Detachable tuner module with improved thermal properties

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a radio tuner module for the mobile reception of high-frequency signals in vehicles, a communication arrangement with such a tuner, and a vehicle with such a communication arrangement according to the features of the preamble of the respective independent claims.

[0002] US 2012 / 307453 A1 describes an electronic device with a housing cover designed as a heat pipe.

[0003] EP 2 802 006 A2 describes a module for wireless data communication that can be mounted in a vehicle. A heat-generating element arranged in a housing is coupled to a metallic part of the housing cover via a thermal pad.

[0004] Tuners for the mobile reception of high-frequency signals in vehicles are known, which have a housing for their intended placement and attachment at their installation location. The housing is formed by a first housing part and at least one further housing part, wherein at least one printed circuit board is arranged in the housing, and wherein at least one thermally sensitive electronic component for realizing at least one partial function of the tuner is arranged on the at least one printed circuit board. Naturally, further components of the tuner, such as additional electronic components, connectors, mechanical components, and the like, are present, which may also be thermally sensitive, but need not be.At the intended installation location of the tuner within a vehicle, very high temperatures prevail depending on external conditions, particularly sunlight or heat build-up. These temperatures can impair the tuner's function or even lead to a complete failure. This impairment or failure can be intentionally caused by deactivating partial functions or the entire tuner. However, damage and failure due to the high temperatures can also occur, potentially requiring replacement of the entire tuner in the worst-case scenario.

[0005] In other words, the invention relates to a remote radio tuner module, hereinafter also referred to as a remote tuner module or simply tuner, which is mounted in close proximity to one or more antennas. The antennas are generally located in / on the outer skin of a vehicle (e.g., window antennas), outside the vehicle (e.g., mirrors, roof antennas, smart antennas), or directly below the body (e.g., bumpers or so-called smart bars).

[0006] Most tuner enclosures share several technical challenges. These include the extremely small available installation space, the processing of digital and analog RF signals in close proximity to various receiving antennas (EMC), and the heat generated inside the tuner housing by solar radiation and the internal heating of the electronic components (ICs).

[0007] In the aforementioned installation spaces, particularly directly under the roof and in the area of ​​the window antennas, extreme temperatures of up to approximately 105°C prevail, depending on the region, season, and solar radiation. A tuner must be able to withstand these temperatures during operation or at least during limited operation. The tuner components currently available from the automotive sector are largely specified for temperatures ranging from -40°C to +85°C and are therefore, to begin with, disadvantageously unsuitable for these installation spaces. However, the far more important technical parameter for the ICs regarding the maximum permissible ambient temperature is the junction temperature. This is typically around 125°C and must not be exceeded. The challenge of a tuner design, therefore, is to cope with these conditions.

[0008] From EP 0 806 851 A2, a radio reception system for a vehicle with input / output units is known, which in principle has several receiving units that are remotely connected to the input / output unit. The receiving units are interconnected and connected to the input / output unit via a connection line for digital signals. The receiving units and the associated antennas are arranged in close proximity to each other. The application further describes that the signal received via the antenna is fed to the radio receiver via the antenna line, demodulated in the tuner section, evaluated for quality, adapted in the signal processing unit, amplified, and then fed to the outputs. It is also described that the radio reception system is designed as a decentralized system that has an input / output unit and several remote receiving units.Each receiver unit comprises a control unit, a tuner section, and a signal processing unit with a digital interface, as well as at least one associated antenna. This prior art document explains that the decentralized arrangement of the receiver units allows for optimal functionality. Furthermore, it describes the significant space constraints inherent in the vehicle's console area due to the required user-friendliness for the various devices. The temperature and EMC requirements for the remote tuner, which is now mounted directly at the antenna in the aforementioned installation spaces, are considerably higher and more challenging to manage.

[0009] The invention is therefore based on the objective of improving a tuner, a communication system with such a tuner, and a vehicle with such a communication system with regard to the thermal management of the tuner and avoiding failures.

[0010] This problem is solved by the features of the independent patent claim.

[0011] According to the invention, the tuner is provided in that at least one area of ​​a housing part consists of a thermally conductive material with high thermal conductivity, and that at least one thermally critical electronic component is connected to this area in a heat-transferring manner. This enables the thermally critical electronic component, which either generates high temperatures itself during operation and / or is exposed to thermally critical temperatures due to the ambient temperature, to be specifically coupled to the at least one thermally conductive area of ​​the at least one housing part via thermal coupling in order to lower the critical temperature by dissipating heat from the thermally critical component to the outside of the tuner housing via the at least one area of ​​the housing part.This can be further enhanced by ensuring that not only a portion of the housing component is made of a thermally conductive material, but that the entire housing component, or at least both housing components, are made of a thermally conductive material (the same or different materials). Suitable thermally conductive materials with high thermal conductivity include, for example, steel alloys, lightweight materials such as aluminum, and also plastics with high thermal conductivity. Furthermore, heat dissipation can be increased by ensuring that the heat from the thermally critical component is not only dissipated via the housing, but also transferred from the housing to other elements, such as parts of the vehicle body, and then transferred there. Additional heat transfer measures are also conceivable, which will be described below in connection with the further dependent claims.

[0012] According to the invention, the necessary reliability, resilience and performance of the tuner and the broadcasting system (communication system) in which the tuner is used is advantageously achieved through a combination of functionality or temperature-controlled functionality, the mechanical design and the use of appropriate EMC measures for the intended installation space.

[0013] A particularly simple design for a tuner housing is achieved by using exactly two housing parts, both made of a thermally conductive material with high thermal conductivity, and by connecting at least one heat-sensitive electronic component to at least one of the two housing parts in a heat-transferring manner. The two housing parts can be identical or different in design to accommodate at least one, preferably exactly one, printed circuit board. If both housing parts are identical, a particularly simple design and assembly can be achieved, making mass production of such tuners especially cost-effective.

[0014] In a further development of the invention, an outer surface of the housing, in particular of one or both housing parts, which faces into a free space at an installation location of the tuner, is at least partially provided with a coating of a heat-radiating material. This allows the heat from the thermally critical component to be dissipated, i.e., radiated, to the outside via the housing or one of the housing parts, which is directly or indirectly coupled to the electronic component. In a further development of the invention, the coating consists of a high-impact coating or an anodizing process. After the housing, in particular the housing parts, has been manufactured, the corresponding area, for example, a large underside or top surface, can be provided with a coating or anodized (if the housing is made of a lightweight material) to facilitate heat dissipation into a free space.Not only in the case of coatings, but generally, the construction of at least one housing component from a material with high conductivity has the positive effect of spreading the heat emitted and transferred from the electronic component to a larger area. In the case of a coating with paint, for example, a white paint is suitable because it has high emissivity.

[0015] The circuit board is thermally coupled to the housing. This allows the heat generated inside the housing, particularly due to heat buildup or the heat generated during operation of the electronic component, to be absorbed by the circuit board and transferred to the housing. From there, the heat is spread over a large area via the housing section made of a material with high thermal conductivity and dissipated to the outside, or transferred from there in a suitable manner to cool the interior of the housing.

[0016] For thermal coupling of the printed circuit board (PCB) to the housing, the housing is provided with at least one thermal element projecting towards the PCB, preferably several thermal conducting elements, wherein at least one of these thermal conducting elements is materially and / or positively connected to the PCB. This thermal conducting element can be, for example, a projecting projection, a mounting pin, or the like. It is important that the PCB is materially and / or positively connected to the housing or one of its components in a heat-transferring manner, so that heat transfer from the PCB, and thus from the at least one electronic component, can occur via the housing to the outside and be dissipated there.

[0017] The thermal coupling of the printed circuit board (PCB) to the housing is achieved by connecting an edge region of the PCB to the housing using a material-fit and / or form-fit connection. This further improves the heat transfer coupling between the PCB and the housing. A portion of the edge region, but preferably the entire circumferential edge region of the PCB, can be used for thermal coupling.

[0018] In a further development of the invention, the housing has at least one flat projection extending into the interior of the housing, the projection being located in the area where the at least one heat-sensitive electronic component is also located. This allows for targeted coupling of the housing, or more precisely, the housing part, to the electronic component in order to absorb heat from it, spread it via the flat projection, and then dissipate it via the outer surface of the housing part. While the heating element described above, for example implemented as a mounting pin, can also be located elsewhere to mechanically and thermally couple the circuit board to the housing part, the flat projection is located precisely in the area where the heat-sensitive electronic component is arranged on the circuit board.Ideally, the area of ​​this flat elevation is exactly the same size as the area of ​​the electronic component, but it can also be smaller or larger.

[0019] In a further development of the invention, at least one thermally critical electronic component is connected to the housing and / or the separate thermal element and / or the flat elevation of the housing via a flexible thermal interface material. The flexible thermal interface material, for example a thermal pad, a thermal gel, a thermal adhesive, or the like, significantly improves the thermal connection of the thermally critical electronic component to the housing, the separate thermal element, and / or the flat elevation of the housing, thereby significantly increasing the dissipation of heat from the electronic component to its surroundings.

[0020] In a further development of the invention, a separate thermal conductivity element made of a material with high thermal conductivity is arranged inside the housing, wherein the thermal conductivity element is thermally connected to the housing and to the at least one thermally critical electronic component. In this case, the printed circuit board is not used for heat dissipation, but rather the separate additional thermal conductivity element is employed, which is suitable and designed for heat dissipation from the electronic component towards the housing or a housing component. Furthermore, such a separate thermal conductivity element within the housing facilitates additional heat absorption and dissipation from the inner volume of the housing to the outside.

[0021] In a further development of the invention, the housing is provided with a heat-conducting element on its outer surface for heat transfer to a component at the tuner's installation location. While the measures described above ensured that heat was transported from the electronic component towards the outer surface of the housing and dissipated there, the additional heat-conducting element attached to the outer surface of the housing allows heat to be further dissipated from the tuner towards a component at the tuner's installation location. This measure results in a further reduction of the temperature inside the tuner's housing. This heat-conducting element is preferably designed as a flat surface and is connected to a housing part, for example, by gluing. This ensures continuous heat transfer, as an insulating air gap between the heat-conducting element and the housing part is avoided.The surface area of ​​the heat-conducting element is preferably adapted to the surface area of ​​the housing part, meaning that it does not protrude at the edges. However, it can be smaller or larger than the surface area of ​​the housing part. Recesses within the flat heat-conducting element are possible, for example, cutouts. The surface facing away from the housing part is used to position the heat-conducting element at its installation location, for example, by applying surface pressure to transfer heat to the component on which it is attached. In addition to or instead of surface pressure, a material-bonded connection, such as adhesive bonding, is also possible. The flat heat-conducting element either has a uniform thickness or its thickness is adapted to the geometry of the housing part and / or the geometry of the component at the installation location.This is particularly necessary when the gap between the surface of the housing part and the surface of the component at the installation point is not uniform. This allows for the compensation of unevenness (for example, due to tolerances or existing irregularities, curvatures, and the like) to achieve targeted heat transfer from the housing part towards the component via the heat-conducting element. This ensures that heat from the interior of the housing is dissipated not only through the housing part but also through the component at the installation point. For this purpose, the flat heat-conducting element is of a uniform thickness or of varying thickness, and may also be elastically deformable to adapt to the varying gap width.

[0022] In a further development of the invention, the housing has at least one protruding screw-on tab. This protruding screw-on tab is formed by at least one housing part and is used to secure the tuner housing to its intended installation location by means of a screw connection. Simultaneously, an electrical ground connection can also be established via this screw connection. Of further importance, however, is that heat from the housing, which is to be dissipated from its interior, is also transferred via the protruding screw-on tab to the outside in the direction of the component to which the tuner is attached by means of the screw-on tab, for cooling purposes.

[0023] In a further development of the invention, the width of the screw tab is at least twice as large as the largest diameter of a screw with which the screw tab interacts to secure the tuner in its intended installation location. This results in a further distribution of the transferred heat, which can thus be dissipated over a greater width or a larger area to the intended installation location.

[0024] Furthermore, according to the invention, the tuner described above is used in a vehicle's communication system. The tuner is connected to at least one antenna of any design and can receive and / or transmit high-frequency signals via this antenna. In particular, the high-frequency signals received by the at least one antenna are processed within the tuner and output via an interface for further processing. The interface can be of any type, preferably providing low-frequency analog signals and / or digital signals for further processing by downstream electronic units.

[0025] Finally, according to the invention, a vehicle is provided with a communication arrangement as described above.

[0026] An embodiment of a tuner according to the invention is explained below and described with reference to the figure.

[0027] Reference numeral 1, as detailed below, designates a tuner comprising a housing 2. In this case, the housing 2 consists of exactly two housing parts: an upper housing part 201 and a lower housing part 202. Both housing parts 201 and 202 are made of a material with high thermal conductivity. These housing parts 201 and 202 are used to dissipate heat from the interior of the housing 2 of the tuner 1 to the outside by means of various measures described below.

[0028] One measure involves the use of a separate thermal interface element 3 inside the housing 2 of the tuner 1, which is intended to cool an electronic component 5 arranged on a circuit board 4. For this purpose, the thermal interface element 3 is thermally connected to the electronic component 5. Since the thermal interface element 3 itself consists of a thermally conductive material, such as a sheet of steel, an aluminum sheet, or the like, it absorbs the heat from the electronic component 5 and transfers it, for example, to the circuit board 4 and / or to one of the housing parts 201, 202, in order to cool the electronic component 5. In the embodiment shown in the figure, not only a single electronic component 5 is present, but several electronic components 5 can also be connected to the separate thermal interface element 3.

[0029] Connector 6 is for power supply and signal transmission to tuner 1. Connector 7 is for an antenna connection to tuner 1.

[0030] For thermal connection, flat protrusions 8 are provided, which extend into the interior of the housing 2, here projecting from the housing part 202. These flat protrusions 8 are preferably located precisely where an electronic component 5 is situated. However, it is also conceivable to thermally couple not an electronic component 5, but a section of the printed circuit board 4 to the housing 2 via these inwardly projecting surfaces 8.

[0031] Furthermore, thermal conductivity elements 9 are provided for heat dissipation; in this case, these are formed by the lower housing part 202. These thermal conductivity elements 9 are designed as mounting pins pointing into the interior of the housing 2, which interact with corresponding openings in the circuit board 4. This means that the circuit board 4 can be placed onto the thermal conductivity elements 9, which are designed as mounting pins, via its corresponding openings. Subsequently, a material-locking and / or form-locking connection is established between these thermal conductivity elements 9 and the circuit board 4. The material-locking connection can be achieved, for example, by soldering. Form-locking connections can be achieved, for example, by riveting, crimping, or similar methods.

[0032] To further increase heat dissipation from the interior of the housing 2 to the outside, it can be considered that the inner contour of the side walls of the lower housing part 2 corresponds to some edge areas of the circuit board 4, i.e. its outer contour, so that parts of the edge areas of the circuit board 4 come into contact with the inner flanks of the lower housing part 202 in a thermally coupling manner.

[0033] The measures described above for the heat-transferring coupling of elements of the tuner 1 can be supported by placing a flexible thermally conductive material, such as a thermal gel, a thermal pad, a thermally conductive adhesive or the like, between the adjacent areas.

[0034] To secure the housing 2 of the tuner 1 to its intended installation location, at least one outward-facing mounting tab 10 is provided. This mounting tab 10 has an opening through which a mounting screw (not shown) is inserted, which can be screwed into a component at the installation location of the tuner 1, for example, a body panel of the vehicle. This mounting tab 10 and the mounting screw interacting with it not only provide a permanent fastening, but also allow for an electrical ground connection and, most importantly, facilitate further heat transfer, heat spreading, and dissipation from the interior of the housing 2 to the vehicle component.

[0035] Further heat spreading, heat transfer, and heat coupling can be achieved by a heat-conducting element 11. This heat-conducting element 11 is arranged between at least one housing part, here the lower housing part 202, and a component of the vehicle (not shown here). Particularly when this heat-conducting element 11, for example designed as a thermal pad, is designed to cover a large area, heat spreading occurs, thus coupling and dissipating heat from the housing 2 to the vehicle component over a large area. The heat-conducting element 11 shown in the embodiment 11 has at least two, for example, rectangular recesses, which are arranged in the area where the surfaces or protrusions 8 facing into the interior of the housing 2 for thermal connection to the electronic component 5 are located.These surfaces are excluded from the heat-conducting element 11 because they are coated on the outside with a heat-radiating coating, such as a high-emissivity paint or an anodized finish. In this case, covering these surfaces 8 with the heat-conducting element 11 would impede heat dissipation to the outside. Reference symbol list

[0036] 1. Tuner 2. Housing 201. Upper housing part 202. Lower housing part 3. Thermal element 4. Circuit board 5. Electronic component 6. Power supply and digital signal connectors 7. Antenna connectors 8. Thermal interface surfaces 9. Thermal element 10. Screw tab 11. Thermal element

Claims

1. Radio tuner module (1) for mobile reception of radio-frequency signals in vehicles, comprising a housing (2), formed by a first housing part (201) and at least one further housing part (202), and a printed circuit board (4) that is arranged in the housing (2), wherein at least one heat-critical electronic component (5) for performing at least one partial function of the radio tuner module (1) is arranged on the printed circuit board (4), wherein at least one region of a housing part (201, 202) consists of a thermally conductive material with high thermal conductivity and the at least one heat-critical electronic component (5) is connected to this region so as to transfer heat, wherein the printed circuit board (4) is thermally coupled to the housing (2), an edge region of the printed circuit board (4) being connected to the housing (2) in an integral and / or form-fitting manner, wherein the housing (2) comprises at least one heat-conducting element (9) that protrudes in the direction of the printed circuit board (4), said at least one heat-conducting element (9) being connected to the printed circuit board (4) in an integral and / or form-fitting manner.

2. Radio tuner module (1) according to Claim 1, characterized in that two housing parts (201, 202) form the housing (2) and both housing parts (201, 202) consist of a thermally conductive material with high thermal conductivity and the at least one heat-critical electronic component (5) is connected to at least one of the two housing parts (201, 202) so as to transfer heat.

3. Radio tuner module (1) according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that an outer face of the housing (2) that points into an empty space at an installation location of the radio tuner module (1) is at least partially provided with a coating made of a heat-emitting material.

4. Radio tuner module (1) according to Claim 3, characterized in that the coating is formed by a finish of high emissivity, in particular a white finish, or anodization.

5. Radio tuner module (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a separate heat-conducting element (3) made of a material with high thermal conductivity is arranged inside the housing (2), the heat-conducting element (3) being thermally conductively connected to the housing (2) and the at least one heat-critical electronic component (5).

6. Radio tuner module (1) according to Claim 5, characterized in that the at least one heat-critical electronic component (5) is connected to the separate heat-conducting element (3) via a flexible heat-conducting material.

7. Radio tuner module (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the housing (2) comprises at least one flat elevation (8) that points into the interior of the housing (2), the elevation (8) being located in the region in which the at least one heat-critical electronic component (5) is also located.

8. Radio tuner module (1) according to Claim 7, characterized in that the at least one heat-critical electronic component (5) is connected to the flat elevation (8) of the housing (2) via a flexible heat-conducting material.

9. Radio tuner module (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one heat-critical electronic component (5) is connected to the housing (2) via a flexible heat-conducting material.

10. Radio tuner module (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the outer face of the housing (2) is provided with a heat-conducting element (11) for heat-transferring connection to a component at the installation location.

11. Radio tuner module (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the housing (2) comprises at least one protruding screw connection tab (10).

12. Radio tuner module (1) according to Claim 11, characterized in that the width of the screw connection tab (10) is at least twice as large as the largest diameter of a screw with which the screw connection tab (10) interacts to fix the radio tuner module (1) at its intended installation location.

13. Communication system of a vehicle, comprising at least one antenna for receiving radio-frequency signals and a radio tuner module (1) according to one of the preceding claims, the radio tuner module (1) being connected to the at least one antenna and arranged adjacent to the at least one antenna.

14. Vehicle having a communication system according to Claim 13.