HIGH-VOLTAGE COMPONENT

Abstract

The invention relates to a high-voltage component (1), at least comprising a housing (2) and a high-voltage terminal (3) arranged therein, wherein: the housing (2) comprises a cover element (4) that closes an opening (5) in the housing (2); the high-voltage terminal (3) is accessible from the outside exclusively via the opening (5); the cover element (4) is detachably connected to the housing (2) via a number of connecting elements (6, 7); and a cable (8) extends, starting from a non-detachable first connection (9) arranged on the housing (2), outside the housing (2) and at least in part over the cover element (4) to a second connection (10) arranged on the housing (2) in such a way that at least a first connecting element (6) is covered by the cable (8) and thus not accessible from the outside.

Description

[0001] High-voltage component

[0002] The invention relates to a high-voltage component, comprising at least a housing and a high-voltage terminal arranged therein. The high-voltage component is used in particular in the automotive sector and is, for example, an electric motor, e.g., a traction drive.

[0003] High voltage, particularly in the automotive sector, refers to a voltage of more than 60 volts (DC) or 30 volts (AC). Low voltage, therefore, refers to a voltage of no more than 60 volts (DC) or 30 volts (AC).

[0004] Such high-voltage components require special protection due to the increased risk of injury to people. In particular, protective measures must be provided to protect workshop personnel from electric shock.

[0005] Removing a cover used to close an opening on the housing of the high-voltage component, for example to disconnect or enable a connection between a high-voltage bus bar of an inverter and high-voltage terminals of a stator of an electric motor, poses a risk of high-voltage electric shock during maintenance / servicing.

[0006] Technical solutions are required, for example, to discharge the high voltage in an inverter before the lid is opened, thus preventing electric shock. Conventional solutions, such as additional contact switches on the lid that can detect when the lid is opened, pose a risk of malfunction and are expensive.

[0007] There is a constant need to improve safety when handling electrical components, especially high-voltage components. The object of the present invention is to at least partially solve the problems cited with reference to the prior art. In particular, a high-voltage component is to be proposed that can be serviced or maintained without the risk of high-voltage electric shock.

[0008] A high-voltage component with the features according to claim 1 contributes to solving these problems. Advantageous further developments are the subject of the dependent claims. The features listed individually in the claims can be combined with one another in a technologically expedient manner and can be supplemented by explanatory facts from the description and / or details from the figures, whereby further embodiments of the invention are shown.

[0009] A high-voltage component is proposed, at least comprising a housing and a high-voltage connection arranged therein. The housing comprises a cover element that closes an opening in the housing, wherein the high-voltage connection is accessible from the outside (i.e., from outside the housing to a person) exclusively via the opening. The cover element is detachably connected to the housing via a plurality of (first and second) connecting elements. A cable extends outside the housing and, starting from a non-detachable first connection arranged on the housing, at least partially over the cover element to a second connection arranged on the housing such that at least one first connecting element is concealed by the cable and thus not accessible from the outside. The cable is electrically connected to the high-voltage component at the second connection.Releasing the second connection causes the high-voltage component to discharge.

[0010] A voltage of more than 60 volts is applied to the high-voltage connection. The cover element is connected to the housing in particular via a plurality of connecting elements (e.g. screws, clips, pins, etc.). Each of these connecting elements can be released from the outside. In particular, the cover element can only be removed from the housing after all connecting elements have been released. The at least one first connecting element (or all of the first connecting elements) is covered by the cable and is therefore not accessible from the outside, i.e. the first connecting element can only be released when the cable is moved away from this position. In particular, the cover element can only be moved after the at least one first connecting element (or after all of the first connecting elements) have been released, so that the opening is at least partially exposed.

[0011] The first connecting element is therefore particularly used to describe connecting elements which, when the cable is connected to the high-voltage component at the second connection, are covered by the cable and are therefore not accessible from the outside.

[0012] The term "second connecting element" refers, in particular, to connecting elements which, when the cable is connected to the high-voltage component at the second connection point, are not covered by the cable and are thus accessible from the outside at any time or independently of the cable. In addition to the at least one first connecting element, the cover element can also be connected to the housing by at least one second connecting element. Each second connecting element can therefore be released at any time or independently of the cable. If the at least one first connecting element has not yet been released, the cover element continues to cover the opening and thus prevents external access to the high-voltage connection.

[0013] The cable extends in particular outside the housing and, starting from a non-detachable first connection arranged on the housing, at least partially over the cover element to a second connection arranged on the housing. The cable is electrically connected to the high-voltage component at the second connection, e.g. via a plug connection. After detaching the second connection (and possibly further fastenings), the cable can in particular be moved, e.g. around a pivot point realized by the first connection, such that the at least one first connecting element is accessible from the outside. Because detaching the second connection causes the high-voltage component to discharge, the cover element can be opened safely immediately after detaching the second connection.

[0014] In particular, the cable itself or through a cable guide connected to the cable has such a high resistance to deformation or a precisely coordinated length between the first connection and the second

[0015] Connection, so that when the cable is connected to the high-voltage component at the second connection, deformation of the cable is not possible at least to the extent that the at least one first connecting element would be accessible from the outside.

[0016] The release of the second connection causes, in particular, a disconnection of a circuit in a pin strip of the plug connection provided there, which, for example, discharges the high-voltage connection (e.g. of an inverter or power converter) accessible via the opening.

[0017] In particular, the cover element can only be moved after the at least one first connecting element has been released in such a way that the high-voltage connection is accessible from outside the housing via the opening.

[0018] In particular, at least two first connecting elements are concealed by the cable. This ensures that the cover element cannot be twisted about the first connecting element, for example, after all second connecting elements have been released. In particular, the cable is releasably connected to the housing between the first connection and the second connection via at least one first fastening. The first fastening can, for example, be a screw, clip, or pin connection. The first fastening can, in particular, be designed in a manner comparable to the connecting elements, i.e., have a screw, a clip, or a pin.

[0019] The first fastening serves in particular to further fix the cable to the housing, so that it is ensured that the at least one first connecting element is not accessible from the outside.

[0020] In particular, the at least one first connecting element is only accessible from the outside after the second connection and the at least one first fastening have been released.

[0021] In particular, the cable is at least partially arranged in a cable guide having a defined flexural rigidity or deformation resistance, wherein the cable is secured at least to the at least one first fastening element via the cable guide. The cable guide stiffens the cable, in particular, ensuring that the cable cannot be deformed in such a way that the at least one first connecting element would be accessible from the outside if the second connection is not released.

[0022] In particular, the second connection is a plug connection. In particular, the cable has a plug at this end which can be connected to a plug receptacle on the housing to form the plug connection. In particular, a (safety) circuit is closed with the plug connection, wherein releasing the second connection or the plug connection in particular causes a separation of the circuit, e.g. in a pin strip of the plug connection, whereby, for example, the high-voltage connection (e.g. of an inverter or power converter) accessible via the opening is discharged. In particular, the cable is a low-voltage connection and the second connection is a low-voltage connection. Thus, releasing the second connection does not pose a risk of (life-threatening) electric shock.

[0023] The low-voltage connection has a maximum voltage of 60 volts (DC) or 30 volts (AC).

[0024] In particular, at least the at least one (or each) first connecting element, optionally the (or each) second connecting element, comprises at least one screw.

[0025] In particular, the high-voltage component is a traction drive, and the high-voltage connection comprises an electrically conductive connection between an inverter and a stator of the traction drive. However, the described high-voltage component can also comprise other electrical components that have at least one covered high-voltage connection and one low-voltage connection (at the second connection).

[0026] In particular, the high-voltage component comprises an inverter that carries the high voltage and the traction drive connected to it. When the inverter is discharged, no high voltage is present at the high-voltage terminal.

[0027] The use of indefinite articles ("a", "an", "an" and "another"), particularly in the patent claims and the description reproducing them, is to be understood as such and not as a number. Terms or components introduced with them are therefore to be understood as occurring at least once and, in particular, as being able to occur multiple times. As a precaution, it should be noted that the numbers used here ("first", "second", ...) primarily serve (only) to distinguish between several similar objects, quantities or processes, and therefore do not necessarily prescribe any dependency and / or sequence of these objects, quantities or processes to one another. Should a dependency and / or sequence be required, this is explicitly stated here or it will be obvious to the person skilled in the art upon studying the specifically described embodiment.If a component can occur multiple times (“at least one”), the description of one of these components can apply equally to all or part of the majority of these components, but this is not mandatory.

[0028] The invention and the technical environment are explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying figures. It should be noted that the invention is not intended to be limited by the exemplary embodiments cited. In particular, unless explicitly stated otherwise, it is also possible to extract partial aspects of the facts explained in the figures and combine them with other components and findings from the present description. In particular, it should be noted that the figures, and in particular the proportions shown, are only schematic. They show:

[0029] Fig. 1 : a high-voltage component in an exploded view, in a perspective view;

[0030] Fig. 2: the high-voltage component according to Fig. 1 in a plan view;

[0031] Fig. 3: the high-voltage component according to Fig. 2 in a perspective side view;

[0032] Fig. 4: the high-voltage component according to Figs. 1 to 3, in a partial section along section line IV-IV of Fig. 2, in a perspective view from above; Fig. 5: the high-voltage component according to Figs. 1 to 4, after releasing the second connection and a first and a second fastening, in a perspective side view;

[0033] Fig. 6: a section of Fig. 5 in a side view in section along the section line VI-VI according to Fig. 2; and

[0034] Fig. 7: the high-voltage component according to Fig. 5 and 6 with pivoted cable and exposed cover element, in a top view.

[0035] Fig. 1 shows a high-voltage component 1 in an exploded view, in a perspective view. Fig. 2 shows the high-voltage component 1 according to Fig. 1 in a top view. Fig. 3 shows the high-voltage component 1 according to Fig. 2 in a perspective side view. Fig. 4 shows the high-voltage component 1 according to Figs. 1 to 3, in a partial section along the section line IV-IV according to Fig. 2, in a perspective view from above. Fig. 5 shows the high-voltage component 1 according to Figs. 1 to 4, after the second connection 10 and a first fastening 11 as well as a second fastening 13 have been released, in a perspective side view. Fig. 6 shows a section of Fig. 5 in a side view along the section line VI-VI of Fig. 2. Fig. 7 shows the high-voltage component 1 according to Figs. 5 and 6 with the cable 8 pivoted and the cover element 4 exposed, in a plan view. Figs. 1 to 7 are described together below.

[0036] The top view, side view, and top view can be seen in Fig. 1 and 2. The top view is a view along the exploded direction of the exploded view in Fig. 1. The side views are views from the right and left, respectively, of the high-voltage component 1 according to Fig. 2. The top view is a view from above of the high-voltage component 1 according to Fig. 2. The high-voltage component 1 comprises a housing 2 and a high-voltage terminal 3 (not shown in detail) arranged therein. The housing 2 comprises a cover element 4 that closes an opening 5 in the housing 2, wherein the high-voltage terminal 3 is accessible to a person from the outside (i.e., from outside the housing 2) only via the opening 5. The cover element 4 is detachably connected to the housing 3 via a plurality of (first and second) connecting elements 6, 7.A cable 8 extends outside the housing 3 and, starting from a non-detachable first connection 9 arranged on the housing 3, at least partially across the cover element 4 to a second connection 10 arranged on the housing 2 in such a way that three first connecting elements 6 are concealed by the cable 8 and thus not accessible from the outside. The cable 8 is electrically connected to the high-voltage component 1 at the second connection 10. Detaching the second connection 10 causes the high-voltage component 1 to discharge.

[0037] The high-voltage component 1 is a traction drive for a motor vehicle, and the high-voltage terminal 3 comprises an electrically conductive connection between an inverter and a stator (not shown in detail) of the traction drive. The inverter carries the high voltage. When the inverter is discharged, no high voltage is present at the high-voltage terminal 3.

[0038] The cover element 4 is connected to the housing 2 via six connecting elements 6, 7 designed as screws. Each of these connecting elements 6, 7 can be released from the outside. The cover element 4 can only be removed from the housing 2 after all connecting elements 6, 7 have been released. The first three connecting elements 6 are covered by the cable 8 and are therefore not accessible from the outside (see Figs. 2 and 4), i.e. the first connecting elements 6 can only be released when the cable 8 is moved away from this position (see Figs. 5, 6 and 7). The cover element 4 can only be moved after the first three connecting elements 6 have been released, so that the opening 5 is exposed. The second connecting elements 7 are connecting elements 6, 7 which, when the cable 8 is connected to the high-voltage component 1 at the second connection 10, are not covered by the cable 8 (see Figs. 2 to 4) and can therefore be accessed from the outside at any time.are accessible independently of the cable 8. In addition to the three first connecting elements 6, the cover element 4 is also connected to the housing 2 by three second connecting elements 7. Each second connecting element 7 can therefore be released at any time or independently of the cable 8, whereby, if the three first connecting elements 6 have not yet been released, the cover element 4 continues to cover the opening 5 and thus prevents external access to the high-voltage connection 3.

[0039] The cable 8 extends outside the housing 2 and, starting from a non-detachable first connection 9 arranged on the housing 2, at least partially over the cover element 4 to a second connection 10 arranged on the housing 2. The cable 8 is electrically connected to the high-voltage component 1 at the second connection 10 via a plug connection (see Figs. 1 to 3). After detaching the second connection 10 as well as a first fastening 11 and a second fastening 13, the cable 8 can be moved about a pivot point realized by the first connection 9 such that the three first connecting elements 6 are accessible from the outside. Because detaching the second connection 10 causes the high-voltage component 1 to discharge, the cover element 4 can be opened safely immediately after detaching the second connection 10.

[0040] The cable 8 itself and, in addition, through a cable guide 12 connected to the cable 8, has such a high resistance to deformation or a precisely coordinated length between the first connection 9 and the second connection 10 that, when the cable 8 is connected to the high-voltage component 1 at the second connection 10, deformation of the cable 8 is not possible, at least to such an extent that the first connecting elements 6 would be accessible from the outside.

[0041] The release of the second connection 10 causes a separation of an electrical circuit in a pin strip of the plug connection provided there, whereby the high-voltage connection 3 accessible via the opening 5 is discharged.

[0042] The cover element 4 can only be moved after the three first connecting elements 6 (and the second connecting elements 7) have been released so that the high-voltage connection 3 is accessible from outside the housing 2 via the opening 5.

[0043] The cable 8 is detachably connected to the housing 2 between the first connection 9 and the second connection 10 via a first fastening 11 and a second fastening 13. The first and second fastenings 11, 13 are each designed as a screw connection.

[0044] The first fastening 11 and the second fastening 13 serve to further fix the cable 8 to the housing 2, so that it is ensured that the first connecting elements 6 are not accessible from the outside.

[0045] The first connecting elements 6 are only accessible from the outside after the second connection 10 and the first fastening 11 as well as the second fastening 13 have been released.

[0046] The cable 8 is at least partially arranged in a cable guide 12 having a defined bending stiffness or a defined deformation resistance, wherein the cable 8 is fastened to the first fastening 11 and the second fastening 13 via the cable guide 12, or the cable guide is fastened to the housing 2 via the first fastening 11 and the second fastening 13. The cable guide 12 further stiffens the cable 8, ensuring that the cable 8 cannot be deformed in such a way that the three first connecting elements 6 would be accessible from the outside if the second connection 10 is not released.

[0047] The second connection 10 is designed as a plug connection. The cable 8 has a plug 14 at this end, which can be connected to a plug receptacle 15 on the housing 2 to form the plug connection or the second connection 10. The plug connection closes a (safety) circuit. Detaching the second connection 10 or the plug connection causes the circuit to be disconnected, e.g., in a pin header of the plug connection, thereby discharging the high-voltage terminal 3 accessible via the opening 5.

[0048] Cable 8 is a low-voltage connection, and the second connection 10 is a low-voltage connection. Disconnecting the second connection 10 therefore does not pose a risk of (life-threatening) electric shock.

[0049] List of reference symbols

[0050] High-voltage component housing

[0051] High-voltage connection cover element

[0052] Opening first connecting element second connecting element cable first connection second connection first fastening cable guide second fastening plug

[0053] Plug socket

Claims

Claims: High-voltage component (1), comprising at least a housing (2) and a high-voltage connection (3) arranged therein; wherein the housing (2) comprises a cover element (4) that closes an opening (5) of the housing (2), the high-voltage connection (3) being accessible from the outside exclusively via the opening (5); wherein the cover element (4) is detachably connected to the housing (2) via a plurality of connecting elements (6, 7); wherein a cable (8) extends from a non-detachable first connection (9) arranged on the housing (2) outside the housing (2) at least partially over the cover element (4) to a second connection (10) arranged on the housing (2) such that at least one first connecting element (6) is concealed by the cable (8) and thus not accessible from the outside, wherein the cable (8) is electrically connected to the high-voltage component (1) at the second connection (10).wherein releasing the second connection (10) causes the high-voltage component (1) to discharge. High-voltage component (1) according to claim 1, wherein the cover element (4) can only be moved after releasing the at least one first connecting element (6) so that the high-voltage connection (3) is accessible from outside the housing (2) via the opening (5). High-voltage component (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein at least two first connecting elements (6) are concealed by the cable (8). High-voltage component (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the cable (8) is detachably connected to the housing (2) between the first connection (9) and the second connection (10) via at least one first fastening (11). A high-voltage component (1) according to claim 4, wherein the at least one first connecting element (6) is accessible from the outside only after the second connection (10) and the at least one first fastening (6) have been released. A high-voltage component (1) according to any one of the preceding claims 4 and 5, wherein the cable (8) is at least partially arranged in a cable guide (12) having a defined bending stiffness, and wherein the cable (8) is fastened via the cable guide (12) at least to the at least one first fastening (11). A high-voltage component (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the second connection (10) is a plug connection. A high-voltage component (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the cable (8) is a low-voltage connection and the second connection (10) is a low-voltage terminal.High-voltage component (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one first connecting element (6) comprises at least one screw. High-voltage component (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the high-voltage component (1) is a traction drive and the high-voltage connection (3) comprises an electrically conductive connection between an inverter and a stator of the traction drive.