Control module and electronic device

Abstract

A control module and an electronic device. The control module comprises a cold plate and M circuit boards. The cold plate comprises a first surface and a second surface arranged in a thickness direction. N circuit boards among the M circuit boards are located on one side of the first surface, and Q circuit boards among the M circuit boards are located on one side of the second surface, wherein M is an integer greater than or equal to 2, N and Q are each an integer greater than or equal to 1, and the sum of N and Q equals to M. At least two circuit boards among the M circuit boards are connected by means of a flexible connection part. The flexible connection part has electrical conductivity and / or communication capability. At least one chip is provided on the side of each circuit board among the M circuit boards facing the cold plate. A thermally conductive interface layer is provided between each chip among the at least one chip and the cold plate. The cold plate dissipates heat for each chip by means of the thermally conductive interface layer. The present technical solution can be applied to the field of vehicles, and can reduce the thickness of the thermally conductive interface layer and improve heat dissipation conditions of the chips in the control module.

Description

Control module and electronic device

[0001] The present application claims priority to the Chinese patent application No. 202410672353.X, filed on May 27, 2024, and entitled "Control module and electronic device", the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present application relates to the technical field of hardware structure, more particularly, to a control module and an electronic device. BACKGROUND

[0003] In the field of intelligent technology, information interconnection between electronic devices and the outside is generally realized through a controller. With the development of intelligent technology, the computing power requirement of the controller is gradually increasing, and the working load of the controller is gradually increasing, thereby causing a great increase in the heat dissipation of the controller. For example, for an intelligent vehicle, with the continuous improvement of the intelligent driving level of the vehicle, the computing power requirement of the chip applied to intelligent driving is continuously increasing. According to estimates, for each level of automatic driving, the computing power of the system on chip (SOC) in the controller needs to be increased by 13 times. At present, in order to improve the computing power under the premise of reducing the cost of the SOC, multiple SOCs are often stacked to meet the demand for different computing powers, that is, multiple SOCs can be arranged on a mainboard. In order to enable the controller to work efficiently and stably under the condition of a great increase in heat dissipation, the heat dissipation capacity of the controller needs to be improved.

[0004] Under the current technical background, for a mainboard on which multiple SOCs are arranged, the multiple SOCs are generally arranged in contact with a cold plate to enable the multiple SOCs to dissipate heat through the cold plate. However, due to the height tolerance of the SOCs and the height tolerance of the screw columns connecting the mainboard and the cold plate, the gap between the multiple SOCs and the cold plate is inconsistent. In order to avoid excessive stress and damage to the SOC caused by the hard contact between the SOC with a height at the upper limit of the tolerance and the cold plate, and the SOC with a height at the lower limit of the tolerance cannot contact the cold plate, resulting in difficulty in dissipating heat of the SOC, a certain safety gap needs to be left between the SOC and the cold plate, and then a heat-conducting interface material capable of deforming to a certain extent is filled in the gap. The heat-conducting interface material and the SOC and the heat-conducting interface material and the cold plate maintain good contact, and whether a heat path can be established between the SOC and the cold plate. Generally, the thickness of the heat-conducting interface material is 1-2 millimeters (mm). The heat-conducting interface material with such a thickness has a relatively large thermal resistance, which causes a temperature difference of 12 DEG C or more between different SOCs arranged in contact with the same cold plate, and makes it difficult for the SOCs to dissipate heat.

[0005] In view of this, a control module capable of reducing the thickness of the heat-conducting interface material and improving the heat dissipation of the SOC is urgently needed to be developed. SUMMARY

[0006] The application provides a control module and an electronic device, which can reduce the thickness of a heat-conducting interface layer, thereby reducing the temperature difference between different chips and improving the heat dissipation of the chips in the control module.

[0007] In a first aspect, a control module is provided, which includes a cold plate and M circuit boards, wherein:

[0008] The cold plate includes a first surface and a second surface arranged along a thickness direction, N circuit boards of the M circuit boards are located on one side of the first surface, Q circuit boards of the M circuit boards are located on one side of the second surface, M is an integer greater than or equal to 2, N and Q are integers greater than or equal to 1, and the sum of N and Q is equal to M.

[0009] At least two circuit boards of the M circuit boards are connected through a flexible connection part, the flexible connection part has an electrically conductive capability and / or a communication capability, and each circuit board of the M circuit boards is provided with at least one chip on a side facing the cold plate.

[0010] Each chip of the at least one chip has a heat-conducting interface layer with the cold plate, and the cold plate dissipates heat for each chip through the heat-conducting interface layer.

[0011] In some implementations, each circuit board is provided with one chip on a side facing the cold plate, and the heat-conducting interface layer between the chip and the cold plate can be set to be relatively thin, such as 0.05 mm, without considering the influence of the chip on other chips, thereby reducing the influence of the thermal resistance of the heat-conducting interface layer on heat dissipation. In addition, by reasonably setting the degree of adhesion between the chip and the cold plate, the expansion of the chip independently arranged on one circuit board due to heat generation will not cause excessive stress on itself, nor will it affect the heat dissipation of other chips.

[0012] In some implementations, the height difference between the at least two chips is less than or equal to a height threshold when the number of the at least two chips is greater than or equal to 2 (i.e., two or more chips are disposed on the circuit board). In actual implementation, due to manufacturing errors, a certain height tolerance is allowed between two chips of the same model, but it should be noted that the height difference between the two or more chips can be understood as the actual height difference between the chips. In some implementations, the height threshold can be a threshold determined according to the height tolerance of the chips, and the two or more chips are chips of the same model, and the height threshold can be the size tolerance of the chips of the model. In some implementations, the circuit board has a certain deformation tolerance, that is, the circuit board can withstand a certain deformation, and the height threshold can also be a threshold determined by considering the deformation of the circuit board, for example, the maximum deformation allowed by the circuit board is x, and the size tolerance of a certain model of chip is y, when two or more chips of the same model are disposed on the same circuit board, the height threshold can be y-x. In this way, when two or more chips are disposed on the same circuit board, a thin thermal interface layer between each chip and the cold plate can also be ensured, thereby improving the heat dissipation capacity of the chips.

[0013] In the technical solution described above, the thickness of the interface material layer between the cold plate and the chips is reduced, thereby improving the heat dissipation of the chips. Moreover, by disposing multiple chips on both sides of the cold plate, not only the utilization rate of the cooling capacity of the cold plate is improved, but also when the angle chip is integrated in the control module, the area occupied by the control module is reduced, facilitating the installation and layout of the control module.

[0014] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, some or all of the circuit boards other than the at least two circuit boards among the M circuit boards are connected through the flexible connection part.

[0015] Exemplarily, the connection manner between the circuit boards among the M circuit boards can include any one of the following:

[0016] ①The flexible connection part is connected between each two of the M circuit boards, that is, there is an electrical connection between any two of the M circuit boards.

[0017] ②When N is greater than or equal to 2, the flexible connection part is connected between each two of the N circuit boards, that is, there is an electrical connection between any two of the N circuit boards; and / or, when Q is greater than or equal to 2, the flexible connection part is connected between each two of the Q circuit boards, that is, there is an electrical connection between any two of the Q circuit boards; but there is no electrical connection between the N circuit boards and the Q circuit boards.

[0018] In the N circuit boards, each two of the N circuit boards are connected through the flexible connection part, that is, each two of the N circuit boards are electrically connected; and some of the N circuit boards are connected with some of the Q circuit boards through the flexible connection part, and the remaining circuit boards of the Q circuit boards are electrically connected and are not electrically connected with the N circuit boards.

[0019] In some implementations, when there is electrical connection between any two of the M circuit boards, the M circuit boards and the chips thereon can implement the same function. For example, when the control module is applied to a vehicle, the same function can be a cockpit control function, that is, the control module can be a cockpit domain controller (CDC); or the same function can be an automatic driving function, that is, the control module can be an advanced driving domain controller (ADC). When there is electrical connection between some of the M circuit boards and electrical connection between the other of the M circuit boards, and the two parts are independent of each other, that is, there is no electrical connection between the two parts. Then the two parts and the chips thereon can be used to implement different functions, for example, one part is used to implement a cockpit control function and the other part is used to implement an automatic driving function, that is, the control module includes a CDC and an ADC; or one part is used to implement an automatic driving function and the other part is used to implement a vehicle body control function, that is, the control module includes an ADC and a vehicle domain controller (VDC). In some implementations, there can be communication interaction between the chips of the two parts which are not electrically connected.

[0020] In the above technical solution, by designing the connection mode of the circuit board as above, it is convenient to integrate multiple chips with different purposes in one control module, and one cold plate can be used to dissipate heat for multiple chips, which helps to reduce the manufacturing cost of the control module.

[0021] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, one of the N circuit boards is connected with at least one of the Q circuit boards through at least one flexible connection part.

[0022] In the above technical solution, the circuit boards on both sides of the cold plate are connected through the flexible connection part, so that when the height of the chip increases due to heat generated by the chip on both sides of the cold plate, compared with the hard connection (such as through the hard connector) on both sides of the cold plate, the increase in height of the chip due to heat generation will not affect the connection tightness of the circuit boards on both sides of the cold plate, thereby helping to ensure the normal work of the chips on the circuit boards.

[0023] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the control module further comprises a middle frame and a shell, the cold plate is connected with the middle frame, and the middle frame surrounds the cold plate in a direction perpendicular to the thickness of the cold plate; the shell comprises a first part and a second part, the first part is located on one side of the first surface and connected with the middle frame; and the second part is located on one side of the second surface and connected with the middle frame.

[0024] In the above technical solution, the middle frame can protect the cold plate and provide a position for installing the shell, which helps to improve the mechanical strength of the control module and facilitates the assembly of the control module. The shell can block external water vapor, oil stains and the like, which helps to improve the service life of the control module.

[0025] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, a through hole is arranged between the cold plate and the middle frame, and the through hole is used to accommodate at least one flexible connecting part and / or at least one circuit board.

[0026] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the control module further comprises a shell, the cold plate is fixed with the shell, the shell constitutes a sealed space, and the sealed space is used to accommodate the cold plate and the M circuit boards.

[0027] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, an inner part of the shell can be provided with at least one elastic member corresponding to each chip, and the at least one elastic member is located between the shell and each chip.

[0028] In some implementations, one side of the at least one elastic member can be fixed in the inner part of the shell; or one side of the at least one elastic member can also be fixed on a surface of the chip away from the cover plate.

[0029] In the above technical solution, through the support of the at least one elastic member, the adhesion between the chip and the cold plate can be increased, thereby helping to improve the heat dissipation capacity of the chip.

[0030] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, each circuit board and the cold plate are connected through at least two elastic fasteners.

[0031] In the above technical solution, the cold plate and the circuit board are connected through the elastic fasteners, which can improve the adhesion between the chip and the cold plate without the aid of the shell, thereby helping to improve the heat dissipation capacity of the chip.

[0032] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the control module further comprises at least one connector, and the at least one connector is used to realize communication between the control module and the outside world.

[0033] In a second aspect, a control module is provided, which includes a cold plate and N circuit boards, wherein the cold plate includes a first surface arranged along a thickness direction, and the N circuit boards are located on one side of the first surface;

[0034] At least two of the N circuit boards are connected through a flexible connection part, the flexible connection part has an electrically conductive capability and / or a communication capability, each of the N circuit boards is provided with at least one chip on a side facing the cold plate, and N is a positive integer greater than 1;

[0035] Each of the at least one chip has a thermally conductive interface layer between the chip and the cold plate, and the cold plate dissipates heat for each chip through the thermally conductive interface layer.

[0036] In some implementations, when the number of the at least one chip is greater than or equal to 2, a height difference between the at least one chip is less than or equal to a height threshold.

[0037] In some implementations, each of the circuit boards is provided with one chip on a side facing the cold plate.

[0038] In the above technical solution, the chips arranged on one side of the cold plate are arranged on the plurality of circuit boards respectively, so that the height difference between the plurality of chips on one circuit board is within a certain threshold, or each of the circuit boards is provided with one chip, which helps to thin the thickness of the interface material layer between the cold plate and the chip, thereby improving the heat dissipation of the chip.

[0039] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the control module further includes Q circuit boards, the cold plate further includes a second surface arranged along a thickness direction, and the Q circuit boards are located on one side of the second surface; each of the Q circuit boards is provided with at least one chip on a side facing the cold plate, and Q is a positive integer; each of the at least one chip has a thermally conductive interface layer between the chip and the cold plate, and the cold plate dissipates heat for each chip through the thermally conductive interface layer.

[0040] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, one of the N circuit boards is connected to at least one of the Q circuit boards through at least one flexible connection part.

[0041] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the control module further includes a middle frame and a shell, the cold plate is connected to the middle frame, and the middle frame surrounds the cold plate in a direction perpendicular to the thickness direction of the cold plate; the shell includes a first part and a second part, the first part is located on one side of the first surface and connected to the middle frame; and the second part is located on one side of the second surface and connected to the middle frame.

[0042] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, a through hole is arranged between the cold plate and the middle frame, and the through hole is used to accommodate at least one flexible connection part and / or at least one circuit board.

[0043] With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the control module further comprises a housing, the cold plate is fixed to the housing, and the housing forms a sealed space for accommodating the cold plate and the M circuit boards.

[0044] With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the housing comprises at least one elastic member corresponding to each chip, and the at least one elastic member is located between the housing and each chip.

[0045] With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, each circuit board and the cold plate are connected by at least two elastic fasteners.

[0046] With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the control module further comprises at least one connector for realizing communication between the control module and the outside world.

[0047] In a third aspect, an electronic device is provided, which comprises the control module according to any possible implementation of the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0048] The electronic device according to the present application can include a road vehicle, a water vehicle, an air vehicle, an industrial device, an agricultural device, or an entertainment device, etc. For example, the electronic device can be a vehicle, which is a general concept of a vehicle, and can be a vehicle (such as a commercial vehicle, a passenger vehicle, a motorcycle, a flying vehicle, a train, etc.), an industrial vehicle (such as a forklift, a trailer, a tractor, etc.), an engineering vehicle (such as an excavator, a bulldozer, a crane, etc.), an agricultural device (such as a mower, a harvester, etc.), an entertainment device, a toy vehicle, etc. Alternatively, the electronic device according to the present application can also include a smart home device, a drone, etc.

[0049] With reference to the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the electronic device is a vehicle.

[0050] The beneficial effects of the second aspect and the third aspect which are not described in detail can refer to the description of the beneficial effects of the first aspect, and will not be described here again. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0051] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an EEA of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0052] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of chip arrangement in a control module according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0053] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of arrangement of various components in a control module according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0054] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a control module according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] Fig. 5 is a schematic view of the structural relationship of the cold plate and the middle frame applied to the control module according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0056] Fig. 6 is a further cross-sectional view of the control module according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0057] Fig. 7 is a further cross-sectional view of the control module according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] Fig. 8 is a further cross-sectional view of the control module according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] Fig. 9 is a further cross-sectional view of the control module according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0060] Fig. 10 is a further cross-sectional view of the control module according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0061] Fig. 11 is a further cross-sectional view of the control module according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0062] Fig. 12 is a further cross-sectional view of the control module according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0063] Fig. 13 is a further schematic view of the control module according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0064] The technical solutions in the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0065] In the field of intelligent vehicles, with the continuous improvement of intelligent driving levels, the computing power requirements for chips used in intelligent driving are constantly increasing, which in turn increases the requirements for the heat dissipation capacity of controllers (or control modules) in intelligent vehicles. Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of the electrical / electronic architecture (EEA) of the vehicle provided in this application. As shown in Figure 1, the vehicle is functionally divided into domains, and a single control module (such as control modules 1-3) is used to centrally control the functions within a single domain, thereby reducing the number of control modules and lowering system complexity. The current trend in domain-centralized architecture is to divide vehicle functions into three domains: vehicle control, intelligent driving, and intelligent cockpit, and to control these three domains by three control modules respectively. Each control module may include one or more circuit boards, and each circuit board has one or more chips. The control module communicates with the gateway through the backbone network, and the control module transmits and receives data with sensors or actuators through the gateway. The gateway communicates with sensors or actuators based on the intranet. It should be noted that in the specific implementation, one or more electronic control units (ECUs) may also be included between the gateway and the sensors or actuators. Vehicles can communicate with cloud servers via a telematics box (T-Box) to upload or download vehicle data.

[0066] It is understandable that the EEA architecture shown in Figure 1 is a domain-centralized architecture. Besides the domain-centralized architecture, the vehicle's EEA architecture can also adopt a centralized architecture, which centralizes computing functions as much as possible, concentrating computing power requirements to reduce the number of ECUs. The centralized architecture mainly includes a central computing platform and a zone controller (ZCU) or gateway. The central computing platform is used to meet the computing power requirements during function implementation. In addition, the central computing platform can also have networking capabilities, communicating with the telematics box (T-Box), roadside equipment, and cloud servers. The ZCU is responsible for data transmission and reception between the central computing platform and sensors or actuators to achieve specific functions. The central computing platform and ZCU communicate with each other through a backbone network, while the ZCU communicates with sensors or actuators based on an intra-zone network. The central computing platform may include one or more circuit boards, each with one or more chips.

[0067] It should be noted that the backbone network mentioned above can be Ethernet. The intra-area network mentioned above can be a controller area network (CAN), or it can be a controller area network-flexible data (CAN-FD).

[0068] In specific implementation, the control module involved in this application may include one or more of the following: VDC, ADC, CDC. ADC can also be referred to as Mobile Data Center (MDC). For example, the control module involved in this application may also include any one of the following: in-car application-server (ICAS) controller, body domain controller (BDC), special equipment system (SAS), media graphics unit (MGU), body super core (BSC), and advanced driving assistant system super core (ADAS super core). ICAS may include at least one of the following: vehicle control server ICAS1, intelligent driving server ICAS2, intelligent cockpit server ICAS3, and infotainment server ICAS4. Alternatively, the control module involved in this application may include the central computing platform in the above embodiments, for example, it may include a vehicle central computer (VCC). Alternatively, the control module involved in this application may also be an ECU or a ZCU.

[0069] The chip (also known as a processor) in the control module can include, but is not limited to: a central processing unit (CPU), a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, a graphics processing unit (GPU), or an artificial intelligence (AI) chip. A general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or other conventional processor.

[0070] Furthermore, the term "vehicle" in this application is used in a broad sense, encompassing various types of transportation vehicles (such as commercial vehicles, passenger cars, motorcycles, flying cars, trains, etc.), industrial vehicles (such as forklifts, trailers, tractors, etc.), engineering vehicles (such as excavators, bulldozers, cranes, etc.), agricultural equipment (such as lawnmowers, harvesters, etc.), amusement equipment, toy vehicles, etc. For example, a vehicle can also refer to a means of transportation such as an airplane or a ship.

[0071] As mentioned above, with the increasing number of System-on-a-Chip (SOCs) on a motherboard in the control module, when multiple SOCs are bonded to the cold plate, the height tolerances of the SOCs and the screw posts connecting the motherboard and the cold plate result in inconsistent gaps between the SOCs and the cold plate. To balance heat dissipation and mechanical strength, a certain safety gap needs to be left between the SOCs and the cold plate, and this gap should be filled with a thermally conductive interface material that can deform to a certain extent. However, a thicker thermally conductive interface material can affect the heat dissipation of the SOCs and reduce the heat dissipation capacity of the control module.

[0072] In view of this, embodiments of this application provide a control module comprising a cold plate and N circuit boards. The cold plate includes a first surface arranged along its thickness direction, and the N circuit boards are located on one side of the first surface. At least two of the N circuit boards are connected by a flexible connection, which has electrical conductivity and / or communication capability. Each of the N circuit boards has at least one chip disposed on the side facing the cold plate, where N is a positive integer greater than 1. Each chip has a thermally conductive interface layer between itself and the cold plate, and the cold plate dissipates heat from each chip through the thermally conductive interface layer. The chips can be used for calculation, signal processing, etc., and generate heat during operation, serving as the heat source for the control module. The circuit boards are the carriers of the chips, providing functions such as electrical connection, protection, support, heat dissipation, and assembly.

[0073] In some implementations, the control module further includes Q circuit boards, and the cold plate further includes a second surface arranged along the thickness direction, with the Q circuit boards located on one side of the second surface; each of the Q circuit boards has at least one chip on the side facing the cold plate, where Q is a positive integer; each of the at least one chip has a thermally conductive interface layer between itself and the cold plate, and the cold plate dissipates heat for each chip through the thermally conductive interface layer.

[0074] The structure of the control module provided in this application will be described in detail below with reference to Figures 2 to 10.

[0075] Figure 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of the connection method between M circuit boards and the arrangement method between the circuit boards and the cold plate provided in an embodiment of this application. Referring to Figure 2(a), the M circuit boards include circuit board 10 and circuit board 20, which are connected by a flexible connection part 30. Circuit board 10 includes at least one (e.g., two) chip 11, and circuit board 20 includes at least one (e.g., three) chip 21. Exemplarily, the flexible connection part 30 may only provide electrical connection between circuit board 10 and circuit board 20, or the flexible connection part 30 may also be used for communication between the chips in circuit board 10 and the chips in circuit board 20.

[0076] For example, the cold plate 40 includes a first surface (the upper surface in Figure 2(b)) and a second surface (the lower surface in Figure 2(b)) arranged along the thickness direction (such as the z direction). N of the M circuit boards are located on one side of the first surface, and Q of the M circuit boards are located on one side of the second surface. N and Q are both integers greater than or equal to 1, and the sum of N and Q is equal to M.

[0077] Referring to Figure 2(b), taking N circuit boards including circuit board 10 and Q circuit boards including circuit board 20 as an example, one side of the circuit board is attached to the cold plate 40, that is, at least one chip 11 and at least one chip 22 are attached to the two surfaces of the cold plate 40 respectively, so that the cold plate 40 dissipates heat for at least one chip 11 and at least one chip 21.

[0078] For example, each of the M circuit boards can be a rigid circuit board, such as a printed circuit board (PCB); or each of the M circuit boards can be a flexible circuit board, such as a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB or FPC). Flexible circuit boards are also known as flexographic circuit boards, flexible boards, etc. Alternatively, the M circuit boards may include a portion of a PCB and a portion of a flexible circuit board. Furthermore, the flexible connection portion can be a flexible circuit board, or it can be other wires with conductive and / or communicative capabilities.

[0079] For example, the cold plate 40 can be a structure with both heat conduction and heat dissipation functions. In some implementations, the cold plate 40 is a metal plate, such as aluminum alloy or steel plate; or, the cold plate 40 can be other heat-conducting materials, such as ceramic plates or plastics with heat conduction capabilities. In other implementations, the cold plate 40 is a liquid-cooled cold plate with a hollow internal structure, or the cold plate 40 includes pipes, and the hollow structure or pipes can be filled with liquid. The cold plate 40 can include a liquid inlet and a liquid outlet, and the heat is carried away by the flow of liquid. The liquid can be water or other refrigerants (e.g., Freon R22). In still other implementations, the cold plate 40 can also be an air-cooled cold plate, with a fan installed inside the cold plate 40. The fan drives the airflow inside and outside the cold plate to circulate, thereby achieving heat exchange.

[0080] In some implementations, at least two of the M circuit boards are connected by a flexible connection 30, and some or all of the other circuit boards in the M circuit boards are connected by the flexible connection 30.

[0081] For example, the connection method between the circuit boards in the M circuit boards can include any of the following:

[0082] ① Each pair of M circuit boards is connected by a flexible connection, meaning there is an electrical connection between any two circuit boards in the M circuit boards. In other words, one of the N circuit boards is connected to at least one of the Q circuit boards via at least one flexible connection. As shown in Figure 3, the M circuit boards include circuit board 10, circuit board 20, and circuit board 30', which can be respectively disposed on two surfaces of the cold plate 40. For example, the N circuit boards may include circuit board 10 and circuit board 30', and the Q circuit boards may include circuit board 20. Referring to Figure 3(a), circuit board 20 can be connected to circuit board 10 and circuit board 30' via two flexible connections 30, meaning the circuit board on the first surface of the cold plate 40 and the circuit board on the second surface of the cold plate 40 are connected via two flexible connections 30; or, referring to Figure 3(b), circuit boards 10 to 30' can be connected sequentially via flexible connections 30, meaning the circuit board on the first surface of the cold plate 40 and the circuit board on the second surface of the cold plate 40 are connected via one flexible connection 30. Furthermore, a thermally conductive interface layer 60 is provided between each of the at least one chip 11 and the at least one chip 21 and the cold plate 40, through which the cold plate 40 dissipates heat for each chip. More specifically, the positional relationship between the M circuit boards and the cold plate 40 can be shown in Figure 4(a).

[0083] ② When N is greater than or equal to 2, every two circuit boards in the N circuit boards are connected by a flexible connection, meaning that there is an electrical connection between any two circuit boards in the N circuit boards; or, when Q is greater than or equal to 2, every two circuit boards in the Q circuit boards are connected by a flexible connection, meaning that there is an electrical connection between any two circuit boards in the Q circuit boards; however, there is no electrical connection between the N circuit boards and the Q circuit boards. For example, as shown in Figure 4(b), two circuit boards (circuit board 10 and circuit board 30') on one side of the cold plate 40 are connected by a flexible connection 30, and there is no electrical connection between these two circuit boards and the circuit board 20 on the other side of the cold plate 40.

[0084] ③ Each pair of N circuit boards is connected by a flexible connection, meaning there is an electrical connection between any two circuit boards in the N circuit boards; and the N circuit boards are connected to some of the Q circuit boards by a flexible connection, while the remaining circuit boards in the Q circuit boards are electrically connected to each other but not electrically connected to the N circuit boards. For example, as shown in Figure 4(c), two circuit boards (circuit board 20 and circuit board 20') on one side of the cold plate 40 are connected by a flexible connection 30, and these two circuit boards are connected to the circuit board 10 on the other side of the cold plate 40 by a flexible connection 30, and there is no electrical connection between circuit board 10, circuit board 20, circuit board 20', and circuit board 30'.

[0085] It should be noted that when any two of the M circuit boards are electrically connected, all M circuit boards and their chips can perform the same function. For example, when the control module is applied to a vehicle, this same function could be cockpit control or autonomous driving. If some of the M circuit boards are electrically connected, and another portion of the M circuit boards are electrically connected, but these two portions are independent of each other (i.e., not electrically connected), then these two portions of circuit boards and their chips can be used to perform different functions. For example, one portion can be used for cockpit control, and the other for autonomous driving; or one portion can be used for autonomous driving, and the other for vehicle body control. In some implementations, the chips on the two portions of circuit boards that are not electrically connected can communicate with each other.

[0086] Optionally, when at least two chips are placed on a circuit board, the heights of different chips on the same circuit board can be different, but the maximum height difference between different chips on the same circuit board is less than or equal to a certain threshold (such as 1 mm, 1.5 mm, or other values). Furthermore, a high-power chip (e.g., power consumption higher than 50 watts) and multiple low-power chips (e.g., power consumption much lower than 50 watts) can be placed on the same circuit board. The high-power chip on a circuit board can be a taller chip, and the height of the low-power chips can be lower than that of the high-power chip. Further, the thickness of the thermal interface layer 60 between different chips and the cold plate 40 on the same circuit board can be different. For example, the thickness of the thermal interface layer 60 can be determined according to the power consumption of the chip. For example, the thickness of the thermal interface layer 60 between the high-power chip and the cold plate 40 can be 0.03 mm, or 0.05 mm, or other thicknesses; the thickness of the thermal interface layer 60 between the low-power chip and the cold plate 40 can be 1 mm to 2 mm. Understandably, chips with higher power consumption have greater heat dissipation requirements. Therefore, a thinner thermal interface layer is used for these chips. This ensures good contact between the chip and the cold plate, and the thinner layer also helps reduce the impact of the thermal resistance of the interface layer on heat dissipation. Conversely, chips with lower power consumption have less heat dissipation requirements, and the thermal resistance of the interface layer has less impact on heat dissipation. Therefore, a thicker thermal interface layer is used for these chips to ensure proper contact between the chip and the cold plate.

[0087] In some implementations, referring to Figure 4, the control module further includes a central frame 41 and a housing 80. The cold plate 40 is connected to the central frame 41, and the central frame 41 surrounds the cold plate 40 in a direction perpendicular to its thickness. The housing 80 includes a first part (as shown in the upper housing 82) and a second part (as shown in the lower housing 83). The first part is located on one side of the first surface of the cold plate 40 and is connected to the central frame 41; the second part is located on one side of the second surface of the cold plate 40 and is connected to the central frame 41. A through hole 42 is provided between the cold plate 40 and the central frame 41, and the through hole 42 is used to accommodate at least one flexible connection part 30 and / or at least one circuit board.

[0088] The through-hole 42 accommodates at least one circuit board, which can be understood as: the size of the through-hole 42 allows at least one circuit board to pass through it, on which one or more chips can be placed.

[0089] Figure 5 shows a schematic diagram of the structural relationship between the central frame 41 and the cold plate 40. The cold plate 40 and the central frame 41 can be integrally formed, or the cold plate 40 can be fixed to the central frame 41 by fasteners. Optionally, when the cold plate 40 is a liquid-cooled cold plate, the central frame 41 can be provided with two holes for accommodating the liquid outlet and liquid inlet (such as liquid outlet 44 and liquid inlet 43) of the cold plate 40.

[0090] In some implementations, the control module further includes at least one connector 50 for communication between the control module and external systems. Exemplarily, the connector 50 is used for communication between the control module and other control modules. For example, if the control module is an MDC, the connector 50 can be used for communication between the MDC and a CDC, VDC, or other ECUs. Alternatively, the connector 50 can also be used for communication between the control module and actuators and / or sensors. For example, if the control module is an MDC, the connector 50 can be used for communication between the MDC and sensors such as lidar, and the connector 50 can also be used for communication between the MDC and actuators such as steering and braking. The connector 50 can be a CAN connector, an Ethernet connector, etc.

[0091] Optionally, the central frame 41 shown in Figure 5 may also be provided with a slot for accommodating the connector 50.

[0092] In some implementations, each circuit board has a chip on the side facing the cold plate 40. Referring to Figure 6, the M circuit boards include four boards: circuit board 10, circuit board 20, circuit board 30', and circuit board 20'. Each circuit board has one chip, and the four circuit boards are sequentially connected by flexible connectors 30. Each circuit board is connected to the cold plate 40 by at least two elastic fasteners 70. It is understood that since each chip is individually mounted on a circuit board, the expansion of a chip due to heat generation will not cause excessive stress on itself, nor will it affect the heat dissipation of other chips. Furthermore, the thermal interface layer 60 between the chip on each circuit board and the cold plate 40 can be relatively thin, such as 0.05 mm, thereby reducing the impact of the thermal resistance of the thermal interface layer on heat dissipation. In other words, the embodiments of this application can avoid the stress problems introduced by height tolerances and / or the impact of an excessively thick thermal interface layer on heat dissipation.

[0093] In some implementations, each circuit board and the cold plate 40 are connected by at least two resilient fasteners 70. More specifically, two or more resilient fasteners 70 can be provided for each chip, distributed around the chip. The resilient fastener 70 can be a screw with a spring washer, a spring screw, or other resilient fastener. In still other implementations, as shown in FIG7, at least one elastic element 70' can be provided in the interior of the housing 80 corresponding to each chip, with at least one elastic element 70' located between the housing 80 and each chip.

[0094] It is understandable that the heat generated by the chip during operation may cause it to expand, increasing its height compared to when it is not in operation. If the circuit board and the cold plate 40 are rigidly connected (e.g., using ordinary screws for fixing), the increased chip height may lead to increased stress in the chip height direction (i.e., parallel to the thickness of the cold plate). Over time, this may cause slight deformation of the circuit board supporting the chip, resulting in a poorer fit between the chip and the cold plate. However, if the circuit board and the cold plate 40 are connected elastically, on the one hand, when the chip expands due to heat, the elastic fastener 70 or elastic element 70' can be compressed in the height direction, thereby reducing the stress caused by the increased height; on the other hand, the elastic fastener 70 or elastic element 70' can be compressed as the chip height increases and released as the chip height decreases, thus ensuring the fit between the chip and the cold plate.

[0095] For example, the thermal interface layer 60 in this application can be an interface material without compressive deformation properties; or, the thermal interface layer 60 can also be an interface material with compressive deformation properties. Through the compression action of the elastic fastener 70 or the elastic element 70', the thickness of the thermal interface layer 60 can be further reduced, thereby further reducing the impact of the thermal resistance of the thermal interface material on heat dissipation. For example, the material of the thermal interface layer 60 can be any of the following: thermal grease, thermal gel, thermal pad, phase change thermal conductive material, or other thermal conductive materials with thermal conductivity close to the above materials. For example, the material of the thermal interface layer 60 is thermally conductive silicone with compressive deformation properties. When the thickness of the thermal interface layer 60 between the chip and the cold plate 40 is 0.05 mm, under the compression action of the elastic fastener 70 or the elastic element 70', the thickness of the thermal interface layer 60 itself may be compressed by 0.01 mm. Therefore, the final thickness of the thermal interface layer 60 filling between the chip and the cold plate 40 is 0.04 mm.

[0096] In some implementations, the cold plate 40 does not have a central frame 41 outside; the cold plate 40 is directly fixed to the housing 80. For example, in this embodiment, the housing 80 may consist of two parts connected by a rotating connection 81. The housing 80 can be opened and closed via the rotating connection 81. When the housing 80 is open, the cold plate 40 and multiple circuit boards can be placed inside. In one implementation, the circuit boards and the cold plate 40 are connected by an elastic fastener 70. After fixing the circuit boards and the cold plate 40, the fixed assembly is placed into the housing 80. In another implementation, an elastic element is provided between the circuit boards and the housing. This elastic element can be fixedly connected to the housing or to the circuit boards (and is located on the side of the circuit boards away from the cold plate). During installation, the circuit boards on one side, the cold plate 40, and the circuit boards on the other side can be placed sequentially. After placing the cold plate and circuit boards into the housing, the housing 80 can be closed.

[0097] In one implementation, the side of the housing 80 away from the rotating connection 81 is fixedly connected to the cold plate 40, as shown in Figures 8 and 9, with a portion of the cold plate 40 exposed outside the housing 80. Optionally, in this implementation, when the cold plate 40 is a liquid-cooled cold plate, the liquid inlet and liquid outlet of the cold plate 40 can be located on the side of the cold plate 40 exposed outside the housing 80.

[0098] In another implementation, the side of the housing 80 away from the rotating connection part 81 is connected via the connection part 81', as shown in Figures 10 to 12, meaning that the entire cold plate 40 is located inside the housing 80. It should be noted that in this implementation, the cold plate 40 is a metal plate or an air-cooled cold plate.

[0099] In some implementations, to prevent the cold plate 40 from bending during use, one or more support arms can be provided in the housing 80. For example, as shown in Figure 9, the support arm 84 can prevent the cold plate 40 from bending and deforming under the action of gravity during use.

[0100] In some implementations, to prevent relative displacement between the cold plate 40 and the housing 80 during use, one or more support arms can be provided in the housing 80. In one example, support arms 84' and 85, as shown in Figure 10, can be provided. The cold plate 40 can have grooves that mate with support arms 84' and 85 respectively, allowing them to be fixed in the grooves and preventing the cold plate 40 from moving inside the housing 80. In another example, support arms 86 and 87, as shown in Figure 11 or 12, can be provided. The cold plate 40 can have grooves that mate with support arms 86 and 87 respectively, allowing them to be fixed in the grooves and preventing the cold plate 40 from moving inside the housing 80.

[0101] In some implementations, referring to (a) and (b) in Figure 13, circuit board 10 and circuit board 20 can both be disposed on one side of cold plate 40, and at least one chip 11 and at least one chip 21 are both attached to cold plate 40 so that cold plate 40 dissipates heat for at least one chip 11 and at least one chip 21.

[0102] It should be noted that the accompanying drawings in this application embodiment are only to illustrate the relative relationships between the components, and the dimensions of each component are only schematic illustrations. For example, in actual implementation, the thickness of the thermal interface layer 60 may be a thickness that is not perceptible to the naked eye. Therefore, the dimensions of each component in the drawings should not be construed as a limitation of this application. In addition, the number of circuit boards shown in the above figures is only illustrative. In actual implementation, a control module may include more or fewer circuit boards.

[0103] In the various embodiments of this application, unless otherwise specified or in case of logical conflict, the terminology and / or descriptions between the various embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. Technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

[0104] This application also provides an electronic device that may include the control module described in any of the above implementations. In some implementations, the electronic device is a vehicle.

[0105] In the description of the embodiments of this application, unless otherwise stated, " / " means "or", for example, A / B can mean A or B; "and / or" in this document describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A existing alone, A and B existing simultaneously, and B existing alone. In this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "more" means two or more. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or multiple items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0106] The use of prefixes such as "first" and "second" in this application embodiment is solely for distinguishing different descriptive objects and does not limit the position, order, priority, quantity, or content of the described objects. The use of ordinal numbers and other prefixes to distinguish descriptive objects in this application embodiment does not constitute a limitation on the described objects. The description of the described objects is found in the claims or the context of the embodiments, and the use of such prefixes should not constitute unnecessary restrictions.

[0107] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A control module, characterized in that, Includes a cold plate and M circuit boards, of which: The cold plate includes a first surface and a second surface arranged along the thickness direction. N of the M circuit boards are located on one side of the first surface, and Q of the M circuit boards are located on one side of the second surface. M is an integer greater than or equal to 2, N and Q are both integers greater than or equal to 1, and the sum of N and Q is equal to M. At least two of the M circuit boards are connected by a flexible connection, the flexible connection having conductivity and / or communication capability, and each of the M circuit boards has at least one chip on the side facing the cold plate. Each of the at least one chip has a thermally conductive interface layer between itself and the cold plate, and the cold plate dissipates heat from each chip through the thermally conductive interface layer.

2. The control module according to claim 1, characterized in that, Some or all of the other circuit boards in the M circuit boards, excluding the at least two circuit boards, are connected by the flexible connection portion.

3. The control module according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, One of the N circuit boards is connected to at least one of the Q circuit boards via at least one of the flexible connecting parts.

4. The control module according to claim 3, characterized in that, The control module also includes a central frame and a housing, the cold plate is connected to the central frame, and the central frame surrounds the cold plate in a direction perpendicular to the thickness of the cold plate; The housing includes a first part and a second part. The first part is located on one side of the first surface and is connected to the central frame. The second part is located on one side of the second surface and is connected to the central frame.

5. The control module according to claim 4, characterized in that, A through hole is provided between the cold plate and the central frame, the through hole being used to accommodate at least one of the flexible connecting parts and / or at least one circuit board.

6. The control module according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The control module also includes a housing, the cold plate is fixed to the housing, the housing forms a sealed space, and the sealed space is used to accommodate the cold plate and the M circuit boards.

7. The control module according to any one of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that, The interior of the housing, corresponding to each chip, may be provided with at least one elastic element, which is located between the housing and each chip.

8. The control module according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, Each circuit board and the cold plate are connected by at least two resilient fasteners.

9. The control module according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, When the number of the at least one chip is greater than or equal to 2, the height difference between the at least one chip is less than or equal to the height threshold.

10. The control module according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, Each circuit board has a chip on the side facing the cold plate.

11. The control module according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that, The control module also includes at least one connector, which is used to enable communication between the control module and the outside world.

12. A control module, characterized in that, Includes a cold plate and N circuit boards, among which, The cold plate includes a first surface arranged along the thickness direction, and the N circuit boards are located on one side of the first surface; At least two of the N circuit boards are connected by a flexible connection, the flexible connection having conductivity and / or communication capability, and each of the N circuit boards has at least one chip on the side facing the cold plate, where N is a positive integer; Each of the at least one chip has a thermally conductive interface layer between itself and the cold plate, and the cold plate dissipates heat from each chip through the thermally conductive interface layer.

13. The control module according to claim 12, characterized in that, The control module further includes Q circuit boards, and the cold plate further includes a second surface arranged along the thickness direction, with the Q circuit boards located on one side of the second surface; Each of the Q circuit boards has at least one chip on the side facing the cold plate, where Q is a positive integer; Each of the at least one chip has a thermally conductive interface layer between itself and the cold plate, and the cold plate dissipates heat from each chip through the thermally conductive interface layer.

14. The control module according to claim 13, characterized in that, One of the N circuit boards is connected to at least one of the Q circuit boards via at least one of the flexible connecting parts.

15. The control module according to claim 14, characterized in that, The control module also includes a central frame and a housing, the cold plate is connected to the central frame, and the central frame surrounds the cold plate in a direction perpendicular to the thickness of the cold plate; The housing includes a first part and a second part. The first part is located on one side of the first surface and is connected to the central frame. The second part is located on one side of the second surface and is connected to the central frame.

16. The control module according to claim 15, characterized in that, A through hole is provided between the cold plate and the central frame, the through hole being used to accommodate at least one of the flexible connecting parts and / or at least one circuit board.

17. The control module according to any one of claims 12 to 14, characterized in that, The control module also includes a housing, the cold plate is fixed to the housing, the housing forms a sealed space, and the sealed space is used to accommodate the cold plate and the M circuit boards.

18. The control module according to any one of claims 15 to 17, characterized in that, The interior of the housing, corresponding to each chip, may be provided with at least one elastic element, which is located between the housing and each chip.

19. The control module according to any one of claims 12 to 17, characterized in that, Each circuit board and the cold plate are connected by at least two resilient fasteners.

20. The control module according to any one of claims 12 to 19, characterized in that, When the number of the at least one chip is greater than or equal to 2, the height difference between the at least one chip is less than or equal to the height threshold.

21. The control module according to any one of claims 12 to 20, characterized in that, Each circuit board has a chip on the side facing the cold plate.

22. The control module according to any one of claims 12 to 21, characterized in that, The control module also includes at least one connector, which is used to enable communication between the control module and the outside world.

23. An electronic device, characterized in that, It includes the control module as described in any one of claims 1 to 11; or, it includes the control module as described in any one of claims 12 to 22.

24. The electronic device according to claim 23, characterized in that, The electronic device is a vehicle.

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