Electric rotating machine

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9935526-B2
Application number	US-201214372808-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 16, 2012
Priority date	Apr 16, 2012
Publication date	Apr 3, 2018
Grant date	Apr 3, 2018

Abstract

A power module composite includes a power module ( 34 ) in which switching devices ( 32 ) included in an electric-power conversion circuit are molded, a driver module ( 37 ) that includes a control circuit ( 35 ) for controlling the switching devices ( 32 ) and is molded, a housing ( 39 ) containing the power module ( 34 ) and the driver module ( 37 ), and a heat sink ( 38 ) that is fixed to the housing ( 39 ) and refrigerates the switching devices ( 32 ); the power module 34 and the driver module 37 are mounted in that order on the heat sink ( 38 ) in such a way as to be superimposed on each other.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An electric rotating machine comprising:
a rotor fixed on a rotor shaft;
a stator that is disposed to face the rotor and is provided with a stator winding;
a case that pivotably supports the rotor shaft and holds the stator; and
a control apparatus that is fixed to the case and includes:
a power module composite provided with an electric-power conversion circuit that performs electric-power conversion between the stator winding and an external DC power source, and
a control unit that controls the power module composite so that the electric-power conversion circuit converts a DC power from the external DC power source into AC power and supply the AC power to the stator winding or converts the AC power generated across the stator winding into the DC power and supply the DC power to the external DC power source,

wherein the power module composite includes:
a power module in which switching devices included in the electric-power conversion circuit are molded with a first insulating resin,
a driver module that includes a control circuit for controlling the switching devices and is molded with a second insulating resin separately from the power module, to form a separate module,
a housing containing the power module and the driver module, and
a heat sink that is mounted in the housing and cools the switching devices,

wherein the power module and the driver module are mounted on the heat sink in such a way that the driver module is superimposed on the power module that is closer to the heat sink than the driver module is,
wherein power-module signal terminals of the power module and driver-module signal terminals of the driver module are pulled out from first side faces, of the first insulating resin and the second insulating resin, respectively, that correspond to each other and are arranged in the same manner, and
wherein negative terminals, positive terminals, and power-source terminals of the power module are pulled out from a second side race of the first insulating resin that is different from the first side face of the first insulating resin.

2. The electric rotating machine according to claim 1 , wherein
the housing includes electric power connection members for pulling out the power-source terminals from the power module composite to the outside and signal connection members for pulling out the driver-module signal terminals from the power module composite to the outside.

3. The electric rotating machine according to claim 2 , wherein the inside of the housing is filled with a protection gel.

4. The electric rotating machine according to claim 2 , wherein the electric power connection members are arranged at positions where the electric power connection members overlap the power-source terminals and the signal connection members are arranged at positions where the signal connection members overlap the power-module signal terminals and the driver-module signal terminals.

5. The electric rotating machine according to claim 2 , wherein the signal connection members pulled out from the power module composite to the outside are arranged in the housing in such a way as to be aligned in a straight-line manner along the rotor shaft.

6. The electric rotating machine according to claim 2 , wherein the housing is provided with a flange portion for mounting the power module composite on the case.

7. The electric rotating machine according to claim 6 , wherein the flange portion has connection portions that are electrically connected with the electric power connection members and have respective electric potentials, one of which is the same as an electric potential of the external DC power source and the other one of which is the same as a ground potential.

8. The electric rotating machine according to claim 6 , wherein the flange portion has a mounting face perpendicular to the rotor shaft.

9. The electric rotating machine according to claim 2 , further including a centrifugal fan provided at an axis-direction end of the rotor, an air inlet that is provided at one end of the case and through which the centrifugal fan takes in cooling air, and a cooling fin provided in the heat sink in such a way as to face inward with respect to the rotor shaft and to be parallel to the rotor shaft.

10. The electric rotating machine according to claim 9 , wherein the cooling fin is provided on a side face, of the heat sink, that is opposed to other side face thereof on which the power module is mounted.

11. The electric rotating machine according to claim 10 , wherein one of the electric power connection members connected with a stator winding connection terminal is provided on a side face, of the case, that is opposed to other side face thereof on which the heat sink is mounted.

12. The electric rotating machine according to claim 2 , wherein the power module is provided with all of the switching devices included in the electric-power conversion circuit.

13. The electric rotating machine according to claim 1 , wherein the control circuit is mounted on a substrate and the substrate is placed on a top of the power module.

14. The electric rotating machine according to claim 1 , wherein the control circuit is mounted on a multi-layer substrate and the control circuit and the multi-layer substrate are integrally molded.

15. The electric rotating machine according to claim 14 , wherein the multi-layer substrate is a glass-epoxy substrate.

16. The electric rotating machine according to claim 1 , wherein the heat sink is formed of a drawing material.

17. The electric rotating machine according to claim 1 , wherein the electric rotating machine is a vehicle electric rotating machine.

Assignees

• Kato Masaki
• Fujita Masahiko
• Mitsubishi Electric Corp

Inventors

• Kato Masaki
• Fujita Masahiko

Classifications

• H02K5/02 Primary

  Casings or enclosures characterised by the material thereof · CPC title

• H02K11/05 Primary

  Rectifiers associated with casings, enclosures or brackets · CPC title

• H02K11/33

  Drive circuits, e.g. power electronics (H02K11/38 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H02K5/18

  with ribs or fins for improving heat transfer · CPC title

• H02K5/08

  Insulating casings · CPC title