阅读说明：本技术 电压转换器、电气系统、机动车辆及其制造方法 (Voltage converter, electrical system, motor vehicle and method for manufacturing same ) 是由 M.法尔盖尔 R.亨尼盖特 L.博丁 L.凯夫斯 Y.莱科克 M.彻明 R.摩瓦尼 M 于 2018-05-29 设计创作，主要内容包括：一种电压转换器(104)包括：第一和第二母线(106、108)，至少一个功率模块(110)，其包括至少一对第一和第二可命令开关(112、114)。为每个功率模块(110)提供了一个电容器，该电容器具有至少为500微法拉优选至少为560微法拉的值，并且位于足够靠近可命令开关(112、114)，使得母线(106、108、122)为每对可命令开关(112、114)定义导电路径(408)，该导电路径(408)从电容器的第一端子开始，依次穿过这两个可命令开关(112、114)中的每个并终止于电容器的第二端子，该导电路径(408)具有至多40纳亨优选地至多30纳亨的电感。(A voltage converter (104) comprising: first and second bus bars (106, 108), at least one power module (110) comprising at least one pair of first and second commandable switches (112, 114). A capacitor is provided for each power module (110), the capacitor having a value of at least 500 micro farads, preferably at least 560 micro farads, and being located sufficiently close to the commandable switches (112, 114) that the bus bars (106, 108, 122) define for each pair of commandable switches (112, 114) a conductive path (408), the conductive path (408) starting from a first terminal of the capacitor, passing through each of the two commandable switches (112, 114) in turn and terminating at a second terminal of the capacitor, the conductive path (408) having an inductance of at most 40 nano-henries, preferably at most 30 nano-henries.)

1. A voltage converter (104) having:

-a first and a second busbar (106, 108),

-at least one power module (110) having:

-at least one pair of first and second commandable switches (112, 114), each commandable switch (112, 114) having two main terminals (116, 118) and a control terminal (120), the control terminal (120) being intended to selectively open and close the commandable switch (112, 114) between its two main terminals (116, 118), the first main terminal (116) of the first commandable switch (112) being connected to the first busbar (106), the second main terminal (118) of the second commandable switch (114) being connected to the second busbar (108),

-for each pair of commandable switches (112, 114), a third busbar (122), the second main terminal (118) of the first commandable switch (112) and the first main terminal (116) of the second commandable switch (114) being connected to the third busbar (122),

-at least one capacitor (124) having first and second terminals (126, 128) connected to the first and second bus bars (106, 108), respectively,

characterized in that a capacitor (124) is provided for each power module (110), the capacitor (124) having a value of at least 500 microfarads, preferably at least 560 microfarads, and being located sufficiently close to the commandable switches (112, 114) that the bus bars (106, 108, 122) define, for each pair of commandable switches (112, 114), a conductive path (408), the conductive path (408) starting from a first terminal (126) of the capacitor (124), passing in turn through each of the two commandable switches (112, 114) and terminating at a second terminal (128) of the capacitor (124), the conductive path (408) having an inductance of at most 40 nanohens, preferably at most 30 nanohens.

2. The voltage converter (104) of claim 1, wherein each conductive path (408) has a length of at most 100mm, preferably at most 70 mm.

3. The voltage converter (104) of claim 1 or 2, wherein each commandable switch (112, 114) of each power module (110) is located at a distance of between 10 and 30mm, preferably between 15 and 25mm, from an axis (402) on which the capacitor (124) is centered.

4. The voltage converter (104) of any one of claims 1 to 3, further having a heat sink housing (502) with a horizontal perimeter surrounding the one or more power modules (110) and associated one or more capacitors (124), the heat sink housing (502) having an air inlet aperture (506) on the horizontal perimeter and a downward air outlet aperture (508) at the center, the one or more capacitors (124) being located closer to a vertical axis (510) passing through the air outlet aperture (508) than the commandable switches (112, 114).

5. The voltage converter (104) of any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the commandable switches (112, 114) of each pair are arranged to form chopper arms.

6. The voltage converter (104) of any of claims 1 to 5 having three power modules (110), each power module having two pairs of commandable switches (112, 114).

7. An electrical system (100) having:

-the voltage converter (104) of any one of claims 1 to 6,

-an electric motor (130) having phases respectively associated with the power modules (110), each phase of the electric motor (130) having two ends respectively connected to the two third busbars (122) of the associated power module (110).

8. The electrical system (100) of claim 7, wherein the electric motor (130) is designed to drive a wheel of a motor vehicle.

9. A motor vehicle having an electrical system (100) as claimed in claim 7 or 8.

10. A method (600) for manufacturing a voltage converter (104) according to any of claims 1 to 6, comprising:

-determining (602), for each power module (110), that the associated capacitor (124) is located sufficiently close to the commandable switches (112, 114) so that the bus bars (106, 108, 122) define, for each pair of commandable switches (112, 114), a conductive path (408), the conductive path (408) starting from the first terminal (126) of the capacitor (124), passing in turn through each of the two commandable switches (112, 114) and terminating at the second terminal (128) of the capacitor (124), the conductive path (408) having an inductance of at most 40 nanohenries, preferably at most 30 nanohenries,

-manufacturing (604) the voltage converter (104) by placing the associated capacitor (124) at the determined position for each power module (110).

Technical Field

The invention relates to a voltage converter and an electrical system, a motor vehicle and a manufacturing method related thereto.

Background

It is known to use voltage converters of the type having:

-a first and a second bus bar,

-at least one power module having:

at least one pair of first and second commandable switches, each commandable switch having two main terminals and one control terminal for selectively opening and closing the commandable switch between its two main terminals, the first main terminal of the first commandable switch being connected to the first busbar and the second main terminal of the second commandable switch being connected to the second busbar,

for each pair of commandable switches, a third bus bar, the second main terminal of the first commandable switch and the first main terminal of the second commandable switch being connected to the third bus bar,

-at least one capacitor having first and second terminals connected to the first and second busbars, respectively.

The first and second bus bars are intended to receive a high DC supply voltage. The function of the one or more capacitors is to filter the supply voltage. In order to make the filtering effective, the capacitor or capacitors have a high capacitance at least equal to 500 microfarads and are placed in a capacitor block located close to the ends of the first and second busbars to which the supply voltage is applied.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the invention to propose a voltage converter with improved supply voltage filtering.

To this end, a voltage converter of the above-mentioned type is proposed, characterized in that a capacitor is provided for each power module, the capacitor having a value of at least 500 microfarads, preferably at least 560 microfarads, and being located sufficiently close to the commandable switches such that the bus bar defines, for each pair of commandable switches, a conductive path starting from a first terminal of the capacitor, passing through each of the two commandable switches in turn and ending at a second terminal of the capacitor, the conductive path having an inductance of at most 40 nanohenries, preferably at most 30 nanohenries.

By means of the invention, the capacitors are placed as close as possible to the commandable switches of each power module, so that the filtering can be improved. This solution is more advantageous than adding a small capacitor, such as a ceramic capacitor, near the power module in addition to the capacitor block. In particular, the solution proposed by the present invention makes it possible to obtain the same result while limiting the number of electronic components and therefore the cost and bulk of the voltage converter.

Optionally, each conductive path has a length of at most 100mm, preferably at most 70 mm.

Also optionally, each commandable switch of each power module is located at a distance of between 10 and 30mm, preferably between 15 and 25mm, from the axis on which the capacitor is centered.

Also optionally, the voltage converter further has a heat sink housing having a horizontal perimeter surrounding the one or more power modules and associated one or more capacitors, the heat sink housing having an air inlet aperture on the horizontal perimeter and a downward air outlet aperture at the center, the one or more capacitors being located closer to a vertical axis passing through the air outlet aperture than the commandable switch.

Also optionally, the commandable switches of each pair are arranged to form chopping arms.

Also optionally, the voltage converter has three power modules, each having two pairs of commandable switches.

An electrical system is also proposed, which has:

-a voltage converter according to the invention,

an electric motor having phases respectively associated with the power modules, each phase of the electric motor having two ends respectively connected to the two third busbars of the associated power module.

Alternatively, the electric motor is designed to drive a wheel of the motor vehicle.

A motor vehicle with an electrical system according to the invention is also proposed.

A method for manufacturing a voltage converter according to the invention is also proposed, which method comprises:

-for each power module, determining that the associated capacitor is located close enough to the commandable switches so that the bus bar defines, for each pair of commandable switches, a conductive path starting from the first terminal of the capacitor, passing through each of the two commandable switches in turn and ending at the second terminal of the capacitor, the conductive path having an inductance of at most 40 nanohenries, preferably at most 30 nanohenries,

-for each power module, manufacturing a voltage converter by placing the relevant capacitor at a determined position.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a circuit diagram of an electrical system having a voltage converter embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a three-dimensional view of a power module and associated capacitors located in a voltage converter.

Fig. 3 is a three-dimensional view of only the capacitor.

Fig. 4 is a three-dimensional view of a power module without a capacitor.

Fig. 5 is a three-dimensional view of the voltage converter.

Fig. 6 is a block diagram illustrating steps of a method for manufacturing a voltage converter.

Detailed Description

An electrical system 100 embodying the present invention will now be described with reference to fig. 1.

The electrical system 100 is intended to be installed in a motor vehicle, for example.

The electrical system 100 firstly has a power supply 102 which is designed to deliver a DC voltage U of, for example, between 20V and 100V, for example, 48V. The power source 102 has, for example, a battery.

The electrical system 100 also has an electric machine 130, the electric machine 130 having a plurality of phases (not shown) intended to have respective phase voltages.

The electrical system 100 also has a voltage converter 104 connected between the power source 102 and the motor 130 to perform conversion between the DC voltage U and the phase voltages.

The voltage converter 104 has first of all a positive busbar 106 and a negative busbar 108, which are intended to be connected to the power supply 102 in order to receive the DC voltage U, the positive busbar 106 receiving a high potential and the negative busbar 108 receiving a low potential.

The voltage converter 104 also has at least one power module 110 having one or more phase buses 122, the phase buses 122 being intended to be connected to one or more phases of the electric machine 130, respectively, in order to provide their respective phase voltages.

In the depicted example, the voltage converter 104 has three power modules 110, each including two phase buses 122 connected to two phases of the electric machine 130.

More precisely, in the example described, the electric machine 130 has two three-phase systems, each comprising three phases and intended to be electrically phase-offset by 120 ° from each other. Preferably, the first phase bus bars 122 of the power module 110 are respectively connected to three phases of a first three-phase system, and the second phase bus bars 122 of the power module 110 are respectively connected to three phases of a second three-phase system.

For each phase bus 122, each power module 110 has a top side switch 112 connected between the positive bus 106 and the phase bus 122 and a bottom side switch 114 connected between the phase bus 122 and the negative bus 108. The switches 112, 114 are thus arranged to form chopper arms in which the phase bus 122 forms a center tap.

Each switch 112, 114 has first and second main terminals 116, 118 and a control terminal 120, the control terminal 120 being intended to selectively open and close the switch 112, 114 between its two main terminals 116, 118 depending on a control signal applied thereto. The switches 112, 114 are preferably transistors, such as Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors (MOSFETs), having a gate forming a control terminal 120 and a drain and a source forming main terminals 116, 118, respectively.

In the depicted example, the switches 112, 114 each have the form of a plate, for example, substantially rectangular and having an upper face and a lower face. The first main terminal 116 extends below and the second main terminal 118 extends above. Further, the lower face forms a heat sink face.

For each power module 110, the voltage converter 104 also has a capacitor 124 having positive and negative terminals 126, 128 connected to the positive and negative bus bars 106, 108, respectively.

It should be understood that positive bus 106, negative bus 108, and phase bus 122 are rigid elements designed to withstand currents of at least 1A. They preferably have a thickness of at least 1 mm.

Further, in the depicted example, the electric machine 130 has both alternator and motor functionality. More precisely, the motor vehicle also has a heat engine (not shown) having an output shaft to which the electric machine 130 is connected by a belt (not shown). The heat engine is intended to drive the wheels of a motor vehicle through its output shaft. Thus, during operation in the alternator mode, the motor supplies electrical energy from the rotation of the output shaft in the direction of the power source 102. The voltage converter 104 then acts as a rectifier. During operation in the motoring mode, the electric machine drives the output shaft (in addition to or in place of the internal combustion engine). The voltage converter 104 then acts as an inverter.

The electric machine 130 is located, for example, in a transmission or clutch of a motor vehicle or in place of an alternator.

In the rest of the description, the structure and layout of the elements of the voltage converter 104 will be described in more detail with reference to the vertical direction H-B, "H" for the top and "B" for the bottom.

Referring to fig. 2, in the depicted example, the busbars 106, 108, 122 have horizontal and coplanar planar portions 202, 204, 206, respectively, that extend adjacent to one another.

Furthermore, each commandable switch 112, 114 has the form of a substantially rectangular plate, and its first main terminal 116 extends over at least a portion of the lower face (not visible in the figures), while its second main terminal 118 extends over the upper face.

For each pair of commandable switches 112, 114, the back face of the first switch 112 is pressed against one of the planar portion 202 of the first bus bar 106 and the planar portion 206 of the third bus bar 122 to connect its first main terminal 116 to the first bus bar 106 or the third bus bar 122. In the depicted example, the back of the first commandable switch 112 is pressed against the planar portion 202 of the first bus bar 106. Further, the upper side of the first switch 112 is connected to the other of the planar portion 202 of the first bus bar 106 and the planar portion 206 of the third bus bar 122 by at least one conductive tab 208, thereby connecting the second main terminal 116 thereof to the first bus bar 106 or the third bus bar 122. In the depicted example, the upper side of the first switch 112 is connected to the planar portion 206 of the third bus bar 122 by three tabs 208.

Further, for each pair of commandable switches 112, 114, the back face of the second commandable switch 114 presses against one of the planar portion 204 of the second bus bar 108 and the planar portion 206 of the third bus bar 122, thereby connecting its first main terminal 116 to either the second bus bar 108 or the third bus bar 122. In the depicted example, the back of the second switch 114 is pressed against the planar portion 206 of the third bus bar 122. Further, the upper face of the second switch 114 is connected to the other of the planar portion 204 of the second bus bar 108 and the planar portion 206 of the third bus bar 122 via at least one tab 210, thereby connecting the second main terminal 118 thereof to the second bus bar 108 or the third bus bar 122. In the depicted example, the upper side of second switch 114 is connected to planar portion 204 of second bus bar 108 by at least one conductive tab 210.

Thus, the vertical volume of the power module 110 may be limited because the arrangement of the bus bars 106, 108, 122 extends adjacent to each other rather than being stacked.

Furthermore, in the depicted example, the control terminals 120 of the commandable switches 112, 114 extend above them and are connected to the control pin 212.

Referring to fig. 3, each capacitor 124 has a value of at least 500 microfarads, preferably at least 560 microfarads. Each capacitor 124 is, for example, a chemical capacitor.

The capacitor 124 is large in size. For example, each capacitor 124 has a maximum dimension of at least 15 mm. Generally, this maximum dimension is at least 30 mm. For example, each capacitor 124 is generally cylindrical with a radius of between 5 and 15mm and a height of between 18mm and 40mm, preferably between 20mm and 35 mm.

In addition, each capacitor 124 has a central leg forming its first terminal 126 and two lugs forming its second terminal 128 on the lower circular face.

Referring to fig. 4, for each power module 110, the associated capacitor 124 is intended to be centered on an axis 402. Furthermore, the first busbar 106 has a through-hole 404, which through-hole 404 is intended to receive a pin forming the first terminal 126 of the capacitor 124, and the second busbar 108 has two through-holes 406, which through-holes 406 are intended to receive two lugs respectively forming the second terminal 128 thereof.

The bus bars 106, 108, 122 define a conductive path 408 for each pair of commandable switches 112, 114, the conductive path 408 beginning at the first terminal 126 of the capacitor 124 (as shown in fig. 4, through the perforations 404), passing through each of the two commandable switches 112, 114 in turn and terminating at the second terminal of the capacitor 124 (as shown in fig. 4, through one of the perforations 406). Fig. 4 shows only the conductive path 408 of one of the two pairs of commandable switches 112, 114. Of course, another similar conductive path exists for another pair of commandable switches 112, 114.

The axis 402 and thus the capacitor 124 are located close enough to the commandable switches 112, 114 that each conductive path 408 has an inductance of at most 40 nanohenries, preferably at most 30 nanohenries. To achieve such a small inductance, the length of the conductive path 408 is preferably at most 100mm, more preferably at most 70 mm. Furthermore, still to obtain such a small inductance, each commandable switch 112, 114 is preferably located at a distance of between 10 and 30mm, more preferably between 15 and 25mm, from the axis 402. Thus, the switches 112, 114 may be commanded to be simultaneously first far enough from the axis 402 to allow the capacitor 124 to be installed, and second close enough to enable each inductive path 408 to be relatively short to exhibit the desired inductance. In the depicted example, the switches 112, 114 are commandable at the four corners of a trapezoid with a small base (distance between two high-side switches 112) and a large base (distance between two low-side switches). Axis 402 is located less than 10mm from the middle of the large base. The switches 112, 114 thus surround the capacitor 124 so that they can be positioned close to the capacitor 124.

Referring to fig. 5, the voltage converter 104 also has a heat sink housing 502 having a horizontal perimeter surrounding the power module 110 and the capacitor 124. The horizontal perimeter is provided with fins 504 defining air inlet apertures 506 therebetween. Furthermore, the heat sink housing 502 has a downward air outlet hole 508 at the center, which air is intended to cool the electric machine 130.

The capacitor 124 is preferably located closer to the air outlet aperture 508 than the power module 110, in particular closer to the commandable switches 112, 114. The capacitor 124 is thus centrally located and the power modules 110 are thus located at the periphery of the voltage converter 104.

In the depicted example, the voltage converter 104 is mounted on the electric motor 130, the electric motor 130 having a rotor (not shown) forming a fan that draws air through the air outlet aperture 508, thereby establishing an air flow that extends from the air inlet aperture 506 to the air outlet aperture 508 and cools the power module 110, in particular the commandable switches 112, 114.

By virtue of the location of the capacitors 124 at the center of the voltage converter 104, the capacitors 124 do not prevent these air flows from passing through the power module 110 even if they are each placed as close as possible to the power module 110.

A method for manufacturing the voltage converter 104 will now be described with reference to fig. 6.

For each power module 110, in step 602, it is determined that the associated capacitor 124 is located sufficiently close to the commandable switches 112, 114 that the busbars 106, 108, 122 define, for each pair of commandable switches 112, 114, a conductive path 408, the conductive path 408 starting from the first terminal 126 of the capacitor 124, passing through each of the two commandable switches 112, 114 in turn and ending at the second terminal of the capacitor 124, the conductive path having an inductance of at most 40 nanohenries, preferably at most 30 millihenries. This determination may be performed, for example, by computer simulation.

In step 604, for each power module 110, the voltage converter 104 is fabricated by placing the relevant capacitor 124 at the determined location determined in step 602.

The invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments but is defined by the appended claims. Indeed, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variations may be made.

Furthermore, the terms used in the claims should not be construed as being limited to the elements of the above-described embodiments, but should be construed to cover all equivalent elements that can be inferred by those skilled in the art from the common general knowledge thereof.