Isolation device with cooling medium pipeline

Abstract

The invention relates to an insulation device (40) with an integrated cooling medium channel (44, 46), the insulation device having an insulation body (74) made of a plastic material (52, 60) in which a conductor track (18, 20, 22) is accommodated. The cooling medium channel (44, 46) is integrated into the plastic material (52, 60) of the insulation body (74).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to an insulation device having a coolant line for dissipating heat losses of a stator of an electric machine. The invention also relates to the use of the insulation device on an electric machine of a vehicle having at least one electric machine. Background Art

[0002] DE 10 2012 021 600 A1 relates to an electric motor. The electric motor comprises a housing having a stator, a rotor and a rotary transformer. The rotary transformer has a first device on the primary side with a primary winding and a second device on the secondary side with a secondary winding. The housing has a first receiving portion for positioning the first device on the primary side. The first device on the primary side comprises a number of first fixing points for non-positive and / or positive fixing on the housing. The rotor comprises a second receiving portion for positioning the second device on the secondary side, wherein the second device on the secondary side comprises a number of second fixing points for non-positive and / or positive fixing on the rotor. The rotor comprises a first connecting device and the second device on the secondary side comprises a second connecting device for electrically connecting the rotor to the second device on the secondary side. The first connecting device comprises a first electrical contact element and the second connecting device comprises a second electrical contact element for releasable line connection by means of positive and / or non-positive locking.

[0003] DE 10 2015 216 055 A1 relates to a cooling system for an electric machine. The cooling system comprises at least one bearing cover and at least one cooling medium distribution plate, wherein the bearing cover and the cooling medium distribution plate are configured to form a cooling channel together. The cooling channel comprises a plurality of horizontal cooling channel sections, which extend parallel to the rotation axis of the electric machine. In addition, the cooling channel comprises a plurality of vertical cooling channel sections, which extend perpendicularly to the rotation axis of the electric machine. In addition, a plurality of radially extending cooling channel sections are provided, which extend around the rotation axis of the electric machine.

[0004] DE 11 2012 002 552 T5 relates to an electric motor. The electric motor comprises a shaft, which is provided with a rotor and in which a cooling medium passage is constructed so that a cooling medium can flow through it. In addition, a housing is provided, in which the shaft is provided, wherein the shaft is supported in a rotatable manner. A cooling medium conveying section is provided, which extends from one end of the shaft on one side inside the housing and guides the cooling medium to the internal cooling medium passage. In addition, a rotation angle detection sensor is provided, which is arranged on one side of one end of the shaft and detects the rotation angle of the shaft.

[0005] The (alternating current) electric motors used, for example, on electric drive shafts require electrical connections of the stator phases for operation. If additional distances to the control electronics must be overcome, the phase currents are conducted via copper conductor rails. These conductor rails have a relatively large cross section in order to keep the ohmic resistance and the heat generation as low as possible. In order to maintain the required air and creepage distances, the conductor rails are held in insulating parts made of plastic.

[0006] In order to dissipate the lost heat, the stator of the electric machine is often water-cooled. The cooling water is supplied and discharged, for example, in the region of the bearing shield. Between these connection points, the cooling water is guided to the heat sink in the motor housing. Since the connection of the internal cooling water guide and the desired connection direction of the cooling water hose often require disadvantageously curved supply line regions that must be produced very expensively in terms of casting technology, these supply line regions are usually formed with plugged-in pipes made of plastic or metal. Summary of the invention

[0007] According to the invention, an insulating device with an integrated coolant channel is proposed, which comprises an insulating body made of plastic material, in which a conductor track is accommodated. The coolant channel is integrated into the plastic material of the cooling body.

[0008] The solution proposed according to the invention advantageously allows cooling water guides that would otherwise be expensive to produce to be avoided, in particular when produced as a cast part. The solution proposed according to the invention advantageously allows the temperature level of the conductor rails on the insulation to be reduced.

[0009] In a development of the concept proposed according to the invention, the insulating device can be designed either as a one-component embodiment or as a multi-component embodiment.

[0010] The integrated cooling medium channel is advantageously injected into the region of the end side of the insulating body of the insulating device proposed according to the invention. The cooling medium channel is injected from the plastic material used to produce the insulating body, which can be produced in a particularly simple way in terms of production technology within the scope of the injection molding method of the plastic material.

[0011] The coolant duct advantageously extends on the insulating body of the insulating arrangement in such a way that it extends essentially in a vertical direction.

[0012] The solution proposed according to the invention makes it possible in an advantageous manner to insulate busbars inserted into an insulating body from one another and to integrate curved pipes through which a coolant flows into the insulating body of the insulating device.

[0013] The insulating body of the insulating device proposed according to the invention is produced from an electrically insulating plastic material which is optimized for the best possible thermal conductivity. In this case, for example, the plastic material is a plastic material such as Luvocom 1-8259 or Tecacomp PA 66 TC 3923. The solution proposed according to the invention makes it possible to avoid the production of complex cooling medium channels by means of cores or intersecting bores without requiring additional components such as separate pipe connections or the like. The solution proposed according to the invention makes it possible to achieve particularly space-saving and easy cooling of the conductor rails, so that the ohmic resistance and its heating are kept as low as possible for large loads.

[0014] The insulating device proposed according to the invention can be designed either as a single-component or as a multi-component design. In the case of a multi-component design, the individual components of the insulating body can be produced, for example, from different plastic materials. On the other hand, it is also possible to produce two components of a multi-component design of the insulating body from the same plastic material. The components of the insulating body - in the case of a multi-component design - lie against one another along a dividing seam, wherein in the multi-component design, for example, two conductor tracks are arranged in a first component of the insulating body and only one conductor track is arranged in a second component of the insulating body that is designed complementary to the first component, or vice versa.

[0015] In the case of a single-component embodiment of the insulating body of the insulating device proposed according to the invention, the insulating body can advantageously be produced from one material, wherein in particular integrated coolant channels are injected onto the end face of the insulating device.

[0016] Instead of conductor rails that are designed in a flat structure, punched from sheet metal or formed in another way, wires can also be used in different embodiments. For example, solid wires with round or other cross sections can be used, and also combed or braided stranded wires can be used. When using conductor rails designed in this way, the corresponding receiving geometry in the material of the insulating body is designed to complement the geometry of the conductor rail used in each case. The thermal coupling of the conductor to the plastic surface of the insulating body can be improved by means of a heat-conducting adhesive, which applies both to the use of conductor rails of a flat structure and, as described above, to the use of linear conductor rails.

[0017] The invention also relates to the use of an insulation device with an integrated coolant channel for cooling an electric machine of a vehicle with at least one electric machine, the vehicle being either an electric vehicle (EV) or a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) or a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV). For example, in the case of a hybrid electric vehicle, when using the solution according to the invention, the coolant circuit of the combustion engine can also be used in an advantageous manner for cooling the at least one electric machine of the hybrid electric vehicle, without requiring a separate coolant circuit for the hybrid electric vehicle.

[0018] The solution proposed according to the invention advantageously provides a possibility for simplifying the production of housing parts for electric machines, since the solution proposed according to the invention makes it possible to avoid the production of complex cooling medium channels by cores on the casting or intersecting bores on the casting without requiring additional components such as separate pipe connections or similar components. The solution proposed according to the invention makes it possible to very easily and effectively cool the conductor rails guided in the insulating body of the insulating device and keep them at low temperature values ​​that are advantageous for the ohmic resistance. The solution proposed according to the invention makes it possible to achieve a significant reduction in the cost of the cooling medium guidance that would otherwise be required. The insulating device proposed according to the invention with integrated cooling medium channels makes it possible to achieve a reduction in the temperature level in the region of the conductor rails on the insulating body; in addition, the solution proposed according to the invention makes it possible to achieve effective and reliable electrical isolation of the conductor rails from each other. Compared to the solutions previously used in the use of curved pipes and similar components that are to be insulated later, the solution proposed according to the invention makes it possible to reduce the number of components, save on seals and in particular ensure leak-free cooling medium guidance.

[0019] The solution proposed according to the invention is distinguished by the resulting weight savings compared to solutions in which the entire channel guide is arranged in a bearing shield made of aluminum and the bearing shield should be designed correspondingly larger. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0021] in:

[0022] Figure 1 shows a perspective view of an E-axis module with a bearing cover for an electric machine and power electronics;

[0023] Figure 2 A perspective top view of an insulating element used hitherto together with a conductor rail is shown;

[0024] Figure 3 Shown in Figure 1 A view of the curved pipe installed in

[0025] Figure 4 A first single-component embodiment of an insulating device proposed according to the invention with coolant ducts integrated on the end side is shown;

[0026] Figure 5 A multi-component embodiment variant of the insulating device proposed according to the invention with integrated coolant channels is shown; and

[0027] Figure 6 Shown in Figure 5 The first component of the insulating device according to the invention is shown in a multi-component embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] from Figure 1 The three-dimensional view of the E-axis module can be seen in the figure.

[0029] according to Figure 1 The illustration of FIG. 1 represents a perspective view of the side of the E-axis module, in which the bearing cover 12 of the housing is particularly shown. Above the bearing cover 12, which covers the electric machine 14 for the most part, a part of the power electronics 10 is shown. The power electronics 10 receives the Figure 1 The electrical connector not shown in the figure is connected to the Figure 1 The motor 14 (not shown) is supplied with power. Phase connections 16 extend from the motor 14 to a first conductor rail 18, a second conductor rail 20 and a third conductor rail 22, respectively.

[0030] In addition, according to Figure 1It can be seen from the three-dimensional view that the cooling medium guide mechanism 24 includes a curved pipe 26. This curved pipe is, for example, an inlet 28 for the cooling medium, and Figure 1 The return opening 30 , which is also shown in a perspective view in FIG. 1 , serves to return the cooling medium.

[0031] Figure 2 The isolating element 32 is shown in a three-dimensional view. The isolating element is surrounded by a frame and comprises isolating webs 34, by which the first conductor rail 18 is separated from the second conductor rail 20 and the second conductor rail 20 is separated from the third conductor rail 22. The isolating element 32 has an isolating element slot 36, which is surrounded by the frame. The first conductor rail 18, the second conductor rail 20 and the third conductor rail 22 are isolated from each other by the isolating element 34 extending through the isolating element 32.

[0032] Figure 3 A perspective view of a curved pipe 26 is shown, which is produced, for example, from a metallic material and conducts the cooling medium to the bearing cover 12 on which the electric machine is accommodated.

[0033] Figure 4 A first embodiment variant of the insulating device proposed according to the invention with integrated coolant ducts is shown.

[0034] By following Figure 4 As can be seen from the illustration of FIG. 7 , the insulating body 74 is made of, for example, the first plastic material 52, in which the first conductive rail 18, the second conductive rail 20 and the third conductive rail 22 are received in an isolated manner relative to each other. Figure 4 In the illustration of , this is an insulating body 74 made of a first plastic material 52. For production reasons, a plastic injection molding method is preferably used when producing the insulating body 74 with respect to the first channel 44 and the second channel 46. The first plastic material 52 is, for example, an electrically insulating plastic material that is optimized for the best possible heat conduction, such as Luvocom 1-8259 or Tecacomp PA 66 TC 3923.

[0035] From following Figure 4, it can be seen from the illustration that the insulating body 74 of the insulating device 40 is designed as a single-component embodiment 50. Preferably, the insulating body 74 is produced in one process step within the scope of the plastic injection molding method. During plastic injection molding, corresponding insulating webs 34 surrounded by the frame 48 can also be produced. By means of the insulating webs 34 passing through the interior of the insulating body 74, the first conductive track 18 is electrically isolated from the second conductive track 20 and the second conductive track 20 is electrically isolated from the third conductive track 22. The first, second and third conductive tracks 18, 20, 22 each include a connection area 72, which can be provided with a circular opening or the like, for example.

[0036] In addition, by Figure 4 To illustrate, the first channel 44 and the second channel 46 extend substantially along a vertical direction 76 on the end face 42 of the insulating body 74. The inlet opening 54 is preferably arranged in a region in which more heat is to be dissipated because, for example, a plurality of conductor rails 18, 20, 22 are arranged there or the conductor rails 18, 20 and 22 arranged there are longer because the effectiveness is greater for these conductor rails due to the lower coolant temperature.

[0037] The first conductor rail 18 , the second conductor rail 20 and the third conductor rail 22 are shaped such that they have both sections which run flat relative to the bottom of the insulating body 74 and sections which run vertically, rotated by 90° relative to these sections.

[0038] From following Figure 5 The three-dimensional top view of the insulating body 74 can be seen in the figure, which is obtained in the multi-component embodiment 59. This means that the insulating device 40 proposed according to the invention in the multi-component embodiment 58 includes a first component 64 and a second component 66. Figure 5 In the embodiment of the present invention, the first component 64 receives the first conductive rail 18 and the second conductive rail 20, while only the third conductive rail 22 is arranged in the second component 66. Figure 5 In the embodiment variant 58 as a multi-component embodiment, the connection areas 72 of the conductor rails 18, 20 and 22 are oriented in accordance with Figure 4 The single-component embodiment 50 of the embodiment has not changed. For example, the first component 64 of the insulating body 74 is formed by injection molding of the first plastic material 52, and the second component 66 of the insulating body 74 is formed by injection molding of the first plastic material 52. Figure 5, is injection molded from a second plastic material 60 that is different from the first plastic material. The two components, namely the first component 64 and the second component 66, have in common that the first channel 44 or the second channel 46 is injected on their end sides 42 that extend parallel to each other. With respect to the first component 64, the first channel 44 is located on the end side 42. The second component 66 of the insulating device 40 receives the second channel 46 on its end side 42. Figure 4 Similar to the illustration of , that is, the single-component embodiment 50 , the two channels 44 , 46 on the first component 64 and the second component 66 also extend essentially along a vertical direction 76 on the end sides 42 of the two components 64 and 66 that are adjacent to each other along the dividing gap 62 .

[0039] In the multi-component embodiment 58, the insulating body 74 of the insulating device 40 is Figure 5 In the embodiment variant shown in , the injection molding tool in which the first plastic material 52 and the second plastic material 60 are processed can be designed more simply. Figure 5 In the illustrated multi-component embodiment 58 , leakage tolerances can be simplified if the insulating body 74 is designed in two components with a first channel 44 arranged on a first component 64 and a second channel 46 arranged on a second component 66 .

[0040] From following Figure 6 The first component 64 of the insulating body 74 in the multi-component embodiment can be seen in the figure.

[0041] If you can follow Figure 6 As can be seen from the three-dimensional view of the first component 64 of the insulating body 74, the first channel 44 extends substantially in a vertical direction 76 on the end side 42 of the insulating body. Figure 6 The identical first channel 44 shown in the figure can be passed through by both the inflow 54 and the outflow 56 of the cooling medium. The inflow 54 is preferably located in a region in which more heat is generated if, for example, a plurality of conductor rails 18, 20, 22 are arranged there and are designed to be longer.

[0042] The isolation body 74 is Figure 6 The first component 64 shown in a perspective view in FIG. 1 receives the first conductive rail 18 or the second conductive rail 20, which are connected by Figure 5 The first conductor rail 18 or the second conductor rail 20 has a connection area 72 at its end. The bottom section of the first component 64 of the insulating device 40 is arranged in accordance with Figure 6 The first member 64 includes a gap 70 so that the phase connector 16 of the motor 14 can be more easily connected to the connection area 72 of the first conductive rail 18 and the second conductive rail 20, as shown in FIG. Figure 1 .

[0043] The conductor rails 18, 20 and 22 are arranged in accordance with Figure 4 and 5 6 are usually placed as an inserted component in the corresponding insulating body 74 or in the first component 64 or its second component 66. In order to improve the heat conduction, a heat-conducting glue can be additionally provided. In addition, there is a Figure 4 , 5 6 into the respective plastic material 52 or 60 of the insulating body 74 or into its components 64 and 66 in order to improve the heat conduction in this way. In order to save costs, there is also the possibility of producing the insulating body 74 of the insulating device 40 with integrated coolant channels 44, 46 by means of a pre-extruded coating and using a multi-component injection molding method. This also makes it possible to produce the interior of the insulating body 74 from an inexpensive plastic material and to use the more expensive first plastic material 52 or second plastic material 60 having special relative properties only in areas where these special relative properties are absolutely required.

[0044] As an alternative to their flat design, the conductor rails 18, 20 and 22 described above can also be obtained as wires, thus, for example, as solid wires with round or other cross sections, as combed strands or also as braided strands. If such a geometry is selected for the conductor rails 18, 20, 22, the receiving geometry in the insulating body 74 is correspondingly not flat, but, for example, semicircular, in any case complementary to the geometry of the conductor rails 18, 20 and 22 that are not designed in a flat structure. In addition, a heat-conducting glue can be used to improve the thermal coupling of the conductor rails 18, 20, 22, either in a flat structure or in the form of wires, to the plastic material of the insulating body 74.

[0045] The invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiments described here and the aspects emphasized therein. Rather, numerous modifications are possible within the scope of the invention described by the claims and within the purview of a person skilled in the art.

Claims

1. An insulating device (40) with an integrated cooling medium channel (44, 46), comprising an insulating body (74) made of plastic material (52, 60), in which a conductor rail (18, 20, 22) is received, characterized in that: The cooling medium channels (44, 46) are integrated into the plastic material (52, 60) of the insulating body (74), wherein the insulating body (74) has insulating webs (34) which separate the conductor rails (18, 20, 22) from one another, wherein the integrated cooling medium channels (44, 46) are injected into the region of the end side (42) of the insulating body (74), and the cooling medium channels (44, 46) extend substantially in a vertical direction (76), wherein the conductor rails (18, 20, 22) are shaped such that they have both sections which extend flat relative to the bottom of the insulating body (74) and sections which extend vertically in a manner twisted by 90° relative to these sections.

2. The insulating device (40) according to claim 1, characterized in that: The insulating device is designed as a single-component embodiment (50) or as a multi-component embodiment (58).

3. The insulating device (40) according to claim 2, characterized in that: The multi-component embodiment (58) of the insulating body (74) has a first component (64) and a second component (66).

4. The insulating device (40) according to claim 3, characterized in that The plastic material (52, 60) includes a first plastic material (52), the first component (64) and the second component (66) are made of the first plastic material (52), and the first plastic material (52) is an electrically insulating and thermally conductive plastic material.

5. The insulating device (40) according to claim 4, characterized in that: The first plastic material (52) is Luvocom 1-8259 or Tecacomp PA 66TC 3923.

6. The insulating device (40) according to claim 3, characterized in that: The conductive rails (18, 20, 22) include a first conductive rail (18), a second conductive rail (20) and a third conductive rail (22), the three conductive rails (18, 20, 22) are received in the insulating body, the first conductive rail (18) and the second conductive rail (20) are received in the first component (64), and the second component (66) receives the third conductive rail (22).

7. The insulating device (40) according to claim 3, characterized in that: The plastic material (52, 60) includes a second plastic material (60), the first component (64) and the second component (66) are made of the second plastic material (60), Alternatively, the plastic material (52, 60) includes a first plastic (52) and a second plastic material (60), the first component (64) is made of the first plastic material (52) and the second component (66) is made of the second plastic material (60), or vice versa.

8. The insulating device (40) according to claim 2, characterized in that: In a one-piece embodiment (50), the insulating body (74) has insulating webs (34) which separate the busbars (18, 20, 22) from one another.

9. The insulating device (40) according to claim 3, characterized in that: The first component (64) and the second component (66) of the insulating body (74) each have an insulating web (34) for insulating the conductor rails (18, 20, 22) from one another.

10. The insulating device (40) according to claim 1, characterized in that The insulating body (74) receives heat-conducting glue, and the conductive tracks (18, 20, 22) are embedded in the heat-conducting glue.

11. The insulating device (40) according to claim 1, characterized in that The conductive tracks (18, 20, 22) are injected into the plastic material (52, 60) of the insulating body (74).

12. The insulating device (40) according to claim 1, characterized in that The insulating body (74) comprises a pre-extruded envelope; or the insulating body (74) is produced using multi-component technology and the heat-conducting plastic material is injected only into the regions in which injection is necessary.

13. Use of an insulation device (40) with integrated cooling medium channels (44, 46) according to any one of claims 1 to 12 for electrical contacting and cooling of an electric machine (14) of an electric vehicle (EV=Electric Vehicle), a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV=Hybrid Electric Vehicle) or a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV).

Images