Device and method for signal transmission into a media-dense area

Abstract

The present invention relates to a device for signal transmission into a media-tight housing, wherein the media-tight housing (11) is permeated by a cooling medium, the device comprising a first transmitter / receiver unit (16) in a dry area (18), a second transmitter / receiver unit (13) suitable for permeation by a cooling medium, and a housing insert (15) transparent for a predetermined electromagnetic spectral range, wherein the two transmitter / receiver units (13, 16) are designed for the predetermined electromagnetic spectral range, the device being configured to carry out the signal transmission by coupling the first transmitter / receiver unit (16) with a control unit (17) arranged in the dry area (18), the first transmitter / receiver unit (16) and the second transmitter / receiver unit (13) being in a bidirectional signal transmission relationship.and the second transmit / receive unit (13) is coupled to a device arranged in the media-tight housing (11). Furthermore, a method is presented by which the signal transmission can be carried out in the media-tight area.

Description

The present invention relates to a device for signal transmission into a media-tight region. Furthermore, a method is presented with which the signal transmission into the media-tight area can be carried out.High-performance components are used in pulse inverters, also abbreviated as PWR, which generate large waste heat during operation and must be cooled. For this purpose, a power part, a so-called "power board" with power semiconductor switches and related gate drivers, is realized on a separate printed circuit board and is controlled from a control board, a so-called "control board", which is physically separate therefrom. The power part is arranged within a wet region and is flushed directly by a liquid cooling medium. The control board must be in a dry area due to the components used, for example a microcontroller, and under no circumstances must come into contact with the liquid cooling medium.In order to realize the physical separation of the power part and the control board taking into account a necessary tightness, a plug construction with an interface printed circuit board is used in the prior art. This interface circuit card seals a wet area from the dry area at a wet / dry interface on the PWR package. However, there is a risk of leakage at the wet / dry interface, so that liquid cooling medium can pass from the wet region into the dry region, for example by diffusion or capillary action. Also, vias (vias in printed circuit board) used in the interface printed circuit board can form a passage from the wet region into the dry region in the event of a breakdown. Overall, a mechanically complex structure with a plurality of male / female connectors is necessary, which not least increases a total volume of the pulse inverter due to the spatially high connector structure.U.S. Pat. No. 2016 / 0 190 719 A1 describes a printed circuit board / printed circuit board plug connector which provides a permanent and reliable connection. A seal on the printed circuit board / printed circuit board plug connector, which seal is formed, for example, by an O-ring, can be provided before the action of liquids, such as, for example. This method of protection will protect water or other corrosive liquids. However, male / female connectors are firmly connected to each other and there is no galvanic isolation in the case of an electrical connection implemented thereby.In the publication US 2020 / 0 292 769 A1, an optical transmitter / receiver unit is discussed which mates with an electrical plug. A cover provides a compressive force, by means of which an electrical contact is simultaneously established between the transceiver unit and a printed circuit board. Although galvanic isolation is realized in this case, no media-tight arrangement is realized overall.The document WO 2009 / 116 025 A2 discloses a system for inductive energy transmission, which is intended to supply an electrical load with current without connecting cables. The system consists of an inductive power source having a primary inductor and an inductive power receiver having a secondary inductor. In one variation, the system also includes a signal transmission system that transmits data through a material between the receiver and the power source. This signal transmission system has a signal transmitter connected to the power receiver and a signal detector connected to the power source.The document DE 10 2023 107 213 B3 relates to a pulse inverter having a housing, wherein the housing comprises a wet chamber and a dry chamber having a circuit board arranged in each case therein. The two circuit boards are in wireless communication by transmission of inductive signals.Against this background, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device for signal transmission between the wet region and the dry region of a pulse inverter, which device allows simple media-tight inclusion of the wet region. A mechanical seal and a complex plug construction should be able to be dispensed with. Furthermore, a method is to be presented with which the signal transmission can be implemented.To achieve the aforementioned object, a device for signal transmission into a medium-tight housing is proposed, wherein a cooling medium flows through the medium-tight housing. The device comprises a first transmitting / receiving unit in a dry area, a second transmitting / receiving unit, which is suitable for a flow of cooling medium around it, and a housing insert that is transparent to a predefined electromagnetic spectral range. The two transmitting / receiving units are designed for the predefined electromagnetic spectral range. The apparatus is configured to perform the signal transmission by the first transmitting / receiving unit being coupled to a control unit arranged in the dry area, the first transmitting / receiving unit and the second transmitting / receiving unit being in a bidirectional signal transmission ratio, and the second transmitting / receiving unit being coupled to a device arranged in the media-tight housing.The device according to the invention advantageously has a galvanic separation between the control unit and the device which is arranged within the medium-tight housing and is controlled by the control unit. Accordingly, it is furthermore advantageous that no plug assembly or plug stack is necessary in order to transmit control signals of the control unit to the device in the housing or to transmit signals from the device to the control unit in the opposite direction. There is also no risk of leakage, since a wet region of the media-tight housing through which cooling medium flows and the dry region are completely physically separated.In one embodiment of the device according to the invention, the predefined electromagnetic spectral range is selected from the following list: visible light, infrared, ultraviolet light, electromagnetic near field or NFC, microwaves, Bluetooth range, WLAN range, CB radio range. It is conceivable to also use other electromagnetic spectral ranges for the signal transmission.In a further embodiment of the device according to the invention, the cooling medium is a dielectric fluid.In yet another embodiment of the device according to the invention, the device arranged in the medium-tight housing is a power part of a pulse inverter. The control unit disposed in the dry area is a control board of the pulse inverter. The pulse inverter is designed for traction drives or generally power electronic circuits, in which a physical separation of the power part and the control unit is possible.In an even further continued embodiment of the device according to the invention, the first transmitting / receiving unit is configured to transmit control signals transmitted from the control unit to the second transmitting / receiving unit and to receive signals transmitted from the second transmitting / receiving unit. The second transmitting / receiving unit is configured to transmit signals transmitted by the power section to the first transmitting / receiving unit and to receive control signals transmitted by the first transmitting / receiving unit.In a further embodiment of the device according to the invention, the first transmitting / receiving unit and the second transmitting / receiving unit are each configured to form an optical signal interface. The housing insert is configured to have transparency in the optical region. This means that a material used in the housing insert is designed such that emitted electromagnetic waves of the transmitter unit can penetrate the housing insert and reach the receiver unitIn a further embodiment of the device according to the invention, the first transmitting / receiving unit and the second transmitting / receiving unit are each configured to form a WLAN interface. The housing insert is configured to have transparency in the WLAN range.Furthermore, a method is claimed for signal transmission into a media-tight housing, in which a cooling medium flows through the media-tight housing. A first transmitting / receiving unit is arranged in a dry area. A second transmitting / receiving unit, which is suitable for circulating cooling medium, is arranged in the medium-tight housing. A housing insert which is transparent for a predetermined electromagnetic spectral range is let into a housing wall in a media-tight manner. The two transmitting / receiving units are designed for the predefined electromagnetic spectral range. For signal transmission, the first transmitting / receiving unit is coupled to a control unit arranged in the dry area. The first transmitting / receiving unit and the second transmitting / receiving unit are coupled for bidirectional signal transmission. The second transmitting / receiving unit is coupled to a device arranged in the media-tight housing.The method according to the invention thus advantageously provides signal transmission between wet range and dry range, in particular in the case of power electronic systems, such as occur, for example, in the case of pulse inverters for use in vehicles in which two circuit parts have to be physically separated from one another by the system structure. In principle, an application of the method according to the invention is also conceivable in other fields.In one embodiment of the method according to the invention, the predefined electromagnetic spectral range is selected from the following list: visible light, infrared, ultraviolet light, electromagnetic near field or NFC, microwaves, Bluetooth range, WLAN range, CB radio range.In a further embodiment of the method according to the invention, the cooling medium is formed by a dielectric fluid.In yet another embodiment of the method according to the invention, the device arranged in the medium-tight housing is formed by a power part of a pulse inverter. The control unit arranged in the dry area is formed by a control board of the pulse inverter. Other power electronic components are also conceivable as the power part.In an even further continued embodiment of the method according to the invention, control signals transmitted by the control unit are transmitted by the first transmitting / receiving unit to the second transmitting / receiving unit and signals transmitted by the second transmitting / receiving unit are received. The second transmitting / receiving unit transmits signals transmitted from the power section to the first transmitting / receiving unit and receives control signals transmitted from the first transmitting / receiving unit.Further advantages and embodiments of the invention will become apparent from the description and the accompanying drawing.It is understood that the features mentioned above and those still to be explained below can be used not only in the respectively specified combination, but also in other combinations or alone, without departing from the scope of the present invention.The figures are described in connection and across. FIG. 1 schematically shows an optical signal interface in an embodiment of the device according to the invention. FIG. 2 schematically shows a WLAN interface in a further embodiment of the device according to the invention.FIG. 1 schematically shows an optical signal interface 10 in an embodiment of the device according to the invention. In a dry area 18, a control board 17 and a first transmitting / receiving unit are arranged as optical signal interface 16. A medium-tight housing or wet region 11, through which a cooling medium flows, has a power section 12 of a pulse inverter and a second transmitting / receiving unit as optical signal interface 13. Embedded in a housing wall in a media-tight manner-i.e. without the need for a separate seal-is a material 15 transparent in the optical spectral range, via which optical signal transmission takes place between the power part 12 and the control circuit board 17. Power part 12 and control board 17 are thereby physically separated without mechanical contact via plug connections. The signal transmission in the optical spectral range advantageously prevents impairment due to electromagnetic interference influences, for example due to high-frequency switching operations of the power part 12. In addition, higher signal transmission rates are provided by the optical signal interface 10 compared to an electrical wired interface.FIG. 2 schematically shows a WLAN interface 20 in a further embodiment of the device according to the invention. The first transmitting / receiving unit 26 and the second transmitting / receiving unit 23 are designed for a WLAN spectral range, wherein the housing insert 25 is designed to have a transparency in the WLAN range.

Claims

Device for signal transmission into a medium-tight housing, wherein a cooling medium flows through the medium-tight housing (11), wherein the device comprises a first transmitting / receiving unit (16, 26) in a dry region (18), a second transmitting / receiving unit (13, 23), which is suitable for a flow of cooling medium around it, and a housing insert (15, 25), which is transparent for a predetermined electromagnetic spectral region, wherein the two transmitting / receiving units (13, 16, 23, 26) are designed for the predetermined electromagnetic spectral region, wherein the device is designed to carry out the signal transmission by the first transmitting / receiving unit (16, 26) being coupled to a control unit (17) arranged in the dry region (18), the first transmitting / receiving unit (16, 26) and the second transmitting / receiving unit (13, 23) being in a bidirectional signal transmission ratio, and the second transmitting / receiving unit (13, 23) is coupled to a device arranged in the media-tight housing (11).The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the predetermined electromagnetic spectral range is selected from the list of visible light, infrared, ultraviolet light, near electromagnetic field, NFC, microwaves, Bluetooth range, WLAN range, CB radio range.The apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the cooling medium is a dielectric fluid.Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the device arranged in the media-tight housing (11) is a power part (12) of a pulse inverter, and wherein the control unit (17) arranged in the drying region (18) is a control circuit board of the pulse inverter.The device according to claim 4, wherein the first transmitting / receiving unit (16, 26) is configured to transmit control signals transmitted from the control unit (17) to the second transmitting / receiving unit (13, 23) and to receive signals transmitted from the second transmitting / receiving unit (13, 23), and wherein the second transmitting / receiving unit (13, 23) is configured to transmit signals transmitted from the power part (12) to the first transmitting / receiving unit (16, 26) and to receive control signals transmitted from the first transmitting / receiving unit (16, 26).Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the first transmitting / receiving unit (16) and the second transmitting / receiving unit (13) are each configured to form an optical signal interface (10), and the housing insert (15) is configured to have transparency in the optical region.The device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the first transmitting / receiving unit (23) and the second transmitting / receiving unit (26) are each configured to form a WLAN interface (20), and the housing insert (25) is configured to have transparency in the WLAN range.Method for signal transmission into a media-tight housing, in which a cooling medium flows through the media-tight housing (11), in which a first transmitting / receiving unit (16, 26) is arranged in a drying region (18), in which a second transmitting / receiving unit (13, 23), which is suitable for circulating cooling medium, is arranged in the media-tight housing (11), in which a housing insert (15, 25) which is transparent for a predetermined electromagnetic spectral range is embedded in a media-tight manner in a housing wall (14), in which the two transmitting / receiving units (13, 23, 16, 26) are designed for the predetermined electromagnetic spectral range, in which, for signal transmission, the first transmitting / receiving unit (16, 26) is coupled to a control unit (17) arranged in the drying region (18), in which the first transmitting / receiving unit (16, 23, 16, 26) is embedded in a media-tight manner, 26) and the second transceiver unit (13, 23) for bidirectional signal transmission, and in which the second transceiver unit (13, 23) is coupled to a device arranged in the media-tight housing (11).Method according to claim 8, wherein the predefined electromagnetic spectral range is selected from the following list: visible light, infrared, ultraviolet light, electromagnetic near field or NFC, microwaves, Bluetooth range, WLAN range, CB radio range.Method according to one of Claims 8 or 9, in which the device arranged in the media-tight housing (11) is formed by a power part (12) of a pulse inverter, and in which the control unit (17) arranged in the drying region (18) is formed by a control board of the pulse inverter, in which control signals transmitted from the control unit (17) by the first transmitting / receiving unit (16, 26) are transmitted to the second transmitting / receiving unit (13, 23) and signals transmitted from the second transmitting / receiving unit (13, 23) are received, and in which signals transmitted from the power part (12) by the second transmitting / receiving unit (13, 23) are transmitted to the first transmitting / receiving unit (16, 26) and control signals transmitted from the first transmitting / receiving unit (16, 26) are received.

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