Housing for electrical or electronic components

Abstract

The invention relates to a housing (2) for an electrical or electronic device (1), comprising: a housing lower part (5) made of metal and designed as a heat sink for dissipating the heat generated by the device, at least two riveting pins (9) being integrally formed with the housing lower part (5); at least one printed circuit board (3) on which the components are formed in the form of electrical and / or electronic components and conductor circuits and which is mounted in the housing lower part (5); the housing lower part (5), the printed circuit board (3), the shielding plate (4) and the housing upper part (6) are connected to one another in a sealing manner by forming a rivet head (10) on a rivet pin (9).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a housing for an electrical or electronic device, the housing comprising: a housing lower part, which is made of metal and is configured as a cooling body for dissipating heat generated by the device, wherein at least two rivet pins are integrally formed with the housing lower part; at least one printed circuit board, on which the device is configured in the form of electrical and / or electronic components and conductor tracks and which is supported in the housing lower part; a shielding plate for shielding electromagnetic radiation and a housing upper part for closing the housing. Background Art

[0002] Such housings are known per se and are used, for example, in motor vehicles to protect and secure control units.

[0003] DE 100 62 699 A1 describes a cooling device for a controller, which can be fixed to a housing of the controller. The cooling device is made of a thin metal sheet by deep drawing. The cooling device has protrusions, which pass through matching through holes in the housing and achieve force locking with the matching through holes by deformation and thus achieve a fixed connection between the housing and the cooling device.

[0004] WO 2014 / 095171 A1 discloses a housing of a controller, in which a separate convector is arranged on the outside as a cooling device, which is thermally and mechanically connected to the housing. The connection can be established by riveting, while the printed circuit board can be fixed at the same time. Summary of the invention

[0005] The object of the present invention is to provide a housing for an electrical or electronic component which can be produced simply and inexpensively.

[0006] This object is achieved by the features of claim 1. The housing lower part, printed circuit board, shielding plate and housing upper part are connected to each other in a sealing manner by forming rivet heads on rivet pins. As a result, a common fixing device can be used for all parts to be fixed to the housing lower part to ensure the required fixation. In this case, the rivet pin is constructed integrally with the housing lower part, so that fewer parts need to be operated overall, such as no screws or separate rivets. The forming of the rivet heads can be carried out simultaneously for all rivet heads without great expenditure. Therefore, the electrical or electronic component can be manufactured more simply and more cheaply overall. In addition, rivets have the advantage over screws that they require less structural height of the housing because the convex part (Dom) or cup (Napf) required for fixing the screws is eliminated.

[0007] The dependent claims relate to advantageous embodiments of the invention.

[0008] In one design, the rivet pin is configured as a hollow pin with a closed upper end, which facilitates the formation of the rivet head and the sealing connection of the components of the device.

[0009] In another embodiment, the rivet pin has a circular cross section with a maximum diameter of 5 mm. As a result, the rivet head is correspondingly small, so that the area available for assembly on the printed circuit board is saved, or the printed circuit board can have a smaller area.

[0010] In another design, the housing lower part is made of an aluminum alloy, which has good thermal conductivity, is easy to deform to form a rivet head, and is lightweight.

[0011] In another embodiment, the printed circuit board is electrically connected to the housing lower part and the shielding plate, thereby achieving particularly good electromagnetic shielding.

[0012] In another embodiment, the rivet pin is produced by deep drawing. This can be easily realized in terms of production technology, for example by using a progressive die of an automatic punching machine. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] The present invention is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings are as follows:

[0014] Figure 1 A top view showing an electrical or electronic device; and

[0015] FIG. 2 shows as a detail a) a section through the area around the rivet before riveting and b) after riveting. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] As can be seen from the figures, the electric or electronic component 1 comprises a housing 2 , here a printed circuit board 3 and a shielding plate 4 .

[0017] The housing 2 comprises a trough-shaped housing lower part 5 and a cover-shaped housing upper part 6 .

[0018] The housing lower part 5 is essentially rectangular in top view, made of aluminum alloy and has, for example, a plurality of cooling ribs on its lower side as a heat sink. The housing lower part 5 has a fixing lug 8 in each corner region on the lateral outside for fixing the device 1 on, for example, the body of a motor vehicle. Inside the groove of the housing lower part 5, a support surface for supporting the printed circuit board 3 is formed in each of the four corner regions. The rivet pin 9 extends upwardly into the interior of the housing lower part 5 perpendicular to the support surface. The rivet pin 9 has a circular cross section and is closed at its free end 9A pointing upward away from the support surface; in addition, the rivet pin 9 is hollow inside.

[0019] The printed circuit board 3 is inserted into the housing lower part 5 in such a way that the rivet pins 9 pass through the through holes provided in the corner regions of the printed circuit board. The printed circuit board 3 is usually equipped with conductor tracks and electrical and / or electronic components. In addition, at least one socket 11 is provided on the upper surface of the printed circuit board facing the housing upper part 6 so that the device 1 can be connected to the onboard electronics by means of a corresponding plug and cable. The printed circuit board 3 is designed to be surface-conductive in its corner regions both on the upper side and on the lower side.

[0020] At least a portion of the components arranged on the upper side of the printed circuit board 3 is covered at a certain distance by the shielding plate 4, in which a recess corresponding to the socket 11 is provided. Like the printed circuit board, the shielding plate 4 has through holes in its corner regions, through which the rivet pins 9 pass.

[0021] The housing lower part 5 is covered by the housing upper part 6, through which the socket 11 passes. Likewise, the rivet pin 9 passes through a corresponding through hole in the housing upper part 6. The housing upper part is preferably made of plastic.

[0022] After the housing lower part 5, the printed circuit board 3, the shielding plate 4 and the housing upper part 6 are assembled, the rivet pins 9 are deformed by means of a punching tool. Here, on the one hand, a rivet head 10 is formed on the free end 9A of each rivet pin 9, which presses the components of the device 1 against each other in the area around the rivet pin 9. On the other hand, the rivet pin 9 is upset and thus lies against the wall of the through hole. In this way, the components of the device 1 are connected to each other in a fixed, immovable and sealed manner to the outside.

[0023] Reference numerals list

[0024] 1 Electrical or electronic devices

[0025] 2 Housing

[0026] 3. Printed Circuit Board

[0027] 4 Shielding plate

[0028] 5 Housing lower part

[0029] 6 Housing upper part 7

[0031] 8 Fixing lugs

[0032] 9 Riveting pins

[0033] 9A Free end (of rivet pin)

[0034] 10 Rivet head

[0035] 11 Socket

Claims

1. A housing (2) for an electrical or electronic device (1), the housing comprising: a housing lower part (5), which is made of metal and is configured as a cooling body for dissipating heat generated by the component, at least two rivet pins (9) being integrally formed with the housing lower part (5); At least one printed circuit board (3), on which the device is constructed in the form of electrical and / or electronic components and conductor tracks and the printed circuit board is supported in the housing lower part (5); a shielding plate (4) for shielding electromagnetic radiation and a housing upper part (6) for closing the housing (2), characterized in that the housing lower part (5), the printed circuit board (3), the shielding plate (4) and the housing upper part (6) are connected to each other in a sealing manner by forming a rivet head (10) on a rivet pin (9).

2. The housing (2) according to claim 1, characterized in that The rivet pin (9) is designed as a hollow pin with a closed upper end.

3. The housing (2) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The rivet pin (9) has a circular cross section with a maximum diameter of 5 mm.

4. The housing (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The housing lower part (5) is made of aluminum alloy.

5. The housing (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The printed circuit board (3) is electrically connected to the housing lower part (5) and the shielding plate (4).

6. The housing (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that The rivet pin (9) is produced by deep drawing and extrusion.

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