Intelligent power module and household appliance

Abstract

The application discloses an intelligent power module and household electrical appliances. The intelligent power module comprises: an upper bridge power switch tube; a lower bridge power switch tube, which is arranged in series with the upper bridge power switch tube; a lower bridge driving chip, which is used for converting an externally input lower bridge input driving signal into a lower bridge output driving signal output to the lower bridge power switch tube, and further converting an externally input upper bridge input driving signal to form an intermediate driving signal; and an upper bridge driving chip, which is used for converting the intermediate driving signal input from the lower bridge driving chip into an upper bridge output driving signal output to the upper bridge power switch tube. In this way, the area of the intelligent power module can be reduced, the packaging volume thereof can be reduced, the integration degree thereof can be improved, and the cost can be reduced.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of electronics, and in particular to an intelligent power module and a household appliance. BACKGROUND

[0002] An intelligent power module (IPM) is an advanced power switching device and is a power driving product integrating a power device and a driving circuit chip. The IPM has a wide market in the fields of AC motor variable frequency speed regulation, DC motor chopping speed regulation, various high-performance power supplies (such as UPS, induction heating, electric welding machine, active compensation, DC-DC, etc.), industrial electrical automation, new energy, etc.

[0003] The present application has found that the high-voltage side ground of the driving chip in the existing IPM is at the same potential as the emitter of the corresponding power device, and the isolation between the high-voltage side and the low-voltage side of the driving chip can be eliminated. SUMMARY

[0004] The present application mainly solves the technical problem of how to reduce the area of the intelligent power module, so as to reduce the packaging volume, improve the integration, and reduce the cost.

[0005] To solve the above technical problem, one technical solution adopted by the present application is to provide an intelligent power module. The intelligent power module comprises: an upper bridge power switch tube; a lower bridge power switch tube, which is arranged in series with the upper bridge power switch tube; a lower bridge driving chip, which is used to convert an externally input lower bridge input driving signal into a lower bridge output driving signal output to the lower bridge power switch tube, and further convert an externally input upper bridge input driving signal to form an intermediate driving signal; and an upper bridge driving chip, which is used to convert the intermediate driving signal input from the lower bridge driving chip into an upper bridge output driving signal output to the upper bridge power switch tube.

[0006] To solve the above technical problem, another technical solution adopted by the present application is to provide a household appliance. The household appliance comprises the above intelligent power module.

[0007] The application has the following beneficial effects: the intelligent power module of the application includes: the intelligent power module includes: an upper bridge power switch tube; a lower bridge power switch tube, which is arranged in series with the upper bridge power switch tube; a lower bridge drive chip, which is used for converting an externally input lower bridge input drive signal into a lower bridge output drive signal output to the lower bridge power switch tube, and further converting an externally input upper bridge input drive signal to form an intermediate drive signal; and an upper bridge drive chip, which is used for converting the intermediate drive signal input from the lower bridge drive chip into an upper bridge output drive signal output to the upper bridge power switch tube. The intelligent power module of the application inputs the upper bridge input drive signal through the lower bridge drive chip, and converts the upper bridge input drive signal to form the intermediate drive signal, and provides the intermediate drive signal after the voltage conversion to the upper bridge drive chip, so that the upper bridge drive chip drives the upper bridge power switch tube. Therefore, the upper bridge drive chip of the application directly obtains the intermediate drive signal after the voltage conversion from the lower bridge drive chip, so that a low-voltage area does not need to be arranged, a high-low voltage isolation structure does not need to be arranged, the area of the upper bridge drive chip and the intelligent power module can be reduced, the packaging volume can be reduced, the integration degree can be improved, and the cost can be reduced. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0008] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the application or the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings needed to be used in the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the application, and for those skilled in the art, other drawings can also be obtained without creative labor.

[0009] Figure 1 is a structural schematic diagram of an embodiment of the intelligent power module of the application;

[0010] Figure 2 is Figure 1 is a structural schematic diagram of the upper bridge drive chip in the intelligent power module of the embodiment;

[0011] Figure 3 is Figure 2 is a circuit structural schematic diagram of the under-voltage protection circuit in the upper bridge drive chip of the embodiment;

[0012] Figure 4 is Figure 1 is a structural schematic diagram of the lower bridge drive chip in the intelligent power module of the embodiment;

[0013] Figure 5 is Figure 4 is a circuit structural schematic diagram of the pulse generation circuit in the lower bridge drive chip of the embodiment;

[0014] Figure 6 is Figure 4Circuit structure diagram of level conversion circuit in lower bridge drive chip of embodiment;

[0015] Figure 7 is a structure diagram of an embodiment of the intelligent power module of the present application;

[0016] Figure 8 is a structure diagram of an embodiment of the household appliance of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] The present application will be further described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It is particularly pointed out that the following embodiments are only used to illustrate the present application, but do not limit the scope of the present application. Similarly, the following embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, but not all the embodiments, and all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative labor are within the scope of the present application.

[0018] The present application first proposes an intelligent power module, as shown in Figures 1 to 4 , Figure 1 is a structure diagram of an embodiment of the intelligent power module of the present application; Figure 2 is Figure 1 is a structure diagram of the upper bridge drive chip in the intelligent power module of the embodiment; Figure 3 is Figure 2 is a circuit structure diagram of the under-voltage protection circuit in the upper bridge drive chip of the embodiment; Figure 4 is Figure 1 is a structure diagram of the lower bridge drive chip in the intelligent power module of the embodiment; Figure 5 is Figure 4 is a circuit structure diagram of the pulse generation circuit in the lower bridge drive chip of the embodiment; Figure 6 is Figure 4 is a circuit structure diagram of the level conversion circuit in the lower bridge drive chip of the embodiment. The intelligent power module 10 of the embodiment includes: an upper bridge power switch tube 301, a lower bridge power switch tube 302, a lower bridge drive chip 402 and an upper bridge drive chip 401; wherein the lower bridge power switch tube 302 and the upper bridge power switch tube 301 are connected in series; the lower bridge drive chip 402 is used to convert the externally input lower bridge input drive signal into a lower bridge output drive signal output to the lower bridge power switch tube 302, and further convert the externally input upper bridge input drive signal to form an intermediate drive signal; the upper bridge drive chip 401 is used to convert the intermediate drive signal input from the lower bridge drive chip 402 into an upper bridge output drive signal output to the upper bridge power switch tube 301.

[0019] Specifically, the upper bridge driving chip 401 is connected with the gate electrode and the emitter electrode of the upper bridge power switch tube 301 respectively, the lower bridge driving chip 402 is connected with the gate electrode and the emitter electrode of the lower bridge power switch tube 302 respectively, and the emitter electrode of the upper bridge power switch tube 301 is connected with the collector electrode of the lower bridge power switch tube 302 (i.e. the emitter electrode of the upper bridge power switch tube 301 is arranged in series with the lower bridge power switch tube 302).

[0020] The upper bridge driving chip 401 is used to output an upper bridge output driving signal to control the upper bridge power switch tube 301 to conduct and output electric energy from the emitter electrode to the collector electrode of the lower bridge power switch tube 302 when the intelligent power module 10 works; when driving the upper bridge power switch tube 301 to conduct, the upper bridge power switch tube 301 is provided with a charging current to make the voltage between the gate electrode and the emitter electrode of the upper bridge power switch tube 301 rapidly rise to a required value, so as to ensure that the upper bridge power switch tube 301 can conduct rapidly; and the voltage between the gate electrode and the emitter electrode of the upper bridge power switch tube 301 is ensured to be maintained stable during the conduction of the upper bridge power switch tube 301, so as to ensure that the upper bridge power switch tube 301 can conduct reliably.

[0021] The lower bridge driving chip 402 is used to output a lower bridge output driving signal to control the lower bridge power switch tube 302 to conduct and output driving electric energy to drive the motor and other loads to work when the intelligent power module 10 works; when driving the lower bridge power switch tube 302 to conduct, the lower bridge power switch tube 302 is provided with a charging current to make the voltage between the gate electrode and the emitter electrode of the lower bridge power switch tube 302 rapidly rise to a required value, so as to ensure that the lower bridge power switch tube 302 can conduct rapidly; and the voltage between the gate electrode and the emitter electrode of the lower bridge power switch tube 302 is ensured to be maintained stable during the conduction of the lower bridge power switch tube 302, so as to ensure that the lower bridge power switch tube 302 can conduct reliably.

[0022] Different from the prior art, the intelligent power module 10 of the embodiment inputs an upper bridge input driving signal through the lower bridge driving chip 402, and converts the upper bridge input driving signal by boosting, and provides the boosted intermediate driving signal to the upper bridge driving chip 401 to drive the upper bridge power switch tube 301 by the upper bridge driving chip 401. Therefore, the upper bridge driving chip 401 of the embodiment directly obtains the boosted intermediate driving signal from the lower bridge driving chip 402, so that a low-voltage area is not needed to be arranged, and a high-low voltage isolation structure is not needed to be arranged, thereby the area of the upper bridge driving chip 401 and the intelligent power module 10 can be reduced, the packaging volume can be reduced, the integration degree can be improved, and the cost can be reduced.

[0023] The upper bridge driving chip 401 and the lower bridge driving chip 402 of the embodiment can be made by BCD bulk silicon process or low-voltage process to save cost.

[0024] Optionally, the inter-drive signal in this embodiment includes a first pulse signal and a second pulse signal, such as... Figure 2 As shown, the upper bridge driver chip 401 in this embodiment includes: a first signal input port SET_1, a second signal input port RESET_1, a pulse synthesis circuit 411, an upper bridge driver circuit 412, and a first signal output port HO.

[0025] The first signal input port SET_1 is used to receive the first pulse signal; the second signal input port RESET_1 is used to receive the second pulse signal.

[0026] The pulse synthesis circuit 411 is used to fuse the first pulse signal and the second pulse signal to obtain a third pulse signal, wherein the pulse width of the third pulse signal is greater than the pulse width of the first pulse signal and the pulse width of the second pulse signal.

[0027] In this embodiment, the pulse synthesis circuit 411 can be an "OR" circuit composed of two diodes, etc.

[0028] As can be seen from the above analysis, the first and second pulse signals received by the upper bridge driver chip 401 are high-level pulse signals after being boosted and converted by the lower bridge driver chip 402. Compared with the wide and narrow pulse signals, the narrow and wide pulse signals require less turn-on power and have less power loss for the boost conversion circuit (i.e., the level conversion circuit in the lower bridge driver chip 402, which will be introduced later), and also have lower requirements for the voltage withstand capability of the boost conversion circuit.

[0029] The upper bridge drive circuit 412 is used to generate an upper bridge output drive signal in response to the third pulse signal; the first signal output port HO is used to output the upper bridge output drive signal to the gate electrode of the upper bridge power switch 301. The upper bridge drive circuit 412 can be an integrated gate drive resistor.

[0030] In this embodiment, the upper bridge drive circuit 412 can be a power amplifier circuit, such as a transistor, which amplifies the third pulse signal to meet the drive power requirements of the upper bridge power switch 301.

[0031] Optionally, such as Figure 2 As shown, the upper bridge driver chip 401 in this embodiment further includes: a first power supply port VB and a first potential port VS; the first power supply port VB is used to provide a first power supply voltage to the upper bridge driver chip 401; the first potential port VS is used to connect to the emitter electrode of the upper bridge power switch 301.

[0032] Optionally, such as Figure 2As shown, the upper bridge driving chip 401 of the embodiment further comprises an under-voltage protection circuit 413, which is used to monitor the upper bridge power supply voltage and start protection when under-voltage, i.e. power shortage occurs.

[0033] Wherein, the under-voltage protection circuit 413 of the embodiment can be implemented by the circuit as shown. Figure 3 Specifically, when the voltage value input by the first power supply port VB is normal, the power supply voltage sampling circuit collects the voltage higher than the reference potential, the comparator outputs low level, and the circuit works normally. The reference point can be provided by a stable voltage diode or generated by other voltage generation circuit. When the voltage value input by the first power supply port VB is lower than the allowed minimum voltage value, the power supply voltage sampling circuit collects the voltage lower than the reference potential, the comparator outputs high level, and the upper bridge driving stops working.

[0034] Further, the first signal output port HO of the upper bridge driving chip 401 of the embodiment is arranged close to the gate electrode of the upper bridge power switch tube 301, which can shorten the spatial physical distance between the first signal output port HO and the gate electrode, reduce the parasitic parameters introduced by the lead line between the first signal output port HO and the gate electrode, and reduce the influence of the parasitic parameters on the intelligent power module 10; the first signal input port SET_1, the second signal input port RESET_1 and the first power supply port VB of the upper bridge driving chip 401 of the embodiment are arranged on the same side, and the first signal input port SET_1 and the second signal input port RESET_1 are arranged close to the lower bridge driving chip (not shown in the figure), which facilitates the introduction of external signals and simplifies the circuit structure.

[0035] The first potential port VS of the upper bridge driving chip 401 of the embodiment is at the same potential as the emitter electrode of the upper bridge power switch tube 301, and the two can be connected through a lead line.

[0036] Optionally, as shown in Figure 4As shown, the lower bridge drive chip 402 of the embodiment comprises a third signal input port HIN, a preprocessing circuit 422, a pulse generation circuit 423, a level conversion circuit 424, a second signal output port SET_0, a third signal output port RESET_0 and a fourth signal output port LO for outputting a lower bridge output drive signal. The third signal input port HIN is configured to receive an upper bridge drive input signal. The fourth signal input port LIN is configured to receive a lower bridge drive input signal. The preprocessing circuit 422 is configured to preprocess the upper bridge drive input signal to obtain a fourth pulse signal. The pulse generation circuit 423 is configured to generate a first pulse signal and a second pulse signal in response to the fourth pulse signal. The level conversion circuit 424 is connected with the pulse generation circuit and is configured to perform boost conversion on the first pulse signal and the second pulse signal respectively. The second signal output port SET_0 is connected with a first signal input port SET_1 of an upper bridge drive chip (not shown in the figure) and is configured to output the first pulse signal to the first signal input port SET_1. The third signal output port RESET_0 is connected with a second signal input port RESET_1 of the upper bridge drive chip and is configured to output the second pulse signal to the second signal input port RESET_1. The fourth signal output port LO is connected with a gate electrode of a lower bridge power switch (not shown in the figure) and is configured to output the lower bridge output drive signal to the lower bridge power switch.

[0037] As can be seen from the above analysis, the wide pulse signal requires a large starting power for the level conversion circuit 424, has a large power loss and requires a high voltage resistance of the level conversion circuit 424. Therefore, the embodiment generates two narrow pulse signals (i.e. the first pulse signal and the second pulse signal) from one wide pulse signal (i.e. the fourth pulse signal) after preprocessing by the pulse generation circuit 423, so as to reduce the power consumption of the lower bridge drive chip 402 and reduce the requirement for the voltage resistance of the lower bridge drive chip 402.

[0038] Specifically, the pulse generation circuit 423 of the embodiment can be implemented by the circuit as shown in FIG. 5. Figure 5 As shown in FIG. 5, the pulse generation circuit 423 of the embodiment comprises an RC delay circuit 501 and a Schmitt trigger 503. The fourth pulse signal after preprocessing is divided into two pulse signals. One of the pulse signals is input into the RC delay circuit 501 to generate a delay every time the pulse signal jumps at the rising edge or the falling edge. The pulse signal after the delay and the other pulse signal are input into an exclusive-OR gate 502 to perform an exclusive-OR operation. A short first pulse signal or a short second pulse signal is output every time the fourth pulse signal jumps. The width of the first pulse signal and the second pulse signal is determined by the trigger level of the RC delay circuit 501 and the Schmitt trigger 503.

[0039] The Schmitt trigger 503 is added to both of the pulse signals in the embodiment, so as to ensure the consistency of the level delay.

[0040] The preprocessing circuit 422 in this embodiment includes a Schmitt trigger circuit, a filter circuit, and a dead-zone interlock circuit.

[0041] Optionally, such as Figure 4 As shown, the lower bridge driver chip 402 in this embodiment further includes: a fault output port F0, an overcurrent detection port ITRIP, a fault output circuit, and a fault protection circuit 480. The fault output circuit and the fault protection circuit 480 are respectively connected to the fault output port F0, the overcurrent detection port ITRIP, and the preprocessing circuit 422. The fault output port F0 outputs a fault signal. The overcurrent detection port ITRIP checks the current sampling signal of the lower bridge power switch 302.

[0042] Furthermore, the lower bridge driver chip 402 in this embodiment further includes: a power supply port VCC and a potential port VSS. The power supply port VCC provides power voltage to the lower bridge driver chip 402, and the potential port VSS is connected to logic ground.

[0043] In this embodiment, the third signal input port LIN, the fourth signal input port LIN, the second signal output port SET_0, the third signal output port RESET_0, the fault output port F0, the overcurrent detection port ITRIIP, the power supply port VCC, and the potential port VSS are all located on the same side. The second signal output port SET_0 and the third signal output port RESET_0 are located close to the upper bridge driver chip 401, which facilitates signal introduction and simplifies the circuit structure. The fourth signal output port LO is located close to the gate electrode of the lower bridge power transistor 302, which shortens the distance between the fourth signal output port LO and the gate electrode. Therefore, it can reduce the impact of parasitic parameters generated by the leads between the fourth signal output port LO and the gate electrode on the performance of the intelligent power module 10.

[0044] The lower bridge driver chip 402 in this embodiment is equipped with fault detection circuits for under / overvoltage, overcurrent, and overtemperature; the fault output port F0 can also be used to input an enable signal.

[0045] Optionally, such as Figure 6 As shown, the level conversion circuit 424 of this embodiment includes: a first output switch 425 and a second output switch 426; wherein, the first output switch 425 is used to output a first pulse signal, the first output switch 425 includes a first device body region 435, and the output terminal 445 of the first output switch extends out of the first device body region 435 to form a second signal output port SET_0; the second output switch 426 is used to output a second pulse signal, the second output switch 426 includes a second device body region 436, and the output terminal 446 of the second output switch 426 extends out of the second device body region 436 to form a third signal output port RESET_0.

[0046] Further, the first output switch tube 425 and the second output switch tube 426 are arranged side by side, an end of the output end 445 of the first output switch tube 425 is provided with a first bonding pad 455, an end of the output end 446 of the second output switch tube 426 is provided with a second bonding pad 456, and a distance between the first bonding pad 455 and the second bonding pad 456 satisfies a preset condition, which can be set according to physical and electrical design rules of the chip, for example, the PAD spacing requirement of the chip packaging bonding process needs to be met, and the distance between the pads of the chip is required to be greater than 50 microns, and then the preset condition can be set to be greater than 50 microns. This structure can avoid mutual interference between the first output switch tube 425 and the second output switch tube 426.

[0047] The first output switch tube 425 and the second output switch tube 426 of the embodiment can be high-voltage NMOS tubes, which include a gate electrode and a drain electrode, wherein the gate electrode is arranged in a device main body region, the drain electrode is an output end, and an opening is formed in the gate electrode for accommodating the drain electrode.

[0048] In other embodiments, the output power switch tube can also be a PMOS tube, or the level conversion circuit can also be other boost circuits.

[0049] The embodiment adopts the NMOS tube to implement the level conversion circuit 424, has a smaller occupied area, a simple process, and can reduce the area of the lower bridge driving chip 402.

[0050] The lower bridge driving chip 402 of the embodiment further includes a delay circuit 490 connected with the preprocessing circuit 422, for outputting the preprocessed lower bridge input driving signal to a fourth signal output port LO after delay, to ensure that the upper bridge driving output signal of the upper bridge driving chip 401 and the lower bridge driving output signal of the lower bridge driving chip 402 are synchronized.

[0051] Further, the embodiment can also increase the pulse width of the output signal of the high-voltage NMOS and / or increase the filtering time of the filtering circuit, to reduce signal interference.

[0052] The intelligent power module 10 of the embodiment further includes a bootstrap diode (not shown in the figure), an anode of the bootstrap diode is connected with a power supply port VCC of the lower bridge driving chip 402, and a cathode of the bootstrap diode is connected with a first power supply port VB of the upper bridge driving chip 401. The power supply port VCC accesses a low-voltage fixed power supply voltage, and the low-voltage fixed power supply is converted into a high-voltage floating power supply voltage through the bootstrap diode D to supply the first power supply port VB.

[0053] The number of the bootstrap diodes D is consistent with the number of the upper bridge driving chip 401, and the bootstrap diodes D are arranged one by one corresponding to the upper bridge driving chip 401.

[0054] Of course, in other embodiments, a bootstrap capacitor or the like can also be provided for each upper bridge drive chip.

[0055] The intelligent power module integrates power devices and its driving circuit chip, FRD and part of the capacitor-resistor device, but the driving chip, power switch tube, FRD and part of the capacitor-resistor device of the existing intelligent power module are in a "flat" distribution, and the layout needs a large size, and most of them are independently packaged, which leads to a large shortest safety line distance between the driving chip and the power switch tube, and a large total area of the substrate occupied by each chip and the power switch tube, resulting in a longer lead for electrical connection between the driving chip and the power switch tube. Longer leads can introduce parasitic parameters (such as parasitic inductance), which can cause problems such as switching loss, ringing and reliability of the intelligent power module.

[0056] To solve the above technical problems, the present application further proposes another embodiment of an intelligent power module, as shown in Figure 7 The upper bridge drive chip 401 of the intelligent power module 10 of the present embodiment is stacked on the emitter (not marked in the figure) of the upper bridge power switch tube 301, and the upper bridge drive chip 401 is used to drive the upper bridge power switch tube 301 to work; the lower bridge drive chip 402 is stacked on the emitter (not marked in the figure) of the lower bridge power switch tube 302, and the lower bridge drive chip 402 is used to drive the lower bridge power switch tube 302.

[0057] The upper bridge driving chip 401 of the intelligent power module 10 in the embodiment is stacked on the emitting electrode of the upper bridge power switch tube 301, so that the upper bridge driving chip 401 and the upper bridge power switch tube 301 form a stacked structure and are integrally arranged. The mounting position of the upper bridge driving chip 401 on the substrate 20 can be reduced, the area of the substrate 20 is reduced, and the space distance between the upper bridge driving chip 401 and the upper bridge power switch tube 301 is shortened, so that the physical connection distance of the lead wire between the upper bridge driving chip 401 and the upper bridge power switch tube 301 is reduced, and the influence of the parasitic parameters introduced by the lead wire between the upper bridge driving chip 401 and the upper bridge power switch tube 301 on the performance of the intelligent power module 10 is reduced. At the same time, because the emitting electrode of the upper bridge power switch tube 301 covers most of the area of the upper bridge power switch tube 301, and the emitting electrode of the upper bridge power switch tube 301 is at the same potential as the low potential of the high-voltage side of the upper bridge driving chip 401, the upper bridge driving chip 401 is stacked on the emitting electrode of the upper bridge power switch tube 301, which not only can flexibly adjust the relative position of the upper bridge driving chip 401 and the upper bridge power switch tube 301, but also can shorten the length of the lead wire between the emitting electrode of the upper bridge power switch tube 301 and the low potential port of the high-voltage side of the upper bridge driving chip 401, so as to shorten the physical connection distance of the lead wire as much as possible. The lower bridge driving chip 402 is stacked on the emitting electrode of the lower bridge power switch tube 302, so that the lower bridge driving chip 402 and the lower bridge power switch tube 302 form a stacked structure and are integrally arranged. The mounting position of the lower bridge driving chip 402 on the substrate 20 can be reduced, the area of the substrate 20 is reduced, and the space distance between the lower bridge driving chip 402 and the lower bridge power switch tube 302 is shortened, so that the physical connection distance of the lead wire between the lower bridge driving chip 402 and the lower bridge power switch tube 302 is reduced, and the influence of the parasitic parameters introduced by the lead wire between the lower bridge driving chip 402 and the lower bridge power switch tube 302 on the performance of the intelligent power module 10 is reduced. At the same time, because the emitting electrode of the lower bridge power switch tube 302 covers most of the area of the lower bridge power switch tube 302, and the emitting electrode of the lower bridge power switch tube 302 is at the same potential as the low potential of the high-voltage side of the lower bridge driving chip 402, the lower bridge driving chip 402 is stacked on the emitting electrode of the lower bridge power switch tube 302, which not only can flexibly adjust the relative position of the lower bridge driving chip 402 and the lower bridge power switch tube 302, but also can shorten the length of the lead wire between the emitting electrode of the lower bridge power switch tube 302 and the low potential port of the high-voltage side of the lower bridge driving chip 402, so as to shorten the physical connection distance of the lead wire as much as possible. Therefore, the embodiment can reduce the influence of the parasitic parameters on the performance of the intelligent power module 10, and the laminated arrangement can realize 3D packaging of the intelligent power module, so as to reduce the size of the intelligent power module 10 and improve the integration degree.

[0058] Further, the substrate 20 can be provided with a mounting position on one surface. The substrate 20 of the embodiment is a carrier of the power switch tube and the driving chip, and can be made of metal materials such as aluminum or aluminum alloy, copper or copper alloy, etc. The substrate 20 of the embodiment can be a circuit board, and the circuit board is integrated with a circuit layer. The circuit layer can provide power supply circuit, protection circuit, control circuit, etc. for the power switch tube and the driving chip. The shape of the substrate 20 of the embodiment can be determined according to the specific position, quantity and size of the power switch tube, and is not limited to square.

[0059] In other embodiments, the substrate can also be implemented using a lead frame or an aluminum nitride ceramic substrate. The aluminum nitride ceramic substrate includes an insulating layer, a heat dissipation layer, and a circuit layer. The insulating layer is located on the side of the circuit layer away from the power switch, and the heat dissipation layer is located on the side of the insulating layer away from the circuit layer. The circuit layer can be a flexible copper-clad layer, on which mounting positions for electronic components of the smart power module are formed, depending on the circuit design of the smart power module. The insulating layer can be made of insulating materials such as PI film.

[0060] In this embodiment, the power switch can be a gallium nitride (GaN) power switch, a Si-based power switch, or a SiC-based power switch.

[0061] Optionally, the aforementioned driver chip is electrically connected to the emitter and gate electrodes of the corresponding power switching transistors via leads (not shown in the figure). In this embodiment, the leads are metal bonding wires to facilitate the transmission of electrical signals between the driver chip and the power switching transistors. The leads in this embodiment can be aluminum, gold, or copper wires, etc.

[0062] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the driver chip and the corresponding power switch can be bonded together with solder paste or silver paste to achieve a fixed connection between the driver chip and the corresponding power switch.

[0063] Furthermore, the power switch in this embodiment further includes a collector (not shown in the figure). The collector can be connected to the power supply circuit integrated in the substrate or directly connected to the external power supply circuit of the smart power module 10 to provide a power supply voltage for the power switch.

[0064] Optionally, such as Figure 7 As shown, in this embodiment, the orthographic projection of the driving chip on the substrate 20 is located inside the orthographic projection of the emitting electrode on the substrate 20. This stacked structure minimizes the physical connection distance between the leads of the driving chip and the emitting electrode, thereby maximizing the reduction of the impact of parasitic parameters generated by the leads on the performance of the smart power module 10.

[0065] Furthermore, the intelligent power module 10 in this embodiment further includes: a fast recovery diode 201, which is configured to correspond one-to-one with the power switching transistors mentioned above, and the fast recovery diode 201 and the corresponding power switching transistor are connected in anti-parallel.

[0066] Specifically, the fast recovery diode 201 is arranged on a surface of the substrate 20 provided with the power switch tube, the substrate 20 carries the fast recovery diode 201, and the fast recovery diode 201 is located on a side provided with an emitter electrode of the corresponding power switch tube, so that the anode 211 of the fast recovery diode 201 is at the same potential as the emitter electrode of the corresponding power switch tube, the distance of the lead wire between the two can be shortened, and thus the influence of the parasitic parameters generated by the lead wire between the two on the performance of the smart power module 10 can be reduced.

[0067] In this embodiment, the fast recovery diode 201 is a high-power anti-parallel diode, which is used to realize the fast turn-off of the corresponding power switch tube. The fast recovery diode 201 can be made of Si material, or the fast recovery diode 201 can be implemented by using a Schottky diode, which can ensure that the power consumption of the smart power module 10 is low, and can reduce the production cost of the smart power module 10.

[0068] In this embodiment, the smart power module 10 includes three upper bridge power switch tubes 301, three lower bridge power switch tubes 302, three upper bridge drive chips 401, and three lower bridge drive chips 402.

[0069] In this embodiment, the substrate 20 is provided with 12 mounting positions, which are used to mount the three upper bridge power switch tubes 301, the three lower bridge power switch tubes 302, and the six fast recovery diodes 201. The number and position of the fast recovery diodes 201 correspond to the power switch tubes one by one.

[0070] When the smart power module 10 works, the drive chip outputs corresponding PWM control signals to drive and control the corresponding power switch tube to be turned on / off, so as to output drive power to drive the motor and other loads to work.

[0071] The three upper bridge power switch tubes 301 and the lower bridge power switch tubes 302 in this embodiment form a three-phase inverter bridge circuit, wherein each upper bridge power switch tube 301 is arranged in series with the corresponding lower bridge power switch tube 302, that is, the emitter electrode of the upper bridge power switch tube 301 is connected with the collector electrode of the lower bridge power switch tube 302; the three upper bridge power switch tubes 301 and the lower bridge power switch tubes 302 form three series circuits, which drive the three-phase windings U, V, and W of the motor, respectively.

[0072] The inverter circuit composed of the above six power switch tubes in this embodiment can be applied to inverter power supplies, frequency converters, refrigeration equipment, metallurgical mechanical equipment, electric traction equipment, and other electrical equipment, especially frequency conversion household appliances, such as washing machines.

[0073] Each drive chip of the embodiment of the present application independently drives one power switch tube, can better monitor the working state of the power switch tube, thereby improving the reliability of the intelligent power module.

[0074] Of course, in other embodiments, the intelligent power module can also include four power switch tubes or eight power switch tubes, etc.

[0075] The power switch tube of the embodiment can be an Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT). The IGBT is a composite full-controlled voltage-driven power semiconductor device composed of a bipolar transistor (BJT) and an insulated gate field effect transistor (MOSFET), and has the advantages of high input impedance of the MOSFET device and low on-state voltage drop of the power transistor. Since the IGBT has the advantages of small driving power and low saturation voltage, in other embodiments, the power switch tube can also be a MOS tube, etc.

[0076] The intelligent power module of the embodiment of the present application is a semiconductor device composed of high-speed and low-power-consumption power switch tubes, gate electrode drives and corresponding protection circuits, has the advantages of high current density, low saturation voltage and high voltage resistance of the power transistor, and the advantages of high input impedance, high switching frequency and low driving power of the field effect transistor. Moreover, the intelligent power module integrates logic, control, detection and protection circuits inside, is convenient to use, not only reduces the size of the system and the development time, but also greatly enhances the reliability of the system; the intelligent power module of the embodiment of the present application can be used in the fields of household appliances, rail transit, power systems, etc., and is especially suitable for driving the motor working of the compressor and the fan of the air conditioner, the refrigerator, etc.

[0077] The present application further proposes a household appliance, such as Figure 8 as shown in the figure, Figure 8 is a structural schematic diagram of an embodiment of the household appliance of the present application. The household appliance 70 of the embodiment includes an intelligent power module 10, wherein the intelligent power module 10 is the intelligent power module 10 of the above-mentioned embodiment, which is not described here.

[0078] The household appliance of the embodiment of the present application can be a washing machine, a refrigerator or an oil smoke exhauster, etc.

[0079] Different from the prior art: the intelligent power module of the embodiment of the application comprises: the intelligent power module comprises: an upper bridge power switch tube; a lower bridge power switch tube, which is arranged in series with the upper bridge power switch tube; a lower bridge drive chip, which is used for converting an externally input lower bridge input drive signal into a lower bridge output drive signal output to the lower bridge power switch tube, and further converting an externally input upper bridge input drive signal to form an intermediate drive signal; and an upper bridge drive chip, which is used for converting the intermediate drive signal input from the lower bridge drive chip into an upper bridge output drive signal output to the upper bridge power switch tube. The intelligent power module of the embodiment of the application inputs the upper bridge input drive signal through the lower bridge drive chip, and converts the upper bridge input drive signal to form the intermediate drive signal, and provides the intermediate drive signal after the voltage conversion to the upper bridge drive chip, so that the upper bridge drive chip drives the upper bridge power switch tube. Therefore, the upper bridge drive chip of the embodiment of the application directly obtains the intermediate drive signal after the voltage conversion from the lower bridge drive chip, so that it is not necessary to set a low-voltage area, and it is not necessary to set a high-low voltage isolation structure, thereby the area of the upper bridge drive chip and the intelligent power module can be reduced, the packaging volume can be reduced, the integration degree can be improved, and the cost can be reduced.

[0080] The above is only the embodiment of the application, and does not limit the patent scope of the application, and any equivalent mechanism or equivalent process transformation using the content of the specification and drawings, or direct or indirect application in other related technical fields, are also included in the patent protection scope of the application.

Claims

1. An intelligent power module, characterized by The intelligent power module comprises: an upper bridge power switch tube; a lower bridge power switch tube, which is arranged in series with the upper bridge power switch tube; a lower bridge drive chip, which is used for converting an externally input lower bridge input drive signal into a lower bridge output drive signal output to the lower bridge power switch tube, and further converting an externally input upper bridge input drive signal to form an intermediate drive signal; an upper bridge drive chip, which is used for converting the intermediate drive signal input from the lower bridge drive chip into an upper bridge output drive signal output to the upper bridge power switch tube.

2. The intelligent power module according to claim 1, characterized in that The upper bridge drive chip is arranged in a stack on an emitter electrode of the upper bridge power switch tube, and the lower bridge drive chip is arranged in a stack on an emitter electrode of the lower bridge power switch tube.

3. The intelligent power module according to claim 1, characterized in that The intermediate drive signal comprises a first pulse signal and a second pulse signal, and the upper bridge drive chip comprises: a first signal input port, which is used for receiving the first pulse signal; a second signal input port, which is used for receiving the second pulse signal; a pulse synthesis circuit, which is used for fusing the first pulse signal and the second pulse signal to obtain a third pulse signal, wherein a pulse width of the third pulse signal is greater than pulse widths of the first pulse signal and the second pulse signal; an upper bridge drive circuit, which is used for generating the upper bridge output drive signal in response to the third pulse signal; a first signal output port, which is used for outputting the upper bridge output drive signal to a gate electrode of the upper bridge power switch tube.

4. The intelligent power module according to claim 3, characterized in that The upper bridge drive chip further comprises an under-voltage protection circuit, which is used for performing under-voltage protection on the third pulse signal.

5. The intelligent power module according to claim 3, characterized in that The upper bridge drive chip further comprises: a first power supply port, which is used for providing a first power supply voltage for the upper bridge drive chip; a first potential port, which is used for connecting with an emitter electrode of the upper bridge power switch tube.

6. The intelligent power module according to claim 3, characterized in that The lower bridge drive chip comprises: a third signal input port, which receives the upper bridge drive input signal; a fourth signal input port, which receives the lower bridge drive input signal; a preprocessing circuit, which pre-processes the upper bridge drive input signal to obtain a fourth pulse signal; a pulse generation circuit, which generates the first pulse signal and the second pulse signal in response to the fourth pulse signal; a level conversion circuit, which is connected with the pulse generation circuit and is used for performing boost conversion on the first pulse signal and the second pulse signal respectively; a second signal output port, which is used for outputting the first pulse signal; a third signal output port, which is used for outputting the second pulse signal; a fourth signal output port, which is used for outputting the lower bridge output drive signal.

7. The intelligent power module according to claim 6, characterized in that The level conversion circuit comprises: a first output switch tube, which is used for outputting the first pulse signal, and the first output switch tube comprises a first device main body region, and an output end of the first output switch tube extends out of the first device main body region to form the second signal output port; A second output switch tube for outputting the second pulse signal, the second output switch tube comprising a second device body region, an output end of the second output switch tube extending out of the second device body region to form the third signal output port.

8. The intelligent power module according to claim 7, characterized in that The first output switch tube and the second output switch tube are arranged side by side, an end of the output end of the first output switch tube is provided with a first pad, an end of the output end of the second output switch tube is provided with a second pad, and a distance between the first pad and the second pad satisfies a preset condition.

9. The intelligent power module according to claim 6, characterized in that The lower bridge driving chip further comprises: a fault output port for outputting a fault signal; an overcurrent detection port for detecting a current sampling signal of the lower bridge power switch tube.

10. An electric home appliance characterized by comprising: The household appliance comprises the intelligent power module according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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