阅读说明：本技术 电力转换装置 (Power conversion device ) 是由 佐野友久 山平优 于 2020-04-09 设计创作，主要内容包括：电力转换装置(1)具有：半导体模块(2)、电容器元件(3)、正极母线(4P)和负极母线(4N)以及冷却半导体模块(2)的冷却部(5)。正极母线(4P)和负极母线(4N)分别具有：与直流电源连接的电源连接部(41)；与电容器元件(3)连接的元件连接部(42)；以及与半导体模块(2)的功率端子(21)连接的端子连接部(43),并且具有：电源连接部(41)与端子连接部(43)之间的电流路径即第一电流路径(401)；以及电源连接部(41)与元件连接部(42)之间的电流路径即第二电流路径(402)。正极母线(4P)和负极母线(4N)的至少一方具有与任意的第二电流路径(402)相比热阻更小的第一电流路径(401)。(A power conversion device (1) is provided with: the semiconductor module (2), the capacitor element (3), the positive electrode bus bar (4P) and the negative electrode bus bar (4N), and a cooling unit (5) for cooling the semiconductor module (2). The positive electrode bus bar (4P) and the negative electrode bus bar (4N) each have: a power supply connection part (41) connected with a direct current power supply; an element connecting section (42) connected to the capacitor element (3); and a terminal connection section (43) connected to the power terminal (21) of the semiconductor module (2), and having: a first current path (401) which is a current path between the power supply connection part (41) and the terminal connection part (43); and a second current path (402) which is a current path between the power supply connection part (41) and the element connection part (42). At least one of the positive bus bar (4P) and the negative bus bar (4N) has a first current path (401) having a smaller thermal resistance than any of the second current paths (402).)

1. A power conversion device (1) is provided with:

a semiconductor module (2) electrically connected to a direct current power supply (BAT);

a capacitor element (3) electrically connected to the semiconductor module;

a positive electrode bus bar (4P) and a negative electrode bus bar (4N) that electrically connect the DC power supply, the semiconductor module, and the capacitor element; and

a cooling unit (5) that cools the semiconductor module,

the positive electrode bus bar and the negative electrode bus bar each have: a power supply connection part (41) connected to the DC power supply; an element connecting portion (42) connected to the capacitor element; and a terminal connection portion (43) connected to a power terminal of the semiconductor module, and having: a first current path (401) which is a current path between the power supply connection portion and the terminal connection portion; and a second current path (402) which is a current path between the power supply connection part and the element connection part,

at least one of the positive bus bar and the negative bus bar has the first current path having a smaller thermal resistance than any of the second current paths.

2. The power conversion apparatus according to claim 1,

at least one of the positive bus bar and the negative bus bar has the first current path having a shorter path length than any of the second current paths.

3. The power conversion apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,

a laminate (11) in which a plurality of the semiconductor modules are stacked, the capacitor element being disposed at a position offset from the laminate in a lateral direction (Y) orthogonal to a stacking direction (X),

the positive electrode bus bar and the negative electrode bus bar have: a common section (44) that constitutes at least a part of the first current path and a part of the second current path; and a plurality of branch portions (45) that branch from the common portion and respectively include the terminal connection portions,

at least one of the positive electrode bus bar and the negative electrode bus bar has a distance (L1) from the terminal connecting portion in the lateral direction shorter than a distance (L2) from the element connecting portion with respect to the first current path of the common portion.

4. The power conversion apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,

at least one of the positive electrode bus bar and the negative electrode bus bar is partially sealed by a sealing resin (31), and at least a part of the first current path is exposed from the sealing resin.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a power conversion apparatus.

Background

As a power conversion device such as an inverter, for example, there is a power conversion device including a semiconductor module, a capacitor element, and a bus bar connecting the semiconductor module and the capacitor element as disclosed in patent document 1. In the power conversion device disclosed in patent document 1, a capacitor device including a capacitor element has a bus bar. Further, the capacitor element is electrically connected to the semiconductor module via the bus bar and is electrically connected to the dc power supply via the bus bar.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open No. 2014-45035

Disclosure of Invention

The power converter disclosed in patent document 1 has a problem in that heat generated from the bus bar easily affects the capacitor element.

Although an alternating current such as a ripple included in the direct current power supply flows through the capacitor element, a direct current hardly flows through the capacitor element. Therefore, the temperature rise due to heat generation of the capacitor element is mainly caused by the alternating current. When the direct current flowing between the power supply connection portion of the bus bar and the semiconductor module becomes large, heat generation of the bus bar in the current path becomes large. Further, heat in the above current path may be transferred to the capacitor element via the bus bar. In particular, when the resistance between the power supply connection portion and the semiconductor module is large, the amount of heat generation in the current path becomes large. On the other hand, when the thermal resistance between the current path and the capacitor element is small, heat in the current path between the power supply connection portion and the semiconductor module is easily transferred to the capacitor element, and it is difficult to suppress a temperature rise of the capacitor element.

The present disclosure provides a power conversion device capable of suppressing a temperature rise of a capacitor element.

One aspect of the present disclosure has: a semiconductor module electrically connected to a DC power supply;

a capacitor element electrically connected to the semiconductor module;

a positive bus bar and a negative bus bar that electrically connect the dc power supply, the semiconductor module, and the capacitor element; and

a cooling unit for cooling the semiconductor module,

the positive electrode bus bar and the negative electrode bus bar each have: a power supply connection part connected with the DC power supply; an element connecting portion connected to the capacitor element; and a terminal connection portion connected to a power terminal of the semiconductor module, and including: a first current path which is a current path between the power supply connection portion and the terminal connection portion; and a second current path which is a current path between the power supply connection portion and the element connection portion,

at least one of the positive electrode bus bar and the negative electrode bus bar has the first current path having a smaller thermal resistance than any of the second current paths.

In the power converter, at least one of the positive electrode bus bar and the negative electrode bus bar has the first current path having a smaller thermal resistance than any of the second current paths. Thus, the thermal resistance of the at least one first current path is smaller than the thermal resistance of the second current path. Since the resistance is small due to the small thermal resistance, the amount of heat generated by the direct current flowing through the first current path can be suppressed. On the other hand, since the thermal resistance of the second current path is higher than that of the first current path, the amount of heat transferred from the first current path to the capacitor element can be suppressed. As a result, the temperature rise of the capacitor element can be suppressed.

As described above, according to the above aspect, it is possible to provide a power conversion device capable of suppressing a temperature rise of a capacitor element.

Drawings

The above objects, other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent with reference to the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description. The drawings are as follows.

Fig. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a power conversion device according to a first embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the line II-II of fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a circuit diagram illustrating a power conversion device according to the first embodiment.

Fig. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a current path of the power conversion device according to the first embodiment.

Fig. 5 is a top view illustrating a stack and a cooler according to the first embodiment.

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional explanatory view for explaining the positive electrode bus bar according to the first embodiment.

Fig. 7 is a sectional explanatory view for explaining the negative electrode bus bar according to the first embodiment.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view illustrating a capacitor module according to the first embodiment.

Fig. 9 is a circuit diagram illustrating a power conversion device according to a second embodiment.

Fig. 10 is a top view illustrating a bridge structure according to a second embodiment.

Detailed Description

(embodiment mode 1)

An embodiment of the power converter will be described with reference to fig. 1 to 8.

As shown in fig. 1 to 3, a power converter 1 of the present embodiment includes a semiconductor module 2, a capacitor element 3, a positive electrode bus bar 4P, a negative electrode bus bar 4N, and a cooling unit 5.

The semiconductor module 2 is electrically connected to a dc power supply BAT. The capacitor element 3 is electrically connected to the semiconductor module 2. The positive electrode bus bar 4P and the negative electrode bus bar 4N electrically connect the dc power supply, the semiconductor module 2, and the capacitor element 3. The cooling unit 5 cools the semiconductor module 2.

As shown in fig. 1 and 4, the positive electrode bus bar 4P and the negative electrode bus bar 4N each have a power supply connection portion 41, an element connection portion 42, and a terminal connection portion 43, and have a first current path 401 and a second current path 402.

The power supply connection unit 41 is connected to a dc power supply BAT. The element connecting portion 42 is connected to the capacitor element 3. The terminal connection portion 43 is connected to the power terminal 21 of the semiconductor module 2. As shown in fig. 4, the first current path 401 is a current path between the power supply connection portion 41 and the terminal connection portion 43. The second current path 402 is a current path between the power supply connection portion 41 and the element connection portion 42.

At least one of positive bus bar 4P and negative bus bar 4N has first current path 401 having a smaller thermal resistance than any of second current paths 402. In the present embodiment, at least the positive electrode bus bar 4P has a first current path 401 having a smaller thermal resistance than any of the second current paths 402. That is, in this embodiment, as shown in fig. 4, the positive electrode bus bar 4P has a plurality of first current paths 401, and of the first current paths 401, the first current path 401 between the terminal connection portion 43 and the power supply connection portion 41 at the left end in the figure has a smaller thermal resistance than any of the second current paths 402. Therefore, the first current path 401 is also made smaller in resistance than any of the second current paths 402.

In the positive electrode bus bar 4P and the negative electrode bus bar 4N, the magnitude of the thermal resistance and the magnitude of the electrical resistance are substantially the same. Therefore, when the thermal resistance is large, the resistance is also large, and when the thermal resistance is small, the resistance is also small.

Further, although the current paths in the positive electrode bus bar 4P and the negative electrode bus bar 4N actually have a certain degree of expansion, comparison of thermal resistance, electric resistance, and the like is performed based on a path in which the current density is high.

At least one of positive bus bar 4P and negative bus bar 4N has first current path 401 having a shorter path length than any of second current paths 402. In the present embodiment, at least the positive electrode bus bar 4P has a first current path 401 having a shorter path length than any of the second current paths 402. That is, in this embodiment, as shown in fig. 4, the positive electrode bus bar 4P has a plurality of first current paths 401, and of the first current paths 401, the first current path 401 between the terminal connection portion 43 and the power supply connection portion 41 at the left end in the figure has a shorter path length than any of the second current paths 402.

In the following description, the positive electrode bus bar 4P and the negative electrode bus bar 4N are commonly referred to as the bus bar 4.

As shown in fig. 5, the power converter 1 of the present embodiment includes a stacked body 11 in which a plurality of semiconductor modules 2 are stacked. As shown in fig. 1, the capacitor element 3 is arranged at a position shifted from the stacked body 11 in the lateral direction Y orthogonal to the stacking direction X.

As shown in fig. 6 to 8, the positive electrode bus bar 4P and the negative electrode bus bar 4N have: a common section 44 that constitutes at least a part of the first current path 401 and a part of the second current path 402; and a plurality of branch portions 45 that branch from the common portion 44 and include the terminal connection portions 43, respectively.

At least one of the positive electrode bus bar 4P and the negative electrode bus bar 4N is shorter in the lateral direction Y than the distance L1 from the terminal connecting portion 43 than the distance L2 from the element connecting portion 42 with respect to the first current path 401 in the common portion 44.

In this embodiment, in both the positive electrode bus bar 4P and the negative electrode bus bar 4N, the distance L1 from the terminal connecting portion 43 in the lateral direction Y is shorter than the distance L2 from the element connecting portion 42 in the lateral direction Y with reference to the first current path 401 in the common portion 44.

As shown in fig. 6 and 7, the first current path 401 of the common portion 44 is a path connecting the vicinity of the boundary portion with the plurality of branch portions 45 in the common portion 44. The above-described path is located closer to the terminal connecting portion 43 in the lateral direction Y than to the element connecting portion 42.

Hereinafter, the stacking direction X is also referred to as X direction as appropriate. In addition, the lateral direction Y is also appropriately referred to as the Y direction. A direction orthogonal to both the X direction and the Y direction is also referred to as a Z direction as appropriate. In addition, the protruding direction of the power terminals 21 of the semiconductor module 2 described later is in the Z direction.

In the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 1 and 2, the semiconductor module 2 has a plurality of power terminals 21 protruding from a module main body 20, and the module main body 20 incorporates a switching element including an IGBT (an insulated gate bipolar transistor is omitted), a MOSFET (a MOS field effect transistor is omitted), and the like. In this embodiment, two switching elements connected in series with each other are incorporated in the module main body 20 of one semiconductor module 2. Further, the semiconductor module 2 has three power terminals 21 protruding. The power terminal 21 includes a terminal connected to the positive electrode bus bar 4P, a terminal connected to the negative electrode bus bar 4N, and a terminal connected to an output bus bar, not shown.

As shown in fig. 2 and 6, capacitor element 3 is sealed with sealing resin 31 in capacitor case 32. Further, a part of the positive electrode bus bar 4P and the negative electrode bus bar 4N including the element connecting portion 42 is sealed by the sealing resin 31. In this way, capacitor element 3, capacitor case 32, sealing resin 31, positive electrode bus bar 4P, and negative electrode bus bar 4N are integrated to form capacitor module 30 shown in fig. 6 and 8.

As shown in fig. 2 and 6, at least one of the positive electrode bus bar 4P and the negative electrode bus bar 4N is partially sealed with a sealing resin 31. As shown in fig. 6 and 7, at least a part of the first current path 401 is exposed from the sealing resin 31. In this embodiment, the positive electrode bus bar 4P and the negative electrode bus bar 4N are each partially sealed with the sealing resin 31. In each bus bar 4, substantially the entire first current path 401 is exposed from the sealing resin 31.

As shown in fig. 2 and 6 to 8, sealing resin 31 exposes potting surface 311 from capacitor case 32 in the Y direction. The positive electrode bus bar 4P and the negative electrode bus bar 4N extend so as to protrude from the casting surface 311 in the Y direction. Positive electrode bus bar 4P and negative electrode bus bar 4N are arranged such that portions extending from casting surface 311 are opposed to each other in the Z direction.

As shown in fig. 2, in the facing portion, the positive electrode bus bar 4P and the negative electrode bus bar 4N are disposed with a predetermined interval in the thickness direction. Further, the positive electrode bus bar 4P is extended in the Y direction to a position further from the casting surface 311 than the negative electrode bus bar 4N. The relationship of the extending length of the bus bar 4 in the Y direction is not particularly limited, and the negative electrode bus bar 4N may be longer than the positive electrode bus bar 4P.

As shown in fig. 6 and 7, the positive electrode bus bar 4P and the negative electrode bus bar 4N each have a plurality of branch portions 45 near the end in the extending direction. The plurality of branch portions 45 are arranged in the X direction. An opening 450 penetrating in the Z direction is formed between the branch portions 45 arranged along the X direction. A part of the inner edge of the opening 450 serves as a terminal connecting portion 43 to which the power terminal 21 is connected.

The position of the opening portion 450 closest to the element connection portion 42 in the Y direction is closer to the terminal connection portion 43 than the element connection portion 42. That is, the distance L3 in the Y direction between the position of the opening portion 450 closest to the element connection portion 42 in the Y direction and the terminal connection portion 43 is shorter than the distance L4 between the position of the opening portion 450 closest to the element connection portion 42 in the Y direction and the element connection portion 42.

Further, the positive electrode bus bar 4P and the negative electrode bus bar 4N are provided with a power supply connection portion 41 on one end side in the X direction, in a portion exposed from the sealing resin 31. In this embodiment, the power supply connection portion 41 protrudes in the X direction from the positive electrode bus bar 4P and the negative electrode bus bar 4N. When viewed from the Z direction, the power supply connection portion 41 of the positive electrode bus bar 4P and the power supply connection portion 41 of the negative electrode bus bar 4N are arranged adjacent to each other so as to be aligned in the Y direction.

As shown in fig. 5, the plurality of semiconductor modules 2 and the plurality of cooling tubes 51 constituting the stacked body 11 are stacked together in the X direction. The semiconductor module 2 is sandwiched by the cooling pipes 51 from both sides in the X direction, and is configured to be able to radiate heat from both sides. In this embodiment, the cooling unit 5 for cooling the semiconductor module 2 includes a cooler in which a plurality of cooling pipes 51 are stacked. The cooling pipe 51 includes a coolant flow path through which coolant flows.

The cooler includes a plurality of cooling pipes 51, a plurality of connecting pipes 52 connecting these pipes, a refrigerant inlet 531 for introducing a refrigerant into the inside, and a refrigerant outlet 532 for discharging the refrigerant from the inside. The cooler is configured such that the refrigerant introduced from the refrigerant inlet 531 is distributed to the cooling tubes 51 and flows therethrough. Thereby, the coolant exchanges heat with the semiconductor module 2 in the cooling pipe 51. Thereby, a part of the heat generated in the semiconductor module 2 is radiated to the refrigerant.

As shown in fig. 3, the power conversion device 1 is configured to convert dc power from the dc power supply BAT into ac power in a power conversion unit including a plurality of semiconductor modules 2 and supply the ac power to the ac load MG. The ac load MG is, for example, a three-phase ac motor, and also functions as a generator. The ac power generated by ac load MG as a generator is converted into dc power by a power conversion unit and recovered to dc power supply BAT.

Here, a capacitor element 3 is electrically connected between the dc power supply BAT and the power conversion unit. The capacitor element 3 absorbs a ripple current included in the current from the dc power supply BAT, and makes the current supplied to the power conversion unit a dc current from which the ripple is removed. The capacitor element 3 absorbs ripples contained in the regenerative current supplied from the power conversion unit, and returns the dc current from which the ripples are removed to the dc power supply BAT.

An alternating current typified by a ripple current flows through the capacitor element 3, and a direct current does not flow through the capacitor element. Therefore, an alternating current flows through the current path between the element connection portion 42 and the power supply connection portion 41, that is, the second current path 402, and a direct current does not flow.

On the other hand, a dc current flows between the dc power supply BAT and the semiconductor module 2. Therefore, a direct current flows through the first current path 401, which is a current path between the terminal connection portion 43 and the power supply connection portion 41. Further, an alternating current flows through a current path between the capacitor element 3 and the semiconductor module 2.

Further, a dc current having a larger current than the ac current flows through the bus 4. Therefore, joule heat is likely to be generated in the first current path 401 through which the direct current flows. As a result, the first current path 401 and its vicinity in the bus bar 4 are likely to be at high temperatures. In addition, although the semiconductor module 2 is also easily at a high temperature, it can be cooled by a cooler, thereby suppressing a temperature rise.

On the other hand, in the second current path 402 through which the alternating current flows, heat generation is not particularly large. However, it is considered that the heat generated in the first current path 401 is transferred to the capacitor element 3 through a portion near the second current path 402 by heat conduction. Therefore, when the thermal resistance in the second current path 402 is small, as a result, the temperature of the capacitor element 3 may rise due to heat conduction from the first current path 401. Therefore, in this embodiment, the thermal resistance of the second current path 402 is made larger than that of the first current path 401. This suppresses the heat of the first current path 401 from moving to the capacitor element 3.

Further, the resistance of the first current path 401 can be reduced by reducing the thermal resistance thereof. Therefore, joule heat generated in the above-described first current path 401 is suppressed. As a result, the amount of heat transferred from the first current path 401 to the capacitor element 3 via the second current path 402 is suppressed as much as possible. In fig. 3, the current paths on the circuit corresponding to one of the first current paths 401 and the second current path 402 in the positive electrode bus bar 4P are indicated by dashed arrows.

In this embodiment, the positive electrode bus bar 4P has three first current paths 401 between the power supply connection portion 41 and the three power terminals 21. The thermal resistances of the three first current paths 401 are different from each other, but it is preferable that the thermal resistance is as small as possible whichever one is.

Further, positive electrode bus bar 4P has a plurality of second current paths 402 between power supply connection portion 41 and a plurality of capacitor elements 3. Preferably, the thermal resistance in the plurality of first current paths 401 is smaller than any thermal resistance in the plurality of second current paths 402 described above. It is further preferable that the thermal resistance of all the first current paths 401 is smaller than that of any of the second current paths 402.

In this embodiment, the thickness of the positive electrode bus bar 4P is substantially the same as a whole. Therefore, the relationship with the first current path 401 and the second current path 402 is also the same for the path length. That is, positive bus bar 4P has first current path 401 having a shorter path length than any of second current paths 402. Further, it is preferable that the path length of the plurality of first current paths 401 is shorter than the path length of any of the second current paths 402. It is further preferable that the path lengths of all the first current paths 401 be shorter than the path length of any of the second current paths 402.

Further, it is preferable that the negative electrode bus bar 4N also have a first current path 401 having a smaller thermal resistance than any of the second current paths 402. Note that, in the negative electrode bus bar 4N, there are also a plurality of second current paths 402 and a plurality of first current paths 401, and the relationship between the thermal resistance and the path length thereof can be considered to be the same as that in the positive electrode bus bar 4P.

That is, in the negative electrode bus bar 4N, it is preferable that the thermal resistance in the plurality of first current paths 401 is smaller than the thermal resistance in the arbitrary plurality of second current paths 402. It is further preferable that the thermal resistance of all the first current paths 401 is smaller than the thermal resistance of any of the second current paths 402. In the negative electrode bus bar 4N, the path length of the plurality of first current paths 401 is preferably shorter than the path length of any of the second current paths 402. It is further preferable that the path lengths of all the first current paths 401 be shorter than the path length of any of the second current paths 402.

Next, the operation and effects of the present embodiment will be described.

In the power conversion device 1, at least one of the positive electrode bus bar 4P and the negative electrode bus bar 4N has the first current path 401 having a smaller thermal resistance than any of the second current paths 402. Therefore, the thermal resistance of the at least one first current path 401 is smaller than the thermal resistance of the second current path 402. Since the resistance is small due to the small thermal resistance, the amount of heat generated by the direct current flowing through the first current path 401 can be suppressed. On the other hand, since the thermal resistance of the second current path 402 is larger than that of the first current path 401, the amount of heat transferred from the first current path 401 to the capacitor element 3 can be suppressed. As a result, the temperature rise of the capacitor element 3 can be suppressed.

At least one of positive bus bar 4P and negative bus bar 4N has first current path 401 having a shorter path length than any of second current paths 402. This makes it possible to easily configure the power conversion device 1 capable of suppressing a temperature increase of the capacitor element 3. For example, when the bus bar 4 is formed of a substantially uniform material and has a substantially uniform thickness, the above-described effect can be easily obtained by making the path length of the first current path 401 shorter than the path length of the second current path 402.

At least one of the positive electrode bus bar 4P and the negative electrode bus bar 4N has a distance L1 from the terminal connection portion 43 in the lateral direction Y shorter than a distance L2 from the element connection portion 42 with respect to the first current path 401 in the common portion 44. This effectively suppresses the heat of the first current path 401 in the common portion 44 from being transferred to the capacitor element 3. As a result, the temperature rise of the capacitor element 3 can be more effectively suppressed.

Further, at least a part of the first current path 401 is exposed from the sealing resin 31. This prevents heat from the first current path 401, which is likely to generate heat, from being retained in the sealing resin 31. Therefore, heat dissipation from bus bar 4 can be efficiently performed, and heat transfer to capacitor element 3 can be suppressed.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide a power conversion device capable of suppressing a temperature increase of a capacitor element.

(second embodiment)

In the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 9 and 10, the power converter 1 is an embodiment in which the capacitor element 3 is a bridge capacitor connected in parallel to each of the semiconductor modules 2 constituting each bridge of the power converter.

That is, the capacitor element 3 of the present embodiment is connected in parallel to the series connection body of the upper arm switching element and the lower arm switching element.

In the power conversion device 1 having the above-described configuration, at least one of the positive electrode bus bar 4P and the negative electrode bus bar 4N has the first current path 401 having a smaller thermal resistance than any of the second current paths 402. In particular, in this embodiment, both the positive electrode bus bar 4P and the negative electrode bus bar 4N have the first current path 401 having a smaller thermal resistance than the arbitrary second current path 402. Fig. 10 shows an example of a configuration of the bus bar 4 and an arrangement of the semiconductor module 2 and the capacitor module 3a for realizing this configuration.

One semiconductor module 2, one capacitor module 3a, and a pair of bus bars 4 shown in the figure constitute one bridge in the power conversion circuit. For convenience, the above structure is referred to as a bridge structure 12.

In the embodiment shown in the drawing, each bus bar 4 has a connecting portion 46 between one power terminal 21 of the semiconductor module 2 and the terminal of the capacitor module 3a to electrically connect the two. Each bus bar 4 has the power supply connection portion 41 protruding from a part of the connection portion 46. The power supply connection portion 41 is formed closer to the terminal connection portion 43 than the center between the element connection portion 42 and the terminal connection portion 43 in the connection portion 46. Thus, the path length of the first current path 401, which is the current path from the power supply connection portion 41 to the terminal connection portion 43, is shorter and the thermal resistance thereof is smaller than the second current path 402, which is the current path from the power supply connection portion 41 to the element connection portion 42. In fig. 9, current paths on the circuit corresponding to one of the first current paths 401 and the second current path 402 in the positive electrode bus bar 4P are shown by broken line arrows.

Although fig. 10 shows the bridge structure 12 of one bridge, the power conversion device 1 includes at least three substantially identical bridge structures 12. That is, the power conversion device 1 for driving the three-phase ac load MG has at least three bridge structures 12. All of the bridge structures 12 preferably have the above-described structure. This makes it possible to obtain a structure in which all the first current paths 401 have a shorter path length than any of the second current paths 402 and have a smaller thermal resistance than any of the second current paths 402.

The power supply connection portion 41 in each bridge structure 12 may be configured to be connected to an electrode of the dc power supply BAT via another bus bar (not shown).

In addition, unless otherwise specified, of the symbols used in the second and subsequent embodiments, the same symbols as those used in the previous embodiment denote the same components and the like as those in the previous embodiment.

The present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiments, and can be applied to various embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Although the present disclosure has been described in terms of embodiments, it should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments and configurations. The present disclosure also includes various modifications and variations within an equivalent range. In addition, various combinations and modes, including only one element, one or more other combinations and modes, also belong to the scope and the idea of the present disclosure.