Printed circuit board assembly

Abstract

The invention relates to a printed circuit board arrangement (1) having a printed circuit board (2), the printed circuit board (2) having at least one electrically conductive inner layer (4) and having contact surfaces (5) and electrical and / or electronic components (6, 7) on at least one surface (3), the electrical and / or electronic components being electrically connected to the contact surfaces (5), at least two of the contact surfaces (5) being connected to one another via conductive strips (8), the ends of which are each connected to one of the contact surfaces (5), the at least two contact surfaces (5) and the conductive strips (8) having a width of at least 8 mm and the strips (8) having a thickness that is at least twice the thickness of the at least one inner layer (4).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a printed circuit board arrangement having a printed circuit board with at least one electrically conductive inner layer and, on at least one surface, contact areas and electrical and / or electronic components electrically connected to the contact areas. Background Art

[0002] Such a printed circuit board arrangement is known from DE 10 2007 051 316 A1. The inner layers of these known printed circuit boards have a thickness of approximately 35 μm for supplying power and signal lines to conventional electronic components, and the insulating intermediate layers also have a thickness that meets the insulation requirements for relatively high voltages.

[0003] However, if power electronics components are used that must switch voltages of 400 V to 800 V or even higher at currents of several 100 A, the lines to and from these power electronics components must also be dimensioned accordingly. This means that both the conductive inner layers and the insulating intermediate layers must be made significantly thicker. This, however, makes the entire printed circuit board significantly thicker and also significantly more expensive. Summary of the Invention

[0004] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to find a solution for a printed circuit board arrangement having high-voltage and / or high-current components.

[0005] This object is achieved by a printed circuit board arrangement, which is formed with a printed circuit board having at least one electrically conductive inner layer and, on at least one surface, contact surfaces and electrical and / or electronic components, which are electrically connected to the contact surfaces, wherein, in the manner according to the invention, at least two of the contact surfaces are connected to one another via conductive strips, the ends of which are each connected to one of the contact surfaces, and wherein at least two contact surfaces and the conductive strips have a width of at least 8 mm and the strips have a thickness that is at least twice the thickness of at least one inner layer.

[0006] Therefore, connections that must carry high currents or be subjected to high voltages are created using additional conductive strips, such as metal strips. These strips are welded, for example, to corresponding contact surfaces, which must be designed to be sufficiently large and thick. Conventional joining techniques can be used for this purpose.

[0007] These conductive strips can be adapted to the respective conditions in a very variable manner. Thus, the conductive strips can be selected according to requirements with regard to their dimensions and the material used. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] The present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the drawings and based on exemplary embodiments.

[0009] Figure 1 shows a cross section through a printed circuit board arrangement, and

[0010] Figure 2 A top view of a printed circuit board arrangement is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0011] Figure 1 and 2 A printed circuit board arrangement 1 is shown in cross section and in a top view, and comprises a printed circuit board 2 consisting of a sequence of at least partially electrically conductive layers as inner layers 4 and insulating layers 9 arranged between and pressed against the inner layers 4. Such printed circuit boards are known, wherein the electrically conductive and insulating layers typically have a thickness of approximately 35 μm.

[0012] In the illustrated embodiment, an insulating layer 9 is implemented on the surface 3 of the printed circuit board 2, into which the contact surfaces 5 are embedded. The contact surfaces 5 may also protrude from the insulating layer 9 or be formed on it. The contact surfaces can be connected to other electrically conductive structures by means of conductor tracks (not shown), which are also arranged on the surface 3 of the printed circuit board 2, which is formed as the insulating layer 9, or can also be connected to the inner conductive layer (inner layer 4) via vias.

[0013] As an example, electrical or electronic components 6, 7 are arranged on the contact surfaces and are electrically connected thereto, for example in order to supply them with energy. These components may be, for example, power semiconductors for switching high currents in the range of several hundred amperes.

[0014] Since such high currents require conductors with correspondingly large cross-sections or thicknesses, the layer thickness of approximately 35 μm typically used for printed circuit boards is insufficient. Therefore, on the one hand, the conductive layers must be thicker, but on the other hand, the insulating layers must also be designed to be correspondingly thicker. This significantly increases costs.

[0015] For this reason, electrical connections that must carry higher currents are implemented according to the invention using conductive strips 8 that have a width of at least 8 mm and a thickness that is at least twice that of the at least one inner layer 4. Such a printed circuit board arrangement has the advantage that the conductive connection between the two contact surfaces 5 can be easily adapted to the respective requirements regarding current carrying capacity without having to modify the entire printed circuit board design. Consequently, conventional printed circuit boards 2 can continue to be used even for high currents.

Claims

1. A printed circuit board arrangement (1) comprising a printed circuit board (2) having at least one electrically conductive inner layer (4) and having contact surfaces (5) and electrical and / or electronic components (6, 7) on at least one surface (3), the electrical and / or electronic components being electrically connected directly to the contact surfaces (5), At least two of the contact surfaces (5) are connected to each other via a conductive strip (8), and the ends of the conductive strip are directly connected to one of the contact surfaces (5). The at least two contact surfaces (5) and the conductive tape (8) have a width of at least 8 mm and the conductive tape (8) has a thickness at least twice that of the at least one conductive inner layer (4).

2. The printed circuit board arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the connection between the conductive track (8) and the contact surface (5) is a solder connection.

Images