Carrier for circuit board

Abstract

Two-part housing (1) with an upper part (1') and a lower part (1'') and with a carrier for a printed circuit board (2), wherein the carrier has a circuit board support (4) for supporting the circuit board (2), two locking hooks (5, 5'), and a dome (9) which can be arranged between the locking hooks (5, 5'), wherein the two locking hooks (5, 5') are designed to engage in a receptacle (7) on the circuit board, wherein the dome (9) is designed to spread apart the locking hooks (5, 5') for fixing the printed circuit board (2), and wherein a bevel (8) is provided on each of the locking hooks (5, 5') to compensate for tolerances in the thickness (d1, d2) of the printed circuit board (2), characterized in that the dome (9) is arranged in the lower part (1'') of the housing (1) and the two locking hooks (5, 5') are fastened to the upper part (1') of the housing, so that when the lower part (1'') is mounted on the upper part (1'), the dome (9) automatically engages between the locking hooks (5, 5") and spreads them apart to fix the printed circuit board (2).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a carrier for a printed circuit board according to the preamble of patent claim 1.

[0002] Such carriers are used in electrical devices, control units, etc. and are used to attach a printed circuit board, for example in a housing of the respective device.

[0003] The carrier has a PCB support for supporting the circuit board. Furthermore, the carrier has one or more locking hooks. The locking hooks, in turn, engage in a receptacle on the circuit board, securing it in place.

[0004] A printed circuit board must be fixed in a specific position within the device's housing to position the components mounted on it according to the relevant design specifications. However, printed circuit boards typically have large tolerances in series production. These wide tolerances lead to inconsistent positioning of the circuit board on the carrier. To counteract this behavior, an additional element for tolerance compensation is required.

[0005] A carrier with a locking hook for fixing a circuit board is known, for example, from DE 91 15 131 U1.

[0006] The invention is based on the object of designing the carrier in such a way that an additional element for tolerance compensation can be dispensed with.

[0007] This object is achieved in a generic housing with a carrier by the characterizing features of claim 1.

[0008] According to the invention, a two-part housing according to claim 1 is proposed, which comprises a carrier with two locking hooks. A bevel is provided on each of the locking hooks to compensate for tolerances in the thickness of the circuit board. The invention thus provides a circuit board fixation by means of locking hooks and integrated tolerance compensation. Further embodiments of the invention are the subject of the dependent claims.

[0009] According to the invention, two locking hooks are provided, which are designed to engage the receptacle. A dome located between the locking hooks can then spread the locking hooks apart in a simple and cost-effective manner to secure the circuit board. Advantageously, the force for securing the circuit board is applied by the dome in the plane of the circuit board.

[0010] According to the invention, the carrier is located in a housing. The housing is constructed in two parts. The dome is located in the lower part of the housing. Furthermore, the circuit board support can be located in the upper part of the housing. Furthermore, the locking hooks are attached to the upper part of the housing.

[0011] A preferred design of the carrier is as follows: To compensate for tolerances, a locking hook with a retaining bevel is used. To achieve a sufficiently resilient length of the locking hook, the point for force introduction is placed at the level of the circuit board. The locking hook is provided with a bevel, which allows the insertion of a rectangular dome for various circuit board thicknesses. A dome, which is attached to the lower part of the housing, introduces a force that spreads the locking hook and secures the circuit board. The circuit board support, which determines the position of the circuit board, is realized in the upper part of the housing.

[0012] The advantages achieved by the invention are, in particular, that labor-intensive screwing of the housing is eliminated. Instead, it can be secured using snap-in hooks, since the tolerance compensation of the circuit board is achieved with the help of the snap-in hooks themselves. Furthermore, cost savings are achieved for mounting the circuit board in the housing.

[0013] An embodiment of the invention with various developments and refinements is shown in the drawings and is described in more detail below. Fig. 1 a housing for receiving a printed circuit board in a schematic manner, wherein a carrier fixes the printed circuit board with a certain thickness, and Fig. 2 the carrier from Fig. 1, where the circuit board has a different thickness.

[0014] In Fig. 1 shows a housing 1 containing a printed circuit board 2. The printed circuit board 2 is secured in the housing 1 by means of a carrier 3. The carrier 3 comprises a printed circuit board support 4 for supporting the printed circuit board 2. The carrier 3 also has a spring-loaded locking hook 5 that engages in a receptacle 7 on the printed circuit board 2. For this purpose, the locking hook 5 has a locking head 6 that extends into the receptacle 7 and engages behind it after the printed circuit board 2 has been plugged onto the locking hook 5.

[0015] The circuit board 2 has a certain thickness d1, as in Fig. 1. Due to manufacturing tolerances, the printed circuit boards 2 of a series have different thicknesses d. For example, in Fig. 2 shows another printed circuit board 2 with a different thickness d2. To compensate for tolerances in the thickness d of the printed circuit board 2, a bevel 8 facing the receptacle 7 is located on the locking hook 5, or more precisely on the locking head 6. The bevel 8 allows the fixed attachment of the printed circuit boards 2 of different thickness d to the receptacle 7 on the locking hook 5, as can be seen from a comparison of the Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 recognizes.

[0016] In a further embodiment, which is Fig. As can be seen in Figure 1, at least two locking hooks 5, 5' engage in the receptacle 7. After the circuit board 2 has been plugged onto the locking hooks 5, 5' on the receptacle 7, a dome 9 can be inserted between the locking hooks 5, 5'. The dome 9 spreads the locking hooks 5, 5' apart to fix the circuit board 2. The dome 9 introduces a force to fix the circuit board 2 in the plane of the circuit board 2.

[0017] The housing 1 is expediently designed in two parts, namely consisting of an upper part 1' and a lower part 1". As in Fig. 1, the circuit board support 4 is arranged in the upper part 1' of the housing 1. Furthermore, the locking hook 5, 5' is also fastened to the upper part 1' of the housing 1. Finally, the dome 9 is fastened in the lower part 1" of the housing 1. To mount the circuit board 2 in the housing 1, it is plugged onto the locking hooks 5, 5' of the carrier 3 in the upper part 1', whereby due to the spring elasticity of the locking hooks 5, 5', these are inserted into the receptacles 7. Due to the bevel 8 on the locking heads 6 of the locking hooks 5, 5', tolerances in the thickness d of the circuit board 2 are then compensated for. The lower part 1" is then mounted, whereby the dome 9 automatically engages between the locking hooks 5, 5' and spreads them apart to fix the circuit board 2. This significantly simplifies assembly.

[0018] The invention is not limited to the described and illustrated embodiment. Rather, it also encompasses all expert developments within the scope of the invention defined by the patent claims. Thus, the carrier according to the invention can be used to manufacture a wide variety of housings requiring precise positioning of the circuit board, such as when using action pins for electrically contacting the circuit board in the housing. List of reference symbols 1 housing 1' top part (of housing) 1'' bottom part (of housing) 2 circuit board 3 carriers 4 PCB support 5.5' locking hook 6 locking head 7 Mounting (on circuit board) 8 bevel (on locking head) 9 Cathedral

Claims

[1] Two-part housing (1) with an upper part (1') and a lower part (1'') and with a carrier for a printed circuit board (2), wherein the carrier has a circuit board support (4) for supporting the circuit board (2), two locking hooks (5, 5'), and a dome (9) which can be arranged between the locking hooks (5, 5'), wherein the two locking hooks (5, 5') are designed to engage in a receptacle (7) on the circuit board, wherein the dome (9) is designed to spread apart the locking hooks (5, 5') for fixing the printed circuit board (2), and wherein a bevel (8) is provided on each of the locking hooks (5, 5') to compensate for tolerances in the thickness (d1, d2) of the printed circuit board (2), characterized by , that the dome (9) is arranged in the lower part (1'') of the housing (1) and the two locking hooks (5, 5') are fastened to the upper part (1') of the housing, so that when the lower part (1'') is mounted on the upper part (1'), the dome (9) automatically engages between the locking hooks (5, 5") and spreads them apart to fix the printed circuit board (2). [2] Housing according to claim 1, characterized by that the circuit board support (4) is arranged in the upper part (1') of the housing (1).

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