power control unit

Abstract

A power control unit is provided with a converter on an inverter, a gap is formed between the inverter housing and the converter housing, wherein the inverter is provided with an inverter protruding portion protruding toward the converter side on the opposite side of the inverter housing to the converter, the converter is provided with a converter protruding portion protruding toward the inverter side on the opposite side of the lower cover closing the opening formed on the lower surface side of the housing main body portion of the converter housing, the inverter protruding portion and the converter protruding portion are arranged in abutment with each other, and the converter protruding portion is arranged on the lower cover corresponding to the position of the rib capable of contacting the lower cover.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a power control unit. Background Technology

[0002] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2007-050887 discloses a power control unit in which an inverter comprising inverter components housed within a housing and a converter comprising a converter housed within a housing are arranged above and below each other.

[0003] When a converter is configured on an inverter and a gap is formed between the inverter and the converter housing, there is a problem that a resonant sound is generated from the gap due to a first resonance (membrane vibration) on the upper surface of the inverter housing. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The present invention was made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its object is to provide a power control unit capable of reducing resonance noise from the gap formed between the inverter housing and the converter housing.

[0005] To solve the aforementioned problems and achieve the objective, the power control unit of the present invention includes an inverter housing containing inverter components and a converter housing containing converter components. The converter is disposed on the inverter, and a gap is formed between the inverter housing and the converter housing. The inverter has an inverter protrusion protruding toward the converter side on the side of the inverter housing opposite to the converter. The converter housing is composed of a housing body and a lower cover that closes an opening formed on the lower surface of the housing body. The converter has a converter protrusion protruding toward the inverter side on the side of the lower cover opposite to the inverter. The inverter protrusion and the converter protrusion are arranged to abut against each other. The converter protrusion is disposed on the lower cover corresponding to the position of a rib provided on the housing body in a manner that exposes from the opening and can contact the lower cover.

[0006] Therefore, by bringing the inverter protrusion into contact with the converter protrusion, the first resonance (membrane vibration) on the upper surface of the inverter housing can be suppressed, and the resonance sound from the gap formed between the inverter housing and the converter housing can be reduced.

[0007] Alternatively, in the above technical solution, the lower cover can be a water channel cover that seals the water channel located at the lower part of the housing body, and the rib can be a flow straightening rib used to adjust the flow of cooling water flowing in the water channel.

[0008] Therefore, by making the inverter protrusion abut against the converter protrusion, deformation of the water circuit cover caused by the rise in water pressure in the water circuit can be suppressed.

[0009] The power control unit of the present invention can suppress the first resonance (membrane vibration) on the upper surface of the inverter housing by abutting the inverter protrusion with the converter protrusion, and can reduce the resonance sound from the gap formed between the inverter housing and the converter housing. Attached Figure Description

[0010] The features, advantages, and technical and industrial importance of exemplary embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals denote like parts, and in the drawings:

[0011] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram showing the general structure of the power control unit according to an embodiment.

[0012] Figure 2 This is a diagram showing the DC-DC converter of the embodiment as viewed from the lower surface side.

[0013] Figure 3 This is a diagram showing the inverter implementation as viewed from the top surface.

[0014] Figure 4 This is an enlarged view of the cross-section obtained by cutting the power control unit of the embodiment along the length direction at the positions of the converter protrusion and the inverter protrusion. Detailed Implementation

[0015] Hereinafter, embodiments of the power control unit of the present invention will be described. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.

[0016] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram showing the general structure of the power control unit 3 according to the embodiment. Figure 2 This is a diagram showing the DC-DC converter 1 of the embodiment as viewed from the lower surface side. Figure 3 This is a diagram showing the inverter 2 of the embodiment as viewed from the top surface side.

[0017] The power control unit 3 of this embodiment is, for example, mounted on an electric vehicle, for controlling the power supplied from the battery to the rotating motor. In the power control unit 3 of this embodiment, the DC-DC converter 1 and the inverter 2 are independent, and the DC-DC converter 1 is disposed on the inverter 2.

[0018] The DC-DC converter 1 includes a converter housing 100, which comprises: a housing body 10 housing the converter components; an upper cover 11 covering an opening formed on the upper surface of the housing body 10; and a water channel cover 12 covering an opening formed on the lower surface of the housing body 10. The water channel cover 12 is a cover member that seals the water channel provided in the lower part of the housing body 10. The upper cover 11 and the water channel cover 12 are fastened to the housing body 10 by bolts or the like as fastening members.

[0019] The inverter 2 includes an inverter housing 200, which comprises: a housing body 20 that houses inverter components; and an upper cover 21 that covers an opening formed on the upper surface of the housing body 20. The upper cover 21 is fastened to the housing body 20 by bolts or the like as fastening members.

[0020] The housing body 10 of DC-DC converter 1 and the housing body 20 of inverter 2 are fastened together by bolts or the like, which are fastening members, with the housing body 10 of DC-DC converter 1 placed on top of the housing body 20 of inverter 2.

[0021] In the power control unit 3 of the embodiment, such as Figure 1 As shown, a gap is formed between the converter housing 100 and the inverter housing 200 in the height direction of the power control unit 3. Furthermore, in the following description, the height direction of the power control unit 3 will also be simply referred to as the "height direction".

[0022] In the DC-DC converter 1, a converter protrusion 13 protruding toward the inverter 2 in the height direction is provided on the lower surface of the water channel cover 12 opposite to the inverter 2. In the inverter 2, an inverter protrusion 22 protruding toward the DC-DC converter 1 in the height direction is provided on the upper surface of the upper cover 21 opposite to the DC-DC converter 1. The converter protrusion 13 and the inverter protrusion 22 are respectively arranged on the water channel cover 12 and the upper cover 21 in a manner that their positions are aligned with each other in the length and width directions of the power control unit 3, forming a structure in which the converter protrusion 13 abuts against the inverter protrusion 22. Furthermore, in the following description, the length direction and width direction of the power control unit 3 will be simply referred to as the "length direction" and the "width direction," respectively.

[0023] Furthermore, in order to ensure that the converter protrusion 13 and the inverter protrusion 22 form an abutting structure, it is preferable to set the lower limit of the tolerance of the gap between the converter protrusion 13 and the inverter protrusion 22 to 0 or less. Additionally, it is preferable that the upper limit of the tolerance of the gap between the converter protrusion 13 and the inverter protrusion 22 is set based on the strength of the housing body 10 of the DC-DC converter 1.

[0024] Figure 4 This is an enlarged view of the cross-section obtained by cutting the power control unit 3 of the embodiment along the length direction at the positions of the converter protrusion 13 and the inverter protrusion 22.

[0025] In the power control unit 3 of the embodiment, such as Figure 4 As shown, water passages 14a and 14b for cooling water flow are provided in the lower part of the housing body 10, exposed through an opening formed in the lower part of the housing body 10 of the DC-DC converter 1. The water passages 14a and 14b are provided, for example, to cool the housing body 10, converter components, etc., by receiving heat generated from energizing the converter components via the cooling water flowing through the water passages 14a and 14b.

[0026] Furthermore, a flow-rectifying rib 15 is provided at the lower part of the housing body 10, protruding from the aforementioned opening. This flow-rectifying rib 15 is configured to separate water passages 14a and 14b in the length direction and is used to adjust the flow of cooling water flowing in water passages 14a and 14b. The flow-rectifying rib 15 has a receiving surface 16 at its top end that can contact the water passage cover 12. In the power control unit 3 of this embodiment, the converter protrusion 13 is positioned on the water passage cover 12 corresponding to the position of the flow-rectifying rib 15. That is, when the water passage cover 12 is viewed from below in the height direction, the converter protrusion 13 is positioned on the water passage cover 12 at the same position in both the length and width directions as the receiving surface 16 of the flow-rectifying rib 15. This allows the load borne by the converter protrusion 13 due to contact with the inverter protrusion 22 to be released towards the housing body 10 via the flow-rectifying rib 15, thus suppressing deformation of the water passage cover 12.

[0027] In the power control unit 3 of the embodiment, by making the converter protrusion 13 provided on the water channel cover 12 of the DC-DC converter 1 abut against the inverter protrusion 22 provided on the upper cover 21 of the inverter 2, the first resonance (membrane vibration) of the upper cover 21 constituting the upper surface of the inverter housing 200 can be suppressed, and the resonance sound from the gap between the converter housing 100 and the inverter housing 200 can be reduced.

[0028] Furthermore, the inverter protrusion 22 is preferably positioned near the center of the upper surface of the upper cover 21, within the range where the converter protrusion 13 can be disposed in the water channel cover 12 of the DC-DC converter 1. This allows the converter protrusion 13 to abut against the inverter protrusion 22 at locations where the amplitude of the primary resonance (membrane vibration) of the upper cover 21 is relatively large, effectively suppressing the primary resonance (membrane vibration) of the upper cover 21. Moreover, the number of inverter protrusions 22 is not limited to one; multiple inverter protrusions 22 can be provided in the upper cover 21 of the inverter 2, and multiple converter protrusions 13 can be provided in the water channel cover 12 of the DC-DC converter 1 corresponding to these multiple inverter protrusions 22.

[0029] Furthermore, in the power control unit 3 of the embodiment, by making the converter protrusion 13 abut against the inverter protrusion 22, the water channel cover 12 of the DC-DC converter 1 is pressed against the housing body 10 side, thereby suppressing the deformation of the water channel cover 12 caused by the rise of water pressure in the water channels 14a and 14b of the DC-DC converter 1, and improving the sealing performance.

Claims

1. A power control unit comprising an inverter having inverter components housed within an inverter housing and a converter having converter components housed within a converter housing, the converter being disposed on the inverter, and a gap being formed between the inverter housing and the converter housing, characterized in that, The inverter has an inverter protrusion on the side of the inverter housing opposite to the converter, protruding toward the converter side. The converter housing consists of a main housing portion and a lower cover that closes an opening formed on the lower surface of the main housing portion. The converter has a converter protrusion protruding toward the inverter side on the side of the lower cover opposite to the inverter. The inverter protrusion and the converter protrusion are configured to abut against each other. The converter protrusion is positioned on the lower cover in a manner corresponding to the position of the ribs that are exposed from the opening on the main body of the housing and can contact the lower cover.

2. The power control unit according to claim 1, characterized in that, The lower cover is a water passage cover that seals the water passages located at the lower part of the main body of the housing. The rib is a flow straightening rib used to adjust the flow of cooling water flowing in the water passage.

Images