JP5765673B2 - Converter device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a converter device.

  2. Description of the Related Art A converter device that is used in a fuel cell system and includes a reactor unit, a power module (hereinafter also referred to as IPM), and a control board (hereinafter also referred to as ECU) having a control circuit that controls the power module is known. From the viewpoint of the center of gravity and waterproof performance, these are stacked from the bottom of the converter device in the order of the reactor part, IPM, and ECU.

  The assembly of such a converter device is performed by laminating the reactor part connected to the reactor bus bar to the lower case, the IPM connected to the IPM bus bar, and the ECU in this order from the bottom, and the reactor bus bar and the IPMIPM bus bar at a plurality of locations. This is done by fastening bolts with bolts and nuts.

  Further, regarding a converter device, an improved internal configuration for boosting the output of a cell stack and a specific arrangement of the cell stack are known. Specifically, a cell stack in which a plurality of cells are stacked and a converter for boosting the cell stack are integrated, and a heat generating component of the converter device is arranged at one or both ends of the cell at the end of the cell stack, And the converter are connected by a bus. This improves the internal structure for boosting the output of the cell stack (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2011-003288 A

  When the converter device is assembled as described above, the position of the IPM may not be determined when the bolt is fastened. For example, when assembling, each component arranged in the order of a bolt, a reactor bus bar, an IPM bus bar, and a nut is bolted for each bolt fastening portion from the outside of the converter device. (Variation) may occur, and the position of the IPM cannot be determined due to this center shift.

  In order to avoid such a situation, by configuring the IPM bus bar with a nut-integrated bus bar, the number of parts at the time of bolt fastening is reduced, and center deviation of the bolt fastening portion is suppressed. However, since the nut-integrated bus bar requires a nut press-fitting process, the manufacturing process of the converter device increases and the manufacturing cost increases.

  Further, the structure of the bolt fastening portion is in the order of the bolt, the reactor bus bar, the IPM bus bar, and the nut from the outside when the IPM is assembled to the reactor portion. For this reason, when covering IPM from the upper side of a reactor part at the time of an assembly, it is necessary to insert the front-end | tip of an IPM bus bar between a nut and a reactor bus bar, and an assembly property is bad.

  Therefore, when assembling the converter device, it is required to improve the structure and assemblability of the converter device.

  Here, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, although the internal configuration for boosting the output of the cell stack has been improved, the structure at the time of assembling the converter device and the ease of assembling are considered. Not.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a converter device capable of improving the assembling property while optimizing the structure at the time of assembling.

  In order to solve the above problems, a converter device of the present invention includes a reactor unit, a power module disposed on the reactor unit, and a control board disposed on the power module and controlling the power module, and a fuel cell system. The converter device includes a reactor bus bar connected to the reactor unit, a power module bus bar connected to the power module, a positioning member for positioning the power module, the reactor bus bar, and the power. And a bolt and a nut for fastening the module bus bar with the bolt. When the power module is positioned by the positioning member at the time of assembly, the bolt, the power module bus bar, the reactor bus bar, and the nut are arranged in the order of the bolt, the power module bus bar, the reactor bus bar, and the nut from the outside of the converter device.

  The converter device configured in this way can position the power module on the reactor portion when the power module is assembled, and therefore prevents the center displacement of the bolt fastening portion between the reactor bus bar and the power module bus bar. can do. Therefore, it is not necessary to use a nut-integrated bus bar to prevent center deviation, and a nut press-fitting step for manufacturing the nut-integrated bus bar can be omitted when the converter device is assembled. Therefore, the manufacturing cost of the converter device can be suppressed.

  Moreover, it is desirable that the front end portion of the power module bus bar has a bent portion that is bent toward the outside of the converter device.

  When comprised in this way, when arrange | positioning a power module in a reactor part, the front-end | tip of a reactor bus bar is easy to be drawn inside the front-end | tip inside a power module bus bar, and the work efficiency at the time of an assembly | attachment can be improved.

  The reactor section includes a terminal block that supports the reactor, a guide that configures one of the positioning members is provided in the terminal block, and a regulation section that configures the other of the positioning member is provided below the power module. Anyway.

  By doing in this way, when arrange | positioning a power module in a reactor part, an assembly | attachment becomes easy.

  Further, the guide may be configured by three protrusions, and at least one of the three protrusions may be configured such that a cross section of the protrusion has a U shape.

  The protrusion having a U-shaped cross section configured as described above positions the power module in three directions (for example, the rear direction and the left-right direction) by, for example, accommodating the convex portion of the restricting portion in the U-shaped opening. be able to.

  The guide having a U-shaped cross section is preferably provided at the tip of the terminal block.

  By arranging the protrusions having a U-shaped cross section in this way, for example, when the worker places the power module on the reactor part from the front side of the converter device, the worker can easily see the protrusions.

  Further, for example, when the converter device is mounted on a fuel cell vehicle, the power module has a leg portion for reinforcing the strength on the front side of the fuel cell vehicle and has a U-shaped cross section. It is desirable to provide a regulation part corresponding to the part on the leg part.

  If comprised in this way, the leg part for intensity | strength reinforcement can be utilized effectively as a control part.

  Also, the bus bar gap, which is the gap between the power module bus bar and the reactor bus bar, can be made smaller than the guide gap, which is the gap between the protrusion having a U-shaped cross section and the restricting portion corresponding to the protrusion.

  When comprised in this way, size reduction of the left-right direction of a converter apparatus can be achieved.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the converter apparatus which can improve an assembly | attachment property can be provided, optimizing the structure at the time of an assembly | attachment.

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view in the vehicle width direction of a fuel cell vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic sectional drawing of the front-back direction of the fuel cell vehicle concerning the embodiment. It is a schematic plan view which shows a part of fuel cell system mounted in the fuel cell vehicle which concerns on the embodiment. It is a side view which shows one side of the converter apparatus which concerns on the same embodiment. It is a figure which shows the main structures inside the converter apparatus which concerns on the same embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of the terminal block and reactor bus bar which concern on the embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the VII-VII cross section of FIG. It is a figure which shows one of the positioning members based on the embodiment. It is a figure which shows one of the positioning members based on the embodiment. It is a figure which shows one of the positioning members based on the embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the XI-XI cross section of FIG.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a fuel cell vehicle equipped with a converter device (hereinafter referred to as an FC converter) used in a fuel cell system will be described.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in the fuel cell vehicle V according to the present embodiment, a floor 13 of the fuel cell vehicle V is composed of a bottom plate 11 and a floor plate 12. In the center of the fuel cell vehicle V in the vehicle width direction, a concave portion 11a that is recessed downward (opposite the vehicle compartment side) is formed on the bottom plate 11, and a convex portion 12a that protrudes upward (vehicle compartment side) is formed on the floor plate 12. Has been.

  In the center of the fuel cell vehicle V in the vehicle width direction, a center tunnel 15 including a concave portion 11a and a convex portion 12a is provided along the front-rear direction of the fuel cell vehicle V. The floors 13 on the left and right sides of the center tunnel 15 are provided. A sheet 16 is provided on the top of the sheet.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the center tunnel 15 accommodates a fuel cell 21, a fluid supply / discharge unit 22 for the fuel cell 21, and an FC converter 23 that converts the power of the fuel cell 21. The fuel cell 21 is mounted on the fuel cell vehicle V such that the cell stacking direction is along the vehicle width direction (vertical direction in FIG. 3). The fluid supply / discharge unit 22 is integrally provided on one end side of the fuel cell 21 in the cell stacking direction.

  The fluid supply / discharge unit 22 includes an oxidizing gas supply pipe for supplying an oxidizing gas to the fuel cell 21, an oxidizing off gas discharge pipe for guiding the oxidizing off gas discharged from the fuel cell 21 to the outside, and a fuel cell from the fuel gas tank. A fuel gas supply pipe for supplying fuel gas to the fuel cell 21, a circulation pipe for returning the fuel off gas discharged from the fuel cell 21 to the fuel gas supply pipe, a fuel off gas discharge pipe branched and connected to the circulation pipe, and a fuel cell Each end of a refrigerant supply pipe for supplying refrigerant to the refrigerant 21 and a refrigerant discharge pipe for supplying refrigerant discharged from the fuel cell 21 to the radiator are gathered, and a fluid supply / discharge unit 22 is provided in each pipe. Various sensors such as air compressors, fuel gas pumps, shut-off valves, regulators and discharge valves, injectors, temperature sensors and pressure sensors And fluid (gas-liquid) composed and the like separator.

  Thus, in the fuel cell vehicle V according to the present embodiment, the fuel cell 21, the fluid supply / discharge unit 22, and the FC converter 23 are arranged below the floor on the lower side of the floor plate 12 of the fuel cell vehicle V. It has a structure.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the FC converter 23 is arranged on the front side (left side in FIG. 3) of the fuel cell vehicle V, and the fuel cell 21 and the fluid supply / discharge unit 22 are in relation to the FC converter 23. The fuel cell vehicle V is arranged side by side in the vehicle width direction on the rear side (right side in FIG. 3). Thus, the fuel cell 21 provided with the FC converter 23 and the fluid supply / discharge unit 22 is arranged in a substantially T shape in plan view.

  In the fuel cell vehicle V, a traction motor and an inverter are accommodated in an engine compartment in front of the fuel cell vehicle V, and electric power generated by the fuel cell 21 is supplied to the inverter via the FC converter 23. And it runs by the driving force of the traction motor.

  Next, the FC converter 23 mounted on the fuel cell vehicle V as described above will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 5, the main internal configuration of the FC converter 23 includes a reactor unit 40, an IPM (Intelligent Power Module) 42, and a control board 43 stacked in this order from the bottom. The reactor unit 40 has a terminal block 51 on which two reactors 41 are mounted.

  The IPM 42 includes, for example, a power device that controls power, such as a power MOSFET or an insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT), a drive circuit for the power device, and a self-protection function. The control board 43 is stacked on the IPM 42 and includes a control circuit that controls the IPM 42.

  Reactor section 40 is large in weight and large in size, and therefore is disposed at the lowermost part so as to be disposed below center tunnel 15 where space is relatively easy to secure. Further, the center of gravity of the fuel cell vehicle V can be lowered by arranging the heavy reactor portion 40 at the lowermost part.

  If the control board 43 is arranged on the upper part of the IPM 42, the influence of noise from the reactor unit 40 on the control board 43 can be suppressed as much as possible. Further, if the control board 43 is arranged on the uppermost part of the FC converter 23, which is the upper part of the IPM 42, the wiring of the wire harness can be facilitated at the time of assembling, and moreover, the water from the lower side that jumps up when traveling Even the waterproof effect can be enhanced.

  As shown in FIG. 4, one end of the IPM 42, in this embodiment, an end on the side facing the front of the fuel cell vehicle V when the FC converter 23 is mounted on the fuel cell vehicle V. A bolt 422 for fixing each component (illustration and description is omitted) to be accommodated in the IPM 42 is fitted in the part downward. The bolt 422 is provided so as to be embedded below the upper end surface of the IPM 42. For this reason, it can prevent that the edge part of the volt | bolt 422 protrudes from the upper side surface of IPM42, the size of IPM42 can be reduced in the up-down direction, and the control board 43 can be laminated easily. On the other hand, in order to maintain the strength of the case of the IPM 42, a leg portion 423 that protrudes below the IPM 42 is provided below the position where the bolt 422 is fitted.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a reactor bus bar 411 is connected to the terminal block 51. In addition, the terminal block 51 includes a reactor bus bar 411 and a plurality of bolt fastening portions 510 for bolting to an IPM bus bar 420 described later via the reactor bus bar 411. In the present embodiment, eight bolt fastening portions 510 are provided, of which four (for example, odd numbers from one end) are used only for connection with the reactor bus bar 411 and the remaining four (for example, The even number from the one end is used to connect to the IPM bus bar 420 via the reactor bus bar 411. The bolt fastening portion 510 can be fitted with a nut 62. For example, one of the bolt fastening portions 510 is used for bolt fastening by a nut 62 and a bolt 61 of a reactor bus bar 411 and an IPM bus bar 420 as shown in FIG. .

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the reactor bus bar 411 includes a plurality of bus bars 412 protruding to the upper side in the drawing (IPM 42 side when assembled), and a hole 412 a through which the bolt 61 passes is provided at the tip. Is provided. The bus bar 412 is provided in a number corresponding to the plurality of bolt fastening portions 510 (eight in the present embodiment).

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the IPM bus bar 420 is connected to the IPM 42 below the IPM 42. The IPM bus bar 420 includes a plurality of bus bars 424 protruding from the side surface of the IPM 42 to the lower side in the figure (reactor section 40 side when assembled), and a hole for allowing the bolt 61 to pass through the tip of the bus bar 424. 424a is provided. The plurality of bus bars 424 are provided by the number of bolt fastening portions 510 connected to the IPM bus bar 420 via the reactor bus bar 411 among the plurality of bolt fastening portions 510 (four in the present embodiment).

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 11, a bent portion 424 b that is bent outward from the FC converter 23 is provided at the tip of the IPM bus bar 420. Accordingly, when the IPM 42 is stacked on the reactor unit 40, the tip of the bus bar 412 of the reactor bus bar 411 protruding from the lower side can be easily guided into the bus bar 424 of the IPM bus bar 420.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the terminal block 51 includes guides 511, 512, and 513 that constitute one of positioning members that position the IPM 42 when the IPM 42 is assembled. In addition, restricting portions 425, 426, and 423a corresponding to the three guides 511, 512, and 513 constituting the other of the positioning members are provided on the lower side of the IPM 42.

  The guides 511, 512, 513 and the restricting portions 425, 426, 423a will be described. In the following description, when the FC converter 23 is mounted on the fuel cell vehicle V, the front side of the fuel cell vehicle V is defined as the front direction, and the opposite side is defined as the rear direction. The side positioned in the right direction is defined as the right direction, and the side positioned in the left direction is defined as the left direction (see FIG. 7).

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the guide 511 is provided at the rear and right ends of the terminal block 51, and the cross-sectional shape of the tip of the guide 511 is an inverted L-shape in plan view ( L-shaped line symmetry). In addition, the restriction portion 425 restricts the one end side and the other end side of the inverted L-shaped portion of the tip portion of the guide 511 when the IPM 42 is positioned on the reactor portion 40 below the IPM 42. Is provided. Therefore, when the IPM 42 is stacked on the reactor unit 40, the IPM 42 is positioned in the front direction and the left direction by the guide 511 and the regulation unit 425.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 9, the guide 512 is provided at the rear and left ends of the terminal block 51, and the cross-sectional shape of the end of the guide 512 opens leftward in plan view. It becomes the U character to do. Further, the restricting portion 426 is provided to restrict the surface of the guide 512 in the opening direction of the U shape when the IPM 42 is positioned on the lower side of the IPM 42 and on the reactor portion 40. Therefore, when the IPM 42 is stacked on the reactor unit 40, the IPM 42 is positioned in the right direction by the guide 512 and the regulating unit 426.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 10, the guide 513 is provided at the front end portion of the terminal block 51, and the cross-sectional shape of the front end portion of the guide 513 is a U-shape opening in the front direction. . The restricting portion 423a is provided to restrict the U-shaped opening portion of the guide 513 when the IPM 42 is positioned on the lower side of the IPM 42 and on the reactor portion 40. Specifically, the restricting portion 423 a is provided on the lower side of the leg portion 423 of the IPM 42, and has a convex portion that matches the U-shaped opening portion of the guide 513. Therefore, when the IPM 42 is stacked on the reactor portion 40, the convex portion is used for the opening portion of the guide 513. Therefore, the IPM 42 is positioned in the rear direction and the left-right direction by the guide 513 and the restriction portion 423a. The

  Further, as described above, the guides 511 and 512 are not configured to align the convex portions of the restricting portions 425 and 426 within the U-shaped opening portions as in the case of the guide 513, so that the position of the IPM 42 is determined. The width of the direction can be made compact.

  Next, among the operations for assembling the FC converter 23, the operation when the IPM 42 is stacked on the reactor unit 40 and the IPM 42 is positioned on the reactor unit 40 will be mainly described.

  The operator presses the convex part of the restriction part 423a formed on the leg part 423 of the IPM 42 against the U-shaped opening part of the guide 513 from the front side and the upper side, while the restriction parts 425 and 426 respectively guide the guide 511. The IPM 42 is stacked on the reactor unit 40 so as to follow the guide 512.

  In this case, since the convex portion of the restriction portion 423a is pressed against the U-shaped opening portion of the guide 513 closest to the worker, the worker can perform the work while visually checking the guide 513 and the restriction portion 423a. . Further, since the rear direction and the left-right direction are regulated by the guide 513 and the regulation part 423a, the regulation parts 425 and 426 can be easily positioned along the guide 511 and the guide 512, respectively. Further, since the bent portion 424b is provided at the tip of the bus bar 424 of the IPM bus bar 420 when the IPM 42 is stacked, the tip of the bus bar 412 of the reactor bus bar 411 can be easily led into the FC converter 23.

  When the IPM 42 is thus laminated on the reactor portion 40 and positioned quickly and accurately, the center of the terminal block 51 bolt fastening portion (for example, the nut 62 is fitted in advance) 510 and the bus bar 412. The center of the hole 412a and the center of the hole 424a of the bus bar 424 are arranged at a position where they substantially coincide with each other on a predetermined axis.

  Next, the operator fastens the four bolt fastening portions 510 that fasten the reactor bus bar 411 and the IPM bus bar 420 with the bolts 61 one by one. At this time, since the IPM 42 is regulated in the front-rear direction by the guides 511, 513 and the regulating parts 425, 423a, the center of the other bolt fastening part 510 is not displaced at the time of bolt fastening. Therefore, when the operator performs bolt fastening in order, for example, when the last bolt fastening portion is bolted, the center 62 of the nut 62, the hole portion 412a of the bus bar 412 and the hole portion 424a of the bus bar 424 is not generated. Therefore, the bolt fastening with the bolt 61 can be easily performed.

  According to the FC converter 23 of the present embodiment, when the IPM 42 is assembled, the bolt 61, the bus bar 424, the bus bar 412, and the nut 62 are arranged in this order from the outside of the FC converter 23, and the IPM 42 is placed on the reactor unit 40. Since the positioning can be performed, it is possible to prevent the center displacement of the other bolt fastening portions 510 when the bolts are fastened. Therefore, there is no need to use a nut-integrated bus bar to prevent center shift, and a nut press-fitting step for manufacturing the nut-integrated bus bar can be omitted when the FC converter 23 is assembled. Therefore, it is possible to improve the assembling property while making the FC converter 23 an optimal structure, and to suppress the manufacturing cost of the FC converter 23.

  Further, since the FC converter 23 has the bent portion 424b, when the IPM 42 is stacked on the reactor portion 40, it is easy to attract the end of the bus bar 412 of the reactor bus bar 411 to the inner side of the end of the bus bar 424 of the IPM bus bar 420. Can be improved.

  Further, the reactor unit 40 is provided with guides 511, 512, and 513 on the terminal block 51, and restriction units 425, 426, and 423 a are provided on the lower side of the IPM 42. Work becomes easy.

  Further, by using the guide 513 having a U-shaped cross section, the convex portion of the restricting portion 423a is accommodated in the U-shaped opening, thereby positioning the IPM 42 in three directions (for example, the rear direction and the left-right direction). it can.

  Further, by providing the guide 513 at the front end portion of the terminal block 51, when the IPM 42 is stacked on the reactor portion 40, the operator works the U-shaped guide 513 and the convex portion of the regulating portion 423a. It becomes easy for a person to visually recognize.

  In addition, by providing the restriction portion 423a corresponding to the guide 513 below the leg portion 423 of the IPM 42, the leg portion 423 for reinforcing the strength can be used effectively.

  Further, since the FC converter 23 is provided with the positioning members (guides 511, 512, 5133 and the restricting portions 425, 426, 423a) as described above, the gap between the IPM bus bar 420 and the reactor bus bar 411 when the FC converter 23 is assembled. (Hereinafter referred to as the bus bar gap) can be made smaller than the gap between the guide 513 and the restricting portion 523a (hereinafter referred to as the guide gap), and the size of the FC converter 23 can be made compact.

  For example, conventionally, when the IPM 42 is stacked on the reactor unit 40, the bus bar clearance is designed so that the tips of the IPM bus bar 420 and the reactor bus bar 411 do not hit each other. For this reason, while the operation | work which laminates | stacks IPM42 on the reactor part 40 is made easy, the allowance of the bus bar space at the time of an assembly | attachment becomes more than necessary. Such a margin of the bus bar is a cause of the center shift generated in the bolt fastening portion 510, but the FC converter 23 of the present embodiment is provided with a bent portion 424b, whereby the tip of the bus bar 424 of the IPM bus bar 420 is provided. And the end of the bus bar 412 of the reactor bus bar 411 can be prevented from contacting each other, so that it is not necessary to provide a margin for the bus bar compared to the front-rear direction, and the bus bar gap should be set to a minimum gap. Is possible. Therefore, the bus bar gap can be made smaller than the guide gap as described above.

  Since the guide gap can be made smaller than the bus bar gap in this manner, the FC converter 23 can be downsized in the left-right direction.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the IPM 42 is positioned on the reactor unit 40 by the guides 511, 512, 513 and the regulating units 425, 426, 423a has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the IPM 42 is installed in the reactor unit 40. The number and shape of the positioning members (guides and restricting portions) are not limited as long as they are configured to be able to restrict the front-rear direction and the left-right direction of the IPM 42 when stacked.

  23 ... FC converter, 40 ... reactor section, 42 ... IPM (Intelligent Power Module), 43 ... control board, 61 ... bolt, 62 ... nut, 411 ... reactor bus bar 412 ... Bus bar, 412a ... Hole, 420 ... IPM bus bar, 423 ... Leg, 424 ... Bus bar, 424a ... Hole, 424b ... Bent part, V ... Fuel cell vehicles

Claims (7)

A converter unit used in a fuel cell system, including a reactor unit, a power module disposed on the reactor unit, and a control board disposed on the power module and controlling the power module,
A reactor bus bar connected to the reactor section;
A power module bus bar connected to the power module;
A positioning member for positioning the power module;
Bolts and nuts for fastening the reactor bus bar and the power module bus bar with bolts,
When the power module is positioned with respect to the reactor portion by the positioning member during assembly, the bolt, the power module bus bar, the reactor bus bar, and the nut are connected to the bolt and the power module from the outside of the converter device. The converter apparatus arrange | positioned in order of a bus bar, the said reactor bus bar, and the said nut.   The converter device according to claim 1, wherein a front end portion of the power module bus bar has a bent portion that is bent in an outward direction of the converter device. The reactor unit includes a terminal block that supports the reactor,
A guide constituting one of the positioning members is provided on the terminal block,
The converter apparatus of Claim 2 with which the control part which comprises the other of the said positioning member is provided in the lower side of the said power module. The guide is composed of three protrusions,
The converter device according to claim 3, wherein at least one of the three protrusions has a U-shaped cross section. The converter device according to claim 4, wherein the protrusion having a U-shaped cross section is provided at a tip portion of the terminal block . The power module has legs for reinforcing strength,
The converter device according to claim 4, wherein a restricting portion corresponding to the protrusion having a U-shaped cross section is provided on the leg portion. Gap a bus bar gap is between the reactor busbar and the power module busbar, the cross-section guide gap smaller than a gap between the regulating portion corresponding to peaks and the projection of the U-shaped, according to claim 4 Converter device.

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