CN106953473A - There is the housing of built-in control device and combine the electric compressor of the housing - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to an electric compressor housing 1 for a vehicle, delimiting an interior space 132 closed by a cover 50, designed to receive at least one printed circuit board 40 formed for an electric compressor The control device of the motor built in, the housing 1 has at least one positioning device 11, which is designed to position the printed circuit board 40 in the inner space 132, and the positioning device 11 passes through the printed circuit board 40, so that the positioning device 11 The free end 13 protrudes beyond the surface of the printed circuit board 40 and cooperates with the cover 50 so that the cover 50 can be positioned in a predetermined position relative to the housing 1 .

Description

Housing with built-in controls and electric compressor incorporating the housing

technical field

The present invention relates to the motor vehicle industry. More specifically, the invention relates to a housing designed to contain control means for the electric motor of a compressor, in particular an electric refrigeration compressor with built-in control means.

Background technique

Currently, the motor vehicle industry provides users with motor vehicles equipped with air-conditioning systems designed to regulate the temperature in the passenger compartment of said motor vehicles. More recently, continuous improvements in this field have resulted in electric compressors provided with built-in control means. Such electric compressors are produced by building the control unit into a housing provided for this purpose. Such electric compressors with built-in controls are now provided in air-conditioned vehicles, such as motor vehicles.

An electric compressor with built-in controls designed for use in a motor vehicle comprises a housing receiving the electric motor of the compressor, a compression mechanism and control means for the electric motor, called control means, located inside the housing. The control device is designed to convert direct current generated from a high-voltage power source into three-phase alternating current and supply said three-phase alternating current to the motor of the compressor through electrical terminals. This electrical terminal enables the electric motor to be powered while ensuring that the coolant circuit remains sealed.

The control device for an electric motor includes a plurality of electronic components, including a printed circuit board. Additionally, the compressor may include electrical terminals as described above, as well as low and high voltage connectors. The different components mentioned above are assembled inside the housing and their respective positions relative to each other need to be guaranteed so that automatic rigid attachment methods can be used on the printed circuit board. Furthermore, a perfect seal must be guaranteed, which requires precise positioning of the closure cap on the housing.

Although these various components usually have dimensional tolerances to facilitate their assembly, this pre-assembly stage is still critical. This criticality leads to alignment difficulties, which eventually lead to failures that lead to the discarding of the housing or even the entire compressor with the control installed, in particular due to insufficient sealing between the housing and the cover.

The applicant has demonstrated the need to improve these prior art in order to ensure an efficient, functional and perfectly sealed assembly of the different parts of the control device inside the compressor housing, automatically and reliably positioning and electrically connecting the compressor housing. This ensures optimal operation of the control device and ultimately of the electric compressor incorporating such a control device.

Contents of the invention

It is therefore an object of the present invention to perfect a housing designed to receive the different components of the control device for the electric motor of the compressor, and more particularly to a A control device within an electric motor, wherein the positioning of said different parts of said control device relative to each other is optimized by the structure of the housing itself in order to ensure their respective positions and their rigid attachment to each other. This object is fully achieved if the alignment means of the parts of the control device also align the cover, ensuring that the control device is sealed and protected.

The invention relates to an electric compressor housing for a vehicle, delimiting an internal space closed by a cover, designed to receive at least one printed circuit board forming a Control device for an electric motor, the housing having at least one positioning device designed to position a printed circuit board in the interior space, said positioning device passing through the printed circuit board so that the free end of the positioning device protrudes beyond the printed circuit board The free end cooperates with the cover so that the cover can be positioned in a predetermined position relative to the housing.

Thus, the position of the printed circuit board relative to other components placed in the interior space and the position of the cover is ensured in a particularly simple and reliable manner, enabling the use of automatic rigid attachment methods for these components. Individual positioning devices, in particular alignment pins, ensure correct positioning of the printed circuit board and cover.

The housing according to the invention may advantageously have the following features, taken alone or in combination:

- the position of the printed circuit board aligns said board relative to at least one aperture formed in the housing and designed to receive an electrical connector,

- said at least one positioning means is located adjacent to said aperture for setting said predetermined position for an electrical connector within said housing relative to the position of said at least one aperture,

- the housing comprises at least a first aperture designed to receive a first electrical connector and a second aperture designed to receive a second electrical connector, characterized in that , the positioning device is located between the first orifice and the second orifice,

- according to a first variant, the positioning means are located on the housing in a strip delimited on one side by a first orifice and on the other side by a second orifice,

- More specifically, the positioning means are mounted in the housing within said strip and within the strip delimited by a second straight line passing through the tops of the two orifices and a second straight line passing through the bases of the two orifices superior. In this respect, the positioning means are located strictly between the two orifices,

- said housing delimits a gap separated from said inner space by a bottom and designed to receive an electric motor, electrical terminals designed to form an electrical connection between said printed circuit board and said electric motor,

- a sealing element is positioned at the interface between the perimeter of the interior space and the perimeter of the cover, in order to ensure that said cover hermetically closes the interior space,

- the sealing element is made of flexible material or thin metal or a multilayer combination of metal and synthetic material,

- The positioning means cooperate with the sealing element to enable positioning of said sealing element in a predetermined position relative to the housing.

The invention also relates to an electric air-conditioning compressor for a vehicle comprising a housing according to any one of the features described in this document.

According to one aspect of the compressor, the first connector is disposed in a first opening of the housing, the second connector is disposed in a second opening of the housing, and the printed circuit board is connected to the first connector by at least one solder joint and the second connector.

Advantageously, the compressor comprises an electric motor controlled by a printed circuit board and received in a gap of the housing opposite the interior space relative to the bottom.

According to a variant embodiment, the compressor comprises a scroll compression device driven by an electric motor.

The above-mentioned printed circuit board is a main part of the control device of the electric motor installed in the compressor. The control device also includes a power module. The latter controls the rotational speed of the electric motor of the compressor, enabling a variable coolant rate to allow regulation of the temperature in the air-conditioned passenger compartment of the vehicle. In this way, the rotational speed of the electric compressor can be varied as a function of the load of the vehicle's air conditioning system.

Description of drawings

The objects, objects and characteristics of the present invention as well as its advantages are more clearly set forth in the description of preferred embodiments of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

- Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an electric compressor with built-in control means;

- Figure 2 is a front view of a housing designed to receive the different components of the control device according to the invention;

- Figure 3 is a front view of the housing shown in Figure 2 after the printed circuit board has been placed therein;

- Figure 4 is a partial cross-section of a housing fitted with a cover positioned on the housing designed to receive control means;

- Figure 5 shows a sealing element designed to be positioned between the housing and the cover of the housing.

All other relevant objectives are explained in the description.

detailed description

Referring specifically to FIGS. 1 to 5 , the following description is intended to clearly and completely explain the present invention, but should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention to the embodiments described below.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an electric air conditioner compressor 100 with a built-in control device 140 . The device 100 comprises an electric motor 110 designed to operate a compression device 120, such as a scroll compression device. The electric compressor 100 comprises a housing 130 designed to receive a control device 140 of the electric motor. As mentioned above, this control device 140 is an inverter, ie a device for converting direct current into alternating current, and a device for controlling the rotational speed of the electric motor of the compressor.

The electric motor 110 has a rotary shaft 131 that rotates about a longitudinal axis A. As shown in FIG. The housing 130 according to the invention may be attached to the first longitudinal end of the electric motor 110 by being attached to an additional housing containing the electric motor 110 . The housing 130 delimits an interior space 132 containing the components of the control device 140 of the electric motor 110 , in particular a printed circuit board. The inner space 132 is delimited by a bottom 133 and a peripheral wall 134 of the housing 130 which extends substantially perpendicular to a plane containing a large part of the bottom 133 .

This inner space 132 also contains electrical terminals 20 for safely conducting the three-phase alternating current from the control device 140 to the electric motor 110 , in particular by electrically isolating this current from the base 133 . The electrical terminal 20 is advantageously an insulating glass terminal. This terminal is also sealed, preventing coolant fluid present around the electric motor 110 from entering the interior space 132 .

According to another alternative, the housing 130 has a chamber 135 delimited by a second peripheral wall 136 extending in a direction opposite to the direction in which the peripheral wall 134 (referred to as the first wall) delimiting the interior space 132 extends. . In other words, the housing 130 comprises an interior space on one side of the bottom 133 and a receiving area for the electric motor 110 on the other side.

The electrical terminal 20 comprises at least two conductive bars 20 a , 20 b cooperating with a printed circuit board forming the control device 140 . According to the example embodiment in FIG. 1 , the electrical terminal 20 comprises three conductive bars 20 a , 20 b , 20 c based on the three-phase characteristic of the current to be supplied to the electric motor 10 . FIG. 1 shows that these conductive rods pass completely through the bottom 133 of the housing 130 , to which the electrical terminal 20 is rigidly connected, which is also assembled via the inner space 132 or via the cavity 135 .

According to the invention, the position of the printed circuit board is determined by the electrical terminals 20, in particular by at least one of the conductive bars 20a, 20b and/or 20c passing through said printed circuit board.

Figure 2 shows an embodiment of a housing 1 designed to receive a control device. This housing 1 is designed in particular for a control device for controlling an electric compressor with a built-in control device designed for a vehicle, preferably a motor vehicle.

The assembly formed by the housing 1 and the cover 50 (shown in FIG. 4 ) provides an interior space 132 capable of receiving the different electronic components of the control device. Said assembly comprising housing 1 and cover 50 must form a sealed container able to receive the different electronic components of the control device.

The housing 1 shown in FIG. 2 is specially designed to enable optimal positioning of the different electronic components and electrical terminals 20 during their assembly. In order to ensure said positioning within the housing 1 , said housing 1 is provided with alignment means called first positioning means 11 . Optionally, the housing 1 includes a second positioning device 10 . Naturally, the invention also covers embodiments in which the housing 1 is provided with a single positioning device 11 .

As shown in FIG. 2 , the first positioning device 11 and the second positioning device 10 are relatively far away from each other. By way of positioning example, the first positioning means 11 are located in the upper half of the compressor and the second positioning means 10 are located in the lower half of the compressor, the compressors are then separated by a plane passing through the longitudinal axis A.

According to this example, the electrical terminal 20 is located substantially between the two positioning means 10 , 11 . More specifically, the electrical terminals 20 are placed on the bottom 133 such that a straight line passing through the center of each positioning means 10 , 11 contacts the electrical terminals 20 .

The first positioning means 11 and the second positioning means 10 enable a precise determination of the position of the electrical terminals 20 inside the housing 1 according to the stage before the assembly of the printed circuit board. This defined position of the electrical terminal 20 is important because it determines the position of the printed circuit board.

Thus, once the electrical terminal 20 has been correctly positioned within the housing 1 and rigidly attached to the bottom 133 by the arrangement formed by the two positioning means 10, 11, the printed circuit board 40 can be approached and positioned more precisely, In particular with regard to the high and low pressure connectors pre-positioned in the openings 21 and 22 in the housing 1 . In this regard, the first positioning means 11 are located on the housing 1, substantially between a first aperture 21 designed to receive a high voltage electrical connector and a second low voltage electrical connector called a signal connector.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the power module 30 is positioned using four stops 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 installed around said power module 30 .

As shown in FIG. 3 and according to the invention, the positioning of the printed circuit board 40 is as follows: The printed circuit board 40 is positioned using at least one of the three conductive bars 20a, 20b, 20c of the electrical terminal 20 . At the same time, the first positioning means 11 is received in the hole 35 formed through the printed circuit board 40 . The correct and final positioning of the printed circuit board 40 within the inner space 132 of the housing 1 is achieved by using a combination of means formed by the electrical terminals 20 and the first positioning means 11 designed to pass through the printed circuit Plate 40.

In other words, the three conductive rods 20 a , 20 b , 20 c of the electrical terminal 20 and the first positioning device 11 pass through the printed circuit board 40 and together determine the position of the printed circuit board 40 in the housing 1 . The electrical terminal 20 and the first positioning means 11 cooperate to ensure an optimal positioning with the printed circuit board 40 , in particular with the high and low voltage connectors and/or the power module 30 .

If the housing 1 is provided with first positioning means 11 , it is advantageous if this first positioning means 11 is positioned near the critical parts of the control device which have to be connected to the printed circuit board 40 .

Therefore, as shown in Figure 1:

- The first positioning means 11 are located near the position of the first aperture 21 for the first electrical connector and the second aperture 22 for the second electrical connector. Advantageously, this first positioning means 11 is positioned strictly between said first and second apertures 21 , 22 to ensure that the printed circuit board 40 after being attached to the housing 1 is soldered to the printed circuit board. precise positioning in the area of the connector.

In practice, this arrangement enables:

- correct and easy positioning of key components of the control device within the housing 1, and/or

- Reliable positioning of the printed circuit board 40 in a predetermined position determined by the position of the electrical terminal 20 and the position of the first positioning means 11 .

Once the printed circuit board 40 has been correctly positioned, the three conductive bars 20a, 20b, 20c are connected to the printed circuit board 40 by soldered connection elements or are rigidly attached to the printed circuit board 40 . The connection element is for example a solder spot with a circular hole designed to fit a part of the conductive rod. This precise positioning of the printed circuit board ensures that the electrical contacts of the high and low voltage connectors and/or power module 30 pass through the printed circuit board 40 so that they can be soldered to said printed circuit board.

According to the invention and as shown in FIG. 4 , the first positioning device 11 is mounted on the housing 1 close to the connector holes 21 , 22 (as shown in FIG. 2 ) and is designed to pass through the printed circuit board 40 completely. The first positioning means 11 are particularly long enough to achieve this. The free end 13 of the positioning means 11 protruding from the housing 1 is at least strictly greater than the thickness of the printed circuit board 40 . This first positioning means 11 then protrudes beyond the surface of the printed circuit board 40; the part of the first positioning means 11 that protrudes beyond said printed circuit board 40 surface is used as a reference for positioning the cover 50 on the housing 1 so that the cover 50 Can be correctly positioned relative to the housing 1 . To achieve this, the free end 13 of the positioning means is located in a hole 137 formed in the thickness of the cover 50 .

As also shown in FIG. 4 , the first end 12 of the first positioning means 11 enables it to be positioned in a recess formed in a bottom 133 delimiting the inner space 132 . The first positioning means 11 penetrates the material forming the printed circuit board and protrudes beyond the surface of said printed circuit board 40 close to the second end 13 .

A sealing element 60 made of a flexible material or thin metal or a multilayer combination of metal and synthetic material, such as a metal sealing gasket, is positioned between the housing 1 on the cover 50 and, more specifically, at the edge of the housing 1. At the interface between the periphery of the internal space 132 and the periphery of the cover 50 . The cover 50 is attached to the housing 1 using any suitable means such as screws 15 .

Figure 5 is a front view of a sealing element 60 made of flexible material or thin metal or a multilayer combination of metal and synthetic material. If the sealing element 60 is made of thin metal or a multilayer combination of thin metal and flexible synthetic material, the thin metal may be a material such as steel with a thickness of about 0.3 mm, allowing some deformation. When the cover 50 is attached to the housing 1 , the sealing element 60 made of thin metal is subjected to compressive stress which resists the deformation of the flattened sealing element 60 , thereby improving the contact between the cover 50 and the housing 1 . of the seal.

The shape of said sealing element 60 makes it possible to substantially adapt to the contour of the housing 1 containing the different components of the control device according to the invention. As shown in FIG. 5 , the sealing element 60 has seven apertures arranged around its periphery, each aperture being designed to receive a screw for attaching the cover 50 to the housing 1 . Furthermore, the sealing element 60 has a first lug-type extension 61 designed to allow the passage of the first positioning means 11 . The sealing element 60 also has a second extension 62 designed to enable the passage of the second positioning means 10 .

FIG. 5 also shows how the two extensions 61 , 62 enabling the passage of the first positioning means 11 and the second positioning means 10 are relatively far apart from each other. This arrangement enables an optimal positioning of the sealing element 60 when it is mounted on the periphery of the housing 1 .

The above description discloses a first positioning device and a second positioning device. According to an exemplary embodiment, these positioning means are positioning pins of circular section that are press-fitted into the housing 1 .

Claims (12)

1. An electric compressor housing (1) for a vehicle, delimiting an interior space (132) closed by a cover (50), the interior space being designed to receive at least one printed circuit board, the at least one printed circuit board The board forms the control means (140) for the electric motor (110) built into the electric compressor, said casing (1) has a design for positioning said printed circuit board (40) in said inner space (132) at least one positioning device (11), said positioning device (11) passing through said printed circuit board (40), such that the free end (13) of said positioning device (11) protrudes beyond said printed On the surface of the circuit board (40), said free end (13) cooperates with said cover (50) to enable positioning of this cover (50) in a predetermined position relative to said housing (1). 2. Housing (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the position of the printed circuit board (40) aligns the board with respect to at least one aperture (21, 22), the at least one An aperture is formed in said housing (1) and is designed to receive an electrical connector. 3. Housing (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that said at least one positioning means (11) is located in the vicinity of said apertures (21, 22). 4. Housing (1) according to claim 3, comprising a first aperture (21) designed to receive a first electrical connector and at least one second aperture (22) designed to receive a second electrical connector ), characterized in that the positioning device (11) is located between the first orifice (21) and the second orifice (22). 5. Housing (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, delimiting a chamber (135) separated from said inner space (132) by a bottom (133) and designed to receive an electric motor (110), electrical terminals (20) designed to form an electrical connection between said printed circuit board (40) and said electric motor (110). 6. Housing (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising a sealing element (60) at the interface between the periphery of the inner space (132) and the periphery of the cover (50) , eg to ensure that the lid (50) hermetically closes the inner space (132). 7. Housing (1 ) according to claim 6, characterized in that the sealing element (60) is made of flexible material or thin metal or a multilayer combination of metal and synthetic material. 8. Housing (1) according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the positioning means (11) cooperates with the sealing element (60) to enable the sealing element (60) to The housing (1) is positioned at a predetermined position. 9. An electric air-conditioning compressor (100) for a vehicle, comprising a housing (1 ) according to any one of the preceding claims. 10. Compressor according to claim 9, comprising a first connector arranged in a first aperture (21) of said casing (1) and a second hole arranged in said casing (1) A second connector in the port (22), the printed circuit board (40) is connected to the first connector and the second connector by at least one solder joint. 11. A compressor according to any one of claims 9 or 10, comprising an electric motor (110) controlled by a control device (140) and positioned relative to the bottom (133) and said inner space (132) In the gap (135) of the opposite said housing (1). 12. Compressor according to claim 11, comprising scroll compression means (120) driven by said electric motor (100).