INTELLIGENT POWER MODULE

• Main Author: TERASAWA NORIYASU
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 28.05.1999
• Edition: 6
• Subjects: BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS; ELECTRIC SOLID STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; ELECTRICITY; MEASURING; MEASURING QUANTITY OF HEAT; MEASURING TEMPERATURE; PHYSICS; SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; TESTING; THERMALLY-SENSITIVE ELEMENTS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve reliability of an IPM by setting a switch in the IPM arid confirming the overheat protection action of an individual IGBT. SOLUTION: Resistance values of resistors 108, 112 are set larger than resistance values of resistors 109, 113 so that transistors Tr102, Tr104 are turned off at a voltage of an input terminal 40 of 15-17 V which is an operation voltage of an intelligent power module IPM, the transistor Tr102 is turned off and the transistor Tr104 is turned on at the voltage of 17.5-18.5 V, and the transistor Tr102 is turned on and the transistor Tr104 is turned off at the voltage of 19-20 V. An abnormal overheat state of an IGBT 11 connected to a second comparator 36 can be tested if the voltage is set between a power source voltage 17.5 V and 18.5 V. On the other hand, an IGBT 1 connected to a first comparator 31 can be tested when the voltage of the source terminal 40 is set between 19 V and 20 V. An abnormal overheat test can be carried out individually for the IGBT simply by changing the voltage supplied to the source terminal 40. Reliability of the IPM is accordingly remarkably improved.