Inverter assembly and vehicle motor

Abstract

The utility model provides an inverter assembly and a vehicle motor. The inverter assembly comprises a housing, a circuit board assembly, a capacitor assembly and a heat dissipation plate, wherein the circuit board assembly, the capacitor assembly and the heat dissipation plate are accommodated in the housing. The shell comprises an annular side wall and a bottom wall connected with the side wall; the circuit board assembly is an integrated piece and comprises a plurality of power modules with embedded power chips and a central control circuit, and the power modules are electrically connected with the central control circuit and the capacitor assembly respectively; and the power module is arranged on the heat exchange surface of the heat dissipation plate. The inverter assembly provided by the utility model simplifies the circuit structure, and has the advantages of compact structure, high integration level, small volume, wide applicability and the like.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the technical field of automotive parts, specifically to an inverter assembly and an automotive motor. Background Technology

[0002] With the rapid development of the new energy vehicle industry, the on-board inverter, as a core component of the electric drive system, plays a crucial role in converting the direct current output from the power battery into alternating current with adjustable current and frequency. This drives the motor and precisely controls its speed and torque. The efficiency of the inverter can affect the overall energy utilization efficiency of the vehicle; a high-efficiency inverter can reduce energy loss and increase driving range. Given the stringent requirements for vehicle space layout and the urgent need for lightweight design, the integration, power density, and heat dissipation performance of inverters have become core directions for technological upgrades.

[0003] Current inverters have the following problems: the inverter housing requires integrated circuit boards, power boards, cooling devices, capacitors and other components, resulting in a large overall size of the inverter. Due to the limited space in vehicles, inverters need to be compact and efficient. The architecture of the inverter assembly, including its size and weight, are also factors that need to be considered in actual use.

[0004] It should be noted that the information disclosed in the background section above is only used to enhance the understanding of the background of this utility model, and therefore may include information that does not constitute prior art known to those skilled in the art. Utility Model Content

[0005] To address the problems in the existing technology, the purpose of this utility model is to provide an inverter assembly and an automotive motor, which has the advantages of compact structure, high integration, small size and wide applicability.

[0006] The first aspect of this utility model provides an inverter assembly, including a housing and a circuit board assembly, a capacitor assembly and a heat sink disposed in the housing;

[0007] The housing includes an annular sidewall and a bottom wall connected to the sidewall;

[0008] The circuit board assembly is a single unit, including a power module with multiple embedded power chips and a central control circuit. The power module is electrically connected to the central control circuit and the capacitor assembly, respectively.

[0009] The power module is disposed on the heat exchange surface of the heat sink.

[0010] According to a first aspect of the present invention, the DC-LINK capacitor of the capacitor assembly is arranged in parallel with the heat sink.

[0011] According to a first aspect of the present invention, the DC-LINK capacitor of the capacitor assembly is arranged perpendicularly to the heat sink.

[0012] According to a first aspect of the present invention, the inverter assembly further includes at least one cooling channel;

[0013] The bottom wall of the shell is provided with an inlet and an outlet;

[0014] The at least one cooling channel is disposed in the bottom wall of the housing, and the two ends of the at least one cooling channel are connected to the inlet and the outlet, respectively.

[0015] According to a first aspect of the present invention, the inverter assembly further includes at least one cooling channel;

[0016] The bottom wall of the shell is provided with an inlet and an outlet;

[0017] The heat sink, the circuit board assembly, and the capacitor assembly are disposed between the at least one cooling channel and the bottom wall of the housing.

[0018] According to a first aspect of the present invention, the heat exchange surface of the cooling channel, the heat sink, the circuit board assembly, and the capacitor assembly are stacked in sequence.

[0019] According to a first aspect of the present invention, the at least one cooling channel is a matrix-arranged heat dissipation fin structure, and the heat dissipation fins abut against the heat dissipation plate.

[0020] According to a first aspect of the present invention, the heat sink is connected to the circuit board assembly via a thermally conductive medium layer.

[0021] The second aspect of this utility model provides an automotive motor, including a motor assembly and the inverter assembly described in the first aspect.

[0022] According to a second aspect of the present invention, the motor assembly includes a motor housing, a stator assembly housed within the motor housing, and a rotor assembly.

[0023] The bottom wall of the inverter assembly housing is away from the back of the motor housing.

[0024] Compared with the prior art, the inverter assembly of this utility model simplifies the circuit structure and has the advantages of compact structure, high integration, small size and wide applicability. Attached Figure Description

[0025] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with this application and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of this application. Other features, objects, and advantages of this invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of non-limiting embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is obvious that the drawings described below are merely some embodiments of this invention, and those skilled in the art can obtain other drawings based on these drawings without inventive effort. Furthermore, the drawings are merely illustrative diagrams of this disclosure and are not necessarily drawn to scale. The same reference numerals in the drawings denote the same or similar parts, and therefore, repeated descriptions of them will be omitted. Some block diagrams shown in the drawings are functional entities and do not necessarily correspond to physically or logically independent entities.

[0026] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the inverter assembly according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the inverter assembly according to the second embodiment of the present invention; and

[0028] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the inverter assembly according to the third embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0029] The following specific examples illustrate the implementation of this utility model. Those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of this utility model from the content disclosed herein. This utility model can also be implemented or applied through other different specific embodiments. Various details in this utility model can also be modified or changed according to different viewpoints and application systems without departing from the spirit of this utility model. It should be noted that, unless otherwise specified, the embodiments and features in the embodiments of this utility model can be combined with each other.

[0030] The embodiments of this utility model will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, so that those skilled in the art can easily implement it. This utility model can be embodied in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein.

[0031] In the representation of this utility model, the terms "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "example," "specific example," or "some examples," etc., refer to specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics represented in connection with that embodiment or example, which are included in at least one embodiment or example of this utility model. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics represented may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples. Moreover, without contradiction, those skilled in the art can combine and integrate different embodiments or examples represented in this utility model, as well as features of different embodiments or examples.

[0032] To clearly illustrate this utility model, components unrelated to the description are omitted, and the same or similar constituent elements throughout the specification are given the same reference numerals.

[0033] Throughout this specification, when it is said that a device is "connected" to another device, this includes not only "direct connection" but also "indirect connection" by placing other components in between. Furthermore, when it is said that a device "comprises" a certain constituent element, unless otherwise stated otherwise, this does not exclude other constituent elements, but rather implies that other constituent elements may be included.

[0034] When we say that a device is "above" another device, this can mean that it is directly above the other device, or it can mean that other devices are present in between. Conversely, when we say that a device is "directly" "above" another device, there are no other devices present in between.

[0035] Although the terms first, second, etc., are used in some instances herein to refer to various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are used only to distinguish one element from another. For example, first interface and second interface, etc., are used. Furthermore, as used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to also include the plural forms unless the context indicates otherwise. It should be further understood that the terms “comprising,” “including,” indicate the presence of features, steps, operations, elements, components, items, kinds, and / or groups, but do not exclude the presence, occurrence, or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, items, kinds, and / or groups. The terms “or” and “and / or” as used herein are interpreted as inclusive, or mean any one or any combination thereof. Thus, “A, B, or C” or “A, B, and / or C” means “any one of: A; B; C; A and B; A and C; B and C; A, B, and C.” Exceptions to this definition will only occur if the combination of elements, functions, steps, or operations is inherently mutually exclusive in some way.

[0036] The technical terms used herein are for reference only to specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The singular form used herein includes the plural form unless the statement explicitly indicates otherwise. The word "comprising" as used in this specification means to specify a particular characteristic, region, integer, step, operation, element, and / or component, and does not exclude the presence or addition of other characteristics, regions, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components.

[0037] Although not explicitly defined, all terms, including technical and scientific terms used herein, shall have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains. Terms defined in commonly used dictionaries shall be further interpreted as having a meaning consistent with relevant technical documents and the content of this present instruction, and shall not be over-interpreted as having an ideal or overly formulaic meaning unless otherwise defined.

[0038] The structure of the inverter assembly and vehicle motor of this utility model is further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of protection of this utility model.

[0039] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the inverter assembly according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Specifically, the inverter assembly includes a housing 1a and a circuit board assembly 2a, a capacitor assembly 3a, and a heat sink 4 housed in the housing 1a. The housing 1a includes an annular sidewall 11 and a bottom wall 12a connected to the sidewall 11. The housing 1a can be made of engineering plastics, such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE, Teflon) or polyimide (PI). Housings made of the above materials have excellent insulation properties and corrosion resistance.

[0040] The circuit board assembly 2a of this invention is a single unit, including a power module 21a with multiple embedded power chips and a central control data board (CCDB). The power chips can be power semiconductor chips such as IGBTs and MOSFETs. The power module and the DC-LINK capacitor of the capacitor assembly are electrically connected. The DC-LINK capacitor smooths and filters the output voltage, absorbs high-amplitude pulsating voltages generated on the DC bus, and prevents voltage overshoot and transient overvoltages from the DC bus from damaging the power chips, ensuring the inverter can operate normally. In this embodiment, the collector-emitter junctions of the multiple power chips can be connected to the DC-LINK capacitor (bus capacitor) of the capacitor assembly through a low-impedance path, thereby reducing switching losses. Using power modules for power conversion in the inverter assembly improves power efficiency and quality, exhibiting high energy efficiency and environmental friendliness. Simultaneously, the power module 21a is communicatively connected to the central control circuit, which implements motor control algorithms, signal processing, and communication functions.

[0041] The integrated circuit board assembly 2a of this utility model can embed the power module 21a and the central control circuit into a printed circuit board (PCBa), thereby achieving a smaller size, more compact structure, and higher integration. The power module and central control circuit can be adjusted according to the inverter's operating conditions. In this utility model, the power module 21a is disposed on the heat exchange surface of the heat sink 4.

[0042] In the first embodiment, the DC-LINK capacitor of the capacitor assembly 3a, the circuit board assembly 2a, and the heat sink 4 are arranged vertically, that is, the heat sink 4, the circuit board assembly 2a (especially the power module 21a part), and the DC-LINK capacitor are stacked sequentially. The inverter assembly may also include at least one cooling channel. The bottom wall 12a of the housing 1a is provided with an inlet 61a and an outlet 62a. At least one cooling channel is disposed in the bottom wall 12a of the housing 1a, and the two ends of the at least one cooling channel are connected to the inlet 61a and the outlet 62a, respectively. The inlet 61a and the outlet 62a are respectively connected to an external cooling system. Liquid cooling medium can enter the cooling channel through the inlet 61a and flow out through the outlet 62a, cooling the heat sink 4 and the power module 21a thereon through the cooling channel. The liquid cooling medium can be cooling oil, in which case the cooling channel is an oil-cooled channel; or it can be water, in which case the cooling channel is a water-cooled channel. In some embodiments, the water-cooled channel and the oil-cooled channel can be arranged in parallel.

[0043] In the first embodiment, the cooling channel is a matrix-arranged heat dissipation fin structure 6, and the heat dissipation fins 6 abut against the heat sink 4 to form the heat exchange surface of the cooling channel. The heat sink 4, the circuit board assembly 2a, and the capacitor assembly are stacked in sequence. In the first embodiment, the capacitor assembly 3a can be integrated with a support plate, which can be regarded as part of the housing. The positive and negative leads of the DC-LINK capacitor of the capacitor assembly 3a are electrically connected to the power module 21a using surface mount technology (SMT), selective soldering, or clamping.

[0044] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the inverter assembly according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The DC-LINK capacitor of the capacitor assembly 3b, the circuit board assembly 2b, and the heat sink 4 are also arranged vertically. Unlike the first embodiment, the inverter assembly includes at least one cooling channel that forms an accommodating space with the bottom wall 12b of the housing 1b, for accommodating the heat sink 4, the circuit board assembly 2b, and the capacitor assembly 3b. The bottom wall 12b of the housing 1b is provided with an inlet 61b and an outlet 62b. When the inverter assembly is located on the back of the motor housing, the cooling channel is on one side of the back of the motor housing. The heat sink 4, the circuit board assembly 2b, and the capacitor assembly 3b are sequentially moved away from the motor housing. In this case, the cooling channel can isolate the motor from the power module 21b, which has an embedded power chip, thus improving the electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) performance of the vehicle motor. Simultaneously, the cooling channel can prevent heat generated on one side of the motor from being conducted to the circuit board assembly, thereby affecting the operation of the power module 21b.

[0045] Figure 3This is a schematic diagram of the inverter assembly according to the third embodiment of the present invention, in which the DC-LINK capacitor of the capacitor assembly is arranged in parallel with the heat sink 4. The bottom wall of the housing 1c is divided into two parts: bottom wall 121c and bottom wall 122c. Bottom wall 121c is provided with an inlet 61c and an outlet 62c, and cooling channels are provided in bottom wall 121c that are respectively connected to the inlet 61c and the outlet 62c. Similarly, the cooling channels can be a matrix arrangement of heat dissipation fins 6. When the inlet 61c and the outlet 62c are connected to the external cooling system, the cooling medium flows through the cooling channels to cool the heat sink 4 and the power module 21c on it. The housing on the bottom wall 122c side houses the capacitor assembly 3c, and the positive and negative electrodes of the DC-LINK capacitor of the capacitor assembly 3c can be electrically connected to the power module through surface mount technology. Since the DC-LINK capacitor is relatively large, compared with the structure of the first embodiment where it is arranged vertically with the circuit board assembly 2b and the heat sink 4, the inverter assembly in the third embodiment can be flattened or thinned. Furthermore, the height of the cavity at the bottom wall 121c can be less than the height of the cavity at the bottom wall 122c, so that the inlet 61c and the outlet 62c are on the same plane as the bottom wall 122c, thereby facilitating installation and mating with other components.

[0046] In some embodiments, to improve the cooling effect of the heat sink on the circuit board assembly (power module), the heat sink 4 can be connected to the circuit board assembly via a thermally conductive medium layer 5. A thermally conductive medium layer, such as an epoxy resin-based thermally conductive adhesive layer, is disposed between the contact surfaces of the heat sink and the circuit board assembly (power module). By filling the tiny gaps between the two surfaces with the thermally conductive medium, thermal resistance is reduced, thereby improving heat dissipation efficiency and ensuring that the heat generated by the heat-generating components of the power module can be more effectively transferred to the heat sink 4 and dissipated. The thickness of the thermally conductive medium layer can be 2–3 mm, ensuring that heat is conducted more quickly from the heat-generating element (power module) to the surface of the heat sink 4, shortening the heat conduction path through the thermally conductive medium layer, and improving heat dissipation efficiency.

[0047] Typically, the above structure is obtained by coating a thermally conductive medium onto the heat sink 4 and then curing the medium. In some embodiments, lamination is performed at a higher temperature of 250 to 280 degrees Celsius while simultaneously applying a pressure of 10 to 20 MPa. High temperature helps change the molecular structure of the thermally conductive medium, forming tighter bonds, while pressure ensures that the medium better fills the gaps and adheres tightly to both surfaces, ultimately achieving the desired curing effect and heat dissipation performance. The thermally conductive medium, curing temperature / pressure, etc., can be adjusted according to the material and structure of the heat sink and circuit board assembly.

[0048] This utility model also provides an automotive motor, including a motor assembly and an inverter assembly (as described in the first aspect). The motor assembly includes a motor housing, a stator assembly housed within the motor housing, and a rotor assembly, among other components. Typically, the diameter of the inverter assembly housing is smaller than the diameter of the motor housing. The inverter assembly is located on the back side of the motor housing, forming a series arrangement where the bottom wall of the inverter assembly housing is away from the back side of the motor housing. The inverter assembly is positioned on the non-output side of the motor assembly. The cooling systems of the motor assembly and the inverter assembly are integrated in series and share a cooling system. This integrated design of the motor assembly and the inverter assembly gives the entire automotive motor advantages such as small axial dimensions, compact structure, convenient assembly and testing, and minimal modification to traditional vehicles.

[0049] Although embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described above, it is understood that the above embodiments are exemplary and should not be construed as limiting the present invention. Those skilled in the art can make changes, modifications, substitutions and variations to the above embodiments within the scope of the present invention.

[0050] The above description, in conjunction with specific preferred embodiments, provides a further detailed explanation of the present invention. It should not be construed that the specific implementation of the present invention is limited to these descriptions. For those skilled in the art, various simple deductions or substitutions can be made without departing from the concept of the present invention, and all such modifications and substitutions should be considered within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An inverter assembly, characterized by, Includes a housing and circuit board assembly, capacitor assembly and heat sink housed in the housing; The housing includes an annular sidewall and a bottom wall connected to the sidewall; The circuit board assembly is a single unit, including a power module with multiple embedded power chips and a central control circuit. The power module is electrically connected to the central control circuit and the capacitor assembly, respectively. The power module is disposed on the heat exchange surface of the heat sink.

2. The inverter assembly of claim 1, wherein, The DC-LINK capacitor of the capacitor assembly is arranged in parallel with the heat sink.

3. The inverter assembly of claim 1, wherein, The DC-LINK capacitor of the capacitor assembly is arranged perpendicularly to the heat sink.

4. The inverter assembly of claim 1, wherein, It also includes at least one cooling channel; The bottom wall of the shell is provided with an inlet and an outlet; The at least one cooling channel is disposed in the bottom wall of the housing, and the two ends of the at least one cooling channel are connected to the inlet and the outlet, respectively.

5. The inverter assembly of claim 1, wherein, It also includes at least one cooling channel; The bottom wall of the shell is provided with an inlet and an outlet; The heat sink, the circuit board assembly, and the capacitor assembly are disposed between the at least one cooling channel and the bottom wall of the housing.

6. The inverter assembly of claim 4 or 5, wherein, The heat exchange surface of the cooling channel, the heat sink, the circuit board assembly, and the capacitor assembly are stacked in sequence.

7. The inverter assembly of claim 4 or 5, wherein, The at least one cooling channel is a matrix-arranged heat dissipation fin structure, and the heat dissipation fins abut against the heat dissipation plate.

8. The inverter assembly of claim 6, wherein, The heat sink is connected to the circuit board assembly through a thermally conductive medium layer.

9. An electric motor for a vehicle, characterized by comprising: It includes the motor assembly and the inverter assembly as described in any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. The vehicle electric motor of claim 9, wherein, The motor assembly includes a motor housing, a stator assembly housed within the motor housing, and a rotor assembly. The bottom wall of the inverter assembly housing is away from the back of the motor housing.

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