Power Semiconductor Panel Fitting via Base Plate Plastic Deformation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing power semiconductor apparatuses face issues with panel instability due to uneven protrusion surfaces, leading to gaps and increased processing complexity, which can result in the panel falling off the base plate and higher processing costs.
Innovation Solution
A power semiconductor apparatus with a mold portion, a conductive panel, and fins, where the base plate has grooves and protrusions with tapered cross-sections, allowing the panel to be securely fitted and crimped onto the base plate, reducing gaps and simplifying the manufacturing process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If protrusions are press-fitted into the base plate to secure the panel, then the panel is held by frictional force, but if the side surface of the protrusion is uneven, gaps are generated between the protrusion and base plate, reducing contact area and making the panel likely to fall off
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of making the protrusion fit into the base plate, the invention inverts the approach by making the base plate fit around the protrusion. The base plate is formed with a recess that receives the protrusion, and the side surface of the recess is plastically deformed to wrap around and secure the protrusion, ensuring full contact even if the protrusion surface is uneven.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the physical state of the base plate material through plastic deformation. The side surface of the recess undergoes plastic deformation to conform to the protrusion shape, transforming the base plate from a rigid structure to a formable structure that can adapt to surface irregularities and eliminate gaps.
2Reliability
If protrusions are formed on the base plate to secure the panel, then the panel can be fixed, but the base plate processing becomes complicated and processing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention inverts the conventional approach by not forming protrusions on the base plate, but instead forming recesses in the base plate that receive protrusions from the panel. This simplifies base plate processing while achieving the same fixing function through the interaction between panel protrusions and base plate recesses.
Solution Approach 2:
The panel's own protrusions serve as the fixing elements, eliminating the need for separate fixing mechanisms on the base plate. The base plate simply provides recesses to receive these self-provided fixing elements, reducing base plate complexity while maintaining fixing strength.
3Manufacturing precision
If the base plate is plastically deformed to fill gaps between protrusions and base plate, then contact area is improved, but the processing process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The invention combines the gap-filling function with the primary fixing function by integrating the plastic deformation step into the same process that forms the recesses and secures the protrusions. This unified approach achieves both full contact and secure fixing without requiring separate processing steps.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses plastic deformation to change the shape of the base plate's recess side surface, transforming it from a simple geometric form to a conformal shape that matches the protrusion. This parameter change in the base plate geometry ensures complete contact area while being achieved through a single forming operation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enhances panel stability and reduces the likelihood of detachment from the base plate while simplifying the processing and manufacturing steps, improving heat dissipation and grounding performance.
Implementation Method 1
The base plate is plastically deformed to allow the panel to be fitted in the base plate
Implementation Method 2
Each protrusion has a fifth surface, a cross section of which has a shape that tapers down toward an end of the protrusion
Data Source
AI summary
A power semiconductor apparatus includes a mold portion, a panel that is conductive and in a flat plate shape, and a plurality of fins. The mold portion includes a power semiconductor element and a base plate that are molded. An opening is formed in the panel into which the base plate is inserted. The plurality of fins is fixed in grooves of the base plate. The panel has a plurality of protrusions on side surfaces forming the opening. Each protrusion has a fifth surface a cross section of which has a shape that tapers down toward an end of the protrusion, the cross section being parallel to a plane extending in the Z direction and a direction in which the protrusion protrudes. The base plate has cover portions covering the fifth surfaces, and is plastically deformed to allow the panel to be fitted in the base plate to fill gaps.