Micro-optics module for evaluating optical current sensors and method for its manufacture

Abstract

The invention relates to a micro-optics module (1) for evaluating optical current sensors and its manufacture as well as a method for populating printed circuit boards, wherein the micro-optics module (1) has at least one housing (2), which comprises at least one predefined holder (3) for at least one optical and / or electro-optical component (4). The at least one housing (2) with the at least one predefined holder (3) is produced by means of 3D printing.

Description

[0001] Description

[0002] MICRO-OPTIC MODULE FOR EVALUATION OF OPTICAL CURRENT SENSORS AND METHOD FOR ITS PRODUCTION

[0003] The invention relates to a micro-optical module for evaluating optical current sensors and its production as well as a method for assembling printed circuit boards, wherein the micro-optical module has at least one housing which comprises at least one predefined holder for at least one optical and / or electro-optical component.

[0004] The production of electronic assemblies and modules is simple and cost-effective, in high volumes and with good quality, by hand, semi-automatically, and fully automatically. Printed circuit boards, especially PCBs, can be assembled with electrical components such as resistors, capacitors, and other electronic components. Photodiodes, which convert light into electrical current and are housed in standard packages, also pose no problem for modern PCB assembly machines. However, photodiodes can only perform simple binary or analog intensity measurements.

[0005] More complex optical structures, which include, for example, beam splitting, polarimetric filtering, interference filters, and fiber optic coupling, cannot be manufactured to a high standard directly on a circuit board using automatic assembly machines or by hand. These are implemented separately from the circuit board in a separate, high-precision optical structure. Optical components require extremely precise mounting or fixation, possibly temperature-compensated. This leads to high material and production costs, which in turn result in high product costs. Therefore, in low-cost products, optical structures are avoided whenever possible. If optical sensors are necessary, only those that reduce the property to be detected to an intensity measurement are used. This also applies to optical current sensors. This limits the functionality of the assemblies and / or modules.

[0006] Measuring instruments that use optical elements internally are constructed either according to the principle of free-space optics or fiber optics. Using the free-space optics method, any optical setup can be realized that does not exceed a specified size for the product. Compared to microelectronics, these setups require large and heavy optical components, whose material value is very high. The production of free-space optics setups takes place in dust-reduced clean rooms. This requires very expensive precision-mechanical, opto-mechanical mounts, which are adjusted to micrometer precision by skilled personnel in lengthy production processes.

[0007] A second option, the use of fiber optics, is a further development of free-space optics. Handling the very delicate optical fiber is time-consuming and also requires highly trained personnel. Furthermore, not every optical component can be implemented as a fiber optic component or is available from suppliers in reproducible quality. The fiber and the existing optical components are highly sensitive to temperature and shock, as the light beam travels through an optical medium that changes its optical properties when exposed to pressure and temperature changes. If the light beam travels long distances in an optical fiber, these effects become increasingly pronounced, leading to a high susceptibility to errors.

[0008] Both methods for implementing optical structures are incompatible with assembly on electronic circuit boards. The invention is based on the object of providing a micro-optical module, a method for its production, and a method for producing a circuit board that solve the problems described above. In particular, the object is to provide a simple, cost-effective, and stable micro-optical module, a simple method for producing the micro-optical module, and its use in conjunction with circuit boards.

[0009] The object is achieved according to the invention by a micro-optical module for evaluating optical current sensors having the features of claim 1, a method for producing a micro-optical module for evaluating optical current sensors, in particular a previously described micro-optical module, according to claim 11, and / or a method for producing a printed circuit board with a previously described micro-optical module according to claim 12. Advantageous embodiments of the micro-optical module according to the invention for evaluating optical current sensors are specified in the subclaims. Subject matter of the main claim can be combined with features of subclaims and features of the subclaims can be combined with one another.

[0010] A micro-optical module according to the invention for evaluating optical current sensors comprises at least one housing, which includes at least one predefined mount for at least one optical and / or electro-optical component. The at least one housing, with the at least one predefined mount, is manufactured according to the invention by 3D printing.

[0011] 3D printing makes it easy and cost-effective to create a stable housing with at least one predefined mount(s) for optical and / or electro-optical components for a micro-optical module for evaluating optical current sensors. 3D printing makes it possible to easily and cost-effectively produce mounts within the housing for components with high precision and low deviation, meeting the stringent requirements for adjusting optical and / or electro-optical components. Time-consuming manual readjustment and adjustment by highly qualified, expensive personnel is no longer necessary.

[0012] The at least one housing can be made of and / or comprise a metal, in particular aluminum, steel, copper, bronze, and / or tungsten carbide. These materials are temperature-resistant, exhibit little volume change with temperature changes, are mechanically and long-term stable, cost-effective, and can be easily processed using 3D printing.

[0013] The at least one housing can comprise at least one device for mounting on printed circuit boards, in particular for manual and / or automatic assembly of printed circuit boards. This enables simple, cost-effective assembly of printed circuit boards with the micro-optical module, in particular by hand, semi-automatically, and / or fully automatically.

[0014] The housing can be designed as an SMD or through-hole component for manual and / or automatic assembly of printed circuit boards. This allows for simple, cost-effective production of printed circuit boards equipped with the micro-optical module, without the need for readjustment of optical and / or electro-optical components on the circuit board, with the advantages described above.

[0015] The housing can comprise a micro-optic system with at least one optical and / or electro-optical component. The micro-optic system in the housing can be manufactured easily and cost-effectively, without complex readjustment of individual optical and / or electro-optical components, since the holders can be produced using 3D printing without major production deviations or errors. This makes the micro-optical modules easy and cost-effective to manufacture and can be easily further processed, e.g., when assembling printed circuit boards. The housing can comprise at least one optical filter, at least one optical lens, at least one beam splitter plate, and / or at least one polarization beam splitter as an optical component. The housing can comprise at least one light emitter, in particular an LED, and / or at least one electro-optical sensor, in particular a photodiode, as an electro-optical component.With such components, micro-optics can be manufactured easily and cost-effectively, with a wide range of functions, especially for optical current measurement.

[0016] The housing can include at least one holder for an optical fiber. This allows optical signals, particularly for current measurements, to be easily and reliably coupled into and / or out of the micro-optical module.

[0017] The housing can have dimensions, particularly in height, length, and width, ranging from millimeters to a few centimeters, e.g., in the range of 1 to 10 millimeters and / or in the range of 1 millimeter to 10 centimeters. This places the dimensions of the micro-optical module within a range that fits well on printed circuit boards.

[0018] The micro-optical module can weigh in the gram range, particularly in the range of 1 to 100 grams. This prevents large vibrations and movements of the micro-optical module, especially on a circuit board, which could lead to damage or even destruction. Low masses correspond to low material consumption, which is associated with low costs. This avoids the disadvantages of optical structures with high mass and large dimensions, as described above.

[0019] A method according to the invention for producing a micro-optical module for evaluating optical current sensors, in particular a previously described micro-optical module, with at least one housing which comprises at least one predefined holder for at least one optical and / or electro-optical component, comprises producing the at least one housing with the at least one predefined holder by 3D printing.

[0020] A method according to the invention for producing a printed circuit board which comprises at least one micro-optical module as described above comprises that the printed circuit board is equipped with the at least one micro-optical module, in particular designed as an SMD or through-hole component, by hand and / or with at least one automatic assembly machine.

[0021] The advantages of the method according to the invention for producing a micro-optical module for evaluating optical current sensors, in particular a previously described micro-optical module, according to claim 11, and the advantages of the method according to the invention for producing a printed circuit board which comprises at least one previously described micro-optical module, according to claim 12, are analogous to the previously described advantages of the micro-optical module according to the invention for evaluating optical current sensors according to claim 1 and vice versa.

[0022] In the following, embodiments of the invention are shown schematically in the figures and described in more detail below.

[0023] The

[0024] Figure 1 schematically shows a micro-optical module 1 according to the invention for evaluating optical current sensors, with holders 3 for optical and / or electro-optical components 4 in a housing 2, produced by 3D printing, and

[0025] Figure 2 shows a schematic view of the micro-optical module 1 of Figure 1, with a cover 10, optical fiber 7, and connections 9 for electro-optical components 4, arranged on a circuit board 8. Figure 1 shows a schematic view of a micro-optical module 1 according to the invention for evaluating optical current sensors. The micro-optical module 1 has a housing 2, which can be easily manufactured using 3D printing, in particular with very precise dimensions, with small production tolerances, and at low cost and with little effort. The housing 2 is made, for example, of a metal and / or comprises a metal, in particular aluminum, steel, copper, bronze, and / or tungsten carbide, which ensures high mechanical stability, in particular long-term stability, with a stable shape even under temperature changes. Holders 3 for optical and / or electro-optical components 4 are formed in the housing 2.

[0026] The highly mechanical and temperature-stable shape of the housing 2 enables precise, in particular aligned, holding or storage and / or arrangement of the optical and / or electro-optical components 4 in the housing 2. Readjustment, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive, is eliminated. Optical components 4 are, for example, optical filters, optical lenses, beam splitter plates or beam splitters and / or polarization beam splitters or polarization filters. Electro-optical components 4 are, for example, light emitters, in particular LEDs, and electro-optical sensors, in particular photodiodes. These are, for example, designed as micro-optics, i.e. with small dimensions, in particular in the range of millimeters up to a few centimeters, and with low weight, in particular in the range of one to several grams. With a housing 2, which is also designed in small dimensions, i.e. dimensions, in particular in height, length and width, e.g.Small and lightweight micro-optical modules 1 are possible with dimensions ranging from a millimeter down to a few centimeters, in particular from 1 to 10 millimeters and / or from 1 millimeter to 10 centimeters, and with a weight of, for example, a gram, in particular from 1 to 100 grams. Micro-optical modules 1 with dimensions ranging from a millimeter down to a few centimeters, in particular from 1 to 10 millimeters and / or from 1 millimeter to 10 centimeters, and with a weight of, for example, a gram, in particular from 1 to 100 grams, can be installed or arranged on printed circuit boards 8. Due to the low weight, printed circuit boards 8 are only slightly affected by vibrations caused by the micro-optical modules 1, and damage or even destruction of the populated printed circuit boards 8 can be avoided. The populating or arrangement of micro-optical modules 1 on a printed circuit board 8 takes place, for example,by hand or by an automatic assembly machine. For this purpose, the micro-optical modules 1 are designed, for example, as SMDs (surface-mounted devices) and / or as through-hole components, i.e., with a device 5 for attaching the micro-optical modules 1 to a printed circuit board 8. The device 5 comprises, for example, soldering points and / or bores or through holes, via which the micro-optical modules 1 can be arranged, positioned, and / or attached to the printed circuit board 8, e.g., by soldering, riveting, bolting, and / or screwing.

[0027] Figure 2 schematically illustrates the micro-optical module 1 of Figure 1, comprising a cover 10, an optical waveguide 7, and connections 9 for electro-optical components 4. In the embodiment of Figure 2, the micro-optical module 1 is arranged on a circuit board 8. An optical signal to be processed, in particular for current measurement, is coupled or fed into the micro-optical module 1, for example, via an optical waveguide 7, the end of which is arranged in a holder 6 formed in the housing 2.

[0028] The holders 3 for components 4, such as electro-optical sensors and optical components, which are already integrated in the housing 2 of the micro-optical module 1, i.e. holders 3 formed or predefined during 3D printing, enable in particular the arrangement of electro-optical sensors with connections 9 already at defined locations, where, for example, connections 9 can emerge from the housing 2 and can be electrically connected, in particular to electrical components of the printed circuit board 8, which are not shown in the figures for the sake of simplicity. Electrical circuits, in particular on the printed circuit board 8, for controlling and processing electrical signals from the electro-optical components 4, such as sensors and LEDs, arranged in or on the housing 2 of the micro-optical module 1, can be electrically connected to the electro-optical components 4 in this way.The optical components 4 can be positioned with sufficient precision thanks to the integrated optical mounts 3, thus requiring no adjustment, and contribute to the formation of a predefined micro-optic system. External optical sensors can be connected to the micro-optic system. Externally connected optical sensors can receive an optical input signal, and their returned optical output signal can be coupled back into the micro-optic system. The light or optical signals can, if necessary, be passed through further miniaturized optical components with different functionalities and can be used to connect optical sensors for current measurement, which are based, for example, on the Faraday effect.

[0029] Figure 1 shows, by way of example, two optical components 4 in holders 3, for example, in particular plate-shaped beam splitters and / or polarization beam splitters. As Figure 2 shows, an optical waveguide 7 is fastened in a spatially defined and aligned manner in or on the housing 2 via a holder 6. On the opposite side of the housing 2, a holder 3 for an electro-optical component 4, for example an LED, is arranged. In Figure 2, the electrical connections 9 of the electro-optical component 4 are shown as three bars by way of example. These can be connected to components of an electrical circuit on the printed circuit board 8. The circuit electrically controls the electro-optical component 4, for example the LED, and the light generated by the LED is partially coupled into the optical waveguide 7 via the beam splitters. The optical waveguide 7 passes adjacent to an electrical conductor, the current flow of which is to be measured orto be determined, which is not shown in the figures for the sake of simplicity. The light from the LED in the optical waveguide 7 is influenced or changed by the Faraday effect when a current flows in the current-carrying conductor, depending on the current flow. For example, the polarization of the light is changed, which was polarized, for example, when passing through the polarization beam splitter. For example, at a mirrored end of the optical waveguide 7, which is not shown in the figures for the sake of simplicity, the light changed by the electric current is reflected back and re-enters the micro-optical module 1 via the optical waveguide 7.

[0030] Perpendicular to the light axis between the LED and the optical waveguide 7, two holders 3 for optical and / or electro-optical components 4 are arranged on two parallel axes, as shown in Figure 1. Optical and / or electro-optical components 4 are arranged in the holders, as shown in Figure 2. For example, lenses can be arranged in the holders 3 as optical components 4 in order to guide light from the micro-optical module 1 to external electro-optical components, such as photodiodes, in particular on the circuit board 8. Alternatively, additionally, or in combination, photodiodes can be arranged directly and spatially stably as optical components 4 in the holders 3 in order to measure light or the intensity of light and convert them into electrical signals, which are evaluated, for example, by components on the circuit board 8.

[0031] The light signal, which, for example, emerges from the optical waveguide 7 after being influenced by the current to be measured or determined and is coupled or radiated into the micro-optical module 1, falls on the two plate-shaped beam splitters and / or polarization beam splitters, and from there is guided and / or reflected to two photodiodes for measurement or intensity determination. As a reference signal, light from the LED and / or polarized light is guided and / or reflected by the two plate-shaped beam splitters and / or polarization beam splitters to the two photodiodes opposite the first two photodiodes for measurement or intensity determination before entering the optical waveguide 7.This makes it possible to measure the output signal and the light signal influenced by the current, in particular intensity measurement, which can be converted into electrical signals by a corresponding electrical circuit on the circuit board 8 and compared and / or evaluated.

[0032] As a result, the circuit on the circuit board 8 delivers an output signal, e.g., optically on a display and / or electrically for further processing, which corresponds to a standardized current measurement. The result can be obtained, e.g., by comparing the output signal of the LED and / or the polarized light in the optical fiber 7 with light from the optical fiber 7 after passing adjacently through the current-carrying conductor, e.g., filtered according to polarization or polarization change. The intensities are measured, e.g., by photodiodes and processed by the electronic circuit, in particular on the circuit board 8, e.g., by operational amplifiers as electrical signals or pulses from the photodiodes, further processed by electronics, in particular on the circuit board 8, into a signal dependent on the current to be measured. By calibration, the current intensity can be determined, particularly in the ampere to kiloampere range, particularly in high-voltage systems.

[0033] The previously described embodiments can be combined with each other and / or with the prior art. For example, in addition to current, other physical quantities that change an optical signal can also be measured. Further applications for micro-optics are possible. A wide variety of optical and / or electro-optical components 4 can be used for various arrangements and measurements. The structure of holders 3 in the housing 2 shown in the figures is merely an example of one application. Other arrangements of holders 3, with different shapes and numbers of holders, are possible.

[0034] 3 for various components and applications are possible. The advantage of 3D printing is that micro-optical modules 1 can be produced easily and cost-effectively for a wide range of applications. These modules feature stable mounts that enable the simple, cost-effective, and long-term stability of optical and / or electro-optical components without the need for extensive personnel effort for adjustment. The small size and low weight allow for easy installation, for example, on PCBs (printed circuit boards), without the risk of damage due to vibrations.

[0035] Reference symbol list

[0036] 1 micro-optics module

[0037] 2 Housing 3 Holder for optical and / or electro-optical components

[0038] 4 optical and / or electro-optical component

[0039] 5 Device for mounting on circuit boards

[0040] 6 Holder for an optical fiber

[0041] 7 Optical fiber 8 Circuit board

[0042] 9 Connections of the electro-optical components

[0043] 10 Cover

Claims

Patent claims 1. Micro-optical module (1) for evaluating optical current sensors, with at least one housing (2) which comprises at least one predefined holder (3) for at least one optical and / or electro-optical component (4), characterized in that the at least one housing (2) with the at least one predefined holder (3) is produced by 3D printing.

2. Micro-optical module (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the at least one housing (2) is made of a metal and / or comprises metal, in particular aluminum, steel, copper, bronze and / or tungsten carbide.

3. Micro-optical module (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one housing (2) comprises at least one device (5) for fastening to printed circuit boards, in particular for manual and / or automatic assembly of printed circuit boards (8).

4. Micro-optical module (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the housing (2) is designed as an SMD or through-hole component for manual and / or automatic assembly of printed circuit boards (8).

5. Micro-optical module (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the housing (2) comprises a micro-optical system with at least one optical and / or electro-optical component (4).

6. Micro-optical module (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the housing (2) comprises at least one optical filter, at least one optical lens, at least one beam splitter plate and / or at least one polarization beam splitter as optical component (4).

7. Micro-optical module (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the housing (2) comprises at least one light emitter, in particular an LED, and / or at least one electro-optical sensor, in particular a photodiode, as electro-optical component (4).

8. Micro-optical module (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the housing (2) comprises at least one holder (6) for an optical waveguide (7).

9. Micro-optical module (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the housing (2) has dimensions, in particular in height, length and width, in the millimeter range up to a few centimeters, in particular in the range from 1 to 10 millimeters and / or in the range from 1 millimeter to 10 centimeters.

10. Micro-optical module (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the micro-optical module (1) has a weight in the gram range, in particular in the range of 1 to 100 grams.

11. Method for producing a micro-optical module (1) for evaluating optical current sensors, in particular a micro-optical module (1) according to one of the preceding claims, with at least one housing (2) which comprises at least one predefined holder (3) for at least one optical and / or electro-optical component (4), characterized in that the at least one housing (2) with the at least one predefined holder (3) is produced by 3D printing.

12. Method for producing a printed circuit board which comprises at least one micro-optical module (1) according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the printed circuit board (8) with the at least one micro-optical module (1), in particular designed as an SMD or through-hole component, is manually and / or is assembled with at least one placement machine.

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