Busbar Insulating Structure for Creepage Distance

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional busbars face challenges in maintaining sufficient clearance and creepage distance between connection terminals, especially in high-voltage environments, due to restricted layout and space constraints, which can lead to electric leakage or discharge.

Innovation Solution

A busbar design featuring an insulating structure that wraps around connection terminals, increasing the creepage distance and providing electrical insulation, combined with a soft gel material for enhanced protection and insulation within a housing, allowing for closer terminal placement and higher power density.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If connection terminals are placed closer together to reduce space, then power density increases, but clearance and creepage distance decrease leading to electric leakage risk

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepower densityVSAvoidelectrical insulation

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

An insulating structure is introduced as an intermediary element between adjacent connection terminals. This insulating structure includes an insulating body that surrounds portions of the connection terminals, thereby maintaining adequate creepage distance and preventing electric leakage while allowing the terminals to be positioned closer together for higher power density.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The insulating structure extends in multiple dimensions, particularly wrapping around the connection terminals in a three-dimensional configuration. This dimensional approach allows the insulating structure to effectively increase the creepage path length between terminals without increasing the planar footprint, thus enabling closer terminal placement while maintaining insulation reliability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

2Reliability

If sufficient clearance and creepage distance are maintained between connection terminals, then electrical insulation is improved, but layout space increases reducing power density

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveelectrical insulationVSAvoidpower density

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The insulating structure functions as a flexible shell that wraps around the connection terminals. This shell-like insulating structure provides adequate creepage distance and electrical insulation while occupying minimal space, allowing the connection terminals to be positioned closer together thereby increasing power density without compromising insulation reliability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #30Flexible shells and thin films

3Manufacturing precision

If connection terminals are arranged with strict layout requirements, then manufacturing precision is maintained, but ease of manufacture decreases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvelayout precisionVSAvoidassembly difficulty

Core Design Contradiction:

Manufacturing precisionVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The insulating structure is integrated with the connection terminals as a single assembly unit. The insulating body is configured to surround portions of the connection terminals, merging the insulation function with the terminal structure itself. This integration simplifies the manufacturing process by reducing the number of separate components and assembly steps while maintaining precise layout requirements for electrical insulation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Data Source

PatentUS11616353B2Busbar and power module

Publication Date: 2023.03.28 DANFOSS SILICON POWER GMBH

AI summary

The present disclosure provides a busbar (100), comprising: an insulating body (110); and a busbar conductor (120, 130, 140) comprising a conductor body partially encapsulated by the insulating body and a connection terminal (121, 131, 141) extending from the conductor body and configured for connecting an electrical device, and a portion of the connection terminal is surrounded by an insulating structure (10). The present disclosure further provides a power module (200) comprising the busbar and a method of manufacturing a busbar.