ELECTRICAL APPLIANCE, IN PARTICULAR INVERTERS, IN PARTICULAR INVERTERS

Description

[0001] The invention relates to an electrical device, in particular an inverter, in particular a converter.

[0002] It is generally known that an electrical appliance is equipped with a fan for heat dissipation.

[0003] The invention is therefore based on the objective of further developing a simple and quick manufacturing process for the electrical device.

[0004] From EP 2 439 415 A1 a cable routing in an electrical device is known.

[0005] A rotatable fan arrangement is known from US 2015 / 0 351 280 A1.

[0006] A fan housing with cable attachment is known from US 2008 / 0 014 085 A1.

[0007] A fan with a fan housing is known from DE 20 2014 100 266 U1.

[0008] An antenna arrangement with a fan unit is known from DE 10 2014 108 396 A1.

[0009] A motor with an air blowing device is known from DE 10 2018 202 889 A1.

[0010] From the WO 2017 / 157529 A1 The closest known state of the art is an electrical device.

[0011] From the TW 201 303 566 A A fan arrangement is known.

[0012] From the US 2005 / 253467 A1 A fan is known.

[0013] From the US 2010 / 202109 A1 A frequency converter is known.

[0014] According to the invention, the problem is solved in the electrical device according to the features specified in claim 1.

[0015] Important features of the invention in the electrical device, in particular inverter, in particular converter, are that the electrical device has a heat sink and a fan, wherein the fan is at least partially surrounded by a base area of ​​a fan housing, wherein the fan housing has a guide area for a cable, in particular a supply cable of the fan, connected to the base area via a connecting area, wherein the fan housing with its base area, connecting area and guide area for guiding a cable is made in one piece, in particular as a single-piece part, in particular as a plastic injection molded part.

[0016] An advantage of this design is that the cable routing can be carried out within the fan housing itself. This provides mechanical protection for the cable and also increases the electrical insulation distance. Furthermore, the cable routing area is larger than the base area; in particular, the routing area extends further away from both the connection area and the base area than the maximum extent of the base area.

[0017] Thus, the guide area projects far out from the connection area on the side facing away from the base area and is therefore suitable for guiding the cable to a distant connector part. The guide area can be positioned in contact with the heat sink. The heat sink is conductively connected to the protective conductor and / or to the reference potential, in particular electrical ground. Therefore, the guide area is preferably made of a material that provides a large insulation distance between the electrical conductor in the cable and the heat sink.

[0018] In an advantageous embodiment, the fan comprises an electric motor whose rotor is rotatably mounted about the fan's axis of rotation and whose stator is fixedly connected to the fan housing. It is advantageous that the stator includes a winding that can be supplied with power via the cable. The rotor is, for example, equipped with a permanent magnet, so that the fan blades can be set into rotation relative to the stator. The resulting airflow is directed towards the cooling fins and flows between them, particularly along the direction of the fins' extension.

[0019] According to the invention, the connection area between the base area and the guide area is arranged and is shaped to taper from the base area to the guide area. An advantage of this is that the guide area, which is narrower than the base area, is connected without notches, thus enabling a mechanically stable connection.

[0020] In an advantageous embodiment, the cable is accommodated in the guide area. This cable runs from the fan through the connection area and through the guide area to a connector section, to which it is electrically connected. The connector section is mounted on a circuit board of the electrical device, which is attached to the heat sink, particularly by means of a screw. An advantage of this design is that the fan can be powered from the circuit board. The circuit board incorporates the signal electronics of the inverter, such that the signal electronics provide pulse-width modulated control signals for controllable semiconductor switches, particularly IGBTs or MOSFETs, which supply a three-phase voltage with a controllable frequency. The fan is thus powered via the circuit board, which can be supplied by means of a power cable connected to the public AC power supply network.

[0021] According to the invention, locking lugs are formed on the base area, which are engaged and / or clipped into a respective undercut. The respective undercut is formed on a rib projecting from the heat sink, with the rib protruding from the heat sink in the opposite direction to the airflow direction of the fan. An advantage of this design is that the locking tabs enable simple and positive-locking attachment. Furthermore, the locking tabs also secure the base area against being pulled off in the opposite direction to the insertion direction when the tab area formed on the base is attached to the thickened area formed on the heat sink.

[0022] In an advantageous embodiment, an axially projecting tab area is formed at the base, which has a through hole through which a projecting thickened area formed on a cooling fin extends. An advantage of this is that a positive-locking connection of the base area to the cooling element can be achieved, except in the direction in which the tab area is attached to the thickened area.

[0023] In an advantageous embodiment, a tab area projects from the guide area, particularly in the axial direction, and a dome, in particular a dome projecting from the heat sink, projects through this tab area. It is advantageous that a positive-locking connection of the base area to the heat sink is possible, except in the mounting direction of the tab area onto the dome.

[0024] In an advantageous embodiment, a locking lug, in particular a locking lug that is elastically deflectable parallel to the fan's axis of rotation, is formed on the guide area, the locking lug engaging in an undercut formed on an edge of the heat sink. It is advantageous that the guide area can also be locked to the heat sink. This locking lug also prevents the guide area from being pulled off in the opposite direction to the mounting direction of the tab area onto the dome.

[0025] According to the invention Boundary areas are formed on the guide area, which limit the cables accommodated within the guide area, with the material of the boundary areas positioned between the cable and the heat sink. An advantage of this design is that the cable is not only mechanically held but can also be positioned with a large insulation distance to the heat sink and routed along one side of the heat sink.

[0026] In a preferred embodiment, the fan is designed as an axial fan, and the airflow it delivers is directed along the cooling fins. This design offers the advantage of efficient cooling of the inverter.

[0027] In an advantageous embodiment, the locking lug formed on the guide area is clipped in the axial direction, particularly on the undercut of the edge, while the locking lugs formed on the base area are clipped in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction, particularly on the edge projecting from the heat sink. An advantage of this is the improved locking mechanism on the heat sink, since the directions of action of the locking lugs, and in particular the planes of their respective elastic deflection, are not aligned parallel to each other.

[0028] In an advantageous embodiment, the tab area formed at the base protrudes axially, as does the tab area formed at the guide. It is advantageous that both tab areas protrude towards the heat sink, thus allowing the fan housing to be attached to the heat sink. The tab areas enable the fan housing to be simultaneously attached to the dome and the thickened area formed on one of the cooling fins of the heat sink. The locking tabs ensure secure attachment by engaging with the heat sink, thus preventing removal in the opposite direction.

[0029] In an advantageous embodiment, further thickenings are formed on the cooling fins, which do not protrude from the cooling fin and / or are flush with the cooling fin, i.e., they do not protrude. An advantage of this is that the cooling fins can be mechanically stabilized.

[0030] Further advantages arise from the sub-claims.

[0031] The invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to schematic illustrations: In the Figure 1 An oblique view of an inverter, in particular a converter, according to the invention is shown with the housing hidden. In the Figure 2 A fan housing 1 of the inverter is shown. In the Figure 3 The heat sink of the inverter is shown in an oblique view.

[0032] As shown in the figures, the inverter has a heat sink to which a printed circuit board 7 is attached, in particular by means of screws. The printed circuit board 7 is made up of multiple parts, whereby the printed circuit board parts are not all aligned parallel to each other and thus the heat sink is partially surrounded by the printed circuit board 7.

[0033] Both signal electronics and power electronics are arranged on circuit board 7. The power electronics feature controllable semiconductor switches, which are thermally connected to the heat sink. These semiconductor switches are, for example, IGBT or MOSFET switches and are arranged in three half-bridges connected in parallel. This parallel circuit is powered by a DC voltage source, which can be, for example, a mains-powered rectifier.

[0034] The signal electronics generate control signals for controlling the semiconductor switches, so that these can be operated using pulse width modulation.

[0035] The heat sink has cooling fins 14 aligned parallel to each other, on which thickenings 30 are formed that are flush with the cooling fins, i.e., do not protrude in any significant way.

[0036] Furthermore, a thickening 9 is formed on one of the cooling fins 14, which protrudes from this cooling fin, so that a tab area 8 having a through hole can be threaded onto the thickening 9 in such a way that the part of the thickening 9 protruding from the cooling fin 14 extends into or through the hole. Thus, the tab area 8 is positively secured.

[0037] The tab area 8 is a sub-area of ​​the base of a fan housing 1, which is connected to the heat sink. The base is essentially cuboid in shape, surrounding the fan. A fan 2 is rotatably mounted in the base of the fan housing 1 and driven by an electric motor, the fan 2 conveying an airflow in an axial direction relative to its direction of rotation. The stator of the electric motor is fixedly connected to the base, and the rotor of the electric motor is rotatably mounted about the axis of rotation of the fan 2.

[0038] The fan housing 1 surrounds the fan 2 with its base area and is formed as a single-piece injection-molded plastic part with a guide area 13 connected to the base area via a connecting area. This guide area extends in a direction perpendicular to the direction of extension of the cooling fins 14, and in particular extends further than in the direction of the cooling fins 14. The connecting area is thus arranged between the base area and the guide area 13. The connecting area tapers from the base area towards the guide area 13.

[0039] A fin 31 is formed on the heat sink, projecting in the opposite direction to the airflow conveyed by the fan 2, which has two spaced-apart undercuts 32 and 33 on its side facing away from the fan 2, into which two locking lugs (3, 4) of the base area of ​​the fan housing 1 are clipped.

[0040] Thus, the locking lug 3 can be elastically deflected perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the fan 2 and is thereby clipped into the undercut 33.

[0041] In the opposite direction, the locking lug 4 is also elastically deflectable perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the fan 2 and is thereby clipped into the undercut 34.

[0042] The locking lugs 3 and 4 are located closer to the fan 2 than to the guide area 13.

[0043] The heat sink also features a dome 11, in particular a dome protruding from the heat sink.

[0044] The fan housing 1 has a guide area 13 in which a channel is formed for guiding a cable, in particular the electrical supply cable of the fan 2.

[0045] At guide area 13, limiting areas (20, 21, 22, 23) are formed which hold the cable 10 in the channel, i.e. limit it.

[0046] On the guide area 13, an axially projecting tab area 12 is also formed, on the side of which, in particular on the side facing the cooling sink, a locking lug 5 is formed, which is clipped onto an edge 34 of the cooling sink, in particular onto an undercut formed on an edge 34 of the cooling sink.

[0047] Furthermore, a dome 11, in particular a dome 11 protruding from the heat sink, protrudes through a hole through the tab area 12, in particular so that the guide section 13 is held in a form-fitting manner on the dome 11 of the heat sink by means of its tab area 12.

[0048] A connector 6 is mounted on circuit board 7 and is electrically connected to cable 10. Thus, fan 2 can be powered from circuit board 7.

[0049] The locking lug 5 can be elastically deflected parallel to the axis of rotation of the fan 2.

[0050] Thus, fan 2 is positively locked to the heatsink and attached using clip-in connections. Cable 10 is arranged in the channel with a sufficiently large insulating distance from the other electronic components.

[0051] The fan housing 1 tapers towards the guide area 13, with the fan housing 1 together with the guide area being manufactured as a one-piece, i.e., single-piece, injection-molded plastic part. Reference symbol list

[0052] 1 Fan housing 2 Fan 3 Locking lug, in particular perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the fan 2 Elastically deflectable locking lug 4 Locking lug, in particular perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the fan 2 Elastically deflectable locking lug 5 Locking lug, in particular parallel to the axis of rotation of the fan 2 Elastically deflectable locking lug 6 Connector part 7 Circuit board 8 Axially projecting tab area 9 Projecting thickened area of ​​the cooling fin 14 10 Cable 11 Dome, in particular dome projecting from the heat sink 12 Axially projecting tab area 13 Guide area 14 Cooling fins 20 Limiting area 21 Limiting area 22 Limiting area 23 Limiting area 30 Thickenings 31 Rib 32 Undercut 33 Undercut 34 Edge with undercut

Claims

1. Electrical device, in particular an inverter, in particular a converter, wherein the electrical device has a heat sink and a fan (2), wherein the fan (2) is surrounded at least in part by a base region of a fan housing (1), wherein the fan housing (1) has a guide region (13) for a cable (10), in particular a power supply cable of the fan (2), said guide region being connected to the base region by way of a connecting region, wherein the fan housing (1) with its base region, connecting region and guide region (13) is formed as a single part, in particular in one piece, in particular as an injection-molded plastic part, characterized in that the connecting region is arranged between the base region and the guide region (13) and is shaped so as to taper from the base region to the guide region (13), wherein bounding regions (20, 21, 22, 23) are formed on the guide region (13), which bounding regions bound cables (10) received in the guide region (13), the material of the bounding regions (20, 21, 22, 23) being arranged between the cables (10) and the heat sink, wherein latching protrusions (3, 4) are formed on the base region, which latching protrusions are latched and / or clipped onto a respective undercut (32, 33), wherein the respective undercut (32, 33) is formed on a rib (31) projecting from the heat sink, wherein the rib (31) projects from the heat sink in a direction opposite to the conveying direction of the airflow conveyed by the fan (2).

2. Electrical device according to claim 1, characterized in that the fan (2) has an electric motor, the rotor of which is mounted so as to rotate about the axis of rotation of the fan (2), and the stator of which is non-rotatably connected to the fan housing (1) .

3. Electrical device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cable (10) is received in the guide region (13), said cable being guided from the fan (2) through the connecting region and through the guide region (13) to a plug-in connector part (6) and being in particular electrically connected thereto, wherein the plug-in connector part (6) is mounted on a printed circuit board (7) of the electrical device, said printed circuit board being attached to the heat sink, in particular screwed onto the latter by means of a screw.

4. Electrical device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that an axially projecting tab region (8) is formed on the base region, said tab region having a through-hole, through which there protrudes a projecting thickened region (9) formed on a cooling fin.

5. Electrical device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a tab region (12) projects from the guide region (13), in particular in the axial direction, wherein a dome (11), in particular a dome (11) projecting from the heat sink, protrudes through the tab region.

6. Electrical device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a latching protrusion (5), in particular a latching protrusion (5) which is elastically deflectable parallel to the axis of rotation of the fan (2), is formed on the guide region (13), wherein the latching protrusion (5) engages in an undercut (32, 33) formed on an edge (34) of the heat sink.

7. Electrical device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the fan (2) is designed as an axial fan, and the airflow conveyed by the fan (2) is directed along the cooling fins (14).

8. Electrical device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the latching protrusion (5) formed on the guide region (13) is clipped on in the axial direction, in particular onto the undercut (32, 33) of the edge (34), wherein the latching protrusions (3, 4) formed on the base region are clipped on in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction, in particular onto the edge (34) projecting from the heat sink.

9. Electrical device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the tab region formed on the base region projects in the axial direction, and the tab region formed on the guide region (13) projects in the axial direction.

10. Electrical device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that further thickenings (30), which do not project from the cooling fin and / or which are formed flush with the cooling fin, that is to say in particular do not project therefrom, are formed on the cooling fins (14).

11. Electrical device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the fan (2) is surrounded at least in part by the connecting region of the fan housing (1).