Electronic Components

Abstract

To provide an electronic component that can secure a space factor while reducing eddy current loss.SOLUTION: A reactor 1 is an electronic component including a core portion 3 made of a magnetic material, and a conductor portion 5 arranged along the core portion 3. The core portion 3 has a plurality of core members 9 arranged with gaps 11 being interposed therebetween, and a concave portion 15 which is concave in a direction away from the gap 11 is formed at a position facing the gap 11 in the conductor portion 5.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to electronic components. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, a coil device has been known that has a magnetic core and a conductor wound around the core. The core of this type of coil device is made up of a combination of multiple core members, and gaps exist between the multiple core members. The gaps also contribute to suppressing a decrease in inductance due to magnetic saturation. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6508702 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in this type of device, eddy current loss occurs due to leakage flux (fringing flux) generated in the gap between the core members. While it is possible to reduce this eddy current loss by positioning the conductor away from the gap, this reduces the space factor because the conductor is not located near the gap. The present invention aims to provide an electronic component that can ensure a space factor while reducing eddy current loss. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The electronic component of the present invention is an electronic component comprising a core portion made of a magnetic material and a conductor portion arranged along the core portion, wherein the core portion has a plurality of core members arranged with gaps between them, and the conductor portion has a recess formed at a position opposite the gap that is recessed in a direction away from the gap.

[0006] The cross-sectional contour of the recess may be curved and bulged in a direction away from the gap. The recess may be a chamfered portion formed by linearly cutting out a corner of the conductor portion facing the gap. The core portion may include a first core member around which the conductor wire of the conductor portion is wound in a longitudinal direction of the member, and a second core member adjacent to the first core member, and the first core member and the second core member may face each other with a gap in a direction intersecting the winding direction of the conductor wire. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an electronic component that can ensure a space factor while reducing eddy current loss. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a reactor according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the reactor of FIG. [Figure 3] 2(a) is an enlarged end view showing a main part of the reactor of FIG. 1, and FIG. 2(b) is an enlarged end view showing a main part of a reactor of a comparative example. [Figure 4] 10A and 10B are cross-sectional views of an electronic component according to a modified example. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a main part of an electronic component according to another modified example. [Figure 6] 10(a) to 10(e) are enlarged cross-sectional views showing main parts of electronic components according to further modified examples. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of an electronic component according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that features may be exaggerated in the drawings, and the dimensional ratios of elements may not necessarily match between the drawings. The reactor 1 (electronic component) of this embodiment shown in FIG. 1 includes a core portion 3 and two conductor portions 5. The core portion 3 is made of a magnetic material and has a rectangular ring shape.

[0010] The conductor portion 5 is made of an electrically conductive material, for example, a copper bus bar wound in a coil shape. The conductor wire 5a of one conductor portion 5 is wound around a position corresponding to one of two opposing sides of the rectangular ring-shaped core portion 3, and the conductor wire 5a of the other conductor portion 5 is wound around a position corresponding to the other of the two sides. The two conductor portions 5 are electrically connected in series or parallel, and when an AC current is passed through these conductor portions 5, 5, the reactor 1 exhibits inductance due to the interaction between the coil-shaped conductor portions 5, 5 and the magnetically permeable core portion 3.

[0011] As shown in FIG. 2, the core unit 3 has a plurality of rectangular parallelepiped core members 9 divided in the circumferential direction of the ring. In this embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the core unit 3 is composed of six rectangular parallelepiped core members 9. Gaps 11 are formed between the core members 9 in the circumferential direction of the ring. That is, adjacent core members 9 are spaced apart by the size of the gaps 11. The presence of the gaps 11 contributes to suppressing magnetic saturation of the reactor 1. Furthermore, because the core unit 3 is composed of a plurality of core members 9, there is no need to prepare a single large core unit 3; in other words, the core unit 3 can be constructed by preparing a plurality of small core members 9. Note that a material with low magnetic permeability may be sandwiched in the gaps 11.

[0012] On the other hand, leakage flux (fringing flux) occurs in the gap 11, and this leakage flux generates eddy currents in the conductor portion 5, resulting in eddy current loss. In order to avoid such eddy current loss, it is possible to arrange the conductor portions 5, 5 at positions away from the gap 11, but in this case, the conductor portions 5, 5 are not arranged near the gap 11, which reduces the space factor. Therefore, the reactor 1 of this embodiment has the following structure in order to achieve both a reduction in eddy current loss and an assurance of the space factor.

[0013] The conductor portion 5 of the reactor 1 has a recess 15 formed in a position facing the gap 11, the recess 15 being recessed in a direction away from the gap 11. Specifically, the recess 15 is formed by cutting out a part of the cross section of the conductor portion 5, and the contour shape of the cross section of the recess 15 is curved and bulges in a direction away from the gap 11. For example, the contour shape of the cross section of the recess 15 may be a part of a circle. The contour shape of the cross section of the recess 15 may follow the shape of the magnetic flux lines in the vicinity of the gap 11. Such recesses 15 are provided at respective positions of the conductor portion 5 in the vicinity of the gap 11.

[0014] FIG. 3(a) is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the vicinity of gap 11A located at the end of conductor portion 5 within gap 11. Two adjacent core members 9, sandwiching gap 11A, are core member 9A (first core member) and core member 9B (second core member). Core member 9A has a relatively long rectangular parallelepiped shape, around which coil-shaped conductor portion 5 is wound. Conductive wire 5a of conductor portion 5 is wound in the longitudinal direction of core member 9A, and the tip of core member 9A protrudes from the hollow portion of the winding of conductor portion 5. The tip surface of core member 9B faces the side surface of the tip of core member 9A in a direction perpendicular to the winding direction J of conductor wire 5a. That is, core member 9A and core member 9B face each other across gap 11A in a direction intersecting the winding direction J of conductor wire 5a.

[0015] The effects of the reactor 1 described above will be explained. According to the reactor 1, the presence of the recess 15 separates the gap 11 and the conductor portion 5 in the vicinity of the gap 11 by the width of the gap 11, thereby preventing leakage magnetic flux generated in the gap 11 from interlinking with the conductor portion 5. As a result, eddy currents generated in the conductor portion 5 are suppressed, thereby suppressing eddy current loss and heat generation due to eddy current loss. Furthermore, compared to a configuration in which the conductor portion 5 is simply disposed away from the gap 11, the conductor portion 5 can be disposed relatively close to the gap 11, thereby ensuring the space factor of the conductor portion 5. As a result of ensuring the space factor, the reactor 1 can be made smaller and lighter while maintaining the same performance.

[0016] Furthermore, since eddy current loss near the gaps 11 can be suppressed and the space factor can be ensured as described above, the number of gaps 11 in the reactor 1 can also be increased. Increasing the number of gaps 11 makes it possible to configure a large core portion 3 from many core members 9, thereby enabling the configuration of a reactor 1 with high inductance. Furthermore, by appropriately setting the gaps 11, it is possible to suppress a decrease in inductance due to magnetic saturation.

[0017] Furthermore, the structure of the gap 11A described in FIG. 3(a) is preferable to the structure of the gap 11B shown in FIG. 3(b) as a comparative example in the following respects. In FIG. 3(b), the side surface of the core member 9B faces the tip surface of the core member 9A around which the conductor portion 5 is wound, across the gap 11B. In this structure, the entire circumference of the end of the conductor portion 5 is close to the gap 11B, so it is necessary to form a recess 15 around the entire circumference of the end of the conductor portion 5. On the other hand, in the structure of the gap 11A shown in FIG. 3(a), only the portion of the end of the conductor portion 5 located inside the core portion 3 is close to the gap 11A. Therefore, it is sufficient to form the recess 15 only in the portion of the end of the conductor portion 5 located inside the core portion 3, and it is not necessary to form the recess 15 in the portion located outside the core portion 3, as shown by the dashed line in the figure. Therefore, in the structure of FIG. 3(a), the cross-sectional area of ​​the conductor portion 5 eroded by the recess 15 is kept small compared to the structure of FIG. 3(b), making it easier to ensure a space factor.

[0018] The present invention can be implemented in various forms, including the above-described embodiment, with various modifications and improvements based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art. Furthermore, it is also possible to configure modified forms by utilizing the technical matters described in the above-described embodiment. The configurations of the respective embodiments may be used in appropriate combination.

[0019] 4(a) and 4(b), various settings are possible for the shape and arrangement of the gap 11 in the core portion 3 and the shape and arrangement of the busbar that constitutes the conductor portion 5, as long as a recess 15 of the conductor portion 5 is formed near the gap 11. Furthermore, the conductor portion 5 is not limited to one in which the conductor wire 5a is wound around a predetermined location on the core portion 3, and may be one in which the conductor wire is arranged along the core portion, such as one in which the conductor wire is inserted linearly through the center of the core portion 3.

[0020] 5, the conductor portion 5 may be an assembly of thin conductor wires 5a wound around predetermined locations on the core portion 3. In this case, the conductor wires 5a are wound so as not to pass near the gaps 11, thereby forming recesses 15 as regions where the conductor wires 5a are not present. In this case, a frame 4 having recesses corresponding to the gaps 11 may be placed between the core portion 3 and the conductor portion 5, thereby maintaining the shape of the recesses 15.

[0021] The cross-sectional contour shape of the recess 15 may be, for example, a portion of a circle as shown in FIG. 6(a), a portion of an ellipse as shown in FIG. 6(b), or a portion of a square including corners as shown in FIG. 6(c). Alternatively, the contour shape may be a contour shape in which the major and minor axes of the ellipse contour shape shown in FIG. 6(b) are reversed. As shown in FIG. 6(d), the recess 15 may have a chamfered portion 15A formed by linearly cutting out a corner of the conductor portion 5 facing the gap 11 at an angle of, for example, 45 degrees. According to the configuration shown in FIG. 6(d), the recess 15 can be formed by linearly cutting out the conductor portion 5, thereby improving the processing efficiency of the recess 15 and facilitating the manufacture of the reactor 1. The core member 9 constituting the core portion 3 is not limited to a rectangular parallelepiped shape. For example, as shown in FIG. 6(e), the core members 9C, 9C may be configured such that their end faces, inclined at 45 degrees, face each other at the corners of the core portion 3.

[0022] Furthermore, although the above-described embodiment applies the present invention to a reactor, the present invention is not limited to reactors and can be applied to various electronic components that have a core portion made of a magnetic material and a conductor portion arranged along the core portion, such as an EMC filter or a transformer. [Explanation of symbols]

[0023] 1. Reactor (electronic component) 3 Core 5 Conductor 9, 9A, 9B, 9C Core members 11, 11A, 11B Gap 15 recess 15A Chamfered portion (recess)

Claims

1. An electronic component comprising a core portion made of a magnetic material and a conductor portion disposed along the core portion, the core portion has a plurality of core members arranged with gaps between them; a recess formed in the conductor portion at a position facing the gap and recessed in a direction away from the gap; The core portion has an annular shape, and includes, as the core members, a first core member and a second core member adjacent to each other in a circumferential direction of the annular shape, a winding formed around the first core member in the longitudinal direction of the member is formed with the conductor wire of the conductor portion wound around it, and a tip end of the first core member protrudes from a hollow portion of the winding in the winding direction of the conductor wire, a side surface of the tip end of the first core member and a tip end surface of the second core member face each other with the gap therebetween in a direction intersecting the winding direction, the recess is formed in a portion of the end of the winding body in the winding direction that faces the gap inside the annular core portion, a region in which the recess is not formed exists in a portion of the end portion located outside the annular shape of the core portion; Electronic components.

2. The electronic component according to claim 1 , wherein the cross-sectional contour of the recess is curved and bulges in a direction away from the gap.

3. 2. The electronic component according to claim 1, wherein the recess is a chamfered portion formed by linearly cutting out a corner of the conductor portion facing the gap.

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