Methods for constructing an electrical circuit and electrical circuits

Abstract

An electrical circuit (10) comprises a printed circuit board (22) and at least one circuit component (16) with a plurality of contact connections (20, 34), wherein the printed circuit board (12) has a recess (42) and conductive traces (24, 40) at least on a first side (22) of the printed circuit board (12) in association with the at least one circuit component (16), wherein the at least one circuit component (14) is inserted into the associated recess (42) such that at least a part of the contact connections (20, 34) of the at least one component (16) on the first side (22) of the printed circuit board (12) is positioned in the region of conductive traces (24, 40) provided on the first side (22) of the printed circuit board (12) and is thus electrically connected.and wherein a cooling side (26) of the at least one circuit component (16) is positioned on a second side (46) of the printed circuit board (12) facing away from the first side (22) and is oriented substantially in the direction away from the second side (46) of the printed circuit board (12).

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for constructing an electrical circuit and to an electrical circuit comprising a printed circuit board and at least one circuit component which is electrically connected with at least part of its contact connections to conductor tracks provided on the same side of the printed circuit board.

[0002] To dissipate heat from heat-generating circuit components in such electrical circuits, such as power semiconductor switches or the like, these components have a cooling surface oriented away from the printed circuit board (PCB). This surface, for example, after the integration of such an electrical circuit into a housing, is in thermal contact with an inner surface of the housing, thus dissipating heat to the outside via the housing. To utilize this type of heat dissipation on both sides of a PCB, it is necessary to arrange the circuit components to be cooled in this way on both sides of the PCB and to connect them electrically, generally by soldering, to the conductor tracks provided on both sides of the PCB. This requires, for the components arranged on both sides of the PCB,The need to carry out separate soldering processes for the circuit components to be arranged, which leads to a complex and therefore costly production process.

[0003] DE 695 05 565 T2 describes an electronic circuit structure in which electronic components are arranged in an opening of a circuit substrate extending from a first main surface to a second main surface.

[0004] US Patent 6,239,977 B1 describes a technique for mounting electronic components on a printed circuit board. The electronic component is designed as a fuse in which a PTC material is clamped between two contacts. The electronic component is positioned in a recess of the printed circuit board.

[0005] DE 10 2013 101 266 A1 describes a circuit arrangement in which an electrical component is arranged in a recess passing through a printed circuit board.

[0006] The object of the present invention is to provide a method for constructing an electrical circuit and an electrical circuit which, with a simple manufacturing procedure, provide a structure of the electrical circuit that allows for efficient cooling of circuit components.

[0007] According to a first aspect of the present invention, this problem is solved by a method for constructing an electrical circuit, the electrical circuit comprising a printed circuit board and at least one circuit component with a plurality of contact connections, wherein at least some of the contact connections are electrically connected to conductive traces of the printed circuit board provided on the same side of the printed circuit board, and wherein the at least one circuit component has a cooling side positioned on one side of the printed circuit board and oriented away from the printed circuit board, wherein the method comprises the following measures: a) Providing at least one circuit component with a plurality of contact terminals and a cooling side, b) Providing a printed circuit board with a recess provided for the at least one circuit component and conductor tracks at least on a first side of the printed circuit board, c) Inserting the at least one circuit component into the recess such that at least part of the contact terminals of the at least one circuit component is positioned on the first side of the printed circuit board in the area of ​​conductor tracks provided on the first side of the printed circuit board, and the cooling side of the at least one circuit component is positioned on a second side of the printed circuit board facing away from the first side and substantially oriented away from the second side of the printed circuit board. d) electrically conductive connection of each contact terminal positioned in the area of ​​a conductor track on the first side of the printed circuit board with the respective associated conductor track.

[0008] The circuit component has a housing from which most of the contact terminals protrude. The circuit component has a rear side facing away from the cooling surface, which is formed by the housing made of a plastic material.

[0009] The inventive method for constructing an electrical circuit decouples the function for establishing an electrically conductive connection of the at least one circuit component from the function for cooling the at least one circuit component with respect to the two sides of the printed circuit board (PCB). This allows the electrically conductive connection to be established on one side of the PCB while the cooling function for the at least one circuit component is implemented on the other side. This makes it possible to connect all circuit components of the electrical circuit to the same side of the PCB and to provide cooling measures for at least some of the circuit components on the other side of the PCB.

[0010] In measure c), each contact terminal of the at least one circuit component can be positioned in the area of ​​a conductor track provided on the first side of the circuit board, and in measure d), each contact terminal can be electrically connected to the respective assigned conductor track.

[0011] In order to provide sufficient distance between the cooling side and the circuit board for cooling the at least one circuit component, for example by contact with the inside of a housing containing the electrical circuit, it is proposed that the at least one circuit component has a back side facing away from the cooling side, that, with respect to a back-cooling-side direction, the back side of the at least one circuit component has a first distance to the first side of the circuit board and the cooling side has a second distance to the second side of the circuit board, and that the first distance is smaller than the second distance.

[0012] To establish an electrically conductive contact between a respective contact terminal and an associated conductor track, in measure c) each contact terminal to be positioned in the area of ​​a conductor track on the first side of the circuit board can be positioned with a contact surface oriented in a back-cooling-side direction towards the cooling side adjacent to the respective associated conductor track.

[0013] In order to provide this system interaction, in measure c) at least one circuit component can be moved with the cooling side leading towards the first side of the circuit board and into the recess until each contact connection to be positioned in the area of ​​a conductor track on the first side of the circuit board is positioned with its contact surface oriented towards the cooling side against the respective assigned conductor track.

[0014] For a stable electrically conductive connection, measure c) can include soldering each contact point positioned adjacent to a conductor track on the first side of the circuit board to the respective assigned conductor track.

[0015] According to the invention, in measure a) the at least one circuit component is provided with at least one contact connection and a cooling surface on the cooling side of the contact element, which ensures that good thermal conductivity is also provided in the area of ​​the cooling surface with this contact element, which is generally made of metal material.

[0016] For efficient heat dissipation, the cooling surface can occupy at least 70% of the total surface area of ​​the cooling side of the at least one circuit component.

[0017] In order to achieve a defined positioning of the at least one circuit component for thermal interaction with heat-dissipating components, it is proposed that in measure c) the at least one circuit component is inserted into the recess in such a way that the cooling side is positioned essentially parallel to the second side of the circuit board.

[0018] In order to achieve a high degree of variability in the design of an electrical circuit, it is proposed that the method further include the following measures: e) Providing at least one additional circuit component with a plurality of contact terminals and a cooling side, f) Arranging the at least one further circuit component on the first side of the printed circuit board such that at least part of the contact connections of the at least one further component on the first side of the printed circuit board is positioned in the area of ​​conductor tracks provided on the first side of the printed circuit board and the cooling side of the at least one circuit component is positioned on the first side of the printed circuit board and is oriented substantially in the direction away from the first side of the printed circuit board, g) electrically conductive connection of each contact terminal positioned in the area of ​​a conductor track on the first side of the printed circuit board to the respective associated conductor track.

[0019] According to a further aspect, the problem mentioned at the outset is solved by an electrical circuit comprising a printed circuit board and at least one circuit component with a plurality of contact connections, wherein the printed circuit board has a recess and conductor tracks at least on a first side of the printed circuit board in association with the at least one circuit component, wherein the at least one circuit component is inserted into the associated recess such that at least part of the contact connections of the at least one component on the first side of the printed circuit board is positioned in the area of ​​conductor tracks provided on the first side of the printed circuit board and is thus electrically connected, and wherein a cooling side of the at least one circuit component is positioned on a second side of the printed circuit board facing away from the first side and is oriented essentially in the direction away from the second side of the printed circuit board.The circuit component has a housing from which the majority of contact terminals protrude, which is made of a plastic material and which forms a back side facing away from the cooling side.

[0020] According to the invention, for efficient heat dissipation from the at least one circuit component, the at least one circuit component comprises a contact element providing at least one contact connection and a cooling surface on the cooling side of the at least one circuit component.

[0021] In the electrical circuit constructed according to the invention, each contact connection positioned in the area of ​​a conductor track on the first side of the printed circuit board can be positioned with a contact surface oriented in a back-cooling-side direction towards the cooling side, adjacent to the respective assigned conductor track.

[0022] On the printed circuit board, at least one further circuit component having a plurality of contact connections and a cooling side can be arranged such that at least part of the contact connections of the at least one further circuit component is electrically connected to conductor tracks on the first side of the printed circuit board and the cooling side of the at least one further circuit component is positioned on the first side of the printed circuit board and is oriented substantially in the direction away from the first side of the printed circuit board.

[0023] The present invention is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying figures. These show: Fig. 1 a perspective view of an electrical circuit with two circuit components provided on a printed circuit board; Fig. 2 A schematic cross-sectional view through a circuit component provided on a printed circuit board.

[0024] In Fig. Figure 1 shows an electrical circuit, generally designated 10. The electrical circuit 10 comprises a printed circuit board 12, shown section by section, with two circuit components 14 and 16 provided on it, which in the illustrated embodiment are essentially identical to each other. Each of the two circuit components 14 and 16 comprises a housing 18, for example made of plastic material, from which a group of contact terminals 20 protrudes. Associated with each of the contact terminals 20, a [missing information] is connected to a [missing information] Fig. 1. A conductor track 24 is provided on the first recognizable or upwardly oriented side 22 of the circuit board 12.

[0025] On the housing 18, there is a connection at the circuit component 14 in Fig. 2 upwardly oriented and therefore visible and in the circuit component 16 in Fig. On the downward-facing and therefore invisible cooling side 26, a contact element 28 is defined, which, with a plate-like body 30, provides or covers essentially the entire cooling side 26. For example, the body 30 can be dimensioned such that a cooling surface 32 formed on it occupies at least 70% of the total surface area of ​​the housing 18 on the cooling side 26.

[0026] Two further contact terminals 34 extend from the body 30. To bridge the thickness of the housing 18, the contact terminals 34 extend essentially in a back-cooling-side direction R, so that contact surfaces 36 formed thereon lie in a common plane essentially orthogonal to the back-cooling-side direction R with contact surfaces 38 formed at the contact terminals 20.

[0027] In this context, it should be noted that the contact terminals 20, 34 on both sides opposite each other in the rear-cooling-side direction R each have such contact surfaces 36 or 36' and 38 or 38', so that, depending on the installation situation, the contact surfaces 36, 38 are in contact with the associated conductor tracks 24, 40 on the first side 22 of the circuit board 12, or the contact surfaces 36', 38' are in contact with the associated conductor tracks 24, 40.

[0028] To create a firm and electrically conductive connection, the contact terminals 20, 34 are connected to the associated conductor tracks 24, 40, for example by soldering.

[0029] At the in Fig. In the electrical circuit 10 shown in Figure 1, the circuit component 14 is completely arranged on the first side of the printed circuit board 22, so that, as previously explained, the contact surfaces 36', 38' of the contact terminals 20, 34 are in electrically conductive connection with the associated conductor tracks 24, 40 on the first side 22 of the printed circuit board 12 and the cooling side 26 is positioned on the first side 22 of the printed circuit board 12 and oriented away from it.

[0030] The circuit component 16 of the electrical circuit 10 is connected to the printed circuit board 12 in a position reversed compared to the installation position of the circuit component 14. For this purpose, a recess 42 is provided in the printed circuit board 12 in relation to the circuit component 16, into which the circuit component 16 is inserted during the assembly of the electrical circuit 10. Fig. 1. The cooling side 26 is inserted in front of the visible side, so that in the view of the Fig. 1 the rear side 44 of the housing 18 or of the circuit component 16, which is oriented away from the cooling side 26, is recognizable or is oriented in the same direction as the first side 22 of the circuit board 12.

[0031] The circuit component 16 is inserted into the recess 42 to such an extent that the contact terminals 20, 34, with their contact surfaces 36, 38 oriented in the rear-cooling-side direction R towards the cooling side 26, are in contact with the associated conductor tracks 24, 40. Since all contact elements 20, 34 with their respective contact surfaces 36, 36', 38, 38' are positioned closer to the rear side 44 than to the cooling side 26, this results in a Fig. 2. Also recognizable installation situation in which the distance from the rear side 44 to the first side 22 of the circuit board 12 in the rear-cooling-side direction R is smaller than the distance from the cooling-side 26 to a second side 46 of the circuit board 12 oriented substantially opposite to the first side 22 in the rear-cooling-side direction R. As shown in Fig. Figure 2 illustrates that the back side 44 of the housing 12 or of the circuit component 16 may be positioned protruding beyond the first side 22 of the circuit board 12, or alternatively it may be flush with it or be included in the recess 42.

[0032] During the Fig. 1 and Fig. In the installation situation shown in Figure 2 in conjunction with the circuit component 16, the electrically conductive connection of the contact elements 20, 34 with the associated conductor tracks 24, 40 is made on one of the first sides 22 of the printed circuit board 12, while the cooling side 26 of the circuit component 16 is positioned on the second side 46 of the printed circuit board 12 and oriented away from it. This makes it possible to bring the circuit component 16, with its cooling side 26, in particular the body 30 of the contact element 28, into heat transfer contact with the inside of a housing containing the electrical circuit 10, for example, in order to dissipate heat from the circuit component 16. Thus, it becomes possible to provide a cooling interaction even on the side of the printed circuit board 12 where conductor tracks are not necessarily present. This means that all components provided on the printed circuit board 12, orThe circuit components to be provided on the same side of the printed circuit board 12 (in the illustrated example, the first side 22) can be electrically and permanently connected, particularly by soldering, to the conductor tracks provided there. Meanwhile, for at least some of these circuit components, the cooling function is implemented on the other side of the printed circuit board 12 (in the illustrated example, the second side 46). This allows all circuit components to be electrically connected to the conductor tracks provided there on the same side, so that a soldering procedure only needs to be performed on one side of the printed circuit board 12. This results in a significantly simpler manufacturing process compared to a soldering procedure performed on both sides, while simultaneously allowing the cooling function to be moved to the other side of the printed circuit board or distributed across both sides of the printed circuit board, as shown in [reference]. Fig. 1 is realized using the two circuit components 14, 16 provided there.

[0033] Finally, it should be noted that the circuit components to be provided on the printed circuit board 12 can, of course, be structured and dimensioned fundamentally differently than shown in connection with the circuit components 14 and 16, which are essentially identical in construction. In particular, the shape of the respective housings and the number of electrically conductive contact connections to the respective conductor tracks may differ. It should also be noted that, although in the Fig.In the circuit components 14, 16 shown, the cooling side 26 and the back side 44 are oriented essentially parallel to each other, and in the case of circuit components 14, 16 attached to the printed circuit board 12, they are oriented essentially parallel to the first side 22 and to the second side 46 of the printed circuit board 12, which is particularly advantageous in the context of the cooling side 26 for generating a cooling interaction, for example with a housing; other geometries, for example spherical or cylindrical structures of such circuit components, may also be provided.

[0034] It should also be noted that in such an electrical circuit, for example, all circuit components provided on the circuit board 12 can be provided on the circuit board 12 in the orientation shown in relation to the circuit component 16, or that, for example, all circuit components for which a cooling function or a cooling interaction with a cooling component is to be provided can be inserted in this orientation into a respective assigned recess in the circuit board 12 and connected electrically to the corresponding conductor tracks.

[0035] The integration of a circuit component into an electrical circuit, as illustrated with reference to circuit component 16, can also be applied in principle to electrical circuits whose printed circuit boards have conductive traces on both sides and in which, accordingly, circuit components must be electrically connected to the conductive traces provided on both sides. In electrical circuits constructed in this way, it could be provided, for example, that all circuit components requiring cooling are mounted on the printed circuit board such that their cooling surfaces are positioned on the same side of the board.

Claims

[1] Method for constructing an electrical circuit (10), the electrical circuit (10) comprising a printed circuit board (12) and at least one circuit component (16) with a housing (18) and with a plurality of contact terminals (20, 34) protruding therefrom, wherein at least part of the contact terminals (20, 34) are electrically connected to conductive traces (24, 40) of the printed circuit board (12) provided on the same side of the printed circuit board (12), and wherein the at least one circuit component (16) has a cooling side (26) positioned on one side of the printed circuit board (12) and oriented away from the printed circuit board (12), wherein the method comprises the measures: a) Providing at least one circuit component (16) with a housing (18) and with a plurality of contact terminals (20, 34) protruding from it and a cooling side (26) and a rear side (44) facing away from the cooling side (26), b) Providing the printed circuit board (12) with a recess (42) and conductor tracks (24, 40) provided for at least one circuit component (16) at least on a first side (22) of the printed circuit board (12), c) Inserting the at least one circuit component (16) into the recess (42) such that at least part of the contact connections (20, 34) of the at least one circuit component (16) is positioned on the first side (22) of the printed circuit board (12) in the area of ​​conductor tracks (24, 40) provided on the first side (22) of the printed circuit board (12) and the cooling side (26) of the at least one circuit component (16) is positioned on a second side (46) of the printed circuit board (12) facing away from the first side (22) and oriented substantially in the direction away from the second side (46) of the printed circuit board (12), d) electrically conductive connection of each contact terminal (20, 34) positioned in the area of ​​a conductor track (24, 40) on the first side (22) of the printed circuit board (12) with the respective associated conductor track (24, 40), characterized by , that in measure a) the at least one circuit component (16) is provided with at least one contact connection (34) and a cooling surface (32) on the cooling side (26) of the contact element (28) providing the at least one circuit component (16) and wherein the housing (18) is made of a plastic material and forms the back (44). [2] Method according to claim 1, characterized by, that in measure c) each contact connection (20, 34) of the at least one circuit component (16) is positioned in the area of ​​a conductor track (24, 40) provided on the first side (22) of the printed circuit board (12) and in measure d) each contact connection (20, 34) is electrically connected to the respective associated conductor track (24, 40). [3] Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by , that, with reference to a back-cooling-side direction (R), the back (44) of the at least one circuit component (16) has a first distance to the first side (22) of the printed circuit board (12) and the cooling side (26) has a second distance to the second side (46) of the printed circuit board (12), and that the first distance is smaller than the second distance. [4] Method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized by, that in measure c) each contact connection (20, 34) to be positioned in the area of ​​a conductor track (24, 40) on the first side (22) of the printed circuit board (12) is positioned with a contact surface (36, 38) oriented in a back-cooling-side direction (R) towards the cooling side (26) adjacent to the respective assigned conductor track (24, 40). [5] Method according to claim 4, characterized by , that in measure c) at least one circuit component (16) is moved with its cooling side (26) leading towards the first side (22) of the circuit board (12) and into the recess (42) until each contact terminal (20, 34) to be positioned in the area of ​​a conductor track (24, 40) on the first side (22) of the circuit board (12) is positioned with its contact surface (36, 38) oriented towards the cooling side (26) against the respective assigned conductor track (24, 40). [6] Method according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized by, that measure c) includes soldering each contact terminal (20, 34) positioned adjacent to a conductor track (24, 40) on the first side (22) of the circuit board (12) to the respective assigned conductor track (24, 40). [7] Method according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized by , that the cooling surface (32) occupies at least 70% of the total surface area of ​​the cooling side (26) of the at least one circuit component (16). [8] Method according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized by , that in measure c) at least one circuit component (16) is inserted into the recess (42) such that the cooling side (26) is positioned essentially parallel to the second side (46) of the circuit board (12). [9] Method according to any one of claims 1-8, characterized by , that the procedure further includes the following measures: e) Providing at least one further circuit component (14) with a plurality of contact terminals (20, 34) and a cooling side (26), f) Arranging the at least one further circuit component (14) on the first side (22) of the printed circuit board (12) such that at least part of the contact connections (20, 34) of the at least one further component (14) on the first side (22) of the printed circuit board (12) is positioned in the area of ​​conductor tracks (24, 40) provided on the first side (22) of the printed circuit board (12) and the cooling side (26) of the at least one further circuit component (14) is positioned on the first side (22) of the printed circuit board (12) and is oriented substantially in the direction away from the first side (22) of the printed circuit board (12), g) electrically conductive connection of each contact terminal (20, 34) positioned in the area of ​​a conductor track (24,40) on the first side (22) of the printed circuit board (12) with the respective associated conductor track (24, 40). [10] Electrical circuit (10) comprising a printed circuit board (22) and at least one circuit component (16) with a housing (18) and a plurality of contact terminals (20, 34) projecting therefrom, wherein the printed circuit board (12) has a recess (42) and conductive traces (24, 40) at least on a first side (22) of the printed circuit board (12) in association with the at least one circuit component (16), wherein the at least one circuit component (14) is inserted into the associated recess (42) such that at least part of the contact terminals (20, 34) of the at least one component (16) on the first side (22) of the printed circuit board (12) is positioned in the region of conductive traces (24, 40) provided on the first side (22) of the printed circuit board (12) and is thus electrically connected,and wherein a cooling side (26) of the at least one circuit component (16) is positioned on a second side (46) of the printed circuit board (12) facing away from the first side (22) and is oriented substantially in the direction away from the second side (46) of the printed circuit board (12), characterized by , that the at least one circuit component (16) comprises at least one contact terminal (34) and a cooling surface (32) on the cooling side (26) of the at least one circuit component (16) providing a contact element (28) and that the housing (18) is made of a plastic material and forms a rear side (44) facing away from the cooling side (26). [11] Electrical circuit according to claim 10, characterized by, that each contact terminal (20, 34) positioned in the area of ​​a conductor track (24, 40) on the first side (22) of the printed circuit board (12) is positioned with a contact surface (36, 38) oriented in a back-cooling-side direction (R) towards the cooling side (26) adjacent to the respective assigned conductor track (24, 40). [12] Electrical circuit according to claim 10 or 11, characterized by, that at least one further circuit component (14) having a plurality of contact connections (20, 34) and a cooling side (26) is arranged on the printed circuit board (12) such that at least part of the contact connections (20, 34) of the at least one further circuit component (14) is electrically connected to conductor tracks (24, 40) on the first side (22) of the printed circuit board (12) and the cooling side (26) of the at least one further circuit component (14) is positioned on the first side (22) of the printed circuit board (12) and is oriented substantially in the direction away from the first side (22) of the printed circuit board (12).

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