Stacked Inverter Busbar Cooling With Conductive Heat Paths
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Solution Overview
Problem
Inverters in motor vehicles face inefficiencies in cooling busbars, leading to oversized components and indirect thermal loading, which affects performance and economy due to lack of effective active cooling methods.
Innovation Solution
The proposed inverter structure incorporates a heat sink with a cooling plate, stacked busbars, and thermally conductive conduction elements to enhance cooling, with insulation elements ensuring electrical isolation and improved heat path to the cooling plate, allowing direct and efficient heat removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If busbars are made large in dimensions to carry required currents, then current carrying capacity is improved, but device size and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from planar busbar arrangement to a three-dimensional stacked configuration where DC and AC busbars are positioned vertically one above the other. This spatial reorganization allows multiple busbars to share the same footprint area, reducing the overall inverter volume while maintaining current carrying capacity through optimized thermal contact with the cooling plate.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a cooling plate as an intermediary thermal management component that directly contacts the busbars. This cooling plate acts as a heat sink and thermal conduit, efficiently removing heat from the busbars without requiring them to be oversized for thermal management purposes, thus decoupling current carrying capacity requirements from thermal management requirements.
2Temperature
If additional cooling structures are added to the inverter housing, then cooling performance is improved, but device complexity and space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the cooling function directly into the busbar support structure by positioning the cooling plate to contact the busbars at their thermal hotspots. This integration eliminates the need for separate cooling structures in the housing, as the busbar mounting arrangement itself provides the thermal management function, reducing overall device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The busbar arrangement serves dual purposes: electrical current conduction and thermal management. The stacked busbar configuration on the cooling plate allows the electrical structure to self-manage its own thermal dissipation needs without requiring additional dedicated cooling systems, enabling the system to serve its own cooling requirements.
3Reliability
If busbars are arranged in a traditional layout, then electrical connectivity is maintained, but thermal management efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent arranges DC and AC busbars in a vertical stack configuration rather than a planar layout, positioning them directly above the cooling plate. This three-dimensional arrangement optimizes thermal contact between the busbars and cooling plate while maintaining all necessary electrical connectivity, thereby improving thermal management efficiency without compromising electrical function.
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
This configuration provides improved thermal management, reducing the need for oversized busbars and enhancing cooling efficiency, leading to better performance and reduced thermal loading on the inverter housing.
Implementation Method 1
at least one first conduction element consisting of a thermally conductive material which is arranged on the side of the DC busbars and between said DC busbars and the cooling plate and is conductively connected to the DC busbar which is closer to the cooling plate and the cooling plate
Implementation Method 2
having a heat sink having a cooling plate
Data Source
AI summary
An inverter includes a heat sink having a cooling plate, and at least one phase, wherein each phase includes a half-bridge arranged on an upper side of the cooling plate and DC and AC busbars stacked on the half-bridge and electrically insulated from one another, wherein taps of the DC and AC busbars are provided on mutually opposite sides of the power electronics module. A first conduction element including a thermally conductive material is arranged on the side of the DC busbars and between the DC busbars and the cooling plate and is conductively connected to the DC busbar closer to the cooling plate, and/or a second conduction element comprising a thermally conductive material arranged on the side of the AC busbar and between the AC busbar and the cooling plate and is conductively connected to the AC busbar and the cooling plate.