Traction network for a motor vehicle

Abstract

Traction network (1) for a motor vehicle, wherein the traction network (1) has at least one high-voltage battery (2), an inverter (6), an electric machine (7), at least one intermediate circuit capacitor (C), a direct voltage charging connection (11) and an alternating voltage charging connection, wherein a rectifier (8) and a DC / DC converter (12) are arranged between the alternating voltage charging connection and the high-voltage battery (2), wherein the DC / DC converter (12) is additionally arranged between the high-voltage battery (2) and the inverter (6), wherein the DC / DC converter (12) is designed as a bidirectional DC / DC converter, characterized in that a cooling plate (20) is provided, wherein at least the inverter (6), the DC / DC converter (12), the at least one intermediate circuit capacitor (C) and the rectifier (8) with its associated inductances (L) are arranged on the cooling plate (20).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a traction network for a motor vehicle.

[0002] The typical structure of a traction network consists of a traction battery, an inverter, and an electric motor. Many different topologies exist for the design of the individual components of such a traction network. To reduce currents, attempts are made to operate with the highest possible voltages on the vehicle side. For example, traction networks are known in which the nominal voltage of the traction battery is 800 V. This leads to problems with the dielectric strength of the semiconductor switches, so 3-level inverters have been proposed for such traction networks, as described, for example, in DE 10 2016 206 945 A1. Another problem is the inconsistent charging infrastructure, where both 400 V and 800 V DC charging stations are available. Depending on the topology used, the maximum charging power cannot be fully utilized or the circuitry complexity is very high.

[0003] Furthermore, it is often desired that charging with alternating current be possible. In this case, a rectifier is located between the AC charging port and the high-voltage battery, converting the alternating current into direct current. A DC / DC converter may also be provided, which adjusts the rectified voltage to the voltage level of the high-voltage battery.

[0004] From DE 10 2019 106 485 A1 a Weissach rectifier arrangement is known which can be adapted to various configurations on the AC charging side.

[0005] A traction network of this type is known from DE 10 2019 209 654 A1. Similar traction networks are known from DE 10 2015 219 863 A1, DE 10 2015 207 413 A1, DE 10 2022 202 154 B3, and DE 20 2018 001 504 U1.

[0006] From DE 10 2019 117 345 A1 a high-voltage battery is known which has two battery units, whereby the two battery units can be connected in parallel or in series by means of switching units.

[0007] The invention is based on the technical problem of designing a generic traction network in a compact manner.

[0008] The solution to the technical problem results from the traction network with the features of claim 1. Further advantageous embodiments of the invention result from the subclaims.

[0009] The traction network for a motor vehicle has at least one high-voltage battery, an inverter, an electric motor, at least one intermediate circuit capacitor, a direct current charging connection, and an alternating current charging connection. A rectifier and a DC / DC converter are arranged between the alternating current charging connection and the high-voltage battery, with the DC / DC converter additionally arranged between the high-voltage battery and the inverter, and the DC / DC converter is designed as a bidirectional DC / DC converter. A cooling plate is provided, with at least the inverter, the DC / DC converter, the at least one intermediate circuit capacitor, and the rectifier, along with its associated inductors, being arranged on the cooling plate. This results in a very compact design, since only central cooling is required.Preferably, the components are arranged on both the top and bottom of the cooling plate. This is possible because the single DC / DC converter performs a dual function, eliminating the need for a separate DC / DC converter. Furthermore, the DC / DC converter also allows for smaller dimensions of the intermediate circuit capacitor. The DC / DC converter is preferably designed as a bidirectional boost / buck converter.

[0010] In one embodiment, the cooling plate is designed as a liquid-flow cooling plate, wherein the liquid is preferably water. The cooling plate is preferably made of die-cast aluminum.

[0011] In a further embodiment, the rectifier, the inverter and the DC / DC converter have a common central controller, which further saves components and facilitates integration on the one common cooling plate.

[0012] In another embodiment, the DC / DC converter is designed as a three-phase interleaved DC / DC converter, which is preferably asymmetrical, meaning one phase is dimensioned for lower power. This reduces losses in low-power applications, as only the weaker phase, where losses are lower, is used. This also requires less cooling power.

[0013] In another embodiment, the rectifier is designed as a unidirectional Vienna rectifier, a bidirectional neutral-point-clamped rectifier, or a Weissach rectifier. The advantage of a unidirectional Vienna rectifier is that it is very robust, requires few components, and is easily scalable. This simplifies integration on a single cooling plate. The bidirectional rectifier, on the other hand, allows for feedback into the external grid, while the Weissach rectifier allows easy adaptation to various external AC charging structures.

[0014] In a further embodiment, the DC / DC converter has a switching module configured such that, in a first switching position, the DC / DC converter is connected to the input terminals of the inverter and, in a second switching position, to the output terminals of the rectifier. This also ensures that the electric motor is not energized when charging the high-voltage battery, thus preventing unwanted drive torque from being generated.

[0015] In another embodiment, the high-voltage battery comprises two battery units with the same nominal voltage and a switching module. The switching module is designed such that the two battery units can be connected either in parallel or in series. For example, the nominal voltage is 400 V, so the high-voltage battery is available for the drive at 400 V or 800 V, thus reducing the required currents. Appropriate wiring can ensure that the voltages of the two battery units are matched before being connected in parallel to reduce compensating currents.

[0016] In a further embodiment, a common interference suppression filter is assigned to the DC / DC converter and the inverter, which further saves components.

[0017] In a further embodiment, switching elements of the switching module of the DC / DC converter are designed as relays and / or switching elements of the switching module of the high-voltage battery are designed as relays, so that galvanic isolation can be achieved in each case.

[0018] The invention is explained in more detail below using preferred embodiments. The figures show: Fig. 1 a schematic representation of a traction network, Fig. 2 a schematic representation of a traction network with a three-phase interleaved DC / DC converter in a first embodiment, Fig. 3 a schematic representation of a traction network with a three-phase interleaved DC / DC converter in a second embodiment, Fig. 4 a perspective view of a cooling plate and Fig. 5 a perspective view of the cooling plate with another circuit board.

[0019] In the Fig. Figure 1 schematically shows the basic structure of a traction network 1. The traction network 1 has a high-voltage battery 2, which has two battery units 3 and a switching module 4. The traction network also has a DC / DC converter 12, an inverter 6, an electric machine 7, and a rectifier 8. The rectifier 8 has three inputs L1-L3, each of which has an inductance L arranged thereon, the other ends of which form an AC voltage connection for an external AC voltage source 10, with a neutral conductor of the AC voltage source 10 being connected to a connection between the neutral points of the rectifier 8 and the DC / DC converter 12. The DC / DC converter 12 is preferably a bidirectional boost / buck converter that boosts the rectified voltage at the output of the rectifier 8 to the voltage of the high-voltage battery 2.Furthermore, the traction network 1 has DC voltage connections 11, which are connected to the switching module 4 of the high-voltage battery 2. By means of the switching module 4, the two battery units 3 can be connected either in parallel or in series. Furthermore, the switching module 4 can have means for compensating voltage differences between the battery units 3. If the battery units 3 have a nominal voltage of 400 V, for example, charging can be carried out at the DC voltage charging connections 11 either with 400 V or 800 V. The means for compensating the voltage differences reduce compensating currents during parallel connection. This voltage compensation can be achieved in various ways, for example by means of cell balancing.By means of the DC / DC converter 12, a desired operating point on the electric machine 7 can be set by means of the inverter 6, independently of the voltage of the high-voltage battery 2, whereby recuperation energy can be fed back into the high-voltage battery 2 due to the bidirectional design.

[0020] In the Fig. 2 is now a traction network 1 according to Fig. 1, wherein an AC voltage filter 13 and a DC voltage filter 14 are also shown. Furthermore, a possible circuit for the DC / DC converter 12 is shown, with which the DC / DC converter 12 can be operated both as a boost converter and as a buck converter. It is further indicated that the circuit shown is present three times in parallel in order to divide the power. The three phases can be controlled with a time offset. This represents a three-phase interleaved DC / DC converter 12, wherein the three-phase interleaved DC / DC converter 12 is preferably asymmetrical, i.e. one phase is designed for lower currents or power. It is further indicated that a neutral point of the high-voltage battery 2 is connected to a neutral point of the DC / DC converter 12. Furthermore, a switching module 15 is shown in the DC / DC converter 12. Switching elements, which are preferably designed as relays, are arranged in the switching module 15.Using the switching elements, the inverter 6 can be separated from the DC / DC converter 12 during charging with alternating voltage, so that the DC+, N, and DC- outputs of the rectifier 8 are connected to points P1-P3 of the DC / DC converter 12. The intermediate circuit capacitor C is formed by two capacitors C1 and C2, which are shown here as part of the DC / DC converter 12. The half-bridges of the DC / DC converter 12 are stacked here, so the transistors do not have to be designed for such high blocking voltages. However, this requires four transistors per half-bridge, as well as two inductors. This complicates integration on a cooling plate.

[0021] In the Fig. 3 shows an alternative design for the DC / DC converter 12, with only two transistors per half-bridge, with two half-bridges each connected at their center taps via an inductance L DC / DCare connected to each other. For example, the upper phase is dimensioned for low power, which is then used solely in the lower power range of the electric machine 7. Accordingly, the transistors of the two half-bridges of this phase as well as the inductance L DC / DC this phase can be designed to be smaller. This also represents an asymmetric three-phase interleaved DC / DC converter 12. It should be noted that instead of the divided capacitors (e.g., C1, C2), a single capacitor can also be used.

[0022] In the Fig. Figure 4 shows a perspective view of how all components generating significant heat loss are arranged on a common cooling plate 20. A control board 23 for the rectifier 8 and the DC / DC converter 12 is arranged on the underside 21 of the cooling plate 20. Furthermore, the inductors L of the rectifier 8 are mounted, two of which are connected in series, so that six inductors L are shown here (instead of three as in Fig. 3). Furthermore, the inductances L DC / DC of the DC / DC converter 12 is arranged on the underside 21 of the cooling plate 20, as well as three half-bridges HB, the other three half-bridges being arranged on the upper side 22 of the cooling plate 20, the electrical connection between inductors L DC / DCand the three half-bridges on the top side 22 by busbars 24. The top busbar 24 can also be somewhat narrower than the other two busbars 24, since it is assigned to the phase for lower power. The intermediate circuit capacitor C and a control board 25 with the gate driver for the inverter 6 as well as the power modules 26 for the inverter 6 are then arranged on the top side 22 of the cooling plate 20. Thus, a single cooling plate 20, which is preferably fluid-permeated, is sufficient to cool all components that generate significant heat loss, thus enabling a very compact design.

[0023] In the Fig.5 shows in perspective how the cooling plate 20 or the components arranged on it are connected to a further printed circuit board 27 on which the AC voltage filters 13 of the rectifier 8 and a common interference suppression filter 28 for the DC / DC converter 12 and the inverter 6 are arranged. List of reference symbols 1 traction network 2 high-voltage batteries 3 Battery unit 4 Switching module 6 inverters 7 Electric machine 8 rectifiers 10 AC voltage source 11 DC charging port 12 DC / DC converters 13 AC filters 20 cooling plate 21 Bottom 22 Top 23 Control board 24 busbar 25 Control board 26 Power module 27 circuit board 28 interference filters L DC / DCInductances of the DC / DC converter L Inductances of the rectifier C DC link capacitor N Neutral point

Claims

[1] Traction network (1) for a motor vehicle, wherein the traction network (1) has at least one high-voltage battery (2), an inverter (6), an electric machine (7), at least one intermediate circuit capacitor (C), a DC charging connection (11) and an AC charging connection, wherein a rectifier (8) and a DC / DC converter (12) are arranged between the AC charging connection and the high-voltage battery (2), wherein the DC / DC converter (12) is additionally arranged between the high-voltage battery (2) and the inverter (6), wherein the DC / DC converter (12) is designed as a bidirectional DC / DC converter, characterized by that a cooling plate (20) is provided, wherein at least the inverter (6), the DC / DC converter (12), the at least one intermediate circuit capacitor (C) and the rectifier (8) with its associated inductances (L) are arranged on the cooling plate (20). [2] Traction network according to claim 1, characterized bythat the cooling plate (20) is designed as a liquid-flow cooling plate. [3] Traction network according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by that the rectifier (8), inverter (6) and DC / DC converter (12) have a common central controller. [4] Traction network according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the DC / DC converter (12) is designed as a three-phase interleaved DC / DC converter. [5] Traction network according to claim 4, characterized by that the DC / DC converter (12) is designed as an asymmetric three-phase interleaved DC / DC converter. [6] Traction network according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the rectifier (8) is designed as a unidirectional Vienna rectifier or as a bidirectional neutral-point-clamped rectifier or as a Weissach rectifier. [7] Traction network according to one of the preceding claims, characterized bythat the DC / DC converter (12) has a switching module (15) which is designed such that in a first switching position the DC / DC converter (12) is connected to the input terminals of the inverter (6) and in a further switching position is connected to the output terminals of the rectifier (8). [8] Traction network according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the high-voltage battery (2) has two battery units (3) with the same nominal voltage and a switching module (4), wherein the switching module (4) is designed such that the two battery units (3) can be connected either in parallel or in series. [9] Traction network according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that a common interference suppression filter (28) is assigned to the DC / DC converter (12) and the inverter (6). [10] Traction network according to one of claims 7 or 8, characterized bythat switching elements of the switching module (15) of the DC / DC converter (12) are designed as relays and / or switching elements of the switching module (4) of the high-voltage battery (2) are designed as relays.

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