitor pack being thermally coupled to the cold plate.

6. The power electronics assembly of claim 5 , wherein:
the cold plate comprises a plurality of apertures,
the capacitor pack comprises a plurality of fins, and
each of the plurality of fins are disposed in an aperture of the plurality of apertures.

7. The power electronics assembly of claim 1 , wherein the first heat sink and the second heat sink are directly bonded to the PCB.

8. The power electronics assembly of claim 1 , wherein the manifold further comprises a plurality of pins disposed between the first cavity and the second cavity, thereby straightening coolant flow through the first heat sink and through the second heat sink.

9. A power electronics assembly for a vehicle cooling system, the assembly comprising:
a printed circuit board (PCB) having a plurality of conductive layers; and
a cold plate contacting the PCB and comprising:
an inlet fluidly coupled to a dielectric coolant source;
a manifold constructed from an electrically insulating material and comprising a first cavity, a second cavity, and a coolant pocket;
a first heat sink disposed in the first cavity and contacting a first conductive layer of the plurality of conductive layers and to the coolant pocket;
a second heat sink disposed in the second cavity and contacting a second conductive layer of the plurality of conductive layers and to the coolant pocket, wherein the first heat sink and the second heat sink have a dielectric coating layer; and
an outlet fluidly coupled to the coolant pocket.

10. The power electronics assembly of claim 9 , wherein the dielectric coolant electrically isolates the first heat sink from the second heat sink.

11. The power electronics assembly of claim 9 , wherein the manifold further comprises a plurality of trenches positioned between the first cavity and the second cavity thereby electrically isolating the first cavity from the second cavity, and wherein the plurality of trenches is in contact with the cold plate.

12. The power electronics assembly of claim 9 , further comprising a second PCB in contact with the cold plate, the second PCB having a power device thermally coupled to the cold plate.

13. The power electronics assembly of claim 9 , further comprising a capacitor pack in contact the cold plate, the capacitor pack being thermally coupled to the cold plate.

14. The power electronics assembly of claim 13 , wherein:
the cold plate comprises a plurality of apertures,
the capacitor pack comprises a plurality of fins, and
each of the plurality of fins are disposed in an aperture of the plurality of apertures.

15. The power electronics assembly of claim 9 , wherein the first heat sink and the second heat sink are directly bonded to the PCB.

16. The power electronics assembly of claim 9 , wherein the manifold further comprises a plurality of pins disposed between the first cavity and the second cavity, thereby straightening coolant flow through the first heat sink and through the second heat sink.

17. A method for fabricating a power electronics assembly, the method comprising:
creating a first cavity and a second cavity into a manifold of a cold plate and constructed from an electrically insulating material;
placing a first heat sink in contact with a first conductive layer of a plurality of conductive layers and into the first cavity;
placing a second heat sink in contact with a second conductive layer of the plurality of conductive layers and into the second cavity, wherein the first heat sink and the second heat sink have a dielectric coating layer;
placing the plurality of conductive layers onto a printed circuit board (PCB); and
placing the PCB into contact with the cold plate.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the manifold is configured to receive dielectric coolant, and wherein the dielectric coolant electrically isolates the first heat sink from the second heat sink.

Assignees

• Toyota Eng & Mfg North America

Inventors

• Zhou Feng
• Liu Yanghe
• Ukegawa Hiroshi
• Dede Ercan

Classifications

• H05K1/0272 Primary

  Adaptations for fluid transport, e.g. channels, holes · CPC title

• H05K7/20509

  Multiple-component heat spreaders; Multi-component heat-conducting support plates; Multi-component non-closed heat-conducting structures · CPC title

• H05K1/021 Primary

  Components thermally connected to metal substrates or heat-sinks by insert mounting · CPC title

• H05K7/20927 Primary

  Liquid coolant without phase change · CPC title

• H05K1/0298

  Multilayer circuits · CPC title