Adapter for assembling a printed circuit board with electronic components

Abstract

Adapter for assembling a printed circuit board with electronic components, including: - a base plate, and - two electrical contacts that are electrically separated from each other on the base plate, wherein each of the electrical contacts on a bottom side of the base plate has a first electrical contact section with which the adapter can be electrically conductively attached to the circuit board, and each of the electrical contacts on a top side of the base plate opposite the bottom side has a second electrical contact section with which electronic components can be electrically conductively attached to the adapter, wherein the second electrical contact sections have a distance from each other that is the same or different from the distance between the first electrical contact sections, wherein each of the second electrical contact sections has at least a first subsection and a second subsection, wherein the second subsections have a distance from each other that differs from the distance between the first subsections, and where the distance between the second subsections is smaller than the distance between the first subsections.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to an adapter for assembling a printed circuit board with electronic components. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] In the manufacturing and assembly of electronic assemblies, especially printed circuit boards, various types of electronic components are used to prepare the boards for their intended use. All relevant components, including the electronic components to be used later, are taken into account during the creation or design process of the printed circuit board.

[0003] Unfortunately, it's becoming increasingly common for supply bottlenecks and delivery failures to occur for electronic components of the size that the circuit boards were originally intended to be populated with. However, this can be particularly problematic for existing circuit boards or already designed circuit boards, where a required component isn't available in the required size, forcing you to search for alternatives.

[0004] Once alternatives have been found, they can, however, cause major problems, such as a change in the behavior of the electronic assembly in which they are used, or the manufacturer being different from the usual one, which can entail a certain quality risk and possible field failure, since even in ongoing production there is often no time left to adequately test the alternatives in the existing assembly.

[0005] In some cases, however, the use of alternative electronic components may also require a so-called redesign of the electronic assembly (adaptation / modification of the entire assembly due to a modified component), which is associated with high costs and may also require requalification of the assembly. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] An object of the present invention is therefore to provide an adapter for assembling a printed circuit board with electronic components, which avoids the above problems.

[0007] These objects are achieved with an adapter according to claim 1. The dependent claims relate to advantageous embodiments of the adapter according to the invention.

[0008] The adapter according to the invention for equipping a printed circuit board with electronic components comprises: a base plate, and two electrical contacts which are provided on the base plate in an electrically separate manner from one another, wherein each of the electrical contacts has a first electrical contact section on an underside of the base plate, with which the adapter can be electrically conductively fastened to the printed circuit board, and each of the electrical contacts has a second electrical contact section on an upper side of the base plate opposite the underside of the base plate, with which electronic components can be electrically conductively fastened to the adapter, and wherein the second electrical contact sections are at a distance from one another which is the same as or different from the distance between the first electrical contact sections.

[0009] The adapter according to the invention makes it possible to easily mount electronic components of various types and sizes on the circuit board in an electrically conductive manner. Both standardized sizes, such as those summarized in the EIA standard, and non-standardized sizes can be connected to the circuit board. The adapter according to the invention offers unlimited mounting options for the electronic components.

[0010] In particular, the adapter according to the invention offers the advantage of being able to react very quickly and cost-effectively to changes in the availability of the corresponding electronic components during ongoing production of electronic assemblies. If a component in the desired size is not available from the selected manufacturer, a different size of the desired component from the same manufacturer can easily be used and mounted on the existing circuit board using the adapter according to the invention.

[0011] Furthermore, the risk of quality losses and the danger of field failure of the produced electronic assemblies can be avoided, as one can remain with the existing manufacturer / supplier for the electronic components, who, for example, has always supplied reliable components, but may no longer have the size available or no longer produce it.

[0012] Due to its simple design, the adapter also offers the advantage of being inexpensive to manufacture and universally applicable.

[0013] In the adapter according to the invention, each of the second electrical contact sections has at least a first subsection and a second subsection, wherein the second subsections have a distance from one another which is different from the distance between the first subsections.

[0014] Furthermore, the distance between the second subsections is smaller than the distance between the first subsections.

[0015] This allows electronic components of various sizes to be mounted / attached to the adapter and thus populated on the circuit board. It doesn't matter whether the electronic components are resistors, capacitors, or inductors of various sizes.

[0016] The adapter according to the invention can be advantageously further developed in that the distance between at least the first subsections is selected such that an electronic component with a standardized design, in particular with a design according to the EIA standard, can be electrically conductively fastened to the first subsections, and / or the distance between at least the second subsections is selected such that an electronic component with a standardized design, in particular with a design according to the EIA standard, can be electrically conductively fastened to the second subsections.

[0017] In particular, the adapter according to the invention allows standardized sizes of electronic components to be attached to the circuit board. A very widely used standard for the sizes of electronic components is the ElA standard (Electronic Industries Alliance). It codes the sizes of electronic components essentially according to their length and width in inches. For example, the size "1206" according to the ElA standard has a length of 0.126 ± 0.006 inches and a width of 0.063 ± 0.006 inches.

[0018] The adapter according to the invention can further be advantageously developed in that the first subsections or the second subsections have a width which extends in a width direction perpendicular to the distance between the first and second subsections and which is equal to a width of the first electrical contact section.

[0019] It is advantageous if at least a subsection of the second electrical contact sections, to which the electronic component is electrically conductively attached, has substantially the same width as the first electrical contact sections, with which the adapter is electrically conductively attached to the circuit board. The width of the adapter or the base plate can be selected so that it essentially corresponds to the width of the first or second electrical contact sections.

[0020] An advantageous development of the adapter according to the invention consists in that the second subsections have a width which extends in a width direction perpendicular to the distance between the first and second subsections and which is different from the width of the first subsections.

[0021] An additional advantageous development of the adapter according to the invention is that the width of the second subsections is smaller than the width of the first subsections.

[0022] As already mentioned, the electronic components can have not only different lengths but also different widths. To accommodate this, subsections of different widths are provided in the second electrical contact section to flexibly accommodate the different sizes of the electronic components.

[0023] Furthermore, the adapter according to the invention can be advantageously further developed in that the width of at least the first subsections is selected such that an electronic component with a standardized design, in particular with a design according to the EIA standard, can be electrically conductively fastened to the first subsections, and / or the width of at least the second subsections is selected such that an electronic component with a standardized design, in particular with a design according to the EIA standard, can be electrically conductively fastened to the second subsections.

[0024] As already indicated above, the adapter according to the invention can be used to attach standardized sizes of electronic components to the circuit board, in particular sizes according to the ElA (Electronic Industries Alliance) standard. However, other standards may also apply to the width and the spacing of the first and second subsections. Non-standardized width sizes may also be provided.

[0025] In addition, the adapter according to the invention can be advantageously further developed in that each of the second electrical contact sections has at least one third subsection, wherein the third subsections have a distance from one another which is different from the distance between the first subsections and the second subsections.

[0026] Furthermore, the adapter according to the invention can be advantageously further developed in that the distance between the third subsections is smaller than the distance between the first subsections and the second subsections, and / or the width of the third subsections is smaller than the width of the first and second subsections.

[0027] To further increase the application possibilities of the adapter according to the invention, it is advantageous to provide an additional subsection at every second electrical contact section. These third subsections are even closer together and have an even smaller width than the first and second subsections, for example, to accommodate small or very small sizes of electronic components.

[0028] It should be noted that, of course, further subsections can be provided on the second electrical contact section.

[0029] The adapter according to the invention can further be advantageously developed in that the first electrical contact section and / or the second electrical contact sections are designed as contact pads.

[0030] Designing the electrical contact sections as contact pads advantageously offers optimized mounting options for electronic components, as these are less susceptible to deformation or breakage than pins. Furthermore, such electronic components are often surface-mounted devices (SMDs). Contact pads are ideal for mounting such components on the circuit board.

[0031] A further advantageous development of the adapter according to the invention consists in that the first electrical contact section and the second electrical contact sections of the respective electrical contact are formed integrally with one another.

[0032] This is particularly advantageous for the manufacturing process of the adapter according to the invention, since the first and second electrical contact sections of a contact can be manufactured, for example, from a thin sheet metal that would only need to be bent accordingly for attachment to the base body. With modern processes such as waterjet or laser cutting, these sheets can also be produced very quickly and cost-effectively in large quantities.

[0033] The adapter according to the invention can further be advantageously developed in that the first electrical contact sections are formed symmetrically to one another and the second electrical contact sections are formed symmetrically to one another.

[0034] A further advantageous development of the adapter according to the invention consists in that the first electrical contact sections and the second electrical contact sections are each formed symmetrically in a width direction which extends perpendicular to the distance between the first and second electrical contact sections.

[0035] This also allows the electronic components to be advantageously aligned symmetrically on the adapter and secured accordingly. A specific orientation or symmetry of the arrangement of the electronic components on the circuit board may be necessary, for example, to minimize the influence of surrounding electronic components (e.g., an electric and / or magnetic field; e.g., an inductance) on the electronic component mounted by the adapter.

[0036] A further advantageous development of the adapter according to the invention consists in that separating webs are provided on a surface of the second electrical contact sections between the individual subsections in order to prevent a solder from running over all subsections of the second electrical contact sections when an electronic component is attached to the surface of the second electrical contact sections.

[0037] To create the separating strips, the transitions between the subsections of the second electrical contact sections are overprinted or coated with a correspondingly non-conductive material. The non-conductive material can, for example, comprise solder mask or a corresponding coating.

[0038] The formation of separating webs on the surface of the second electrical contact sections is so important because otherwise it can happen that when soldering small components, for example, the solder is completely distributed over the second electrical contact sections and the soldering does not work or only works to a limited extent.

[0039] The adapter according to the invention advantageously enables electronic components of various sizes to be electrically connected to the circuit board without having to change the design of the circuit board. This has led to the particular advantage that, if the manufacturer of the electronic components cannot supply a certain size at the time, a smaller or larger component can simply be used instead, without having to change the selected and (possibly) certified manufacturer. Furthermore, the adapter according to the invention is characterized by a simple structure, allowing it to be manufactured cost-effectively and with minimal material usage.

[0040] Further aspects and their advantages as well as advantages and more specific embodiments of the aspects and features described above are described in the following, but in no way limiting, descriptions and explanations of the attached figures. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE CHARACTERS Fig. 1 shows schematically a plan view of the adapter according to the invention on a printed circuit board; Fig. 2 shows schematically a cross-section of the adapter according to the invention on the printed circuit board; Fig. 3 shows schematically a detailed view of the adapter according to the invention with several symmetrically distributed subsections of the second electrical contact sections; Fig. 4 shows schematically a detailed view of the adapter according to the invention with several asymmetrically distributed subsections of the second electrical contact sections. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES AND PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

[0041] Examples and embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying figures. Identical or similar elements in the figures may be designated by the same reference numerals, although sometimes different reference numerals may be used.

[0042] It should be emphasized, however, that the present invention is in no way limited or restricted to the exemplary embodiments and their embodiment features described below, but further comprises modifications of the exemplary embodiments, in particular those which are encompassed by modifications of the features of the described examples or by combination of one or more of the features of the described examples within the scope of protection of the independent claims.

[0043] Fig. 1 schematically shows a top view of the adapter 20 according to the invention on a printed circuit board 10.

[0044] In addition to a base plate 25, the adapter 20 has two contacts which are arranged electrically separated from one another on the base plate 25. The two contacts furthermore each have a first electrical contact section 21 (not shown here, see Fig. 2) and a second electrical contact section 22. The adapter 20 can be electrically connected to the circuit board 10 via the first electrical contact sections 21. For this purpose, the circuit board 10 can have, for example, contact pads 11 (or another contacting option such as pins or solder pads).

[0045] For this purpose, it may be advantageous if the first electrical contact sections 21 are substantially at the same distance from one another as the contact pads 11 of the printed circuit board 10 are from one another, in order to enable problem-free, electrically conductive fastening of the adapter 20 on the printed circuit board 10.

[0046] Furthermore, the second electrical contact sections 22 of the adapter 20 can have a plurality of subsections 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d, on which at least one electronic component 30 can be electrically conductively connected to the adapter 20 (here the subsections 22d).

[0047] Here too, a distance between the subsections 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d can advantageously be provided such that it essentially corresponds to a distance of the electronic component 30 and therefore a mounting of the electronic component 30 on the adapter 20 is possible without any problems.

[0048] The base plate 25 of the adapter 20 can be made of various materials, such as fiber-reinforced plastic, laminated paper, a ceramic material, or an aluminum substrate. This list of materials is not intended to be limiting.

[0049] The base plate 25 can advantageously have a substantially rectangular shape of the surfaces on which the first electrical contact sections 21 and the second electrical contact sections 22 are provided. In particular, both the first electrical contact sections 21 and the second electrical contact sections 22 can be provided on the shorter sides of the substantially rectangularly shaped surfaces of the base plate 25, wherein at least the second electrical contact sections 22 advantageously extend from the shorter sides of the substantially rectangularly shaped surfaces of the base plate 25 toward the center of the substantially rectangularly shaped surfaces of the base plate 25.

[0050] It should be noted at this point that the first electrical contact sections 21 as well as the second electrical contact sections 22 can also be provided on the longer sides of the substantially rectangular shaped surfaces of the base plate 25 and, at least the second electrical contact sections 22, can extend, for example, substantially towards the center of the substantially rectangular shaped surfaces of the base plate 25.

[0051] Furthermore, the adapter 20 according to the invention for fastening the electronic components 30 on a surface of the second electrical contact sections 22 can have separating webs 27 between the individual subsections 22a - 22d in order to prevent a solder from running over all subsections 22a - 22d of the second electrical contact sections 22 when fastening an electronic component 30 on the surface of the second electrical contact sections 22.

[0052] To create the separating webs 27, the transitions between the subsections 22a-22d of the second electrical contact sections 22 are overprinted or coated with a correspondingly non-conductive material. The non-conductive material can, for example, comprise solder resist or a corresponding coating.

[0053] Fig. 2 schematically shows a cross section of the adapter 20 according to the invention on the circuit board 10.

[0054] Here, the first electrical contact sections 21 can be seen, which are provided on a surface of the base plate 25 opposite the surface with the second electrical contact sections 22 in order to electrically connect the adapter 20 to the circuit board 10. Furthermore, it is shown again here that the second electrical contact sections 22 are designed to be electrically connected to at least one electronic component 30.

[0055] The first electrical contact sections 21 of the two contacts can be designed such that the base plate 25 is advantageously provided between the first and the second electrical contact sections 21, 22 (as in a sandwich construction).

[0056] Furthermore, it may also be possible for the first electrical contact sections 21 to extend away from the base plate 25. This could be advantageous for certain fastening methods with which the adapter 20 is electrically conductively fastened to the circuit board 10, since the first electrical contact sections 21 are no longer located below the base plate 25, meaning they are no longer covered by the base plate 25 when the adapter 20 is fastened to the circuit board 10.

[0057] Furthermore, the adapter 20 according to the invention is advantageously designed such that, for each of the two contacts, the first electrical contact section 21 is formed integrally with the respective second electrical contact section 22. In particular, this can lead to simple production of the adapter 20, since the first electrical contact section 21 and the second electrical contact section 22 (and optionally a connecting section between the first and second electrical contact sections) can be manufactured integrally from a single sheet metal.

[0058] For this purpose, a contact (sheet metal) can be cut out of a base material using a separating process (e.g. laser beam or water jet cutting, erosion, etc.) and bent / edged into the desired shape.

[0059] Alternatively, a metallized foil or paste can also be applied to the base plate 25 for producing the first and / or second electrical contact sections 21, 22, and optionally a metal sheet can be provided as a connecting section between the first and the second electrical contact section 21, 22 on the corresponding outer side of the base plate 25 in order to electrically connect the first and the second electrical contact section 21, 22 to one another.

[0060] Furthermore, it may be possible for the two metal sheets running around the outer sides of the base plate 25 to be used simultaneously for contacting the adapter 20 according to the invention on the printed circuit board 10 or the electronic component 30 on the adapter 20 according to the invention.

[0061] Fig. 3 schematically shows a detailed view of the adapter 20 according to the invention with several symmetrically distributed subsections 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d of the second electrical contact sections 22.

[0062] In this case, the distances between the respective subsections 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d are preferably selected such that they correspond to a standardized size of an electronic component 30.

[0063] A widely used standard for electronic components is the EIA (Electronic Industries Alliance) standard. This standard essentially describes the length and width of the component in inches. For example, an electronic component of size "1206" according to the EIA standard has a length of 0.126 ± 0.006 inches and a width of 0.063 ± 0.006 inches, which, expressed in millimeters, essentially corresponds to a length of 3.20 ± 0.15 mm and a width of 1.60 ± 0.15 mm.

[0064] Since, as already indicated, the EIA standard also includes standardized widths of the electronic components, it may also be advantageous if the width of the subsections 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d, which extends along a width direction perpendicular to the distance between the subsections 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d, essentially corresponds to the standardized widths of the EIA standard.

[0065] It should be noted at this point that other standards can also serve as models for the spacing and widths of subsections 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d of the second electrical contact sections 22. Furthermore, it should be noted that the spacing and width of subsections 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d can also be selected without taking standardized sizes of the electronic components into account.

[0066] In addition, the distance and the width of the first electrical contact sections 21 can also be selected taking into account a standard of the sizes of electronic components (or another standard) or can also be freely selected, i.e. without taking a standard into account.

[0067] Furthermore, Fig. 3 that the subsections 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d are arranged substantially symmetrically, in particular in the direction of the distance between the subsections 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d and in the width direction of the subsections 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d (and in particular with respect to the center point of the substantially rectangular shaped surfaces of the base plate 25).

[0068] This offers the advantage that electronic components 30 of various sizes / sizes can essentially always be arranged centrally on the adapter 20, for example, to ensure a defined distance between the electronic component 30 mounted on the adapter 20 and other electronic components provided on the circuit board 10, or to provide, for example, a defined orientation / alignment of the electronic component 30 mounted on the adapter 20 with respect to other electronic components provided on the circuit board 10. This may be necessary, for example, if the electronic components on the circuit board 10 could otherwise influence each other (for example, due to electrical and / or magnetic fields, for example, from an inductance).

[0069] In addition, there are dividers 27, as already in Fig. 1, is provided on the surface of the second electrical contact sections 22 between the subsections 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d in order to prevent the solder from running during a soldering process (see also the explanations for Fig. 1).

[0070] Fig. 4 schematically shows a detailed view of the adapter 20 according to the invention with several asymmetrically distributed subsections 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d of the second electrical contact sections 22.

[0071] Subsections 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d are compared to Fig. 3, are arranged substantially symmetrically in the direction of the spacing of the subsections 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d from one another on the base plate 25. However, in their width direction, the subsections 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d are arranged asymmetrically with respect to the base plate 25.

[0072] This may, for example, be necessary again to provide a defined distance or a defined orientation / alignment of the electronic component 30 mounted on the adapter 20 to other electronic components provided on the circuit board 10.

[0073] It should be noted at this point that the distributions of the subsections 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d of the second electrical contact section 22 are not limited to the Fig. 3 and Fig. 4. Various modifications of the arrangement of the subsections 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d can also be provided, so that, for example, a diagonal arrangement of the electronic component 30 with respect to the base plate 25 is achieved when the electronic component 30 is electrically connected, for example, to the subsections 22d.

[0074] Furthermore, a symmetrical distribution of the subsections 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d is not a mandatory requirement for the adapter 20 according to the invention.

[0075] In addition, separating webs 27 are provided on the surface between the subsections 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d to prevent the solder from running during a soldering process (see also the explanations for Fig. 1 and Fig. 3).

[0076] Examples or embodiments of the present invention and their advantages have been described in detail above with reference to the attached figures.

[0077] It should be emphasized again that the present invention is in no way limited or restricted to the exemplary embodiments and their embodiment features described above, but further comprises modifications of the exemplary embodiments, in particular those which are encompassed by modifications of the features of the described examples or by combination of one or more of the features of the described examples within the scope of protection of the independent claims. LIST OF REFERENCE SYMBOLS 10 circuit board 11 contact pads of the circuit board 20 adapters 21 first electrical contact section 22 second electrical contact section 22a - 22d Subsections of the second electrical contact section 25 Base plate 27 Divider 30 electronic components

Claims

[1] Adapter for assembling a printed circuit board with electronic components, with: - a base plate, and - two electrical contacts which are provided on the base plate and are electrically separated from each other, wherein each of the electrical contacts on an underside of the base plate has a first electrical contact section with which the adapter can be electrically conductively attached to the circuit board, and each of the electrical contacts on an upper side of the base plate opposite the underside of the base plate has a second electrical contact section with which electronic components can be electrically conductively attached to the adapter, wherein the second electrical contact sections are spaced apart from one another by a distance equal to or different from the distance between the first electrical contact sections, wherein each of the second electrical contact sections has at least a first subsection and a second subsection, wherein the second subsections are spaced apart from one another by a distance different from the distance between the first subsections, and wherein the distance between the second subsections is smaller than the distance between the first subsections. [2] Adapter according to claim 1, characterized by , that the distance between at least the first subsections is selected such that an electronic component with a standardized design, in particular with a design according to EIA standards, can be attached to the first subsections in an electrically conductive manner, and / or the distance between at least the second subsections is selected such that an electronic component with a standardized design, in particular with a design according to EIA standards, can be electrically conductively attached to the second subsections. [3] Adapter according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized by that the first subsections or the second subsections have a width extending in a width direction perpendicular to the distance between the first and second subsections, which is equal to a width of the first electrical contact section. [4] Adapter according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized by that the second subsections have a width extending in a width direction perpendicular to the distance between the first and second subsections that is different from the width of the first subsections. [5] Adapter according to claim 4, characterized bythat the width of the second subsections is smaller than the width of the first subsections. [6] Adapter according to one of claims 3 to 5, characterized by , that the width of at least the first subsections is selected such that an electronic component with a standardized design, in particular with a design according to EIA standards, can be attached to the first subsections in an electrically conductive manner, and / or the width of at least the second subsections is selected such that an electronic component with a standardized design, in particular with a design according to EIA standards, can be electrically conductively attached to the second subsections. [7] Adapter according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized by , that each of the second electrical contact sections has at least a third subsection, wherein the third subsections have a distance from each other which is different from the distance of the first subsections from each other and the second subsections from each other. [8] Adapter according to claim 7, characterized by that the distance between the third subsections is smaller than the distance between the first subsections and the second subsections, and / or the width of the third subsections is smaller than the width of the first and second subsections. [9] Adapter according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized by that the first electrical contact section and / or the second electrical contact sections are designed as contact pads. [10] Adapter according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized by that the first electrical contact portion and the second electrical contact portions of the respective electrical contact are formed integrally with one another. [11] Adapter according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized by that the first electrical contact sections are symmetrical to one another and the second electrical contact sections are symmetrical to one another. [12] Adapter according to one of claims 1 to 11, characterized by that the first electrical contact sections and the second electrical contact sections are each formed symmetrically in a width direction which extends perpendicular to the distance between the first and second electrical contact sections. [13] Adapter according to one of claims 1 to 12, characterized by that separating webs are provided on a surface of the second electrical contact sections between the individual subsections in order to prevent a solder from running over all subsections of the second electrical contact sections when an electronic component is attached to the surface of the second electrical contact sections.

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