EP1734621B1 - Device and method for electrically coupling an electronic circuit in a housing - Google Patents

Description

STATE OF THE ART

The present invention relates to an arrangement for the electrical connection of an electronic circuit in a housing, in particular in a hermetically sealed housing, which is in electrical connection with at least one connection element, and a corresponding method.

Electronic circuits must be protected against environmental influences, especially in applications in vehicles. One type of such protection are hermetically sealed housings, which are currently available in different designs. One embodiment of such a hermetic housing has a base plate, through which connection pins are inserted for the electrical connection of the circuit located inside the housing. The connection pins, which are also referred to as connection elements, are used during production in receiving bores of the base plate with a glass blank. By melting the glass at appropriate temperatures and then cooling it creates a dense electrically isolated bond between the pins and the base plate. The pins are electrically connected to the electronic circuit in a known manner, such as by bonding. Then, the base plate with the circuit disposed thereon is closed by a lid, which is sealed under a protective atmosphere with the base plate, whereby a hermetically sealed housing is formed.

The pins protruding outward from the base plate are usually round solid wires made of certain materials that are suitable for glass remelting. They are connected outside of the hermetically sealed housing to electrical line elements, such as electrical busbars by means of laser welding or soldering.

The electrical busbars connect to peripheral devices such as sensors, actuators, plugs of the vehicle. Other cable connections, for example in the vehicle wiring harness, have previously been formed by flat ribbon cables (Flexible Flat Cable or FFC).

Out EP 820119 is the connection of a ceiling light on a vehicle roof to a device for power supply known. The housing of the ceiling light has on its back outstanding contact pins for connection to the power supply. By means of clamping connections, a first and an attached second line element are contacted with the contact pins. The first line element is a conductor bundle or a flexible circuit with conductor tracks, which is connected to evt. Other electrical devices on the vehicle roof. The second line element comprises power supply cable with attached at the ends eyelets with clamping straps. Before attaching the eyelets to the contact pins for connecting the ceiling light to the power supply, the eyelets are laterally inserted into receiving channels of a connector made of a plastic. By means of the connector, the first line element and the second line element are electrically isolated from each other. An insulation of the first conduit member to the housing is not provided.

GB 2341485 describes a method for contacting line elements with contact pins protruding from a housing. Specifically, an alignment element is placed over the connection elements between the housing and the line elements for this purpose. The alignment serves as an alignment aid for the correct positioning of the contact pins to each other. Thus can be welded at right angles to it at the end defined line elements.

The arrangement according to the invention for the electrical connection of an electronic circuit in a housing, in particular in a hermetically sealed housing, which is in electrical connection with at least one connection element, in contrast, creates a more cost-effective connection concept in that ribbon cables can be connected as line elements.

Another advantage is that the connection of the ribbon cables takes place in a simple manner, the geometry selected allows a compact design. Furthermore, a protection of the terminal against electrical short circuits and bridges, for example, starting from conductive chips, easy to implement.

An arrangement according to the invention for the electrical connection of an electronic circuit in a housing, in particular in a hermetically sealed housing, which is in electrical connection with at least one connection element, has the features of the independent claim 1:

In one embodiment, the contact portions and / or the connection elements are formed such that the contact portions for forming the electrical connection of the connection elements are penetrable. For this purpose, it is preferred that the contact portions are provided with at least one recess and / or an incision, and / or that the connection elements are provided with a formed for penetrating the contact portions tip and / or cutting edge. As a result, it is advantageously simply possible for the contact sections of a line element to be able to be applied to the connection elements in one work step and for an electrical connection to be simultaneously produced between the connection element and the line element by means of penetration. In this case, it is furthermore advantageous that the contact sections of the line elements do not have to be stripped.

In another embodiment, the connection elements are connected to the corresponding contact sections by welding, preferably laser welding.

A further embodiment provides that the contact sections and / or the connection elements are formed such that the electrical connection is formed by a press-in connection in the form of an insulation displacement connection or "speed-groove" connection. Again, a stripping of the line elements is not required.

According to the invention, a layer of an electrically insulating material surrounding the connection elements is applied in the connection section. This layer advantageously has several functions. The surface of the layer is formed parallel to the surface of the base plate at a distance and forms with respect to the base plate an insulating support for the conduit element. Thus, it is possible to use line elements with stripped contact sections.

For easy and quick positioning, the line element has positioning openings, which interact with pins arranged in the connection section. The layer applied in the connection section has the function of positioning the pins and thus positioning the line element.

In a preferred embodiment, the cover has openings that cooperate with the pins. The cover is applied to the terminal portion. In this case, the layer in the connection section serves in other functions: Through this layer, a positioning of the cover and at the same time its attachment to the layer is made possible.

It is of particular advantage that the line element is a flat cable (Flexible Flat Cable, FFC), a flexible printed circuit board, a stamped grid or a plastic extrusion-coated stamped grid. A ribbon cable can be easily processed for connection to the connection elements advantageous. It is also used for the wiring harness in the vehicle and thus does not form a new component, wherein a stamped grid can be omitted as a conduit element with elaborate processing or preparation. However, a punched grid with or without plastic extrusion is also usable. Flexible printed circuit boards are also used as line elements. Thus, an advantageous versatility is possible.

An inventive method for connecting an electronic circuit in a housing, in particular in a hermetically sealed housing, which is in electrical connection with at least one connection element, comprises the method steps S1-S3 of independent claim 11:

• (S2-1) Positionieren des Leitungselementes auf der Schicht durch Stifte, die mit Positionieröffnungen in dem Leitungselement zusammenwirken; und
• (S2-2) Durchstoßen der Kontaktabschnitte mit den Anschlusselementen oder Einpressen der Anschlusselemente in Ausnehmungen bzw. Einschnitte der Kontaktabschnitte.

In a preferred embodiment, the method step (S2) has the following substeps:

• (S2-1) positioning the conduit member on the layer by pins cooperating with positioning apertures in the conduit member; and
• (S2-2) piercing the contact portions with the connection elements or pressing the connection elements in recesses or cuts of the contact portions.

This allows a simple and inexpensive connection of the circuit to peripheral devices via the line element. In this case, it is particularly advantageous that in method step (S3) the connection is made by cold contacting of the connection elements with the contact sections.

In another embodiment, the connection of the connection elements with the contact sections in method step (S3) is carried out by welding, preferably laser welding.

It is advantageous that the cover is applied after connection via the connection point. In this case, the layer fulfills two further functions, namely a positioning of the cover and a fastening for the cover, preferably by hot calking. The cover is made of plastic and protects the electrical connection point from short circuits and bridge formation, for example, starting from chips.

Further advantages, details and features of the invention can be found in the subsequent description part and the drawings.

DRAWINGS

The invention will be explained in more detail with reference to the embodiments specified in the figures of the drawing.

FIG. 1

eine perspektivische Explosionsdarstellung eines Ausführungsbeispiel einer erfindungsgemäßen Anordnung mit einem Gehäuse mit zwei Anschlussabschnitten;

FIG. 2

eine vergrößerte Darstellung eines Ausschnitts eines Anschlussbereichs nach FIG. 1;

FIG. 3

Draufsichten verschiedener Stanzkonturen von Kontaktabschnitten; und

FIG. 4

eine perspektivische Darstellung des Ausführungsbeispiel nach FIG. 1 im zusammengebauten Zustand.

It shows:

FIG. 1

an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of an inventive arrangement with a housing with two connection sections;

FIG. 2

an enlarged view of a section of a connection area after FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 3

Plan views of different punched contours of contact sections; and

FIG. 4

a perspective view of the embodiment according to FIG. 1 in the assembled state.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT

In Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of an inventive arrangement with a housing 1 with two connection sections 5 shown.

It is shown the state before assembly of the terminal assembly, wherein the reference numeral 3 line elements are designated, which are shown only schematically and not in their full length.

In this example, the housing 1 is hermetically sealed with a base plate 2 by a weld. Inside the housing 1 is an electronic circuit, not shown, which is protected by the housing 1 from environmental influences, for example in a motor vehicle. The electronic circuit is electrically connected to connection elements 10, which are arranged in the connection sections 5 in terminal rows 11. The connecting elements 10 are made of round solid wires, which are introduced through the base plate 2 in insulation 18. The insulation 18 are in this example glass passages, which are formed by remelting after insertion of the connection elements 10 of glass blanks and isolate the connection elements 10 relative to the base plate 2 and fasten.

The electrical circuit in the interior of the housing 1 is electrically connected to the connection elements 10, for example via bonding wires, wherein the connection elements 10 form the outer terminals of the electronic circuit.

The connection elements 10 arranged in the connection sections 5 are surrounded by a layer 19 which fills the connection sections 5 in each case in a specific thickness or thickness. The application of this layer 19 is carried out according to the invention by spraying / casting a plastic material which surrounds the connection elements 10 and has a surface which extends at a distance parallel to the surface of the base plate 2.

This layer 19 has a plurality of functions, which will be explained below with reference to a connection section 5.

First, the surface of the layer 19 forms a support for the line element 3, which is formed in this example as a ribbon cable with a contact row 12. The contact row 12 has contact portions 14 (see Fig. 2 ) at the ends of printed conductors 13. These contact portions 14 are provided for electrical connection with the connection elements 10 for the formation of terminals, which will be described in more detail below.

The conduit member 3 is provided with positioning holes 9 which cooperate with pins 6. These pins 6 are arranged on the base plate 2 on the outside of the connection sections 5 together with further pins 7 on the inside of the connection sections 5 within the layer 19. Here, the layer 19 forms the further function of the positioning of the pins 6, 7.

Another function of the layer 19 is to isolate the line elements 3 in the assembled state of the terminal assembly relative to the base plate 2. Previously, the conduit element 3 is applied to the layer 19 by means of the pins 6 and the corresponding positioning holes 9 with a suitable tool, wherein the contact portions 14 are electrically connected to the connection elements 10, as will be described below. Thereafter, the terminal portion 5 is covered with a cover 4 and thus protected from short circuits and bridging, which can be caused for example by chips, which cause such by resting on the uninsulated connection elements 10.

The covers 4 have openings 8, which are arranged in the same way as the pins 6, 7 and in which the pins 6, 7 are accommodated when the cover 4 is applied to the connection portion 5 (see Fig. 4 ). The positioning of the cover 4 on the connection section 5 takes place through the layer 19, which also serves for fastening the cover 4 at the same time.

Fig. 2 shows an enlarged view of a section of a connection region 5 from Fig. 1 ,

On the base plate 2, the layer 19 is applied, in which the pins 6, 7 and the connection elements 10 are arranged. The line element 3 is already on the layer 19. A pin 6 is passed through a positioning hole 9 of the conduit member 3 and sets with the other pins 6, not shown, the position of the conduit member 3 fixed.

The line element 3 is designed as a ribbon cable and has adjacent tracks 13, which are surrounded on all sides by an insulating material. The conductor tracks 13 extend in the Fig. 2 to the left side and terminate in the contact portions 14, which are not surrounded by the insulating material of the Leitungsetementes 3 this example.

The connection elements 10 form the terminal row 11 between the pins 6, 7, wherein the contact portions 14 are applied in a row of contacts 12 in such a way on the upwardly facing ends of the connection elements 10 that the connection elements 10, the contact portions 14 penetrate and protrude from them. In this case, contact lugs 16 are bent up at the penetration holes, which consist of the conductive material of the contact portions 14. These contact lugs 16 already form electrically conductive connections with the connection elements 10 in this embodiment.

The protruding ends of the connecting elements 10 are shown here in a cylindrical shape in a simple embodiment, wherein they are welded in a next step with the contact portions 14, which is preferably a known laser welding. In this case, the projecting end of each connection element 10 is melted onto the respective contact section 14.

However, the connection elements 10 may also be formed with a tip, which has, for example, one or more cutting edges. In order for a penetration of the contact portions 14 is facilitated, wherein an electrical connection is also improved by an enlarged surface of such a connection element 10.

To enable the penetration of the contact portions 14, these are provided with recesses 17 or incisions, which form so-called punching contours, some of which examples in Fig. 3 are shown. These punched contours can be designed to facilitate the threading of the corresponding ends of the connection elements 10 and to support the entire positioning process of the line element 3 with respect to the connection elements 10. At the same time, the geometry of the contact lugs 16 to be formed during penetration is predetermined.

Fig. 4 shows the assembled state of the arrangement according to the invention for connecting the electronic circuit located in the interior of the hermetically sealed housing 1. The line elements 3 are then connected to the corresponding peripherals such as sensors, actuators, connectors and the like in a known manner.

The covers 4 are connected to the layers 19, respectively, which is preferably done by a heatstake, whereby a certain tightness is made possible.

Thus, the arrangement according to the invention forms a connection concept, which is more cost-effective in comparison with the prior art, on flat cables than line elements 3 with a simple but effective protection of the connection sections 5.

The invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but modifiable in a variety of ways.

It is also possible that the contact row 12 of the contact portions 14 of the line element 3 for laser welding with the connection elements 10 is not stripped.

Also, the production of an electrical connection without laser welding between the connection element 10 and contact portion 14 is possible by suitable geometrical selection of the end of the connection element 10 and the punching contour of the contact portion 14. It is also conceivable that the contact portion 14 has no recess 17, but only one incision. Even without a cut can be made possible with a suitable tool and a suitable tip connection.

The conductor element 3 can also be designed as a flexible printed circuit board, as a stamped grid or a stamped grid coated with plastic.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

1 casing 2 baseplate 3 line element 4 cover 5 connecting section 6 First pen 7 Second pen 8th opening 9 positioning 10 connecting element 11 connection row 12 Contact number 13 conductor path 14 Contact section 15 topcoat 16 contact tabs 17 recess 18 isolation 19 layer S1 ... 3, S2-1 ... 2 step

Claims (15)

1. Arrangement for electrically connecting an electronic circuit in a housing (1), in particular in a hermetically sealed housing (1), which electronic circuit is electrically connected to at least one connection element (10), having a base plate (2) which is connected to the housing (1) and comprises at least one connection section (5) in which the connection elements (10) are arranged, having at least one conduction element (3) having conductor tracks (13), with the conduction element (3) having contact sections (14) of the conductor tracks (13) which are designed such that they can be fitted on the connection elements (10) in order to form an electrical connection, and having a cover (4) for protecting the connection section (5),
   characterized in that
   the connection elements (10) are surrounded by a layer (19) which is injection-moulded or cast onto the base plate (2) in the region of the connection section (5) and is composed of an electrically insulating material.
2. Arrangement according to Claim 1,
   characterized
   in that the contact sections (14) and/or the connection elements (10) are designed such that the connection elements (10) can penetrate the contact sections (14) in order to form the electrical connection.
3. Arrangement according to Claim 2,
   characterized
   in that the contact sections (14) are provided with at least one recess (17) and/or one incision, and/or in that the connection elements (10) are provided with a spike and/or blade which are/is designed to penetrate the contact sections (14).
4. Arrangement according to Claim 2 or 3,
   characterized
   in that the connection elements (10) are connected to the corresponding contact sections (14) by welding, preferably laser welding.
5. Arrangement according to Claim 2,
   characterized
   in that the contact sections (14) and/or the connection elements (10) are designed such that the electrical connection is formed by a press-in connection in the form of an insulation-displacement connection or "speed nut" connection.
6. Arrangement according to one of Claims 1 to 5,
   characterized in that
   pins (6, 7) are arranged within the layer (19) on the base plate (2) in the connection section (5).
7. Arrangement according to Claim 1,
   characterized
   in that the surface of the layer (19) is formed at a distance from and parallel to the surface of the base plate (2) and forms an insulating support for the conduction element (3) opposite the base plate (2).
8. Arrangement according to one of Claims 6 and 7,
   characterized
   in that the conduction element (3) has positioning openings (9) which interact with pins (6, 7) which are arranged in the connection section (5).
9. Arrangement according to Claim 6 or 7,
   characterized
   in that the cover (4) has openings (8) which interact with the pins (6, 7), and in that the cover (4) is fitted on the connection section (5), with the said cover being positioned by means of the layer (19) and being attached to the said layer.
10. Arrangement according to one of Claims 1 to 8,
    characterized
    in that the conduction element (3) is a flat flexible cable (FFC), a flexible printed circuit board, a punched grid or a punched grid which is encapsulated with plastic.
11. Method for connecting an electronic circuit in a housing (1), in particular in a hermetically sealed housing (1), which electronic circuit is electrically connected to at least one connection element (10), comprising the following method steps:

    (S1) injection-moulding or casting a layer (19), which surrounds the connection elements (10) and is composed of an electrically insulating material in a connection section (5), onto a base plate (2) of the housing (1);

    (S2) fitting contact sections (14) of the conduction element (3) on the connection elements (10);

    (S3) connecting the circuit by connecting the connection elements (10) to the contact sections (14).
12. Method according to Claim 11,
    characterized
    in that method step (S2) comprises the following substeps:

    (S2-1) positioning the conduction element (3) on the layer (19) by means of pins (6, 7) which interact with positioning openings (9) in the conduction element (3); and

    (S2-2) forcing the connection elements (10) through the contact sections (14) or pressing the connection elements (10) into recesses (17) or incisions in the contact sections (14).
13. Method according to Claim 11 or 12,
    characterized
    in that, in method step (S3), the connection is established by the contact sections (14) making cold-contact with the connection elements (10).
14. Method according to Claim 11 or 12,
    characterized
    in that, in method step (S3), the connection is established by welding, preferably laser welding, the connection elements (10) to the contact sections (14).
15. Method according to one of Claims 11 to 14,
    characterized
    in that, in method step (S3), after the connection is established, the cover (4) is fitted on the connection section (5), with the cover (4) being positioned by means of the layer (19) and being attached to the said layer.

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