DE102019102333A1 - Housings for electrical and / or electronic components - Google Patents

Abstract

Housing 100 for on a first printed circuit board 110 equipped with electrical and / or electronic components 111, with at least one plastic plate 12, which has recesses 121 for accommodating the components 111, the first printed circuit board 110 and the plastic plate 12 being arranged one above the other and glued to one another, and Method for producing the housing 100. The housing 100 is particularly suitable for production in small quantities and / or of prototypes, in particular a measuring device for monitoring the operating state of a device.

Description

The invention relates to a housing for electrical and / or electronic components and a method for producing such a housing. The invention relates in particular to a housing for a printed circuit board equipped with electrical and / or electronic components. The invention further relates to an electronic measuring device with a projecting housing according to the invention.

Such housings are in particular also required to protect the printed circuit board with its components and are often manufactured independently of the printed circuit board. The provision of such independent housings and, in particular, their assembly with printed circuit boards represents a considerable outlay which has a corresponding effect on the production costs.

State of the art

The DE 10 2004 024 718 A1 in the knowledge of the above circumstances, proposes a housing for a printed circuit board equipped with electrical components, which is provided by injection molding. An injection molded material body forming the housing is produced using an injection molding tool. However, the provision of an injection mold is associated with considerable effort and is accordingly expensive. Such a housing is therefore economically viable for mass production, while its manufacturing costs in small quantities are disproportionately expensive.

Task

The object of the invention is to provide a housing for electrical and / or electronic components, which can also be produced inexpensively in small quantities, and to specify a corresponding method for producing a projecting housing.

The object is solved by the features of the independent claims.

Advantageous embodiments of the invention are specified in the subclaims and / or the following description.

The present invention relates in particular to a housing for a first printed circuit board equipped with electrical and / or electronic components with at least one plastic plate which has recesses for accommodating the components, wherein
the first printed circuit board and the plastic plate are arranged one above the other and glued to one another by means of a suitable adhesive.

An inexpensive first circuit board, which can be easily equipped with components using conventional methods, can advantageously be provided by means of a single-layer or multi-layer standard circuit board.

The plastic plate is arranged in a template-like manner on the first printed circuit board, the recesses formed in the plastic plate housing the components. The recesses are suitably formed as through holes by milling in the plastic plate. Predetermined recesses can also extend to a lateral edge of the plastic plate. This allows the provision of externally accessible lateral connections to the electrics and / or electronics inside the housing.

Such a protruding housing is of particularly compact design, the plastic plate suitably having a thickness that is greater than the maximum height of the components, so that when the plastic plate is arranged on the first printed circuit board, no component projects beyond the plastic plate.

The plastic plate can advantageously be provided by means of at least one second printed circuit board. An above-mentioned desirable thickness of the plastic plate can be achieved in a simple manner by selecting a predetermined number of second printed circuit boards arranged one above the other in a modular manner. The second printed circuit boards arranged one above the other are glued to one another and in this way form a plastic plate with a predetermined thickness.

A suitable second circuit board can in particular also be provided inexpensively by means of a copper-less standard circuit board, which is industrially available as standard with a thickness of 0.5 mm to 3.2 mm.

In this way, the possibility is created to construct the housing advantageously modularly, according to which an optimized housing suitable for many applications and designs can be constructed in a particularly simple manner by means of electronics CAD. A total of 2.5D design scope is available for this, although no separate 3D construction software is required for the housing design.

The housing according to the invention can also suitably one on the Have plastic plate arranged and glued to the plastic plate cover, which can be provided by means of at least a third circuit board.

Like the second printed circuit board, the third printed circuit board can suitably be a copper-free standard printed circuit board and, like the second printed circuit board, can be constructed using electronics CAD. The cover or the third circuit board can have recesses for externally accessible connections to the electrical and / or electronic components.

The recesses in the plastic plate or in the second printed circuit boards and in the cover or in the third printed circuit board can be formed in a suitable manner by means of milling as holes passing through the second printed circuit boards and the third printed circuit board.

By gluing the first, second and third circuit boards, the housing is watertight and the electronics and / or electrics housed in the housing with their components are desirably protected against environmental influences.

The recesses in the plastic plate or the second printed circuit boards glued together can be encapsulated with plastic, so that the first printed circuit board and the components arranged in the recesses are also protected against vibrations. A synthetic resin suitable for casting the recesses can be, for example, epoxy resin.

The plastic plate or the second printed circuit boards, like the third printed circuit board, can be provided inexpensively, as mentioned above, by means of advantageously simple printed circuit boards on which no copper is required. FR4 circuit boards are particularly suitable for this purpose, as they enable a particularly stable and fireproof housing.

For example, superglue can be used advantageously as a suitable adhesive.

The first printed circuit board can be equipped with components on one side, wherein the non-equipped side of the first printed circuit board can suitably be a wall of the housing. In this way, a particularly simple housing consisting of advantageously a few components, namely the first printed circuit board and the plastic plate, is provided, which is correspondingly inexpensive.

The first printed circuit board can also be equipped with components on both sides and can be arranged in a sandwich-like manner between two plastic plates with corresponding recesses which each accommodate the components. A first printed circuit board suitable for this can in particular be an SMD printed circuit board. Such a housing also has a particularly simple structure and is also correspondingly inexpensive to manufacture.

An above housing according to the invention is therefore advantageously of modular construction and assembly, the housing also being able to have a multiplicity of first printed circuit boards equipped with components, with a corresponding number of plastic plates with recesses for accommodating the components.

A housing according to the invention described above is therefore particularly simple and inexpensive to produce in a modular fashion, also optimized for many applications. In particular, due to its modular structure, a projecting housing allows a high degree of flexibility in the fast and inexpensive adaptation or optimization of a design which is fundamental for the housing to a predetermined selected application. Such a housing according to the invention is therefore particularly advantageous for the production of prototypes and small series.

The present invention accordingly also relates in particular to a method for producing a protruding housing, in which a first printed circuit board is selected and designed in a first step and in a second step the first printed circuit board is equipped with electrical and / or electronic components provided for it.

As stated above, depending on the application, a single or multi-layer standard printed circuit board can be selected as the first printed circuit board, which can be designed and equipped using electronics CAD in a simple and inexpensive manner, and which can be a suitable SMD printed circuit board.

In a third step of the method, a plastic plate with recesses for accommodating the components is also constructed and manufactured using electronics CAD, by appropriately milling the recesses continuously into the plastic plate.

The plastic plate can be provided in a particularly simple manner by means of at least one suitably selected copperless second printed circuit board with correspondingly designed and milled recesses. In this way, a desirable thickness of the plastic plate for accommodating the components having a maximum height can be set particularly easily by means of a predetermined number of second printed circuit boards arranged one above the other and glued to one another. One optimized for many different applications designed housing is easily possible in this way.

The recesses in the plastic plate or in the second circuit boards can be suitably designed using electronics CAD and formed by milling.

In a fourth step, the plastic plate is arranged on the first printed circuit board and glued to the first printed circuit board, the components of which are accommodated in the recesses in the plastic plate. The plastic plate covers the first circuit board like a template.

The recesses in the plastic plate or in the second circuit boards can also be cast in a further step together with the components arranged in them with plastic, after which the housing and in particular also the first circuit board with its components in particular are effectively protected against vibrations. As stated above, a resin suitable for potting may, for example, and advantageously be an epoxy resin.

In a further step, the plastic plate can be provided with a cover, the cover being able to be provided in a suitable manner by means of at least one third printed circuit board. The third circuit board can also be modified particularly advantageously in a simple manner by means of electronics CAD for many applications and can be constructed in a correspondingly optimized manner. Continuous recesses can also be formed in the third circuit board by means of milling in particular for predetermined connections for the electrics and / or electronics of the housed components.

Using a method described above, a housing for electrical and / or electronic components described in the introduction, in particular in small series or a prototype, can be produced inexpensively and in a simple and flexible manner.

The essential components of the housing used in the method are namely industrially available as standard. Standard circuit boards can be selected with a thickness of 0.5 mm to 3.2 mm and can be designed inexpensively using electronics CAD.

In addition, the first and / or second and / or third printed circuit board can also be manufactured from a multi-use printed circuit board, which is particularly advantageous for the production of the second and third printed circuit boards for small series or for a prototype of a housing according to the invention. In particular, the third circuit board for covering the housing and / or the second circuit boards forming the plastic plate can also be provided inexpensively in one step in this way.

Of course, the side edges of the housing can be post-treated in a further step using grinding tools and / or side coatings with suitable plastics and / or dyes.

Furthermore, particularly because of the modularity of the housing according to the invention, the method can be inexpensively adapted in a simple manner for an optimized further prototype of a first prototype with a correspondingly slightly modified housing.

A protruding housing according to the invention and a method for producing it described above are particularly suitable for a hardware and software-based measuring device for monitoring the operating state of a device with at least one sensor for recording measurement data of at least one physical parameter that characterizes the operating state of the device, wherein the measuring device for attachment to the device to be monitored is provided for retrofitting and is configured accordingly, and the measuring device has an autonomous electronics with a control unit and a means for energy supply and a microcontroller which has a radio interface for data and / or signal transmission to a control device. and / or provides evaluation device.

A device to be monitored can be, for example, a machine and / or a control cabinet and / or a connector and / or a larger installation unit of a plurality of connectors, for example. For this purpose, it is desirable that a measuring device suitable for the device can have a housing which is in particular also optimized for its attachment to the device. For example, and advantageously, a housing can be designed to correspond to a blind plug provided for a cable bushing that is not used.

In addition, a protruding measuring device can be optimized for many applications with different devices to be monitored, starting from a basic, respectively modified design.

For example, it may be desirable to have such a measuring device for monitoring a work machine, which can also be mobile, and / or a control cabinet and / or a electrical connector or larger installation units with suitable sensors and / or with a respectively optimized control unit and / or an optimized radio interface and / or an optimized means for energy supply.

Here, a protruding measuring device can have at least one sensor which is suitable for many applications and which detects a physical parameter which is suitable for characterizing an operating state of a device to be monitored.

Such a sensor can be a sensor for detecting the current intensity, which is conducted via contacts of an electrical connection, and / or a temperature sensor and / or a moisture sensor and / or an acceleration sensor and / or a Hall sensor and / or a magnet sensor and / or a light sensor. A protruding measuring device can also have a plurality of such protruding sensors.

For example, a measuring device having a light sensor can advantageously have a recess in its housing suitable for the light sensor, while a measuring device having only an acceleration sensor does not require such a recess in its housing.

When using the measuring device to monitor a larger installation unit, the measuring device can have at least one connection for an external antenna for a desirable range of its radio interface, which is accessible from outside the housing of the measuring device.

For the above application, a housing is desirable which has a corresponding recess for the antenna connection. A measuring device designed for other applications, such as monitoring the operating state of a connector, on the other hand, can only have a chip antenna, according to which the housing does not require such a recess.

Furthermore, the means for supplying energy to the measuring device can be a battery and / or a supercapacitor and / or a hybrid battery. It may also be desirable to adapt the battery capacity and / or the volume of the battery to the respective application, after which the housing of the measuring device must also be adapted accordingly.

A measuring device according to the invention can furthermore have a basic design of its electronics, which is adapted in each case in accordance with a predetermined application and / or device to be monitored.

As explained above, a measuring device according to the invention can be optimized in a configuration modified for many applications and / or devices to be monitored, according to which a housing according to the invention described at the beginning is particularly advantageous for such a measuring device.

A housing according to the invention can namely, as also explained at the outset, be produced in a simple manner at low cost in small series, in particular also in a design modified for prototypes and / or for predetermined applications. The modifications can be provided in a simple and inexpensive manner, in particular by simply varying the thickness of the plastic plate or the number of second printed circuit boards of the housing arranged one above the other and / or the formation of the recesses in the second printed circuit boards and / or the third printed circuit board.

Embodiments

• 1 A einen schematischen Schnitt durch ein Gehäuse nach einer Ausführung der Erfindung;
• 1 B eine vergrößerte Darstellung eines Ausschnitts von 1A;
• 2A eine Draufsicht auf eine Messeinrichtung mit einem Gehäuse nach einer Ausführung der Erfindung; und
• 2B das Gehäuse der Messeinrichtung von 2A in seine wesentlichen Bestandteile zerlegt.

Exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown in the drawings and are explained in more detail below. Show it:

• 1 A a schematic section through a housing according to an embodiment of the invention;
• 1 B an enlarged view of a section of 1A ;
• 2A a plan view of a measuring device with a housing according to an embodiment of the invention; and
• 2 B the housing of the measuring device from 2A broken down into its essential components.

The figures contain partially simplified, schematic representations. Identical reference numerals are sometimes used for identical, but possibly not identical elements. Different views of the same elements could be scaled differently.

1A shows a schematic section through a housing 100 according to an embodiment of the invention and 1B shows an enlarged view of the detail A of the housing 100 from 1A .

The housing 100 has one on both sides with electrical and / or electronic components 111 populated first circuit board 110 on the sandwiched between two plastic plates 12th is arranged.
The first circuit board 110 is using a suitable plastic with the two plastic plates 12th glued.

In the plastic sheets 12th are recesses 121 trained, each with the arrangement and design of the components 111 so corresponding that the components 111 in the recesses 121 of the plastic plates 12th are accommodated. The recesses 121 can use one or more components 111 accommodate.

In 1A is only one recess for the sake of simplicity and clarity 121 in the plastic plates 12th and one in a recess 121 housed component 111 provided with a corresponding reference number.

The components 111 can be electrical and / or electronic elements of any predetermined electrical and / or electronic device, which can be provided in particular for production in small series and / or as a prototype.

On the upper plastic plate in the drawing 12th is a cover 13 of the housing 100 arranged while the lower plastic plate 12th has no cover. The cover 13 is with the top plastic plate 12th glued. The component 111 in the recess 121 the lower plastic plate 12th is therefore from outside the housing 100 accessible while the other components 111 and recesses 121 from the cover 13 are covered.

The plastic plates 12th each have a thickness D that is greater than the maximum height H the one in their recesses 121 housed components 111 . This is a case 100 provided with a predetermined compact design, which is essentially due to the spatial shape of the first circuit board 110 and the components 111 is specified.

The first circuit board 110 can suitably be a single or multi-layer standard circuit board and in particular an SMD circuit board.

The plastic plates 12th with the respective predetermined thickness D are each by means of a predetermined number of second printed circuit boards arranged one above the other and glued to one another 120 provided. The fat D the top plastic plate 12th comes with two second circuit boards 120 provided while the lower plastic plate 12th four second circuit boards 120 having.

As the cover 13 can a third circuit board 130 be provided.

The second circuit boards 120 and the third circuit board 130 can be suitably provided by means of a copper-free FR4 standard circuit board with a predetermined thickness of 0.5 mm to 3.2 mm in particular. FR4 is particularly stable and fireproof and for a robust and durable housing 100 particularly suitable.

By means of the glued first 110, second 120 and third 130 printed circuit boards with a suitable plastic there is a waterproof housing 100 provided. A suitable adhesive can be, for example, super glue.

The recesses 121 are through holes in the plastic plates 12th or in the second circuit boards 120 milled.
The recesses 121 in the top plastic plate 12th can be cast using a suitable plastic, which can be epoxy resin, so that a particularly robust housing 100 is also provided against vibrations.

The uncovered recess 121 the lower plastic plate 12th can, for example, house a battery holder with a battery, which is exposed to replace the battery and is accessible from the outside.

2A shows a top view of a hardware and software based measuring device 1 with a housing 100 according to an embodiment of the invention, and 2 B shows the measuring device 1 from 2A broken down into its essential components for better understanding.

The housing 100 the measuring device 1 like reference above 1A and 1B execution described a with components 111 populated first circuit board 110 on that sandwiched between two plastic sheets 12th with continuous recesses 121 is arranged. The plastic plates 12th of the housing 100 the measuring device 1 are also by means of a predetermined number of superposed and glued together second circuit boards 120 provided. The top plastic plate 12th is with a cover 13 provided and glued by means of a third circuit board 130 is provided.

The housing 100 houses electronics 10th the measuring device 1 who have a control unit 11 having. The first circuit board 110 is with the electrical and electronic components 111 of electronics 10th equipped for the sake of clarity and simplicity 2 B different from in 1A and 1B not on the first circuit board 110 are shown.

In 2 B is on the first circuit board 110 already a plastic plate 12th with their recesses 121 arranged at their intended position, the plastic plate 12th by means of two second printed circuit boards arranged one above the other and glued together 120 is provided. The above upper plastic plate 12th has several recesses 121 for housing components 111 of electronics 10th on, for simplicity and clarity only one of the recesses 121 is provided with a reference number.

One of the recesses 121 extends to a side edge of the plastic plate 12th and is intended for external connection. The recesses 121 can be encapsulated with the components housed in them and not shown in the drawing with a suitable plastic, which can be an epoxy resin.

The recess provided with a reference symbol 121 the above plastic plate 12th is also intended for connecting the electronics to the outside and corresponds to one in the cover 13 trained recess 131 . The above connection is for one in 2A shown antenna of the measuring device 1 intended.

In the in 2 B from the first circuit board 110 shown further plastic plate spaced 12th is only a central recess 121 to house a battery holder for a battery 14 trained as a means of energy supply. The battery holder is the only one to populate the first circuit board 110 intended component 111 shown in the drawing.

The plastic plate 12th with the central recess 121 to accommodate the battery holder has six second circuit boards 120 and has a thickness that is greater than the height of the battery holder. The above lower plastic plate 12th is with no cover 13 provided so that the battery holder to replace the battery 14 is accessible from the outside.

The first circuit board 110 , the two plastic plates 12th and the cover 13 point next to the recesses 121 and 131 two further circular recesses opposite each other at their lateral edges, each of which are designed and arranged to correspond to one another and through holes through the housing 100 form. The holes are for screws for fastening the measuring device as intended 1 intended.

The measuring device 1 can in particular a measuring device 1 for monitoring the operating state of a device with at least one sensor for recording measurement data of at least one physical parameter, which characterizes the operating state of the device to be monitored. The housing is as described above 100 the measuring device 1 for retrofitting the measuring device 1 suitably designed in particular on the device to be monitored.

With electronics 10th it is suitably a self-sufficient electronics 10th that use a battery as a means of energy supply 14 , the control unit 11 and has a microcontroller that provides a radio interface for data and / or signal transmission to a control and / or evaluation device.

The housing 100 the measuring device 1 is with the circuit boards 110 , 120 and 130 modularly constructed and can accordingly, as described at the outset, starting from a basic design for predetermined applications of the measuring device 1 be produced inexpensively modified.

Even if different aspects or features of the invention are shown in each case in combination in the figures, unless otherwise stated, it is obvious to the person skilled in the art that the combinations shown and discussed are not the only possible ones. In particular, corresponding units or feature complexes from different exemplary embodiments can be exchanged with one another.

Reference list

1

Measuring device

100

casing

10th

electronics

11

Control unit

110

first circuit board

111

Component

12th

Plastic plate

120

second circuit board

121

Recess

13

cover

130

third circuit board

131

Recess

14

Battery, means of energy supply

A

Neckline

H

height

D

thickness

QUOTES INCLUDE IN THE DESCRIPTION

This list of documents listed by the applicant has been generated automatically and is only included 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 102004024718 A1 [0003]

Claims (14)

Housing (100) for on a first printed circuit board (110) equipped with electrical and / or electronic components (111) at least one plastic plate (12) which has recesses (121) for accommodating the components (111), the first printed circuit board (110) and the plastic plate (12) being arranged one above the other and glued to one another. Housing (100) after Claim 1 The first printed circuit board (110) is equipped with components (111) on one side and its non-equipped side can be a wall of the housing (100). Housing (100) after Claim 1 with two plastic plates (12), the first printed circuit board (110) being equipped on both sides with components (111) and being sandwiched between the plastic plates (12). Housing (100) according to one of the Claims 1 to 3rd , wherein the components (111) have a maximum height (H) and the plastic plate (12) has a thickness (D) that is greater than the height (H), so that no component (111) over the plastic plate (12) protrudes. Housing (100) according to one of the Claims 1 to 4th , wherein the plastic plate (12) is provided by means of at least one second printed circuit board (120), and wherein the plastic plate (12) can be provided by means of a plurality of second printed circuit boards (120) arranged one above the other. Housing (100) according to one of the Claims 1 to 5 with at least one cover (13) arranged on a plastic plate (12), which can be provided by means of at least one third printed circuit board (130). Housing (100) according to one of the Claims 1 to 6 , wherein the recesses (121) and the components (111) arranged in the recesses (121) are potted with plastic. Housing (100) according to one of the Claims 1 to 7 with a multiplicity of first printed circuit boards (110) and with a multiplicity of plastic plates (12). Method for producing a housing (100) according to one of the Claims 1 to 8th with the steps: selection and design of a first circuit board (110) and assembly of the first circuit board (110) with components (111); Providing at least one plastic plate (12) with recesses (121) for accommodating the components (111); Arrangement of the plastic plate (12) on the first circuit board (11), the components (111) being accommodated in the recesses (121) and the plastic plate (12) being glued to the first circuit board (11). Procedure according to Claim 9 , wherein the plastic plate (12) is provided with a cover (13) which is provided by means of at least a third printed circuit board (130). Procedure according to Claim 9 or 10th , The recesses (121) and the components (111) arranged in the recesses (121) being cast with plastic. Procedure according to one of the Claims 9 to 11 , wherein the plastic plate (12) is provided by means of at least one selected and designed second printed circuit board (120), and wherein the plastic plate (12) can be provided by means of a predetermined number of second printed circuit boards (120) arranged one above the other and glued together. Hardware and software supported measuring device (1) with a housing (100) according to one of the Claims 1 to 8th for monitoring the operating state of a device with at least one sensor for recording measurement data of at least one physical parameter that characterizes the operating state of the device, the measuring device (1) being retrofittable for attachment to the device to be monitored, and wherein the measuring device (1) has autonomous electronics (10) with a control unit (11) and a means for energy supply (14) and a microcontroller, which provides a radio interface for data and / or signal transmission to a control and / or evaluation device. Measuring device (1) Claim 13 , wherein the housing (100) of the measuring device (1) using a method according to one of the Claims 9 to 12th is made.

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