Electronic control device and manufacturing method thereof

Abstract

In order to provide an electronic control device which can flexibly cope with the on-board layout and assembly of each vehicle at low cost and can contribute to the reduction of the total cost of the vehicle, the following configuration is adopted. Provided is a method for manufacturing an electronic control device provided with a housing having a holder for attachment to a predetermined position and a connector opening, the housing is manufactured by a die-casting method using a cavity die that presses in a direction substantially perpendicular to the connector opening, a core die that receives the pressing of the cavity die, and a sliding die that slides in a direction substantially perpendicular to the pressing direction, and the mounting surface of the holder has a surface that is horizontal with the pressing surface of the sliding die. Furthermore, only one sliding mold is used, the mounting surface of the bracket, which is not pressed by the sliding mold, has a mold release slope surface of the cavity mold, and the mold release slope surface is cut so as to become a surface parallel to the horizontal plane of the pressing surface of the sliding mold after mold release.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an electronic control device having a circuit substrate mounted with a connector for external connection and a housing accommodating the circuit substrate and the connector. In particular, the present invention relates to an electronic control device mounted on a vehicle for use and a method for manufacturing the same. Background Art

[0002] Recent vehicles are controlled by a variety of electronic devices, including engine control units (ECUs) and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). The printed circuit boards (PCBs) of these electrical devices are typically housed in waterproof housings (frames) to prevent moisture intrusion. Furthermore, heat sinks (heat sinks) are typically installed in the housings to dissipate heat generated by the electronic components mounted on the PCBs.

[0003] In addition, since a connector for extracting signals to the outside is provided on the circuit board (PCB), an opening for the connector is provided on the housing. From the perspective of ease of manufacture, the frame is generally constructed by a pair of housings that can be divided into upper and lower parts. The above-mentioned heat sink is integrally formed on either side of the pair of housings. By making the housing with the heat sink into a die-cast product using aluminum material with good thermal conductivity, the heat dissipation effect is improved. Such an electronic control device is disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1.

[0004] The housing of the electronic control device disclosed in Patent Document 1 exposes a portion of the connector to the outside through a connector opening formed when the upper first housing and the lower second housing are assembled, while the remaining portion of the connector and the circuit board are housed within an internal space. The first and second housings are die-cast aluminum. Multiple heat sinks are integrally formed on the upper surface of the first housing. Prior art literature Patent Literature

[0005] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-143852 Summary of the Invention Problems to be solved by the invention

[0006] The in-vehicle layout and assembly method of electronic control devices like these vary from vehicle to vehicle. Even when installing electronic control devices with the same chassis, the mounting brackets must be designed and manufactured for each vehicle model, increasing costs.

[0007] An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic control device that can flexibly cope with the on-vehicle layout and assembly of each vehicle at low cost, thereby contributing to reducing the total cost of the vehicle. Technical means to solve the problem

[0008] The present invention for achieving the above-mentioned object is constructed as follows.

[0009] A method for manufacturing an electronic control device and an electronic control device manufactured by the manufacturing method, the electronic control device having a frame, the frame having at least a bracket for installation at a specified position and a connector opening. In the manufacturing method of the electronic control device, the frame is manufactured by die casting using the following mold: a cavity mold that presses in a direction approximately perpendicular to the connector opening, a core mold that receives the pressure of the cavity mold, and a sliding mold that slides in a direction approximately orthogonal to the pressing direction. The mounting surface of the bracket has a surface horizontal to the pressing surface of the sliding mold and is manufactured integrally with the frame. Effects of the Invention

[0010] The present invention provides an electronic control device that can flexibly cope with the vehicle layout and assembly of each vehicle at low cost and can contribute to reducing the overall cost of the vehicle. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] Figure 1 It is a cross-sectional view of the electronic control device of the present invention. Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A perspective view of the first shell is shown. Figure 3 It is a perspective view of the electronic control device of the present invention. Figure 4 Figure 3 A perspective view of the upper housing of the electronic control device is shown. Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of a mold when casting the upper shell of the present invention. Figure 6 This is another example of a schematic diagram of a mold when casting the upper case of the present invention. Figure 7 It is a diagram showing the structure of the bracket of the upper shell of the present invention. Figure 8 It is a diagram showing the bolt fastening surface of the bracket of the upper case of the present invention. Figure 9 This is a diagram showing an example in which the bracket of the upper casing of the present invention is provided in an L-shape. Figure 10 It is a diagram showing the manufacturing process of the upper shell of the present invention. Figure 11 This is a diagram showing a conventional electronic control device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0012] The following describes an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings is an example of the present invention and the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. In the drawings, Up represents up and Dn represents down. Example 1

[0013] Reference Figures 1 and 2 The electronic control device 10 according to the first embodiment will be described.

[0014] like Figure 1 As shown, the electronic control device 10 includes a circuit board 12 on which electronic components 11 are mounted, a connector 13 for external connection mounted on the circuit board 12 , and a housing 15 having an internal space 14 for accommodating the circuit board 12 .

[0015] The frame 15 is composed of a first housing 20 with an open bottom and a second housing 30 with an open top. The upper first housing 20 and the lower second housing 30 are superimposed and assembled with screws 31 to form an internal space 14 in the frame 15.

[0016] The first housing 20 is a die-cast product made of a light metal with excellent thermal conductivity, such as aluminum (including aluminum alloys), and the second housing 30 is a press-formed product made of a metal plate.

[0017] The frame 15 also has a connector opening 21 formed when the first housing 20 and the second housing 30 are assembled. This connector opening 21 is formed, for example, only in the first housing 20. The frame 15 exposes a portion of the connector 13 to the outside through the connector opening 21, while housing the remaining portion of the connector 13 and the circuit board 12 within the internal space 14. Alternatively, the frame 15 may have a configuration in which the first housing 20 and the second housing 30 are reversed.

[0018] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the first housing 20 has a surface 22 (upper surface 22) on the side opposite to the second housing 30 when viewed from the connector opening 21 (as viewed from the direction of the arrow Ar), a rear surface 23 on the side opposite to the connector opening 21, and left and right side surfaces 24 (only one side is shown). The upper surface 22 is a flat surface.

[0019] Figure 3 It is a perspective view of the electronic control device 100 of the present invention.

[0020] In the electronic control device 100, a main body bracket 101 for mounting on the vehicle side is screwed to a bracket 102. The main body bracket 101 is fixed to the vehicle side with screws. The main body bracket 101 can take various shapes depending on the mounting structure on the vehicle side. Reference numeral 102 denotes the upper housing, reference numeral 104 denotes a heat sink provided on the upper housing 103 for heat dissipation, reference numeral 105 denotes a connector, and reference numeral 108 denotes the lower housing to which the circuit board is secured.

[0021] Figure 4 yes Figure 3 A perspective view of the upper housing 103 of the electronic control device.

[0022] The screw mounting holes 105 of the bracket 102 can be seen. Screws are inserted into the screw mounting holes to fix the main body side bracket 101. The connector opening 107 is an opening for the connector to enter when the upper shell 103 and the lower shell 108 are integrated.

[0023] That is, the upper case 103 is a die-cast frame having a connector opening 107 , and the bracket (mounting portion) 102 is formed integrally with the frame.

[0024] The mounting surface of bracket (mounting portion) 102 is designed to be parallel to the opening direction of connector opening 107. This configuration allows the connector to be installed in the same direction as the screws into bracket 102 when the electronic control unit is mounted on the vehicle, facilitating installation. Furthermore, since the mounting direction can be limited to a single surface, the workspace can be reduced, and the degree of freedom in subsequent installation can be expected to be increased.

[0025] Next, the manufacturing process of the upper case 103 will be described.

[0026] The upper housing 103 is manufactured by die casting. Figure 5 The manufacturing method is described below. The fixed mold (core) 201 and the movable mold (cavity) 202 are pressed from the top and bottom directions of the upper shell to clamp them, while a pair of sliding molds (core molds) 203 and 204 are pressed in a direction perpendicular to the connector opening to perform split casting.

[0027] At this time, the mounting surface of the bracket 102 can be changed in direction within a range of 360 degrees relative to the connector opening surface by changing the angle of the pressing surface of the slide die.

[0028] Furthermore, while the parallelism and flatness of the screw fastening surfaces of the bracket 102 can be ensured by using a pair of sliding dies, die casting using a total of four dies may sometimes cause problems such as increased manufacturing costs and complicated die maintenance.

[0029] As a method for solving such a problem, Figure 6 As shown, the mold can also be constructed as follows: a sliding mold 301 is used only on the side where the main body side bracket 101 is fixed to ensure accuracy, and a slope (draft slope) 302 is provided on the side where the main body side bracket 101 is not fixed to facilitate demolding of the cavity mold. In this case, it is effective to perform surface processing so that the sloped surface for eliminating the influence of the draft slope of the mounting portion is parallel to the opposing surface.

[0030] use Figure 7 Provide explanation. Figure 7 (a) is a front view of the bracket 102, Figure 7 (b) indicates Figure 7 (a) AA section. Figure 7 As shown in (b), it is effective to perform cutting so that the surface (contact surface) with which the main body side bracket 101 contacts and the opposing bolt (screw) fastening surface are parallel.

[0031] In this case, if Figure 8 As shown, in order to shorten the cutting process time, it is effective to form a fastening surface parallel to the back surface only in the bolt fastening area through subsequent processing to reduce costs. In this way, the appropriate axial force of the screw can be ensured.

[0032] In addition, the bracket may also be Figure 9 The L-shaped structure shown in (a) to (d) can improve the mutual assembly performance with the vehicle side bracket.

[0033] Figure 10 The manufacturing process of the upper shell 103 of the present invention is shown. First, apply a release agent and a lubricant to the die-casting mold (step s100). Next, align the core mold as a fixed mold, the cavity mold as a movable mold, and the sliding mold for making a bracket (in the case of this figure, there is one sliding mold) with the pouring position (mold closing: step s101). Pour molten aluminum into the mold after mold closing (pouring: step s102). Move the cavity and sliding mold as movable molds to perform injection and molten metal filling (step s103). Maintain the pressure applied to the mold and cool it until the molten metal solidifies (step s104). After cooling, open the mold (step s105). Remove the die-cast casting from the mold (mold demolding, removal step s106). Use a grinder or the like to remove burrs from the removed casting (burr removal step s107). Subsequent process steps such as cutting, tapping, and surface processing (s108). The upper casing of the present invention is manufactured through such steps. (Comparative Example) Figure 11 This figure shows a conventional electronic control unit. The connector openings are 2100, 3100, and 3200. The bracket is 600. Previous electronic control unit upper cases prioritized ease of manufacture and were typically manufactured using only two molds: a cavity mold and a core mold. Therefore, bracket 600 has a fastening surface parallel to the circuit board (i.e., perpendicular to the connector opening).

[0034] When the bolt (screw) fastening surface of the bracket 600 is perpendicular to the connector opening surface, a plurality of screws are required when mounting the main body bracket on the upper housing.

[0035] Furthermore, when tightening a screw, the screwdriver must be brought into contact perpendicular to the length of the screw, requiring the screwdriver to be oriented in different directions to tighten the screw. If the connector insertion direction and the screw tightening direction differ, the assembly of the electronic control unit into the vehicle becomes complicated and requires additional work space. Explanation of symbols

[0036] 10, 100…electronic control device, 12…circuit board, 13…connector, 14…internal space, 15…frame, 20, 120…first housing, 21…opening for connector, 22…surface opposite to second housing (upper surface), 23…back surface opposite to opening for connector, 25…boundary between upper surface and back surface, 27…trace, 30…second housing, 40…heat sink.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing an electronic control device, the electronic control device comprising a housing having at least a bracket for mounting at a predetermined position and a connector opening, the method comprising: The frame is manufactured by die casting using the following molds: a cavity mold that presses in a direction substantially perpendicular to the connector opening, a core mold that receives the pressure of the cavity mold, and a slide mold that slides in a direction substantially perpendicular to the pressing direction. The mounting surface of the bracket has a surface that is horizontal to the pressing surface of the sliding mold and is manufactured integrally with the frame. Furthermore, only one sliding mold is used, and the mounting surface of the bracket that is not pressed by the sliding mold has a demolding slope surface of the cavity mold, and the demolding slope surface is cut in such a way that it becomes a surface parallel to the horizontal plane of the pressing surface of the sliding mold after demolding.

2. The method for manufacturing an electronic control device according to claim 1, wherein: The cutting process cuts only the vicinity of the fastening surface of the screw for fixing the bracket.

3. The method for manufacturing an electronic control device according to claim 1, wherein: The bracket has a second mounting surface that is substantially orthogonal to a mounting surface having a surface that is horizontal to the pressing surface of the sliding die.

4. An electronic control device comprising a housing having at least a bracket for mounting at a predetermined position and a connector opening, wherein: The frame has a mounting surface for the bracket on a surface substantially parallel to the connector opening, and the mounting surface of the bracket is integrated with the frame. Furthermore, one of the mounting surfaces of the bracket has a draft surface of the die-casting mold. The draft surface of the die casting mold is processed so that at least a portion of the draft surface becomes a surface parallel to the other mounting surface of the bracket.

5. The electronic control device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The surface processed so as to be parallel to the other mounting surface of the bracket is located only in the vicinity of a fastening surface of a screw for fixing the bracket.

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