US-20260129811-A1 - POWER ELECTRONICS MODULE FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLE

US20260129811A1US 20260129811 A1US20260129811 A1US 20260129811A1US-20260129811-A1

Abstract

A power electronics module for an electric vehicle includes a housing and a charger circuit including a circuit board with a plurality of electronic components on a first side of the housing. A motor controller circuit including a circuit board with a plurality of electronic components is provided on a second side of the housing. A cooling plate is provided in the housing and sandwiched between the inverter of the motor controller circuit on a first side of the cooling plate and the plurality of electronic components of the charger circuit on a second side of the cooling plate opposite the first side.

Inventors

Samuel Nicholas Reitinger
Christian Handley

Assignees

LIVEWIRE EV, LLC

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20251230

Claims (9)

1 . An electric vehicle comprising: a battery pack including a plurality of rechargeable electrochemical cells; an electric motor connected to receive stored energy from the plurality of rechargeable electrochemical cells, the electric motor having an output connected to drive a wheel of the vehicle; a charge port configured for connection with an external power source; a power electronics housing enclosing an inverter for driving the electric motor and charging electronics for managing charging power from the charge port to the battery pack; and a cooling channel at least partially defined by a cooling plate within the power electronics housing, the cooling channel extending between a first coolant inlet and a first coolant outlet, the cooling channel having a first portion positioned along the inverter to draw heat from the inverter, and the cooling channel having a second portion positioned along the charging electronics to draw heat from the charging electronics.
2 . The electric vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the battery pack includes a battery case enclosing the plurality of rechargeable electrochemical cells, and wherein the power electronics housing is positioned, along with a radiator in fluid communication with the cooling channel, in front of an angled forward face of the battery case.
3 . The electric vehicle of claim 2 , wherein, outside the power electronics housing, the electric vehicle includes no controller for driving the electric motor and no controller for managing charging power from the charge port to the battery pack.
4 . The electric vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the power electronics housing includes a main housing including a dividing wall separating a first side of the housing with the charging electronics from a second side of the housing with the inverter.
5 . The electric vehicle of claim 4 , wherein the cooling plate is secured to the dividing wall to define the cooling channel, the cooling channel having a first portion positioned along the inverter, and the cooling channel having a second portion positioned along the charging electronics, the first portion being positioned closer to a coolant inlet of the housing that is connected to a cold side of a radiator to receive coolant therefrom.
6 . The electric vehicle of claim 5 , wherein the cooling plate includes an array of cooling fins extending into the second portion of the cooling channel along the charging electronics, and wherein the cooling plate includes a plurality of mounting areas receiving a plurality of respective components of the charging electronics.
7 . The electric vehicle of claim 4 , wherein the dividing wall has an opening in which the inverter is directly exposed to the cooling channel.
8 . The electric vehicle of claim 4 , wherein the main housing alone, without the cooling plate, defines a hot coolant return passage extending to a coolant outlet of the housing that is connected to a hot side of a radiator to supply coolant thereto.
9 . An electric vehicle comprising: a battery pack including a plurality of rechargeable electrochemical cells received within an internal cell cavity of a battery case; an electric motor connected to receive stored energy from the plurality of rechargeable electrochemical cells, the electric motor having an output connected to drive a wheel of the vehicle; a power electronics module separate from the battery pack and defining a liquid coolant flow path from a cold side of a radiator into a housing of the power electronics module via a first coolant inlet, from the first coolant inlet through a cooling channel that extends between motor control electronics on a first side and battery charger electronics on a second side opposite the first side, from the cooling channel out of the housing via a first coolant outlet to an external loop including a coolant pump and the electric motor, from the external loop back into the housing via a second coolant inlet, from the second coolant inlet through a hot coolant return passage that is offset from the cooling channel, and out a second coolant outlet to a hot side of the radiator.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/189,465, filed Mar. 24, 2023, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference herein. BACKGROUND The present invention relates to rechargeable electric vehicles, including among other things motorcycles. Such vehicles have one or more electric motors driven by power electronics from energy stored in an on-board battery pack for locomotion of the vehicle. During times of non-use, the battery pack can be recharged by plugging into an external power source (e.g., AC grid power) via a charger and charge port. SUMMARY In one aspect, the invention provides power electronics module for an electric vehicle, the power electronics module comprising a housing and a charger circuit including a circuit board with a plurality of electronic components on a first side of the housing. The charger circuit includes an AC input configured for connection with a charge port of the electric vehicle and a DC output configured for connection with a rechargeable battery of the electric vehicle. A motor controller circuit including a circuit board with a plurality of electronic components is provided on a second side of the housing. The motor controller circuit includes a DC input configured for connection with the rechargeable battery, an inverter, and an AC output configured for connection with an electric traction motor of the electric vehicle. A cooling plate is provided in the housing, and the cooling plate is sandwiched between the inverter of the motor controller circuit on a first side of the cooling plate and the plurality of electronic components of the charger circuit on a second side of the cooling plate opposite the first side In another aspect, the invention provides an electric vehicle including a battery pack including a plurality of rechargeable electrochemical cells. An electric motor is connected to receive stored energy from the plurality of rechargeable electrochemical cells, the electric motor having an output connected to drive a wheel of the vehicle. A charge port of the electric vehicle is configured for connection with an external power source. A power electronics housing encloses an inverter for driving the electric motor and charging electronics for managing charging power from the charge port to the battery pack. A cooling channel is at least partially defined by a cooling plate within the power electronics housing, the cooling channel extending between a first coolant inlet and a first coolant outlet. The cooling channel has a first portion positioned along the inverter to draw heat from the inverter, and the cooling channel has a second portion positioned along the charging electronics to draw heat from the charging electronics. In yet another aspect, the invention provides an electric vehicle comprising a battery pack including a plurality of rechargeable electrochemical cells received within an internal cell cavity of a battery case. An electric motor is connected to receive stored energy from the plurality of rechargeable electrochemical cells, the electric motor having an output connected to drive a wheel of the vehicle. A power electronics module separate from the battery pack defines a liquid coolant flow path from a cold side of a radiator into a housing of the power electronics module via a first coolant inlet, from the first coolant inlet through a cooling channel that extends between motor control electronics on a first side and battery charger electronics on a second side opposite the first side, from the cooling channel out of the housing via a first coolant outlet to an external loop including a coolant pump and the electric motor, from the external loop back into the housing via a second coolant inlet, from the second coolant inlet through a hot coolant return passage that is offset from the cooling channel, and out a second coolant outlet to a hot side of the radiator. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a right side perspective view of a motorcycle according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a left side perspective view of the motorcycle of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a portion of the motorcycle of FIG. 1, including a liquid-cooled power electronics housing, shown with covers removed. FIG. 4 is an alternate perspective view of the liquid-cooled power electronics housing, with the covers in place and connected to the electric traction motor. FIG. 5 is a rear view of a top portion of the liquid-cooled power electronics housing, illustrating radiator connections. FIG. 6 is a cross-section view of the power electronics housing, taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 5. FIG. 7 is cross-section view of the power electronics housing, taken along line 7-7 of FIG. 6. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Before any aspects of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of const