Device and method for cooling an electronic component of a motor vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to a device and a method for cooling an electronic component (26) of a motor vehicle, comprising at least one heat-conducting element (14) for cooling an electronic component (26) arranged on a printed circuit board (16), comprising at least one housing (18) with at least one opening (21) for connecting a heat sink, in particular a cooler (12) ora cooling channel (13), wherein the heat-conducting element (14) is arranged at least partially in the opening (21) for the heat-conducting connection of the electronic component (26) to the cooler (12), wherein a resilient fastening (22, 19) is provided which connects the circuit board (16) and / or the electronic component (26) to the heat-conducting element (14), wherein the resilient fastening (22, 19) is designed such that the heat-conducting element (14) exerts a force in the direction of the electronic component (26) to be cooled, wherein the heat-conducting element (14) is connected to the housing (18) via a further resilient fastening (20, 23) which allows a relative movement of the heat-conducting element (14) and the housing (18), wherein a permanently elastic seal (24) is provided between the heat-conducting element (14) and the housing (18) is arranged.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a device and method for cooling an electronic component of a motor vehicle according to the preamble of the independent claims. State of the art

[0002] DE 10 2013 206 999 A1 discloses a control unit for a motor vehicle with a heat-conducting housing wall formed from a heat-conducting sheet metal and forming a heat sink. The heat-conducting housing wall is detachably connected to the housing and has an embossing in an area opposite the power semiconductor. The embossing brings the housing wall closer to the power semiconductor, so that a distance, in particular a gap, between the housing wall and the power semiconductor before embossing is greater than a distance, in particular a distance between the housing wall and the surface area, after embossing.

[0003] The invention is based on the object of ensuring reliable heat dissipation of the electronic component. This object is achieved by the features of the independent claims. Disclosure of the invention

[0004] By placing a permanently elastic seal between the heat-conducting element and the housing, the gap between the electronic component to be cooled and the heat-conducting element can be minimized. The heat-conducting element is screwed into a housing with a spring-loaded mounting, whereby the heat-conducting element is mounted against the housing with the permanently elastic seal. When screwing or mounting the circuit board, the heat-conducting element is pulled into the desired position against the electronic component to be cooled, reducing the gap to the desired size. The permanently elastic seal is elongated and continues to seal the housing against dust and, if necessary, water.The double-sided spring-loaded mounting of the heat-conducting element (and, if necessary, stiffening on the opposite side of the circuit board) makes it possible to minimize gaps while maintaining the tightness of the basic housing. Once fully assembled, the heat-conducting element, in particular a heat spreader, protrudes from the housing or into a possible cooling channel with cooling fins or pin structures. The heat-conducting element, which is particularly spring-loaded on both sides, in conjunction with a permanently elastic seal, can compensate for all mechanical tolerances in a control unit. This creates a tight basic housing with movable heat sinks or heat-conducting elements, which compensates for existing tolerances without any loss of function. This makes it possible, in particular, to mount control units or vehicle computers with electronic components (SoC (System on Chip), microprocessor, microcontroller, etc.) with high power dissipation or high heat transfer coefficients.The power dissipation density can be adequately cooled. Due to the spring-mounted heat-conducting element, the deflection of the circuit board between the circuit board support and the interface between the control unit and the cooler can be reduced compared to rigidly mounted circuit boards. Furthermore, EMC shielding can be achieved using conventional methods. Multiple electronic components on a circuit board can also be reliably cooled without mutual mechanical interference. The circuit board can be fixed in place as usual, making it robust against vibrations and shocks and subject to reduced mechanical stress thanks to the proposed cooling design.

[0005] In a practical development, the permanently elastic seal is arranged so that there is no direct contact between the heat-conducting element and the housing. This allows the described resilient mounting on both sides to be achieved using the permanently elastic seal for tolerance compensation while maintaining reliable sealing.

[0006] In an expedient development, at least one receptacle for the seal is provided in the housing and / or the heat-conducting element. This allows the seal to be accommodated captively in a suitable location. It is particularly expedient in this case for the seal to be provided with at least one fastening area for fixing the seal in the receptacle. The seal particularly preferably has at least one lamella, particularly in the fastening area, for fixing the seal in the receptacle. The seal particularly preferably comprises at least one central section which is designed to be flexibly movable for sealing a gap between the housing and the heat-conducting element. This further improves functional reliability both through reliable sealing and by ensuring the elastic properties of the seal. For this purpose, the central section of the seal is particularly preferably designed as a flexible hollow body.Particularly preferably, the seal is made of a rubber-elastic material, such as EPDM (ethylene propylene diene (monomer) rubber). In a suitable further development, the seal, which is particularly O-shaped, is designed to enclose the opening all the way around. This reliably achieves the sealing effect and any tolerance compensation using particularly simple means.

[0007] In an expedient development, it is provided that the resilient fastening and / or the further resilient fastening comprises or comprise at least one spring, wherein the spring is designed as a spiral spring surrounding the respective fastening and / or as at least one, in particular, corrugated leaf spring and / or as at least one leaf spring which is arranged at least in a Z-shape between two fastenings. Particularly preferably, the spring comprises at least one bearing surface via which the spring exerts a force against the fastening and / or against the circuit board and / or against the electronic component and / or against the heat-conducting element. This achieves a preferably two-sided mounting of the heat-conducting element in a particularly simple and targeted manner in order to reduce both the gap to the electronic component and to the seal using simple means. Corresponding tolerances can be compensated for particularly easily.

[0008] In a practical development, the housing and / or the heat-conducting element comprise at least one receptacle for at least one of the resilient fasteners and / or for another fastener connecting the circuit board to the housing, in particular at least one screw. This allows for a reliable connection between the housing, the heat-conducting element, and the circuit board. The robustness of the arrangement, particularly with respect to shocks and vibrations, can be further improved.

[0009] In an expedient further development, it is provided that the heat-conducting element comprises an outer edge which covers the opening in the housing and which is designed such that at least one fastening for the further resilient fastening and / or the receptacle on the housing for the fastening of the further resilient fastening can be passed through and / or that the receptacle for the seal is provided in an outer edge covering the opening in the housing. Via this circumferential outer edge, the spring can evenly apply a desired force to further fix the seal. This section can also be used to accommodate the seal and at the same time to apply the desired force to the seal. The functional reliability and tolerance compensation are further improved.

[0010] In a practical development, it is provided that a transition between a gap formed between the housing and the heat-conducting element and the recess is provided with at least one bevel that interacts with the seal in a sealing state. The sealing effect is further improved by a correspondingly enlarged surface area for the seal to bear against.

[0011] In a practical development, the circuit board includes at least one recess through which a receptacle for the heat-conducting element is guided for further resilient fastening. This further ensures precise positioning of the circuit board relative to the heat-conducting element. Furthermore, the stress on the circuit board in the event of bending can be reduced.

[0012] In a suitable further development, a further heat-conducting element, in particular a flexible heat-conducting element or a thermal paste, etc., is provided between the heat-conducting element and the electronic component. This allows the heat transfer to be further improved, in particular due to a good adaptation of the further heat-conducting element to the surface of the electronic component due to its flexibility.

[0013] In a practical development, the heat-conducting element has at least one surface structure extending into the cooling channel for heat dissipation. This improves the thermal transfer behavior, allowing the electronic component to be cooled even more effectively.

[0014] Furthermore, a method according to the invention according to the features of the further independent claim is provided, which leads to improved and tolerance-compensating heat dissipation.

[0015] Further useful developments arise from further dependent claims and from the description. Short description of the drawing

[0016] They show: Fig. 1 a schematic representation of the control unit in the assembled state, Fig. 2 a top view of the circuit board with electronic component from below, Fig. 3 a detailed view of the Fig. 1, Fig. 4 a detailed description of the sealing and Fig. 5 a perspective exploded view of another embodiment. Embodiment of the invention

[0017] The invention is illustrated schematically using an embodiment and is described in detail below with reference to the drawing.

[0018] Fig. 1 shows a section through a schematically illustrated control unit 10. The control unit 10 comprises at least one printed circuit board 16, on which at least one electronic component 26 to be cooled is arranged. The electronic component 26 can be, for example, a so-called SIP (System-In-Place) or a component thereof and / or a so-called System-On-Chip SOC or another semiconductor or chip with high power dissipation. The printed circuit board 16 is connected to a heat-conducting element 14 via fastening means 22. The fastening means 22 engage for this purpose in projecting receptacles 11 of the heat-conducting element 14. At least one connector 30 is arranged on the printed circuit board 16. The receptacles 11 of the heat-conducting element 14 protrude through Fig. 2 through recesses 33 in the circuit board 16. A resilient fastening 22, 19 is formed by means of fastenings 22 and at least one or more springs 19. The spring 19 is arranged between the respective heads of the fastening means 22, in particular screws, the upper side of the receptacles 11 of the heat-conducting element 14 and (via corresponding support surfaces) the upper side of the circuit board 16. The spring 19 extends between at least two fastening means 22. The spring 19 could, for example, be Z-shaped, but other designs are also possible. By tightening the fastening 22 (which connects the circuit board 16 to the heat-conducting element 14) or the fastening 22, 19 resilient by means of the spring 19, the heat-conducting element 14 is pulled onto the electronic component 26 or the circuit board 16.

[0019] The heat-conducting element 14 is fastened to the housing 18 by means of a further fastening 20, in particular a further resilient fastening 20 by means of at least one spring 23, via corresponding receptacles 32 in the housing 18, such that a force is applied to the heat-conducting element 14 in the direction of the surface of the housing 18 or the seal 24. This enables relative movement between the heat-conducting element 14 and the housing 18. This application of force contributes to the permanently elastic seal 24 ensuring a reliable seal between the cooling channel 13 and the heat-conducting element 14, even with certain tolerances of the other components. In the exemplary embodiment, the spring 23 is arranged between a head of the fastening 20, such as a screw, and a counter surface on the heat-conducting element 14. The spring 23 can, for example, be designed as a spiral spring surrounding the fastening 20 or as a leaf spring.

[0020] Furthermore, fastenings 31 are provided, particularly in the edge regions or corners of the circuit board 16, which connect the circuit board 16 to the housing 18, in particular to the base housing. Corresponding receptacles 32 are provided in the housing 18 for the fastenings 31. These receptacles 32 protrude dome-like into the center of the housing toward the circuit board 16. The fastenings 31 are preferably designed as screws.

[0021] The housing 18 or housing part at least partially encloses the electronic component 26 or the circuit board 16 to be cooled. The housing 18 can be constructed from two housing parts as in Fig. 1 as an example. The housing part 18 is connected to the printed circuit board 16 and to another housing part via an EMC gasket 28 at the contact surfaces. An EMC gasket 28 is also arranged at the seams between the housing part of the housing 18 and the printed circuit board 16. The EMC gasket 28 can, for example, be made of FIPG (Form in Place Gasket (liquid during assembly)), CIPG (Cured in Place Gasket (hardened during assembly), FoF Fabric over Foam (fabric tube over foam core), tape, foam core, springs, etc.). This achieves electromagnetic shielding of certain electronic components on the printed circuit board 16.

[0022] The heat-conducting element 14 is provided for cooling the electronic component 26 through a heat sink, such as a cooler 12. The heat-conducting element 14 can be a so-called heat spreader, a particularly heat-conducting material such as copper or the like, or a so-called vapor chamber, in which the resulting heat is dissipated particularly effectively via a phase change of a cooling medium arranged in a closed cavity. For better transfer of heat to the cooler 12, the heat-conducting element 14 can have certain surface structures 17, such as ribs or extensions or pins, or as turbulators (for example in the form of appropriately shaped metal sheets), in order to enlarge the surface of the heat-conducting element 14 for better heat dissipation. A cooling medium of the cooler 12 flows around these surface structures 17 in a cooling channel 13 for heat dissipation.The cooling medium can be a liquid cooling medium such as water or a water-glycol mixture or the like, or a gaseous or other cooling medium such as air, etc. Due to the high heat to be dissipated by the electronic component 26, a cooler 12 operating with a liquid cooling medium, in particular a water cooler, is used, for example. The cooler 12 has a coolant supply and a coolant discharge for circulating the coolant. The corresponding cooling channels 13 for circulating the coolant can be integrated into the housing part or housing 18. In . Fig. 1, the coolant supply and coolant discharge are not separately shown. During assembly of the control unit 10, the cooler 12 is connected to the further subassembly, consisting of the printed circuit board 16 with the electronic component 26 to be cooled, the heat-conducting element 14, and the housing part, to form a housing 18.

[0023] The housing 18, which at least partially forms the cooling channel 13, has an opening 21 that serves to accommodate the heat-conducting element 14, or in particular its surface structure 17. This opening 21 is part of the cooling channel 13 through which the cooling medium flows. During assembly of the control unit 10, the flexible and permanently elastic seal 24 (for example in the form of an O-ring) is applied around this opening 21, so that a gap between the housing 18 and the heat-conducting element 14 is sealed against the cooling medium of the cooling channel 13, as described in more detail below. During assembly, the subassembly consisting of the printed circuit board 16 with housing part 18 and the spring-mounted heat-conducting element 14 is joined to the cooler 12, so that the heat-conducting element 14, or the heat spreader, closes the opening 21 of the cooler 12 with the permanently elastic seal 24.

[0024] To improve the heat transfer, a further, particularly flexible, heat-conducting element 15, such as a cushion or a pad, can be arranged between the electronic component 26 to be cooled and the surface of the heat-conducting element 14, or other TIM materials (TIM: thermal interface materials or thermally conductive material 28; for example, heat-conducting pastes, etc.) can be used.

[0025] Fig. Figure 2 shows the bottom view of the printed circuit board 16 with the mounted electronic component 26. Corresponding recesses 33 are provided in the printed circuit board 16 laterally around the electronic component 26. The recesses 33 are circular in shape, for example. They serve to guide the receptacles 11 of the heat-conducting element 14, as shown in Fig. 1 already shown.

[0026] Fig. 3 shows an enlarged section of the Fig. 1. In particular, the arrangement and design of the seal 24 are shown in more detail. The permanently elastic seal 24 is arranged in a recess 34 of the heat-conducting element 14 and / or a recess 36 of the housing 18. The recesses 34, 36 are designed as depressions or grooves. The gap to be sealed between the heat-conducting element 14 and the housing 18 or cooler 12 is formed parallel to the surface of the electronic component 26 to be cooled. The receptacles 34, 36 extend transversely to the direction of the gap to be sealed. The receptacles are dimensioned such that they only accommodate the slatted areas or fastening areas of the seal 24 used for fastening, while a central section 27 of the seal 24 lies at least partially in the region of the gap.

[0027] The seal 24 has fins 25 at each end. The two end sections of the seal 24 are connected to each other via the central section 27. This central section 27 at least partially seals the gap formed between the heat-conducting element 14 and the housing 18, which can be reached on one side by the coolant of the cooling channel 13. The fins 25 are arranged at a certain angle to the longitudinal axis of the seal 24. In the embodiment according to Fig. 2, the slats 25 each project inwardly towards the central section 27 of the seal 24. The slats 25 serve in particular to secure the flexible seal 24 in the respective receptacles 34, 36. In the embodiment according to Fig. 3, two lamellae 25 are provided on each side, for example. The central section 27 of the seal 24 has a diamond-shaped cross-section with a hollow space. The hollow space is advantageous for the desired elasticity. If pressure is applied to one side of the central section 27, the opposite part of the central section 27 moves in the same direction in which the pressure is built up, thus closing an opening or gap arranged behind it, which extends between the heat-conducting element 14 and the housing 18. The permanently elastic seal 24 consists, for example, of a rubber-elastic material such as EPDM (ethylene propylene diene (monomer) rubber) or other suitable rubber or caoutchouc or other materials.

[0028] The embodiment according to Fig. 4 is characterized by a more detailed representation. The receptacles 34 of the heat-conducting element 14 and the receptacles 36 of the housing 18 or cooler 12 are formed transversely to the surface of the electronic component 26 to be cooled. The gap to be sealed is formed between the surfaces of the heat-conducting element 14 of the housing 18 that run parallel to the surface of the electronic component 36. The gap widens via corresponding bevels 35 toward the receptacles 34, 36. The permanently elastic seal 24, in turn, has end sections 25, particularly preferably with slats 25 for fastening, which are arranged in the corresponding receptacles 34, 36. In the exemplary embodiment according to Fig. 3, the slats are each oriented at a specific angle from the end section towards the central section 27. The central section 27 can move, as indicated by a schematic semicircle, to form a seal against the corresponding walls of the housing 18 and the heat-conducting element 14 when a sufficiently high pressure is applied. The bevels 35 serve to ensure that the seal 24 rests against appropriately designed wall sections of the housing 18 and / or the heat-conducting element 14 over a large area. This achieves a particularly good sealing effect. The gap to be sealed is, for example, in the order of magnitude between 0.1 and 1.4 mm. At typical pressures in the range of 9-10 bar, the seal 24 deforms into a sealed state as indicated.

[0029] In Fig. 4 shows different seals 24, which differ, for example, in the length of the end sections with the fastening means 25, such as slats, or the width of the central section 27. The central region 27 could also be formed merely as an expandable thickening. Alternatively, a combination of a corresponding thickening and a hollow body, as shown in the lower left embodiment, would be possible.

[0030] The embodiment according to Fig.Figure 5 shows a perspective exploded view. Corresponding springs 19 are arranged between the fastening means 22 and the top side of the circuit board 26. These could be appropriately bent metal strips that exert a desired spring effect between the screw head and the surface of the circuit board 16. Other designs of the spring 19 are also possible. The fastenings 22 are screwed into the receptacles 11 of the heat-conducting element 14. This creates a corresponding preload on the spring 19. Also provided are fastenings 31, which are screwed through the circuit board 16 via receptacles 32 to the housing 18 to secure the circuit board 16.

[0031] At least one further spring 23 is provided between the further fastening means 20 and the top side or the edge region of the heat-conducting element 14. Via this further spring 23, an additional force is exerted on the heat-conducting element 14 in the direction of the seal 24 arranged in the corresponding receptacles 34, 36. This serves to fix the seal 24. The further fastenings 20 are screwed into receptacles 32 of the housing 18 or the cooler 12 by the respective further spring 23 or respective spring regions 23 through the edge region of the heat-conducting element 14. The further resilient fastening 20, 23 is formed by the further fastening 20 and the spring 23.

[0032] From this view, it can be seen that the seal 24 is designed as a circumferential seal arranged around the opening 19 in the housing 18 or cooler 12. The seal 24 could, for example, be designed as an O-ring. The seal 24 encloses the sections of the heat-conducting element 14 that protrude further into the opening 19 of the housing 18 or cooler 12, such as the fins 17. The upper region of the heat-conducting element 14, which is thermally conductively connected to the electronic component 26 to be cooled, is surrounded by an edge region that may protrude further in the direction of the circuit board 16. In this edge region, the receptacles 11, which protrude through the circuit board 16 through the recesses 33, for the corresponding additional fastenings 22, which protrude through the corresponding spring sections 20, are arranged.The further projecting edge region of the heat-conducting element 14, in turn, serves to resiliently mount the heat-conducting element 14 relative to the housing 18 or the cooler 12.

[0033] The heat-conducting element 14, which is particularly spring-mounted on both sides, in conjunction with a permanently elastic seal 24, allows all mechanical tolerances in a control unit 10 to be compensated. This creates a sealed base housing 18 with movable heat sinks or heat-conducting elements 14, which compensates for the existing tolerances without loss of function.

[0034] Particularly preferably, the heat-conducting element 14 is spring-mounted with a permanently elastic seal 24 (radially or axially) screwed into the housing 18 with a transition to the cooling circuit in the form of a cooling channel 13 of a cooler 12. Thus, the base housing or housing 18 with movable heat-conducting element 14 is integrated into an existing cooling circuit. The spring-loaded mounting (spring-loaded fastening 22, 19; further spring-loaded fastening 20, 23) of the heat-conducting element 14 and, if necessary, a stiffener on the opposite side of the circuit board 16 can minimize the gap, since the heat-conducting element 14 can be pulled against the electronic component 26 to be cooled by the springs 19, 23 of the mounting and the permanently elastic seal 24 with the aid of screws or fastenings 20, 22 and, if necessary, a stiffener.The permanently elastic seal 24 is in contact with the heat-conducting element 14 and the housing 18 at all times and thus seals against the cooling circuit of the cooling channel 13 of the cooler 12.

[0035] Alternatively, two or more thermal connections could be provided in the form of several heat-conducting elements 14 and corresponding openings 21 in the housing 18 for connection to a common cooling channel 13. Each of the heat-conducting elements 14 could be resiliently mounted and sealed with a permanently elastic seal 24 relative to the housing 18 with the cooling channel 13. The cooling channel 13 could run along an inlet or outlet and is delimited laterally by walls in such a way that the cooling medium is guided around the surfaces 17 of the heat-conducting element 14 to be cooled. The cooling channel 13 is then, if necessary, guided to any additional heat-conducting element 14 provided, so that the cooling medium also flows around the corresponding surfaces 17 of this additional heat-conducting element 14 to dissipate the heat from the additional electronic component 26 to be cooled.For this purpose, corresponding edge regions surrounding the cooling channel 13 are formed in the housing 18 or the housing part forming the housing 18.

[0036] The electronic components 26 comprise, in particular, high-performance computer cores that perform particularly computationally intensive functions in the motor vehicle. These can be, for example, autonomous or semi-autonomous driving functions, infotainment, communication interfaces between different bus systems (Ethernet, CAN, LIN, etc.) or gateway functionalities, certain security applications for granting authorization, for example, to access the motor vehicle from outside, or other operations in the motor vehicle associated with particularly high computing power. The electronic components 26 are particularly preferably high-performance processors, multi-core processors, or highly integrated circuits (SoC, system-on-chip), which are characterized by high power dissipation. The two electronic components 26 arranged on the respective circuit boards 16 are particularly preferably designed to be functionally redundant.If one electronic component 26 fails, the other electronic component 26 can assume the functionality of the failing electronic component 26. However, the application is not limited to this. QUOTES CONTAINED IN THE DESCRIPTION

[0000] This list of documents submitted by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the convenience of the reader. This list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions. Cited patent literature

[0000] DE 10 2013 206 999 A1

[0002]

Claims

[1] Device for cooling an electronic component (26) of a motor vehicle, comprising at least one heat-conducting element (14) for cooling an electronic component (26) arranged on a printed circuit board (16), comprising at least one housing (18) with at least one opening (21) for connecting a heat sink, in particular a cooler (12) ora cooling channel (13), wherein the heat-conducting element (14) is arranged at least partially in the opening (21) for the heat-conducting connection of the electronic component (26) to the cooler (12), wherein a resilient fastening (22, 19) is provided which connects the circuit board (16) and / or the electronic component (26) to the heat-conducting element (14), wherein the resilient fastening (22, 19) is designed such that the heat-conducting element (14) exerts a force in the direction of the electronic component (26) to be cooled, wherein the heat-conducting element (14) is connected to the housing (18) via a further resilient fastening (20, 23) which allows a relative movement of the heat-conducting element (14) and the housing (18), wherein a permanently elastic seal (24) is provided between the heat-conducting element (14) and the housing (18) is arranged. [2] Device according to claim 1, characterized bythat the permanently elastic seal (24) is arranged so that there is no direct contact between the heat-conducting element (14) and the housing (19). [3] Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that at least one receptacle (34, 36) for the seal (24) is provided in the housing (18) and / or the heat-conducting element (14). [4] Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the seal (24) comprises at least one fastening area for fixing the seal (24) in the receptacle (34, 36). [5] Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized bythat the seal (24) has at least one lamella (25), in particular in the fastening area, for fixing the seal (24) in the receptacle (34, 36) and / or that the seal (24) has at least one central section (27) which is designed to be flexibly movable for sealing a gap between the housing (18) and the heat-conducting element (14). [6] Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the central section (27) of the seal (24) is designed as a flexible hollow body and / or that the seal (24) consists of a rubber-elastic material such as in particular EPDM (ethylene-propylene-diene (monomer) rubber). [7] Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the seal (24), in particular designed as an O-ring, encloses the opening (19) all around. [8] Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized bythat the resilient fastening (22, 19) and / or the further resilient fastening (20, 23) comprises at least one spring, wherein the spring (19, 23) is designed as a spiral spring surrounding the respective fastening (20, 22) and / or at least as one, in particular corrugated, leaf spring and / or as at least one leaf spring which is arranged at least, in particular in a Z-shape, between two fastenings (20, 22), and / or that the spring (19) comprises at least one bearing surface (38) via which the spring (19, 23) exerts a force against the fastening (20, 22) and / or against the printed circuit board (16) and / or against the electronic component (26) and / or against the heat-conducting element (14). [9] Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized bythat the housing (18) and / or the heat-conducting element (14) comprises at least one receptacle (11, 32) for at least one of the resilient fastenings (20, 23; 22, 19) and / or for a further fastening (31), in particular at least one screw, connecting the printed circuit board (16) to the housing (18). [10] Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the heat-conducting element (14) comprises an outer edge which covers the opening (19) in the housing (18) and which is designed such that at least one fastening means (20) for the further resilient fastening (20, 23) or the receptacle (32) on the housing (18) for the further fastening (20) of the further resilient fastening (20, 23) can be passed through, and / or that the receptacle (34) for the seal (24) is provided in an outer edge covering the opening (19) in the housing (18). [11] Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized bythat a transition between a gap formed between the housing (18) and the heat-conducting element (14) and the recess (34, 36) is provided with at least one bevel (35) which cooperates with the seal (24) in a sealing state. [12] Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the printed circuit board (16) comprises at least one recess (33) through which a receptacle (11) of the heat-conducting element (14) for the resilient fastening (22, 19) is guided. [13] Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the heat-conducting element (14) has at least one surface structure (17) projecting into the cooling channel (13) for heat dissipation. [14] Method for cooling an electronic component (26) of a motor vehicle, comprising at least one heat-conducting element (14) for cooling an electronic component (26) arranged on a printed circuit board (16), comprising at least one housing (18) with at least one opening (21) for connecting a heat sink, in particular a cooler (12) ora cooling channel (13), wherein the heat-conducting element (14) is arranged at least partially in the opening (21) for the heat-conducting connection of the electronic component (26) to the cooler (12), wherein a resilient fastening (22, 19) connects the circuit board (16) and / or the electronic component (26) to the heat-conducting element (14), wherein the resilient fastening (22, 19) is designed such that the heat-conducting element (14) exerts a force in the direction of the electronic component (26) to be cooled, wherein the heat-conducting element (14) is connected to the housing (18) via a further resilient fastening (20, 23) which allows a relative movement of the heat-conducting element (14) and the housing (18), wherein a permanently elastic seal (24) is arranged between the heat-conducting element (14) and the housing (18).

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