CN112262447A

CN112262447A - Component forming at least two inductors

Info

Publication number: CN112262447A
Application number: CN201980038560.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: N.阿拉里
Original assignee: Valeo Systemes de Controle Moteur SAS
Current assignee: Valeo Systemes de Controle Moteur SAS
Priority date: 2018-06-08
Filing date: 2019-05-29
Publication date: 2021-01-22
Anticipated expiration: 2039-05-29
Also published as: FR3082351B1; CN112262447B; FR3082351A1; WO2019233880A1; EP3803920A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a component (1) forming at least two inductors (12), said component (1) comprising: structure (2) made of magnetically conductive material, comprising: a base (7); a cover (8); at least one first leg (9) extending continuously between the base (7) and the cover (8); and at least two second legs (10), each second leg (10) extending between the base (7) and the cover (8) such that magnetic flux circulating between the base (7) and the cover (8) via the second legs (10) passes through at least one air gap; and a conductive element (3) defining an electrical input (4) of the component and an electrical output (5) of the component; wherein the conductive element (3) and the structure (2) cooperate to define at least two inductors (12), each inductor (12) having a magnetic flux circulating between the base (7) and the cover (8) in: in the first leg (9); and in a second leg (10) dedicated to said inductor (12).

Description

Component forming at least two inductors

Technical Field

The invention relates to a component forming at least two inductors. The component may particularly, but not exclusively, belong to a static power converter, such as a DC/DC voltage converter, which component then provides all or part of the inductance of the converter.

Background

The DC/DC voltage converter is, for example, a 12V/48V DC/DC voltage converter. In this case, the inductance thus obtained can be used, for example, to create an EMC filter.

From application GB 2442090 a component is known, which comprises a structure made of magnetically conductive material on which a plurality of wires are wound, forming one or more inductors.

A one-piece structure forming an inductor is known from application WO 2007/123564.

There is a need for further improvements in the production of inductors, in particular for DC/DC voltage converters.

Disclosure of Invention

The object of the present invention is to meet this need, which is achieved according to one aspect thereof by a component forming at least two inductors, the component comprising:

-a structure made of magnetically conductive material comprising: a base; a cover; at least one first leg extending continuously between the base and the cover; and at least two second legs, each second leg extending between the base and the cover such that magnetic flux circulating between the base and the cover via the second leg passes through at least one air gap; and

-an electrically conductive element, in particular a strip, defining an electrical input of the component and an electrical output of the component;

the conductive element and the structure cooperate to define at least two inductors, each inductor having a magnetic flux that circulates between the base and the cover in:

-in the first leg; and

in the second leg dedicated to this inductor.

According to the invention, the magnetic flux associated with each inductor circulates in a first leg extending continuously between the cover and the base, so that there is no air gap between the cover and the base for this magnetic flux circulation via the first leg. The first leg may be dedicated to the respective inductor or may be common to both inductors. In another aspect, the communication of the magnetic flux between the cover and the base via the second dedicated leg involves passing through at least one air gap. The presence of the air gap allows the storage of magnetic energy. In case the two legs differ from one inductor to the other, air gaps are dedicated to one inductor, decoupling between the two inductors is helpful, as these air gaps are used to store the magnetic energy of the inductors.

The inductor may be defined continuously in the component.

According to the present application, the air gap is not necessarily an air-filled gap. The area completely or partially occupied by the material, which has a lower magnetic permeability than the structure made of magnetically permeable material, also defines the air gap.

Again according to the invention, "continuously" is understood as an electrical output along the electrically conductive element from the electrical input of the component towards the component.

The inductance may have any value and is for example comprised in the range of 50nH and 500 mH.

The magnetic structure is for example made of ferrite, iron powder or nanocrystalline material. The structure may be unitary or may be made up of a plurality of distinct portions that are, in turn, rigidly secured to one another or not rigidly secured to one another.

The conductive elements may have a flat form and are therefore also referred to as strips of lead frames. The strip is made of copper, for example.

The electrical input of the component is for example connected to a voltage source, for example a 48V voltage source, and the electrical output of the component is for example connected to a load of a voltage network or a switching unit of a static converter, for example a DC/DC voltage converter.

The conductive strip is for example different from a wound wire.

The component is for example implanted on a printed circuit board. The component extends, for example, on both sides of the printed circuit board, the base of the component being located on one side of the printed circuit board and the cover of the component being located on the other side of the printed circuit board.

The first leg may be made in one piece with at least one of the base and the cover.

The first leg may be void of an inner cavity. There is no air gap in this first leg.

The electrical input of the component and the electrical output of the component may be formed by two respective portions of the electrically conductive element, in particular the strip, which extend parallel to each other.

The base and the lid may belong to different parts, so that they do not belong to the same part in a single piece.

According to a first embodiment of the invention, the conductive element, in particular the strip, extends straight and the structure comprises at least two first legs, the magnetic flux associated with each inductor circulating between the base and the cover in:

-in a first leg dedicated to the inductor; and

-in a second leg dedicated to the inductor,

the position of the first leg and the second leg relative to the conductive element is reversed, in particular between two consecutive inductors.

Thus, according to this first embodiment, each inductor has: a first dedicated leg and a second dedicated leg.

The upside down position of the first and second legs with respect to the conductive element between two consecutive inductors enables a stable fitting of the cover on these legs.

According to this first embodiment, all the first legs may have the same shape and the same size, and according to this first embodiment, all the second legs may also have the same shape and the same size. Thus, different inductances having the same value can be obtained. For example, the component forms three or four inductors.

According to a second embodiment of the invention, the conductive element, in particular the strip, extends to provide at least one go and return portion, two consecutive portions of the go and return portion of the conductive element being separated by a first leg through which the magnetic flux associated with each of the two inductors passes.

According to this second embodiment, the two inductors are, in particular, continuous and therefore share the same first leg.

Again according to this second embodiment, the run-to and return portion of the conductive element may define two consecutive portions separated by a first leg and framed by two second legs, in which case the portions in the form of the run-to and return portion define two successive inductors, the magnetic flux associated with the first inductor circulating between the base and the cover in one of the first leg and the two second legs dedicated to the first inductor, and the magnetic flux associated with the second inductor circulating between the base and the cover in the other of the first leg and the two second legs dedicated to the second inductor.

According to this second embodiment, the conductive element may provide a plurality of go and return portions, portions of the element in the form of go and return portions may be spaced apart by the first leg, and portions of the element in the form of go and return portions may be spaced apart by the second leg. In this case, the separation distance between the two portions of the go-and-return portion defined by the presence of the second leg may be greater than, for example twice, the separation distance between the two portions of the go-and-return portion defined by the presence of the first leg.

According to a third embodiment, the second leg defines a peripheral wall of the component, so that the base, the lid and the peripheral wall together define a housing of the component, the structure comprising a single first leg, and the magnetic flux associated with each inductor circulates between the base and the lid in:

-in the first leg; and

-in a second leg dedicated to the inductor.

According to this third embodiment, the first leg is traversed by the magnetic flux associated with each inductor, the first leg being shared by the inductors. This ensures decoupling of the different inductors, since the first leg has no air gap.

The first leg may define a central beam around which the conductive element, in particular the strip, is arranged. The first leg is then located only inside the housing.

As a variant, the first leg may define an inner wall of the housing, for example delimiting two distinct compartments in the housing. According to this variant, the end of the first leg may or may not be flush with the periphery of the casing.

According to this third embodiment, the peripheral wall may be integrally formed with at least one of the base and the cover. When the peripheral wall is not integrally formed with one of the base and the lid, these last elements may be secured together by an adhesive.

According to this third embodiment, each air gap may be provided by a gap between the peripheral wall and the cover of the housing. All or part of the gap may be occupied by the adhesive described above for securing the peripheral wall to one of the base and the cover.

The above-mentioned gap can be obtained in two ways, for example:

according to a first way, the cover has a face facing the flat peripheral wall, and the first leg extends in the direction of the cover for a distance greater than the distance over which the peripheral wall extends in the direction of the cover, so as to provide an air gap by this difference in size;

according to a second mode, the cover has a face facing the peripheral wall, which face has a flat peripheral area and a central area projecting towards the first leg, wherein the peripheral wall and the first leg extend along the same distance in a direction towards the cover to provide an air gap by the absence of a projection at the peripheral area of the face of the cover.

Again according to this third embodiment, at least one cavity may be provided in the peripheral wall so as to delimit two second legs between the cavities. The N cavities are disposed, for example, in the peripheral wall to define N +1 second legs. All these second legs may have the same form and the same dimensions.

Then, according to this third embodiment, each inductance may have the same value.

When a cavity of this type is present, the conductive element, in particular the protrusion of the strip, may extend into the cavity, which protrusion can be connected to a capacitor to form an LC filter. Then, the connection of the protruding portion and the capacitor is performed on the outside of the case. The capacitance of the capacitor is, for example, contained in the range of 1nF to 100 mF. The inductors may be mounted in series and each protrusion may correspond to a region of the conductive element, in particular the strip, arranged between two inductors mounted in series.

When there are multiple cavities, each cavity may be occupied by a conductive element, in particular a protrusion of a strip, each of these protrusions then being connected to a capacitor to form an LC filter. Another capacitor may be electrically connected to an electrical input of the component and/or another capacitor may be electrically connected to an electrical output of the component. Thus, each capacitor is first connected to the electrical connection element and then to ground.

Each cavity provided in the peripheral wall may be in communication with:

-a cavity provided in the base and associated therewith; and/or

-a cavity provided in the lid and associated therewith.

The presence of these associated cavities in the base and/or the presence of these associated cavities in the cover may reduce the parasitic inductance caused by the connection of the capacitor to the conductive element.

According to the first and second embodiments:

a gap may be provided between each second leg and one of the cover and the base, which gap may be wholly or partly secured by an adhesive, if applicable, which allows securing between these elements; and

the conductive elements, in particular the strips, may comprise protrusions, each of which may be connected to a capacitor to form an LC filter.

In all the foregoing, the base and the cover may have the same form, in particular polygonal, and the ratio of the height of the component to the square root of the area of the base may be less than 1, in particular less than 0.5.

When the base and the lid have the same polygonal form, both legs, or at least a portion thereof, may be located at the top of the polygon.

Again, when the base and the cover have the same polygonal form, the electrical input of the component and the electrical output of the component may be arranged on the same side of the polygon, and the first leg may comprise an extension, in particular a thinned region forming said first leg. The extension may extend continuously or discontinuously between the base and the cover, thereby forming a magnetic screen between the electrical input and the electrical output of the component.

In all the foregoing, the electrically conductive element, in particular the strip, may extend only inside the component, i.e. according to the third embodiment, only inside the housing, between the electrical input of the component and the electrical output of the component. It is thus possible, for example, to generate magnetic fluxes having the same direction in a single first leg.

As a variant, in all the preceding, the conductive element, in particular the strip, may comprise at least two alternations of a portion extending inside the component, in particular inside the housing, and a portion extending outside the component, in particular outside the housing. These alternations may allow magnetic fluxes having different directions to be generated in a single first leg.

In all of the foregoing, the conductive elements (particularly the strips) and structures may cooperate to form exactly four inductors. When each inductor is associated with a capacitor, in particular via the above-mentioned projections, the component can obtain a filter of order 8.

However, the invention is not limited to the exact number of inductors formed by the components, and in particular any value in the range of 2 to 10 is possible.

In all of the foregoing, the base and the lid of the structure may each have a rectangular, square or triangular cross-section.

In all of the foregoing, the inductors formed by the components may or may not be mounted in series.

According to another aspect of the invention, the subject of the invention is also a static electric energy converter comprising a component as defined above.

The converter may be a voltage converter. For example, it is a DC/DC voltage converter, which allows for example:

-increasing the 12V voltage to a 48V voltage; or

-increasing the voltage of 300V to a value of 800V.

The cutting frequency of the transducer may be greater than 1kHz, for example comprised in the range 1 to 100kHz, for example in particular about 20 kHz.

When the voltage converter is a 12V/48V converter, the converter may form part of a circuit having: a portion at 48V in electrical communication with the 48V alternator-starter for supplying a portion at 12V of the load of the vehicle on-board network.

When the voltage converter is a 300V/800V converter, the converter may form part of an electrical circuit for exchanging electrical energy between the electrical energy storage unit and an electric motor of a hybrid or electric vehicle, or may form part of an electrical circuit for exchanging electrical energy between an electrical grid external to the vehicle and an on-board electrical energy storage unit of the vehicle.

Also as a variant, the static converter may be an inverter.

According to another aspect of the invention, the subject of the invention is also a circuit for a hybrid or electric vehicle, comprising:

-the above-mentioned converter; and

an electronic board, in particular a printed circuit board, defining a plane, the structure of the above-mentioned components being arranged on both sides of the plane of the board, so that the base of the structure is on one side of the plane and the cover of the structure is on the other side of the plane.

The socket is present, for example, in a board, in particular on a printed circuit board, to allow a structure to pass through the board, for example via the peripheral wall of the structure according to the third embodiment described above.

Drawings

The invention will be better understood by reading the following description of non-limiting embodiments thereof and by consulting the accompanying drawings, in which:

fig. 1 schematically shows a component according to a first embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2 to 5 schematically show different variants of components according to a second embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 6 to 11 schematically show different variants of components according to a third embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 12 and 14 to 16 show a particular embodiment of the component according to fig. 8.

Fig. 13 shows another embodiment of the component according to fig. 8.

Fig. 17 is a circuit model equivalent to the components in fig. 12 to 16. And

fig. 18 shows an example of the assembly of the components according to fig. 12 to 16 on a printed circuit board.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 shows a component 1 according to a first embodiment of the invention. In this case the component 1 forms a number of inductors which are designed to form part of an EMC 12V/48V DC/DC voltage converter filter.

The component 1 comprises:

a structure 2 made of magnetically conductive material; and

a conductive element 3, in this case a conductive strip 3, and defining an electrical input 4 and an electrical output 5 of the component 1. Other examples of conductive elements are possible, such as conductors having a circular cross-section.

In the example considered, the electrical input 4 is designed to be electrically connected, for example, to a 48V nominal voltage electrical energy storage source, and the electrical output 5 is designed to be electrically connected to a switching cell of a 12V/48V DC/DC voltage converter.

In all the examples below, the conductive strip 3 has a flat form and is distinct from a wound wire. The conductive strip 3 is made of copper, for example.

The structure 2 is made of ferrite, for example. In the examples below, the structure is formed by a plurality of different parts assembled to each other. Thus, structure 2 is formed by:

-a base 7;

-a lid 8;

at least one first leg 9 extending continuously between the base 7 and the cover 8, so that the magnetic flux circulating between the base 7 and the cover 8 via this first leg 9 does not pass through any air gap; and

a plurality of second legs 10 extending between the base 7 and the cover 8 such that magnetic flux circulating between the base 7 and the cover 8 via the second legs 10 passes through at least one air gap. In this case, each second leg 10 is dedicated to an inductor.

In the example described, the base 7 and the cover 8 each have a flat surface which defines the end surface of the component 1. The end surfaces may be parallel and have the same form and the same dimensions. The ratio between the height of the component 1, i.e. the distance between the two end faces, and the square root of the area of one of the end faces of the component 1 may be in the range of 0.5 to 1. Thus, the component 1 has a flat form.

In the example of fig. 1, it can be seen that the conductive strip 3 extends straight within the structure 2 between its electrical input 4 and its electrical output 5.

It can also be seen in this example that the structure has three first legs 9 and three second legs 10, and that the cooperation between the strip 3 and the structure 2 defines in this case three successive inductors 12.

The magnetic flux associated with each inductor circulates between the base 7 and the cover 8 first via a first leg 9 dedicated to the inductor and then via a second leg 10 dedicated to the inductor. Thus, according to this first embodiment, the plurality of inductors do not share

legs

9 or 10.

In this first embodiment, each first leg 9 is, for example, made integral with the base 7, and each second leg 10 is, for example, made integral with the base 7. Each air gap present at the second leg 10 may be obtained from the gap present between the end of the second leg facing the cover 8 and the cover 8. This clearance is caused, for example, by the fact that: the first leg 9 extends from the base 7 towards the cover 8 a distance greater than the corresponding distance of the second leg 10. According to a variant, the clearance is due to the surface of the cover 8 having a face facing the base 7, which has, at the first legs 9, projections in contact with these first legs 9, while at these projections there are no second legs 10. According to another variant, this gap can be occupied by a material (for example an adhesive) so that the second leg 10 can be fixed on the cover 8.

According to this first example, it can also be seen that the respective positions of the first branch 9 and the second branch 10 alternate from one inductor 12 to another. So that:

for the inductor 12 closest to the electrical input 4, the first leg 9 is located on the right side of the conductive strip 3 and the second leg 10 is located on the left side of the conductive strip 3 when going along the conductive strip 3 in the direction of the electrical output 5; while

For the inductor 12 immediately following, the first leg 9 is located on the left side of the conductive strip 3 and the second leg 10 is located on the right side of the conductive strip 3 when going along the conductive strip 3 in the direction of the electrical output 5.

A description of various components 1 according to a second embodiment of the invention will now be provided with reference to figures 2 to 5.

According to this second embodiment, the conductive strip 3 no longer extends straight inside the component 1.

According to fig. 2 to 5, the strip 3 extends so as to provide a plurality of going and return portions, and the structure 2 comprises a plurality of first legs 9 and second legs 10.

As can be seen for example in fig. 2, the strip defines a go and return portion, two

successive portions

20 and 21 of the go and return portion of the strip 3 being separated by the first leg 9. Thus, two successive inductors 12 are defined by the cooperation between the strip 3 and the structure 2, namely:

a first inductor 12 at a portion 20 of the strip having an associated magnetic flux circulating between the base 7 and the cover 8 in a first leg 9 and a second leg 10, the second leg 10 framing the portion 20 together with the first leg 9; and

a second inductor 12 at a portion 21 of the strip having an associated magnetic flux circulating in the first leg 9 and the second leg 10 between the base 7 and the cover 8, the second leg 10 framing the portion 21 together with the first leg 9; and

in the example of fig. 4, the strip 3 defines three go and return portions, so that the cooperation between the strip 3 and the structure 2 defines four inductors.

As can be seen in fig. 4, the strip 3 has:

successive go and return portions separated by a first leg 9, corresponding to two inductors; and

successive going and return portions separated by the second leg 10, these successive portions corresponding to a single inductor.

It can also be seen that the two successive inductors thus defined share the first leg 9.

With reference to fig. 6 to 18, various components 1 will now be described according to a third embodiment of the invention.

According to this third embodiment, a plurality of second legs 10 are still provided, and define a peripheral wall. The base 7, the cover 8 and the peripheral wall thus define a housing.

Again according to this third embodiment, there is a single first leg 9 and the magnetic flux associated with each inductor 12 passes through it. The passage of each magnetic flux through the first leg 9 thus constitutes a magnetic circuit without an air gap between the base 7 and the cover 8, thus ensuring the decoupling of the different inductors 12.

Thus, according to this third embodiment, the magnetic flux associated with the inductor circulates through the first leg 9 shared with all the other inductors 12 defined by the component 1 and through the second leg 10 dedicated to this inductor.

In fig. 6 to 9, the first leg 9 is a central beam, which is arranged substantially in the center of the surface facing the base 7 and the cover 8.

As can be seen for example in fig. 6 and 7, the surfaces facing the base 7 and the cover 8 may have the form of a triangle and all the second legs 10 of the structure 2 may be located at the top of the triangle respectively. In the case of fig. 6 and 7, three inductors are defined.

As can also be seen in fig. 8 and 9, as a variant, the surface facing the base 7 and the cover 8 may have a square shape. Also in this case, all the second legs 10 of the structure 2 can be located respectively at the top of the square. In the case of fig. 8 and 9, four inductors are defined.

The form of these surfaces facing the base 7 and the cover 8 is not limited to triangular or square, but it may be another form, such as rectangular as shown in fig. 10 and 11, or another form that is not necessarily polygonal.

In fig. 10 and 11, it can also be seen that the first leg 9 of the component may not be a central beam. In these fig. 10 and 11, the first leg defines an inner wall that may or may not extend entirely along the surface facing the base 7 and cover 8 to define a compartment in the housing. In the case of fig. 10 and 11, six inductors 12 are defined by the cooperation between the strip 3 and the structure 2.

Similarly to what has been described previously, it can also be seen that the strip 3 does not necessarily extend only inside the casing between the electrical input 4 of the component 1 and its electrical output 5.

Thus, in the case of fig. 6, 8 and 10, if the strip 3 extends only inside the casing, in the case of fig. 7, 9 and 11, this strip 3 comprises an alternation of portions only inside the casing and portions only outside the casing.

With reference to fig. 12 to 18, a specific embodiment of the component 1 according to fig. 8 will now be described.

The component 1 thus comprises a structure 2 defining a casing having:

a base 7 made of ferrite and having a square surface, with a lateral dimension of for example 24 mm;

a cover 8 made of ferrite, having square surfaces of the same size;

a peripheral wall formed by the connection of two legs 10, in this case four legs; and

a first single leg 9 forming a central beam for the shell.

It can be seen that the electrical input 4 of the component and the electrical output 5 of the component are on the same face of the housing, the two straight parallel ends of the strip 3 forming the electrical input 4 and the electrical output 5 respectively.

In the example of fig. 12 to 18, the base 7 and each second leg 10 of the housing are made in a single piece, while the cover 8 is a separate part assembled on the peripheral wall.

The peripheral wall of the housing comprises four second legs 10, which in the example depicted are delimited from each other by a cavity 30 provided along the entire height of the peripheral wall.

In the example of fig. 12 and 13, each cavity 30 communicates with an associated cavity 31 formed in the base 7, and extends the cavity 30 at the base.

In the example of fig. 12, but not in fig. 13, each cavity 30 also communicates with an associated cavity 32 formed in the cover 8, and the cavity 30 extends at the cover.

As can also be seen in particular in fig. 14 and 15, in a section parallel to the surfaces facing the base 7 and the cover 8, the central beam forming the first leg 9 may have a substantially square shape, except for an extension 35 provided between the portion of the strip 3 defining the electrical input 4 of the component 1 and the electrical output of this component 1. This extension 35 may extend continuously from the base 7 up to the cover 8 and thus constitute a magnetic screen of the electrical input 4 with respect to the electrical output 5.

Again in fig. 14 and 15, it can be seen that the conductive strip 3 has a series of straight portions extending around the first leg 9 inside the housing.

Due to the cooperation between the conductive strips 3 and the structure made of magnetically permeable material 2, four inductors 12 are formed by the component 1.

The magnetic flux associated with inductor 12 circulates between base 7 and cover 8 as follows:

via the first leg 9, without passing through an air gap; and

via a second leg of the peripheral wall dedicated to the inductor.

The presence of an air gap is obtained for each inductor 12, due to the gap that exists between the cover 8 and the second leg 10 dedicated to this inductor 12.

This gap can be obtained in two ways, for example:

the cover 8 has a face facing the flat peripheral wall and the first leg 9 extends a distance in the direction of this face of the cover 8 which is greater than the distance the peripheral wall extends in the direction of the cover to provide an air gap by this difference in size; or

The cover 8 has a face facing the peripheral wall, which face has a flat peripheral area and a central area projecting towards the first leg 9 relative to the flat peripheral area, the peripheral wall and the first leg 9 extending the same distance in the direction towards the cover to provide an air gap by the absence of a projection at the peripheral area of the face of the cover.

Fig. 15 shows that the strip 3 may comprise, in addition to the part extending around the first leg 9, a projection 40 extending through the peripheral wall towards the outside of the housing. For example, each projection 40 passes through a cavity 30 that extends beyond the cavity 30 to electrically connect to capacitors 41, which are highly schematically represented in fig. 16. It can be seen that two additional capacitors 41 are provided, one capacitor being connected to the electrical input 4 of the component and the other capacitor being connected to the electrical output 5 of the component.

Fig. 17 shows an equivalent circuit to the component in fig. 16, taking into account the electrical strip 3 between the electrical input 4 of the component 1 and the electrical output 5 of the component 1. It can be seen that this component makes it possible to obtain an LC filter of order 8, in which the inductor 12 is provided by cooperation between the strip 3 and the structure 2, and the capacitor 41 is connected between the strip 3 and ground.

The component 1 just described with reference to fig. 1 to 17 is assembled, for example, on a printed circuit board 50, the structures 2 of which are arranged on both sides of the plane defined by the printed circuit board 50, as will now be described in fig. 12 to 17 for the specific case of a housing.

The socket 45 is arranged in the printed circuit board such that each of the second and

first legs

10, 9 can pass through the printed circuit board 50. The two legs 10 and the first leg 9 are then introduced through the sockets 45 so that the base 7, which is integral with the two

legs

9 and 10, is arranged on one side of the printed circuit board 50. The strip 3 can be fixed to the side of the printed circuit board 50 that defines this side, in particular by soldering. Then, the cover 8 is assembled on the first leg 9 and the second leg 10 from the other side of the printed circuit board 50.

The cover 8 is assembled on the peripheral wall, for example by means of an adhesive 52, the adhesive 52 being for example an adhesive of the type such as "eco bond D125F", which is applied to the ends of these second legs 10 facing the cover 8. The previously mentioned gap in order to define the air gap is therefore wholly or partly occupied by the adhesive.

As mentioned before, a possible application of the invention is used for producing EMC filters for 12V/48V DC/DC voltage converters.

Claims

1. A component (1) forming at least two inductors (12), the component (1) comprising:

structure (2) made of magnetically conductive material, comprising: a base (7); a cover (8); at least one first leg (9) extending continuously between the base (7) and the cover (8); and at least two second legs (10), each second leg (10) extending between the base (7) and the cover (8) such that magnetic flux circulating between the base (7) and the cover (8) via the second leg (10) passes through at least one air gap; and

a conductive element (3) defining an electrical input (4) of the component and an electrical output (5) of the component;

the conductive element (3) and the structure (2) cooperate to define at least two inductors (12), each inductor (12) having a magnetic flux circulating between the base (7) and the cover (8) in:

in the first leg (9); and

in a second leg (10) dedicated to the inductor (12),

the base (7) and the cover (8) do not belong to the same part of a single piece.

2. The component of claim 1, said first leg (9) being made integral with at least one of said base (7) and said cover (8).

3. The component of claim 1 or 2, the first leg (9) being void of an inner cavity.

4. The component of any one of claims 1 to 3, the conductive element (3) extending straight and the structure (2) comprising at least two first legs (9), the magnetic flux associated with each inductor circulating between the base (7) and the cover (8) in:

in a first leg (9) dedicated to said inductor (12); and

in a second leg (10) dedicated to the inductor (12).

5. A component according to any one of claims 1 to 3, the conductive element (3) extending to provide at least one go and return portion, two successive portions (20,21) of the element (3) going and return portion being separated by a first leg (9), the first leg (9) being traversed by the magnetic flux associated with each of the two inductors (12).

6. The component of any one of claims 1 to 3, the second leg (10) defining a peripheral wall of the component, such that the base (7), the cover (8) and the peripheral wall together define a housing of the component (1), the structure (2) comprising a single first leg (9), and the magnetic flux associated with each inductor (12) circulating between the base and the cover in:

in the first leg (9); and

in a second leg (10) dedicated to the inductor.

7. The component of claim 6, said peripheral wall being made in a single piece with at least one of said base (7) and said cover (8).

8. A component according to any one of claims 6 to 7, each air gap being provided by a gap between the peripheral wall of the housing and the cover (8).

9. Component according to any one of claims 6 to 8, at least one cavity (30) being provided in the peripheral wall so as to delimit two second legs (10) between the cavities.

10. The component of claim 9, the conductive element (3) comprising at least one protrusion (40) extending into the cavity (30), the protrusion (40) being connectable to a capacitor (41) so as to form an LC filter.

11. Component according to any one of the preceding claims, the base (7) and the cover (8) having the same form, in particular polygonal form, and the ratio of the height of the component to the square root of the area of the base being less than 1.

12. Component according to one of the preceding claims, the electrically conductive element (3) extending only inside the component (1), in particular inside the housing, between an electrical input (4) of the component and an electrical output (5) of the component.

13. Component according to any one of claims 1 to 11, the conductive element (3) comprising at least two alternations of a portion extending inside the component, in particular inside the housing, and a portion extending outside the component, in particular outside the housing.

14. The component of any preceding claim, the conductive element (3) and the structure (2) cooperating to define exactly four inductors.

15. A voltage converter, in particular a DC/DC voltage converter, in particular a 12V/48V DC/DC voltage converter, comprising a component according to any of the preceding claims.

16. A circuit for a hybrid or electric vehicle, comprising:

the converter of claim 15; and

an electronic board (50), in particular a printed circuit board, defining a plane, the structure (2) of the component being arranged on both sides of the plane of the board, so that the base (7) of the structure is on one side of the plane and the cover (8) of the structure is on the other side of the plane.

17. Circuit according to claim 16, in which board (50) there are sockets (45) to allow the structure (2), in particular the peripheral wall of the structure, to pass through the board.