IP Library Granted Patent US 12685162
Granted Patent B2
US 12685162 · App. 17/906,460 · Granted Jul 14, 2026

Cooler and semiconductor device

Inventors: Naoki Yoshimatsu (Tokyo, JP); Ryoji Murai (Fukuoka, JP)
Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
H01L23/473H02K9/19H02K11/33H02M1/327
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12685162
App. No.
17/906,460
Granted
Jul 14, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

Provided is a cooler that is less likely to cause an uneven degree of cooling during cooling of multiple cooling targets. The cooler is thus provided inside with a flow path of a refrigerant, the flow path including: an outer-peripheral-side header region that is provided on an outer peripheral side of an annular shape and extends in a circumferential direction of the annular shape; an inner-peripheral-side header region that is provided on an inner peripheral side of the annular shape across a separation region from the outer-peripheral-side header region and extends in the circumferential direction; and a fin region serving as the separation region in which a fin is disposed.

Claims (44)

1 . A cooler having an annular shape in plan view from a first direction, the cooler comprising:

a flow path of a refrigerant, the flow path being provided inside the cooler,

the flow path including:

an outer-peripheral-side header region that is provided on an outer peripheral side of the annular shape and extends in a circumferential direction of the annular shape;

an inner-peripheral-side header region that is provided on an inner peripheral side of the annular shape across a separation region from the outer-peripheral-side header region and extends in the circumferential direction; and

a fin region serving as the separation region in which a fin is disposed, wherein

each of the outer-peripheral-side header region and the inner-peripheral-side header region has a smaller flow path resistance to the refrigerant than a flow path resistance of the fin region to the refrigerant.

2 . The cooler according to claim 1 , wherein the refrigerant is caused to flow from the inner-peripheral-side header region toward the outer-peripheral-side header region through the fin region.

3 . The cooler according to claim 1 , wherein the outer-peripheral-side header region has a wider width in radial direction of the annular shape than the inner-peripheral-side header region.

4 . The cooler according to claim 1 , wherein at least one region of the outer-peripheral-side header region and the inner-peripheral-side header region has a wider width in the first direction than the fin region.

5 . The cooler according to claim 4 , wherein the cooler has a surface extending in a second direction intersecting the first direction and a third direction intersecting the first direction and the second direction, the surface including a part corresponding to the at least one region, the part protruding from a part corresponding to the fin region.

6 . The cooler according to claim 1 , wherein the fin region is intermittently provided in the circumferential direction.

7 . The cooler according to claim 6 , further comprising:

a metal block,

wherein the metal block is disposed in a region of the separation region, the region being provided without the fin region.

8 . A semiconductor device comprising:

the cooler according to claim 1 ; and

multiple semiconductor modules,

the multiple semiconductor modules being disposed on a module placement surface of the cooler extending in a second direction intersecting the first direction and a third direction intersecting the first direction and the second direction.

9 . The semiconductor device according to claim 8 , wherein the multiple semiconductor modules are disposed side by side in the circumferential direction on the module placement surface of the cooler.

10 . The semiconductor device according to claim 8 , wherein

each of the multiple semiconductor modules includes a heat spreader, and

each of the multiple semiconductor modules is disposed on the module placement surface of the cooler with the heat spreader in a region overlapping the fin region in plan view from the first direction.

11 . The semiconductor device according to claim 10 , wherein the multiple semiconductor modules are each disposed on the module placement surface of the cooler with the heat spreader in the region included in the fin region in plan view from the first direction.

12 . The semiconductor device according to claim 11 , wherein the fin region includes a part from the region of the heat spreader of each of the multiple semiconductor modules to an outside by a distance equal to or more than a thickness of an outer wall of the cooler, in plan view from the first direction.

13 . The semiconductor device according to claim 8 , wherein

at least one region of the outer-peripheral-side header region and the inner-peripheral-side header region has a wider width in the first direction than the fin region,

the cooler has a surface extending in a second direction intersecting the first direction and a third direction intersecting the first direction and the second direction, the surface including a part corresponding to the at least one region, the part protruding from a part corresponding to the fin region,

the multiple semiconductor modules each include a main terminal, and

the main terminal of each of the multiple semiconductor modules is connected with the part protruding of the surface of the cooler extending in the second direction intersecting the first direction and the third direction intersecting the first direction and the second direction with an insulating material interposed between the main terminal and the part protruding.

14 . The semiconductor device according to claim 8 , wherein

the fin region is intermittently provided in the circumferential direction, and

the multiple semiconductor modules are disposed overlapping respective fin regions constituting the fin region intermittently provided in the circumferential direction one by one, in plan view from the first direction.

15 . The semiconductor device according to claim 8 , wherein the multiple semiconductor modules include a wide band gap semiconductor.

16 . The semiconductor device according to claim 15 , wherein the wide band gap semiconductor is a silicon carbide semiconductor.

17 . The semiconductor device according to claim 8 which is motor integrated semiconductor device, further comprising:

a housing; and

a motor unit;

the motor unit including a shaft rotatably supported by the housing, a rotor fixed to the shaft, and a stator fixed to the housing,

wherein the cooler is fixed to the housing with the shaft passing through a hole of the annular shape.

18 . The cooler according to claim 1 , wherein

the inner-peripheral-side header region has a first end and a second end in the circumferential direction,

the outer-peripheral-side header region has a third end and a fourth end in the circumferential direction, the third end being closer to the first end and the fourth end being closer to the second end, and

an absolute value of a first pressure difference between the first end and the second end and an absolute value of a second pressure difference between the third end and the fourth end are each configured to be smaller than each of an absolute value of a third pressure difference between the first end and the third end and an absolute value of a fourth pressure difference between the second end and the fourth end.