Electrical connectors – With insulation other than conductor sheath – Insulating body having plural mutually insulated terminals...
Reexamination Certificate
2002-11-18
2004-10-12
Abrams, Neil (Department: 2839)
Electrical connectors
With insulation other than conductor sheath
Insulating body having plural mutually insulated terminals...
Reexamination Certificate
active
06802745
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a housing device for accommodating at least one power semiconductor module, and to a contact element for use and/or accommodation in the housing device.
Circuit configurations in which electronic components are connected are frequently accommodated in housings or housing devices to shield the circuit configurations from, for example, undesirable influences. In such a case, plug-in, solder and/or screw contacts are used in the housing device to make specific electrical variables externally available, for example, for the user, and/or to provide electrical connections between adjacent housing areas.
Plug-in frames or other housing areas are normally formed for such a purpose in the housing device, in which so-called pins, insert parts or the like are accommodated in grooves or the like. The electrical connection to the circuit configuration is then produced, for example, through so-called bonding wires.
These conventional housing devices have the problem that the pins or the insert parts are restricted in their use and incorporation into the housing areas. For example, a pin can normally be connected to a housing area only at one end. Furthermore, struts that are used to provide mechanical robustness for the housing and the housing device make electrical connections between different areas more difficult.
Furthermore, the use of conventional sprayed-in or pushed-in contacts leads to natural oscillations between the contact and the housing material during attachment of the bonding wires during the bonding process due to microscopic gaps produced during the production process, which adversely affect the quality of the bond that is to be formed. The same natural oscillation problems occur when using plug-in contacts in a retaining groove.
To solve these problems in the past, bonding wires were laid for flexible connection of circuit areas disposed in different housing areas, which involves additional production complexity and is inconsistent with an automation process because the respective bonds must be provided individually.
To avoid natural oscillations during the formation of the bonds, special apparatuses have been used until now, which minimize the natural oscillations. On the other hand, when using sprayed-in contacts, specific spraying techniques are required to form a particularly,good seat during the bonding process, while avoiding natural oscillations. This also involves additional production complexity, resulting in additional costs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a housing device and contact element to be used in the housing device that overcome the hereinafore-mentioned disadvantages of the heretofore-known devices of this general type and that produces a particularly flexible and mechanically reliable electrical connection.
With the foregoing and other objects in view, there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a housing device for accommodating at least one power semiconductor module, including housing areas having live contact elements with at least one attachment area, each having a number of contact element configuration positions substantially linear in one extent direction for placing the contact elements in a number of orientations, each being formed from an alternating sequence of apertures and web elements, and each being disposed in approximately one accommodating plane in the extent direction and being substantially mirror-image symmetrical with respect to the accommodating plane, the accommodating plane containing the extent direction, and the web elements each being substantially mirror-image symmetrical, having an approximately double-T-shaped support, and having at least one groove at least one of interlocking and force-fitting the attachment area of the contact elements.
The housing device for accommodating at least one circuit configuration, in particular, a power semiconductor module or the like, has housing areas that are constructed for the configuration of, in particular, live contact elements and that each provide a number of configuration positions for such a purpose.
The housing device according to the invention is characterized in that the housing areas, in particular, with regard to their size and/or shape, are configured such that the contact elements can be disposed in a number of orientations in each of the configuration positions.
A fundamental idea of the present invention is, thus, to configure the housing areas of the housing device that are intended for accommodating the contact elements in terms of their size and shape such that the contact elements that are provided can be disposed in more than one orientation when they are accommodated in the housing areas. This allows the contact elements to be inserted in a more flexible manner in the housing areas.
In accordance with another feature of the invention, the housing areas each are in the form of areas of a plug-in frame, of a strut, of a reinforced area, in the form of an edge or boundary area and/or the like. Such a measure makes it possible to insert the contact elements to be used at a large number of positions in the area of the housing device. In particular, the struts and reinforced regions that are intended to be used for mechanical robustness of the housing device are configured in terms of their size and/or shape such that they are also used for accommodating the contact elements. Thus, in addition to providing mechanical reinforcement, these areas, at the same time, carry out contact-making tasks, thus, further improving the flexibility of the housing device according to the invention.
In accordance with a further feature of the invention, the housing areas are in each case substantially linear, at least in sections and/or locally, at least in one extent direction, and are, preferably, in the form of web, wall or plate elements there. In such a case, it is, furthermore, preferable for the housing areas each to be disposed in approximately one accommodating plane, which contains the respective extent direction, in the extent direction, and, preferably, to be configured to be substantially mirror-image symmetrical with respect to this accommodating plane. These measures result in the housing areas that are intended to accommodate the contact elements having a particularly simple configuration. In particular, the mirror-image symmetry with respect to the accommodating plane means that the number of orientations for the contact elements in the configuration positions can, likewise, be configured to be substantially mirror-image symmetrical with respect to the accommodating plane.
In accordance with an added feature of the invention, the housing areas are each formed substantially from an alternating sequence of apertures and web elements, which are each configured to be substantially the same and/or to have the same effect, in particular, geometrically and/or mechanically. This, then, means that the contact elements can in each case be accommodated in the apertures. If required, the alternating sequence of apertures and web elements maintains the functionality of the mechanical robustness of the housing in principle, to be precise, while at the same time providing flexibility with regard to the accommodation of the contact elements in the large number of apertures. In such a case, the invention, likewise, provides for the configuration positions each to be defined substantially by the position of the apertures or recesses.
Further improved robustness is obtained if the housing areas are each based on a base area that is, preferably, substantially flat or in the form of a plate and is substantially formed in a base plane at right angles to the accommodating plane. Such a configuration means that the housing area has a cross-section substantially in the form of an inverted T, with the base area being formed transversely, for example, on one housing surface, and, thus, giving that housing area sufficient robustness for the configuration in the
Abrams Neil
Eupec Europaeische Gesellschaft fuer Leistungshalbleiter mbH & C
Greenberg Laurence A.
Mayback Gregory L.
Stemer Werner H.
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