Electricity: electrical systems and devices – Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical... – For electronic systems and devices
Patent
1992-10-08
1993-12-21
Tolin, Gerald P.
Electricity: electrical systems and devices
Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical...
For electronic systems and devices
257713, 361736, H05K 720
Patent
active
052725936
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a housing for an electronic circuit. A housing of this type is known from DE-PS 25 46 334. The housing has an interior cooling frame on which a printed circuit board is fixed. The cooling frame has chambers, and a base located above the printed circuit board, which accommodate the components which are heated to a significant extent. The construction of the housing, in particular that of the cooling frame is somewhat complicated since the cooling frame has a special shape. For this reason, this arrangement is comparatively expensive. Moreover, improved heat dissipation of heat generated in the power components is needed, since the thermal conduction paths are relatively long.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a housing for an electronic circuit with improved heat dissipation means.
According to the invention, the housing for an electronic circuit comprises a cooling frame having means for attachment (e.g. screws) of a printed circuit board (10) with an electronic circuit and including longitudinal sides having cooling tabs standing approximately perpendicular to the printed circuit board; shoulders extending along the longitudinal sides and advantageously provided on housing side walls so that the cooling frame rests on the shoulders and projects laterally over the printed circuit board; ridges extending along the longitudinal sides and advantageously provide on housing side walls, each of these ridges being located above one of the shoulders to form a groove therebetween; and leaf springs fixed to the longitudinal sides of the cooling frame. The leaf springs are located in the grooves and designed to provide a contact between the cooling frame and the shoulders to facilitate heat transfer between the cooling frame and the shoulders.
In comparison, the housing in accordance with this invention, has the advantage that the cooling frame has large areas for fixing power components, from which the thermal conduction paths to the diecast housing are very short. Due to the planar contact of the cooling frame to the housing, the heat is easily conducted away and dissipated, so that heat accumulation is avoided. The housing in accordance with this invention is thus suitable for circuits with a large number of power components with correspondingly high thermal output. The cooling frame is of a simple construction, so that its manufacture does not require any cost-intensive manufacturing stages.
The arrangement of the power components on the cooling frame and the fixing of the cooling frame to the printed circuit board, also confer the advantage that assembly can be automated and that only one soldering process is required to create the solder connections. Furthermore, so-called PCB panels can be utilised, on which several cooling frames can be accommodated and simultaneously conveyed over a soldering bath. After soldering, the individual printed circuit boards with the attached cooling frames are broken out or punched out of the PCB panels. Manufacture is thus particularly economical. Moreover the design of the cooling frame and the housing in accordance with the invention avoids additional sealing points, through which dust and moisture could penetrate into the interior of the housing.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention the cooling frame is provided with means for thermally conductively conducting an electronic component to it. This means for thermally conductively connecting is designed to provide a better contact between the cooling tab and the electronic component to facilitate heat transfer from the electronic component to the cooling frame and can be a spring clip.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
The objects, features and advantages of the present invention will now be illustrated in more detail by the following detailed description, reference being made to the accompanying drawing in which:
FIG. 1 is a partially top plan, partially cross-sectional view through a housing according to the invention wi
REFERENCES:
patent: 4204248 (1980-05-01), Proffit
patent: 4298905 (1981-11-01), Bosler
patent: 5089936 (1992-02-01), Kojima
patent: 5170325 (1992-12-01), Bentz
Semi-Conductor Module with Heat Transfer, IBM Tech Discl Bull vol. 20 No. 12 May 1978, Eckenbach et al, p. 5203.
WO, A, 9105453 of 18 Apr. 1991.
Hussmann Dieter
Jakob Gert
Jessberger Thomas
Karr Dieter
Schupp Karl
Robert & Bosch GmbH
Striker Michael J.
Tolin Gerald P.
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