DE102019215958A1 - Electronic system with heat transfer device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an electronic system (10) with a heat transfer device (13). The invention also relates to a means of locomotion, in particular a motor vehicle, in which such an electronic system (10) is used. The electronic system (10) comprises a housing (11), an electronic component (12) arranged in the housing (11) and a heat transfer device (13) for transporting heat from the electronic component (12) to the housing (11). The heat transfer device (13) has at least one flexible comb-like or brush-like heat coupler (14, 15) for heat transfer by means of heat conduction.

Description

The present invention relates to an electronic system having a heat transfer device. The invention also relates to a means of locomotion, in particular a motor vehicle, in which such an electronic system is used.

A large number of sensors are installed in today's motor vehicles, which are used, for example, by safety functions, assistance functions or pilot functions. Examples of such sensors are radar sensors, lidar sensors, ultrasonic sensors or cameras.

At high ambient temperatures, the sensors may have to stop working or switch off completely in order to protect the internal electronics from overheating. As a result, it can happen that safety functions, assistance functions or pilot functions have to be deactivated. To avoid this, the sensors must be cooled or the heat generated must be dissipated using suitable measures.

In this context describes DE 11 2014 005 550 T5 a heat transfer device that couples a heat generating element to a heat radiating element and transfers heat from the heat generating element to the heat radiating element. The heat transfer device includes an element made of a composite material and a heat conductor. The composite material element includes a plurality of carbon nanotubes and a plurality of carbon fibers mixed in a base material and complexed with each other. The respective carbon fibers are cross-linked with one another by means of the carbon nanotubes. The heat conductor has a flexible end which is embedded in the element made of a composite material. The embedded one end is cross-linked by the carbon nanotubes to the carbon fibers in the composite material element.

Electronic components are often arranged within a control device or, more generally, within a housing. In addition, these electronic components can be designed to be movable, e.g. to compensate for installation tolerances. For example, two lidar heads can be movably arranged in a sensor housing in a lidar sensor. Under these circumstances, it is possible that the electronic components cannot be cooled sufficiently.

With this in mind, describes DE 195 20 938 A1 an arrangement for thermal coupling between a component and a heat sink, in which the planes of the thermally contactable surfaces deviate from the parallelism and a nominal distance. There are two complementary, meandering intermeshing heat transfer members with play. One of the heat transfer members is rigidly attached to the heat sink. The other heat transfer member is spring-loaded areally connected to a thermally contactable surface of the component.

U.S. 5,787,976 describes a heat coupler for thermal coupling between a heat source and a heat sink. The thermal coupler includes first and second substrates. The first substrate has a first surface. A plurality of first channels are etched on the first surface to form a plurality of first ribs and a first base. The first base can be brought into thermal contact with the heat source. The second substrate has a second surface with a plurality of second channels etched therein. The second channels form a plurality of second ribs and a second base. The second base can be brought into thermal contact with the heat sink. The first and second fins provide a thermally conductive path from the heat source to the heat sink when nested together.

In currently available lidar sensors, heat couplers with interlocking ribs are used to dissipate heat from the lidar head to the housing. The heat is transferred by means of thermal radiation. The lidar head can only be rotated in one axis. This has the disadvantage that an external adjustment device is necessary. Movement around two axes is only possible with this concept if several heat couplers coupled to one another are used. However, this is associated with high costs and requires a relatively large installation space.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved solution for heat transfer in an electronic system.

This object is achieved by a system with the features of claim 1. Preferred embodiments of the invention are the subject matter of the dependent claims.

• - ein Gehäuse;
• - eine in dem Gehäuse angeordnete elektronische Komponente; und
• - eine Wärmeübertragungsvorrichtung zum Transportieren von Wärme von der elektronischen Komponente zum Gehäuse, wobei die Wärmeübertragungsvorrichtung zumindest einen flexiblen kammartigen oder pinselartigen Wärmekoppler für eine Wärmeübertragung mittels Wärmeleitung aufweist.

According to one aspect of the invention, an electronic system comprises:

• - a housing;
• an electronic component arranged in the housing; and
• - a heat transfer device for transporting heat from the electronic component to the housing, the heat transfer device having at least one flexible comb-like or brush-like heat coupler for heat transfer by means of heat conduction.

The solution according to the invention allows effective cooling of the electronic components located in the housing. The electronic system can continue to work at full capacity even at higher temperatures. By using a flexible comb-like or brush-like heat coupler for heat transfer by means of heat conduction, a rigid connection of the electronic component to the housing for heat transfer can be dispensed with, which simplifies the assembly and adjustment of the electronic system.

According to one aspect of the invention, the electronic component can be rotated about at least one axis or displaced along at least one axis. Of course, several degrees of freedom can also be provided for adjusting the electronic component. During the adjustment, the electronic component is only moved very slowly and usually only in a small area. For example, the sensor head of a lidar sensor is rotated only by a few degrees within several minutes during the adjustment, typically by 1 ° -2 °. Such rotations can be well compensated for by the solution according to the invention. Since there is no rigid connection between the electronic component and the housing, there are no problems caused by material fatigue.

According to one aspect of the invention, the at least one flexible comb-like or brush-like heat coupler is arranged on the electronic component and is in contact with a heat sink on the housing. Alternatively, the at least one flexible comb-like or brush-like heat coupler is arranged on the housing and is in contact with a heat source on the electronic component. In this approach, only a comb-like or brush-like heat coupler is used, which is arranged with a first end either on the electronic component or on the housing. The second end is correspondingly in contact with a heat sink on the housing or a heat source on the electronic component. The possible heat transfer depends on the contact area between the comb-like or brush-like heat coupler and the heat sink or the heat source. The contact area is relatively small in this embodiment, so that only a limited heat transfer is achieved. However, the simple assembly of the electronic system is advantageous in this embodiment.

According to one aspect of the invention, the heat transfer device has two interlocking flexible comb-like or brush-like heat couplers, of which a first flexible comb-like or brush-like heat coupler is arranged on the electronic component and a second flexible comb-like or brush-like heat coupler is arranged on the housing. This approach uses two comb-like or brush-like thermal couplers that mesh with one another. This has the advantage that a large contact area is achieved between the two heat couplers, so that a high level of heat transfer is made possible.

According to one aspect of the invention, the at least one flexible comb-like or brush-like heat coupler has bristles made of a thermally conductive material. Alternatively, bristles coated with a thermally conductive material can be used. In addition to the size of the contact surface, the amount of heat transfer is largely determined by the thermal conductivity of the material used. It is therefore advantageous to use a material with good thermal conductivity for the connection between the housing and the electronic component.

According to one aspect of the invention, the thermally conductive material is carbon, silver or copper. These materials are characterized by a particularly high thermal conductivity. At the same time, they are easy to process, which makes it easier to manufacture the comb-like or brush-like heat coupler.

According to one aspect of the invention, the bristles have a roughened surface. By roughening the surface of the bristles, the effective surface and thus also the possible contact area is enlarged and the heat transfer is increased again. Correspondingly, a surface of the electronic component used for heat transfer or surfaces of a heat sink or a heat source can also be roughened.

According to one aspect of the invention, the electronic component has an infrared-absorbing coating to increase heat transfer into the heat transfer device. This enables the electronic components to be cooled even more efficiently. For example, the inner wall of a sensor can be provided with an infrared absorbing paint, e.g. with a soot coating, in order to increase the heat transfer into the heat coupler.

According to one aspect of the invention, the electronic component is a sensor head. Adjustment of sensor heads is required regularly after the sensor has been installed. The use of the solution according to the invention allows adjustment with several degrees of freedom without there being any restrictions in the heat transfer.

An electronic system according to the invention is particularly advantageously used in a means of locomotion, for example in the form of a lidar sensor or a radar sensor. The means of locomotion can in particular be a motor vehicle, e.g. a passenger car, a utility vehicle or a bus. The use of the solution according to the invention makes it possible to compensate for installation tolerances or changes in the position of the means of transport due to a load condition.

• 1 zeigt schematisch ein elektronisches System mit einer Wärmeübertragungsvorrichtung gemäß dem Stand der Technik;
• 2 zeigt schematisch eine erste Ausführungsform eines elektronischen Systems mit einem flexiblen kammartigen oder pinselartigen Wärmekoppler;
• 3 zeigt schematisch eine zweite Ausführungsform eines elektronischen Systems mit einem flexiblen kammartigen oder pinselartigen Wärmekoppler;
• 4 zeigt schematisch ein elektronisches System mit zwei flexiblen kammartigen oder pinselartigen Wärmekopplern;
• 5 zeigt das elektronische System aus 4 nach einer Verdrehung einer elektronischen Komponente;
• 6 zeigt das elektronische System aus 4 nach einer Verschiebung einer elektronischen Komponente; und
• 7 stellt schematisch ein Fortbewegungsmittel dar, in dem ein erfindungsgemäßes elektronisches System verwendet wird.

Further features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and the appended claims in conjunction with the figures.

• 1 shows schematically an electronic system with a heat transfer device according to the prior art;
• 2 shows schematically a first embodiment of an electronic system with a flexible comb-like or brush-like heat coupler;
• 3 shows schematically a second embodiment of an electronic system with a flexible comb-like or brush-like heat coupler;
• 4th shows schematically an electronic system with two flexible comb-like or brush-like heat couplers;
• 5 shows the electronic system 4th after twisting an electronic component;
• 6th shows the electronic system 4th after a displacement of an electronic component; and
• 7th shows schematically a means of locomotion in which an electronic system according to the invention is used.

For a better understanding of the principles of the present invention, embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail below with reference to the figures. It goes without saying that the invention is not restricted to these embodiments and that the features described can also be combined or modified without departing from the scope of protection of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

1 shows schematically a plan view of an electronic system 10 with a heat transfer device 13th according to the state of the art. The electronic system 10 includes a housing 11 as well as one in the case 11 arranged electronic component 12th . In the example shown, it is the electronic component 12th around the sensor head of a lidar sensor. The sensor head has a detection cone 20th . In the case 11 there is internal electronics 22nd that should be protected from elevated temperatures. Used to transport heat from the electronic component 12th to the housing 11 is a heat transfer device 13th intended. This includes a series of interlocking ribs 21 that have no direct connection and between which there is a heat transfer by means of thermal radiation. After installing the electronic system 10 may be an adjustment of the electronic component 12th required. For example, after a lidar sensor has been installed in a motor vehicle, the sensor head must be aligned so that the detection cone can be adjusted 20th covers a desired area. If the load on the motor vehicle changes, it may be necessary to realign the sensor head. The in 1 shown system 10 a rotation around the Y-axis as well as a shift along the X-axis and the Z-axis is possible. In particular, rotations around the X-axis and the Z-axis cannot be made.

2 shows schematically a first embodiment of an electronic system 10 with a flexible comb-like or brush-like heat coupler 14th . The heat coupler 14th has a multitude of flexible bristles 18th made of a thermally conductive material, e.g. bristles 18th made of carbon, silver or copper. Alternatively, the bristles 18th also only be covered with a thermally conductive material. The heat coupler 14th is in this embodiment with a first end on the electronic component 12th arranged, which in turn is the sensor head of a lidar sensor. The second end of the thermal coupler 14th stands with a heat sink 16 on the housing 11 in contact, ie the bristles 18th are due to the heat sink 16 at. This means that there is sufficient contact area between the bristles 18th and the heat sink 16 is achieved, the bristles 18th with some pressure against the heat sink 16 pressed so that they are curved. The use of a flexible comb-like or brush-like heat coupler 14th allows rotations about all three axes and displacements along all three axes, as long as there is a sufficiently large contact area between the bristles 18th and the heat sink 16 preserved. To The surface of the bristles can increase the heat transfer 18th , the heat sink 16 or an inner wall 23 of the sensor head should be roughened. In addition, the inner wall 23 of the sensor head be provided with an infrared absorbing coating.

3 shows schematically a second embodiment of an electronic system 10 with a flexible comb-like or brush-like heat coupler 15th . The embodiment shown corresponds to the approach in FIG 2 embodiment shown, however, the heat coupler 15th with its first end on the housing 11 arranged while its second end with a heat source 17th on the electronic component 12th is in contact. With the electronic component 12th this is also the sensor head of a lidar sensor. This means that there is sufficient contact area between the bristles 18th and the heat source 17th is achieved, are those at the heat source 17th adjacent bristles 18th with a certain pressure against the heat source 17th pressed so that they are curved. This embodiment of the heat transfer device, too 13th allows rotations about all three axes and displacements along all three axes, as long as there is a sufficiently large contact area between the bristles 18th and the heat source 17th preserved.

4th shows schematically an electronic system 10 with two flexible comb-like or brush-like heat couplers 14th , 15th . The first heat coupler 14th has a first end on the electronic component 12th arranged. The second heat coupler 15th is, however, with its first end on the housing 11 arranged. With the electronic component 12th it is, in turn, the sensor head of a lidar sensor. Both heat couplers 14th , 15th have a variety of flexible bristles 18th made of a thermally conductive material, e.g. bristles 18th made of carbon, silver or copper. Alternatively, the bristles 18th also only be covered with a thermally conductive material. The bristles 18th of the two heat couplers 14th , 15th interlock so that a large contact area is achieved. This embodiment of the heat transfer device, too 13th allows rotations around all three axes and shifts along all three axes.

A larger adjustment range is achieved than in the embodiments in FIG 2 and 3 the case is.

5 shows the electronic system 10 out 4th after rotating the sensor head around the Z-axis. The rotation shown is greater than is to be expected in normal operation. The bristles 18th of the two heat couplers 14th , 15th are now curved, but still interlock, so that the contact surface between the heat couplers is 14th , 15th has changed only slightly. Efficient cooling of the sensor head is therefore achieved unchanged.

6th shows the electronic system 10 out 4th after moving the sensor head along the Y-axis. The shift shown is greater than is to be expected in normal operation. The bristles 18th of the two heat couplers 14th , 15th are now like in 5 curved, but still interlock so that the contact surface between the heat couplers is 14th , 15th has changed only slightly. Efficient cooling of the sensor head is therefore achieved unchanged.

7th shows schematically a means of locomotion 30th represents in which an electronic system according to the invention 10 is used. In this example it is the means of transportation 30th around a motor vehicle and in the electronic system 10 around a lidar sensor. In addition to the lidar sensor, the motor vehicle can also have other environmental sensors 31 have, for example cameras or ultrasonic sensors. Further components of the motor vehicle are a data transmission unit 32 as well as a range of assistance systems 33 , one of which is shown as an example. By means of the data transmission unit 32 For example, a connection to service providers can be established. A memory is used to store data 34 available. The data exchange between the various components of the motor vehicle takes place via a network 35 .

List of reference symbols

10

Electronic system

11

casing

12th

Electronic component

13th

Heat transfer device

14th

Comb-like or brush-like heat coupler

15th

Comb-like or brush-like heat coupler

16

Heat sink

17th

Heat source

18th

bristle

20th

Detection cone

21

rib

22nd

Internal electronics

23

Inner wall

30th

Means of transportation

31

Environmental sensors

32

Data transmission unit

33

Assistance system

34

Storage

35

network

QUOTES INCLUDED IN THE DESCRIPTION

This list of the documents listed by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions.

Patent literature cited

• DE 112014005550 T5 [0004]
• DE 19520938 A1 [0006]
• US 5787976 [0007]

Claims (10)

Electronic system (10) with: - A housing (11); - An electronic component (12) arranged in the housing (11); and - A heat transfer device (13) for transporting heat from the electronic component (12) to the housing (11), the heat transfer device (13) having at least one flexible comb-like or brush-like heat coupler (14, 15) for heat transfer by means of heat conduction. Electronic system (10) according to Claim 1 wherein the electronic component (12) is rotatable about at least one axis or is displaceable along at least one axis. Electronic system (10) according to Claim 1 or 2 , wherein the at least one flexible comb-like or brush-like heat coupler (14) is arranged on the electronic component (12) and is in contact with a heat sink (16) on the housing (11), or the at least one flexible comb-like or brush-like heat coupler (15 ) is arranged on the housing (11) and is in contact with a heat source (17) on the electronic component (12). Electronic system (10) according to Claim 1 or 2 wherein the heat transfer device (13) has two interlocking flexible comb-like or brush-like heat couplers (14, 15), of which a first flexible comb-like or brush-like heat coupler (14) is arranged on the electronic component (12) and a second flexible comb-like or brush-like heat coupler (15) is arranged on the housing (11). Electronic system (10) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one flexible comb-like or brush-like heat coupler (14, 15) has bristles (18) made of a thermally conductive material or bristles (18) coated with a thermally conductive material. Electronic system (10) according to Claim 5 , wherein the thermally conductive material is carbon, silver or copper. Electronic system (10) according to Claim 5 or 6th wherein the bristles (18) have a roughened surface. Electronic system (10) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the electronic component (12) has an infrared-absorbing coating to increase heat transfer into the heat transfer device (13). Electronic system (10) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the electronic component (12) is a sensor head. Means of locomotion (30), characterized in that the means of locomotion (30) is an electronic system (10) according to one of the Claims 1 to 9 having.

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