Electronic Control Device Thermal Management via Warped Board Fixing
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Solution Overview
Problem
In electronic control devices, warped plastic bus bar boards due to insert molding can prevent intimate contact between heat-generating elements and the case, leading to ineffective heat transmission.
Innovation Solution
The use of a case with a heat receiving portion and fixing units that secure the circuit board to the case, ensuring intimate contact between the heat-generating elements and the heat receiving portion, even if the board is warped, through a combination of inside and outside connecting bolts and snap-fit units.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the plastic bus bar board is molded through insert molding, then the board can be manufactured efficiently, but the board develops warp that prevents intimate contact between the heat-generating element and the case
Solution Approach 1:
The fixing units are divided into multiple discrete elements distributed across the bus bar board, with specific emphasis on placing fixing units at corner regions and peripheral portions to effectively constrain warping without requiring the entire board surface to be perfectly flat
Solution Approach 2:
The fixing units are designed to be installed before the heat-generating element is mounted, preliminarily correcting or compensating for board warp by mechanically constraining the board to a flat position, thereby ensuring proper contact surface alignment before the critical heat transmission interface is established
2Ease of manufacture
If the bus bar board is warped, then manufacturing is simplified, but heat transmission from the heat-generating element to the case becomes ineffective
Solution Approach 1:
The fixing units are strategically positioned at critical locations such as corner regions and peripheral portions of the bus bar board, providing localized constraint forces that effectively flatten the board in the vicinity of the heat-generating element mounting area, ensuring adequate contact quality at the critical heat transmission interface
Solution Approach 2:
The fixing units act as intermediary elements between the warped bus bar board and the case, mechanically mediating the interface by applying constraint forces that locally flatten the board surface, thereby enabling effective heat transmission without requiring the entire board to be perfectly flat
3Reliability
If multiple fixing units are used to correct board warp, then heat transmission is improved, but the device structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of attempting to flatten the entire bus bar board surface, the fixing units are strategically placed only at critical corner regions and peripheral portions where warp correction has the greatest impact on the heat-generating element contact area, achieving adequate heat transmission with a minimal number of fixing units
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration allows for effective heat radiation from the heat-generating elements, even when the bus bar board is warped, ensuring efficient heat transmission and maintaining the device's operational integrity.
Implementation Method 1
a case (12) for installing therein the circuit board (18), the case (12) having a heat receiving portion (38) that is in contact with the heat generating part (24)
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic control device comprises a circuit board having a heat generating part mounted thereon; a case for installing therein the circuit board, the case having a heat receiving portion that is in contact with the heat generating part; at least two first fixing units that are constructed and arranged to fix a peripheral portion of the circuit board to the case; and at least one second fixing unit that is arranged to fix a given area of the circuit board to the case while pressing the given area against the heat receiving portion through the heat generating part, the given area being an area where the heat generating part is placed.