Conductor member with cooling structure

Abstract

To provide a conductor member with a cooling structure that enables cooling while reducing manufacturing costs.SOLUTION: A conductor member with a cooling structure 1 includes a conductor member 11 formed in a strip shape from conductive metal, one end of which is connected to a component terminal E11 of a predetermined electric / electronic component E1 and the other end of which is connected to an electrical connection target of the electric / electronic component E1 to conduct electricity, a cooling pipe 12 through which a coolant flows, and a fixed wall 13 which is made of an insulating resin and to which the conductor member 11 is fixed together with the electric / electronic component E1, and to which the cooling pipe 12 is fixed so as to extend in contact with the connection portion of the conductor member 11 with the component terminal E11.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a conductor member with a cooling structure that connects a component terminal of an electric / electronic component to an electrical connection target while cooling itself. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, a conductor member with a cooling structure is known that adds its own cooling function to a conductor member that connects the component terminal of an electric / electronic component to an electrical connection target (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The conductor member with a cooling structure of Patent Document 1 uses a conductive pipe as the conductor member, and has a configuration in which both ends are crushed to form connection parts with the component terminal of the electric / electronic component and the electrical connection target. The electrical connection is made by the conductive pipe itself, and cooling is achieved by a coolant flowing inside the pipe. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-018661 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Here, in the conductor component with cooling structure using the above-mentioned conductive pipe, both ends of the pipe are crushed to form connections, which requires advanced molding technology for these connections, and therefore tends to increase manufacturing costs.

[0005] Therefore, in view of the above-mentioned problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a conductor member with a cooling structure that can perform cooling while suppressing manufacturing costs. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the conductor member with cooling structure is characterized in that it comprises a conductor member formed in a band shape from a conductive metal, one end side connected to a component terminal of a specified electrical / electronic component and the other end side connected to an electrical connection target of the electrical / electronic component to conduct electricity, a cooling pipe through which a refrigerant flows, and a fixing wall made of insulating resin to which the conductor member is fixed together with the electrical / electronic component, the cooling pipe being fixed so that it extends in contact with the connection portion of the conductor member with the component terminal. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the above-mentioned conductive member with a cooling structure, cooling can be performed while suppressing manufacturing costs. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing a conductor member with a cooling structure according to a first embodiment. FIG. [Diagram 2] 2 is a perspective view of the conductor member with a cooling structure shown in FIG. 1 , excluding the electric / electronic components and the conductor member. FIG. [Diagram 3] 2 is a plan view showing a connection portion between a component terminal of the electric / electronic component shown in FIG. 1 and a conductor member, together with a cooling pipe in contact therewith. [Figure 4] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a conductor member with a cooling structure according to a second embodiment, similar to FIG. 2, showing the electric and electronic components and the conductor member omitted. [Diagram 5] 5 is a plan view showing the connection points between the component terminals of the electric / electronic component and the conductor member, together with the cooling pipes in contact therewith, in the same manner as in FIG. 3, regarding the conductor member with a cooling structure shown in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of a conductor member with a cooling structure will be described. First, a first embodiment will be described.

[0010] Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a conductor member with a cooling structure according to a first embodiment, and Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the conductor member with a cooling structure shown in Fig. 1 excluding an electric / electronic component and a conductor member. Also, Fig. 3 is a plan view showing a connection point between a component terminal of the electric / electronic component shown in Fig. 1 and the conductor member, together with a cooling pipe in contact therewith.

[0011] The conductor member 1 with a cooling structure in this embodiment is a member for connecting each of a pair of component terminals E11 in a relay, which is an electric / electronic component E1, to an electrical connection target of the electric / electronic component E1. The conductor member 1 with a cooling structure includes a pair of conductor members 11 connected one-to-one to the pair of component terminals E11, one cooling pipe 12, and a fixing wall 13 to which the cooling pipe 12 is fixed.

[0012] The conductor member 11 is made of a conductive metal such as copper and formed into a rectangular strip, with one end connected to the component terminal E11 of the electric / electronic component E1 and the other end connected to an electrical connection target of the electric / electronic component E1 to form a bus bar for electrical connection. Both ends are connected by screw fastening, and each end is provided with a screw through hole 111 through which a fastening screw E12 passes. The conductor members 11 are connected one-to-one to a pair of component terminals E11, and a pair is provided so that each extends in the arrangement direction D11 of the component terminals E11.

[0013] The cooling pipe 12 is a round pipe bent into a U-shape midway, and a refrigerant flows inside. In this embodiment, water, which is a fluid having electrical conductivity, is used as the refrigerant. Moreover, a metal pipe having electrical conductivity is used as the cooling pipe 12. An example of the metal pipe is a copper pipe.

[0014] In addition, both a conductor side contact surface 11b of the conductor member 11 that comes into contact with the cooling pipe 12 and a pipe side contact surface 12a of the cooling pipe 12 that comes into contact with the conductor member 11 are subjected to an insulating treatment such as an insulating coating.

[0015] The fixed wall 13 is a wall made of insulating resin to which the conductor member 11 is fixed together with the electric / electronic component E1, and is a portion to which the cooling pipe 12 is fixed so that the cooling pipe 12 extends in contact with the connection portion 11a with the component terminal E11 of the conductor member 11. This fixed wall 13 is a wall portion constituting a part of the device housing on which the conductor member 11 and the electric / electronic component E1 are mounted.

[0016] The fixed wall 13 is provided with a component facing portion 131 where a pair of component terminals E11 of the electric / electronic component E1 face each other via the connection portions 11a of the pair of conductor members 11, and a pair of conductor mounting grooves 132 where the pair of conductor members 11 are accommodated and attached one-to-one. The pair of conductor mounting grooves 132 are formed to extend from the component facing portion 131 in the arrangement direction D11 of the component terminals E11. Each of the conductor mounting grooves 132 is a thin-bottomed rectangular groove that accommodates about half of the rectangular strip-shaped conductor member 11 in its thickness direction D12. A pair of piping grooves 133 are formed at the boundary between the component facing portion 131 and the pair of conductor mounting grooves 132, into which the cooling piping 12 is fitted so as to pass through a position in contact with the connection portions 11a of the conductor member 11.

[0017] The pair of piping grooves 133 are angular grooves formed along the width direction D13 so that the pair of arm portions 121 of the cooling pipe 12 bent into a U-shape extend crossing the connection portions 11a of the pair of conductor members 11 and the width direction D13 of the conductor member 11. The cooling pipe 12 is attached with one of the pair of piping grooves 133 as a first contact position P11 that contacts one of the pair of connection portions 11a, and the other piping groove 133 as a second contact position P12 that contacts the other connection portion 11a. The cooling pipe 12 is fixed to the fixed wall 13 in a state in which the cooling pipe 12 is bent between the first contact position P11 and the second contact position P12 to form a U-shaped bent portion 122. The fixing here is performed by bonding the cooling pipe 12 and the piping groove 133 with an adhesive, or by welding in which a part of the piping groove 133 of the fixed wall 13 made of insulating resin is melted to be integrated with the metal cooling pipe 12.

[0018] According to the conductor member 1 with a cooling structure of the first embodiment described above, the conductor member 11 that provides electrical continuity between the component terminal E11 of the electric / electronic component E1 and an electrical connection target can be used without adding additional processing related to cooling. The connection portion 11a of the conductor member 11 with the component terminal E11, which tends to generate a large amount of heat when current is applied, can be effectively cooled by the cooling pipe 12 that contacts the connection portion 11a and through which a refrigerant flows. Thus, according to the conductor member 1 with a cooling structure of this embodiment, since additional processing, etc., is not required for the conductor member 11, cooling can be performed while keeping manufacturing costs down.

[0019] In this embodiment, the refrigerant is water as a conductive fluid, the cooling pipe 12 is a conductive metal pipe such as a copper pipe, and both the conductor side contact surface 11b and the pipe side contact surface 12a are insulated. This configuration makes it possible to use general water, copper pipe, or the like as the conductive refrigerant and cooling pipe 12 while preventing the component terminal E11 and the connection portion 11a of the electric / electronic component E1 from being short-circuited to an unintended location via the refrigerant or cooling pipe 12.

[0020] In this embodiment, the fixed wall 13 is formed with a piping groove 133 into which the cooling piping 12 is fitted. With this configuration, the cooling piping 12 is fitted into the piping groove 133, so that the cooling piping 12 can be fixed without interfering with the fixing of the electric / electronic component E11 and the conductor member 11 to the fixed wall 13. Furthermore, the adoption of this piping fitting structure can also reduce the size of the conductor member 1 with a cooling structure.

[0021] In this embodiment, the fixed wall 13 is a wall portion constituting a part of the device housing. According to this configuration, by using a part of the device housing as the fixed wall 13 of the cooling pipe 12, it is possible to further reduce manufacturing costs compared to the case where a fixed wall is prepared as a separate part.

[0022] In this embodiment, the conductor members 11 are connected to a pair of component terminals E11 one-to-one and provided in a pair so as to extend in the arrangement direction D11 of the component terminals E11. The cooling pipe 12 is a single pipe, and is fixed to the fixed wall 13 in a state where it is bent from a first contact position P11 contacting one connection portion 11a to a second contact position P12 contacting the other connection portion 11a. With this configuration, the connection portions 11a of the pair of conductor members 11 connected to the pair of component terminals E11 in the electric / electronic component E1 can be efficiently cooled by the single cooling pipe 12.

[0023] In this embodiment, the cooling pipe 12 is bent into a U-shape between the first contact position P11 and the second contact position P12. With this configuration, the bending process for one cooling pipe 12 can be a simple process of bending into a U-shape, and therefore the manufacturing cost can be further reduced.

[0024] Next, a second embodiment will be described. The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in the bending shape of the cooling pipe and the fixing structure of the cooling pipe on the fixing wall. The second embodiment will be described below, focusing on the differences from the first embodiment.

[0025] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the conductor member with a cooling structure according to the second embodiment, excluding the electric / electronic component and the conductor member, as in FIG. 2. FIG. 5 is a plan view of the conductor member with a cooling structure shown in FIG. 4, showing the connection points between the component terminals of the electric / electronic component and the conductor member, together with the cooling pipes in contact therewith, as in FIG. 3. In FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the same reference numerals as in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3 are used for the components equivalent to those of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, and only the components necessary for the explanation are used, and the explanation of these components will be omitted below. In FIG. 5, the fastening screw of the conductor member 11 is shown with a screw head having a different shape from that in FIG. 3, but since it is substantially the same, the same reference numeral "E12" as in FIG. 3 is used.

[0026] The conductor member 2 with a cooling structure of the second embodiment is similar to the first embodiment in that it includes a pair of conductor members 11 connected one-to-one to a pair of component terminals E11 of an electric / electronic component E1. However, in this embodiment, the shape of one cooling pipe 22 contacting the connection portion 11a of the pair of conductor members 11 and the fixing structure of this cooling pipe 22 on the fixing wall 23 are different from those of the first embodiment.

[0027] The cooling pipe 22 has an arm portion 221 extending linearly at both a first contact position P11 contacting one of the connection parts 11a and a second contact position P12 contacting the other of the connection parts 11a. The shape from the one arm portion 221 passing through the first contact position P11 to the other arm portion 221 passing through the second contact position P12 is bent into a W shape as follows. The cooling pipe 22 first contacts the outside of the arrangement of the pair of screw through holes 111 in the one of the connection parts 11a at the first contact position P11 with the one arm portion 221, and then is bent toward the inside of the arrangement of the screw through holes 111 and folded back on the inside. The cooling pipe 22 is further folded back toward the outside of the arrangement and contacts the outside of the arrangement in the other of the connection parts 11a with the one arm portion 221. The cooling pipe 22 has a W-shaped bent shape formed by a pair of arm portions 221 passing outside the arrangement of a pair of screw through holes 111, and a bent portion 222 including a turn back on the inside of the arrangement.

[0028] The fixing structure of the cooling pipe 22 bent into a W-shape in the fixed wall 23 includes a pair of pipe grooves 133 into which the pair of linear arm portions 221 are fitted, a folded end holding groove 234, and a folded end holding rib 235, as in the first embodiment. The folded end holding groove 234 is a U-shaped groove portion into which the folded end 222a of the cooling pipe 22 is fitted and held inside the arrangement of the pair of screw through holes 111. The folded end holding rib 235 is a rib inserted between a pair of straight pipe portions 222b that extend linearly from the folded end 222a held by the folded end holding groove 234. The folded end holding rib 235 positions the folded end 222a and the pair of straight pipe portions 222b in the center with respect to the arrangement direction D11 of the pair of screw through holes 111, and holds these portions in cooperation with the folded end holding groove 234.

[0029] As with the first embodiment described above, the conductor member 2 with cooling structure of the second embodiment described above does not require additional processing on the conductor member 11, so it goes without saying that cooling can be performed while keeping manufacturing costs down.

[0030] In this embodiment, the cooling pipes 22 are bent into a W-shape as described above. With this configuration, the bending process for one cooling pipe 22 is more complicated than bending into a U-shape, but the connection portions 11a of the conductor members 11 are cooled from two directions, that is, from inside and outside the arrangement direction D11 of the screw through holes 111, thereby improving the cooling efficiency.

[0031] The first and second embodiments described above are merely representative forms of the conductor member with a cooling structure. The conductor member with a cooling structure is not limited to these, and can be implemented in various modifications.

[0032] For example, in the above-described embodiment, the conductor members 1 and 2 with a cooling structure for connecting each of a pair of component terminals E11 in a relay, which is an electric / electronic component E1, to an electrical connection target are illustrated as an example of the conductor member with a cooling structure. However, the conductor member with a cooling structure is not limited to this, and the electric / electronic component to be connected may be an electric component other than a relay, or may be another electronic component.

[0033] In the above-described embodiment, as an example of the conductor member with a cooling structure, the conductor members 1 and 2 of a liquid-cooling type in which water, which is a conductive liquid, is flowed as a coolant through the cooling pipes 12 and 22 are exemplified. However, the conductor member with a cooling structure is not limited to this, and the coolant may be a non-conductive liquid or a gas for air cooling.

[0034] In the above-described embodiment, as an example of a conductor member with a cooling structure, conductor members 1 and 2 having a pair of conductor members 11 are illustrated. However, the conductor member with a cooling structure is not limited to this, and may be one having only one conductor member, or one having three or more conductor members, etc.

[0035] In the above-described embodiment, the cooling pipes 12 and 22 are circular and made of conductive metal, such as copper. However, the cooling pipes are not limited to this, and may be made of non-conductive metal, resin, or the like, and may have a shape other than a circle, such as a square or other polygonal shape. When the cooling pipes are made of non-conductive metal, resin, or the like, no insulation process is required between the cooling pipes and the conductor member.

[0036] In the above-described embodiment, as an example of the conductor member with a cooling structure, the conductor members 1 and 2 with the cooling structure that are insulated as follows are exemplified. That is, the insulation treatment here is performed on both the conductor side contact surface 11b of the conductor member 11 and the pipe side contact surfaces 12a and 22b of the cooling pipes 12 and 22. However, the conductor member with a cooling structure is not limited to this, and the insulation treatment may be performed on only one of the conductor side contact surface of the conductor member and the pipe side contact surface of the cooling pipe. In addition, the range of the insulation treatment is not limited to only the conductor side contact surface and the pipe side contact surface, and the insulation treatment may be performed on a wide range of the conductor member including the conductor side contact surface, or the insulation treatment may be performed on a wide range of the cooling pipe including the pipe side contact surface.

[0037] In the above-described embodiment, the conductor members 1 and 2 with a cooling structure in which both the conductor side contact surface 11b and the piping side contact surfaces 12a and 22a are insulated are shown as an example of the conductor member with a cooling structure. However, the conductor member with a cooling structure is not limited to this, and the cooling piping may be a piping made of a non-conductive material such as insulating resin, without the above-described insulation treatment. However, as described above, by performing the above-described insulation treatment, general water, copper piping, etc. can be used as the refrigerant and the cooling piping 12.

[0038] In the above embodiment, the fixed walls 13, 23 in which the piping grooves 133 into which the cooling piping 12, 22 are fitted are exemplified as an example of the fixed wall. However, the fixed walls are not limited to this, and any structure can be adopted as a fixing structure for the cooling piping. However, as described above, the formation of the piping grooves 133 allows the cooling piping 12, 22 to be fixed without interfering with the fixing of the electric / electronic component E11 and the conductor member 11 to the fixed walls 13, 23, and the size of the conductor member 1, 2 with the cooling structure can be reduced.

[0039] In the above embodiment, the fixed walls 13, 23 that are wall parts constituting a part of the device housing are exemplified as an example of the fixed wall. However, the fixed wall is not limited to this, and may be provided as a separate part from the device housing. However, as described above, by using a part of the device housing as the fixed walls 13, 23 of the cooling pipes 12, 22, the manufacturing cost can be further reduced.

[0040] In the above embodiment, as an example of the conductor member with a cooling structure, the conductor members 1, 2 in which one cooling pipe 12, 22 is bent midway so as to contact the connection portion 11a of the pair of conductor members 11 and fixed to the fixed walls 13, 23 are exemplified. However, the conductor member with a cooling structure is not limited to this, and for example, two straight cooling pipes that contact the connection portion of the pair of conductor members one-to-one may be provided. However, as described above, according to the configuration in which one cooling pipe 12, 22 is bent to contact the connection portion 11a of the pair of conductor members 11, the connection portion 11a of the pair of conductor members 11 can be efficiently cooled by one cooling pipe 12.

[0041] In the above-described embodiment, the cooling pipe 12 bent in a U-shape and the cooling pipe 22 bent in a W-shape are exemplified as examples of cooling pipes bent midway. However, the bending shape of the cooling pipe is not limited to a U-shape or a W-shape, and any bending shape can be adopted as long as it can be contacted and cooled at the connection part of a pair of conductor members. However, as described above, a U-shaped bending shape can further reduce manufacturing costs due to the ease of bending, and a W-shaped bending shape can improve cooling efficiency by cooling each connection part from two directions. [Explanation of symbols]

[0042] 1,2 Conductor member with cooling structure 11 Conductive material 11a Connection 11b Conductor side contact surface 12,22 Cooling pipes 12a, 22a Piping side contact surface 13 Fixed wall 111 Screw through hole 121,221 Arm part 122 U-shaped bend 131 Part facing part 132 Conductor mounting groove 133 Pipe Groove 222 Bent Part 222a Folded end 222b Straight pipe section 234 Folded end retaining groove 235 Folded retaining rib D11 Array direction D12 Thickness direction D13 Width direction E1 Electrical and electronic components E11 Component terminal E12 Fastening screw P11 1st contact position P12 2nd contact position

Claims

1. a conductor member formed in a strip shape from a conductive metal, one end of which is connected to a component terminal of a predetermined electric / electronic component and the other end of which is connected to an electrical connection target of the electric / electronic component to conduct electricity; A cooling pipe through which a refrigerant flows; a fixing wall made of insulating resin to which the conductor member is fixed together with the electric / electronic component, the fixing wall being fixed to which the cooling pipe is fixed so that the cooling pipe extends in contact with a connection portion of the conductor member with the component terminal; A conductive member with a cooling structure comprising:

2. The refrigerant is a fluid having electrical conductivity, The cooling pipe is a metal pipe having electrical conductivity, The conductor member with cooling structure as described in claim 1, characterized in that at least one of the conductor side contact surface of the conductor member that contacts the cooling piping and the piping side contact surface of the cooling piping that contacts the conductor member is subjected to an insulating treatment.

3. 2. The conductive member with a cooling structure according to claim 1, wherein the fixed wall has a piping groove into which the cooling piping is fitted so as to pass through a position where the fixed wall contacts the connecting portion.

4. 2. The conductive member with a cooling structure according to claim 1, wherein the fixed wall is a wall portion constituting a part of a housing of a predetermined device.

5. The electric / electronic component is provided with a pair of the component terminals, the conductor members are connected to the pair of component terminals in a one-to-one relationship and are provided in a pair so as to extend in an arrangement direction of the component terminals, The conductor member with cooling structure as described in claim 1, characterized in that the cooling piping is a single pipe whose portion is fixed to the fixed wall so as to contact the connection portion of each of a pair of the conductor members, and is fixed to the fixed wall in a bent state from a first contact position that contacts one of the connection portions to a second contact position that contacts the other of the connection portions.

6. 6. The conductive member with a cooling structure according to claim 5, wherein the cooling pipe is bent into a U-shape between the first contact position and the second contact position.

7. a screw through hole for screwing to the component terminal is formed in the connection portion of the conductor member, the first contact position and the second contact position are provided to sandwich the pair of screw through holes between each other in the arrangement direction, The conductive member with cooling structure as described in claim 5, characterized in that the cooling pipe has a W-shaped bent shape from the first contact position to the second contact position so that the cooling pipe contacts the outside of the arrangement of a pair of the screw through holes at one of the connection parts, is bent toward the inside of the arrangement and folded back on the inside, and then folded back toward the outside of the arrangement to contact the outside of the arrangement at the other connection part.

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