JP6983051B2 - Electronic components - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to electronic components, particularly electronic components provided in appliances used in a humid environment, such as bathroom heaters / dryers and dishwashers.

For example, a bathroom heater / dryer is provided with equipment such as a heat exchanger and a circulation fan in a casing installed on the wall surface of the bathroom, and an electronic board on which mounting components for controlling these equipment are mounted. An electronic component including a substrate case accommodating the substrate case is provided in the casing. Normally, the substrate case is filled with a potting agent made of urethane resin or the like in order to protect the mounted components on the electronic board from moisture, and the electronic board is embedded with this potting agent. ..

Since the bathroom in which the bathroom heater / dryer is installed is hot and humid, the area around the electronic board in the board case is also exposed to the hot and humid environment. The potting agent may be hydrolyzed and liquefied over time under the influence of a high temperature and high humidity environment. Therefore, in order to prevent the potting agent from leaking from the substrate case even if the potting agent is liquefied, a potting agent collecting portion for collecting the dripping liquid potting agent is provided in the lower region than the electronic substrate arrangement portion in the substrate case. There is one (Patent Document 1).
As a result, even if the potting agent is hydrolyzed to become liquid and drips downward, it can be stored in the potting agent pool portion, so that the inconvenience of leaking out of the substrate case can be prevented. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the liquefied potting agent from leaking out of the casing and contaminating the surface of the casing and the wall surface of the bathroom.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2015-194277

However, even if the potting agent pool is provided, the user cannot be made aware that the potting agent is liquefied and flows down from the electronic substrate, and the mounted components on the electronic substrate are exposed. If the potting agent is liquefied and left in a state of dripping from the electronic board, the original purpose of the potting agent, which is to protect the mounted parts mounted on the electronic board from moisture, is lost. There is an inconvenience that the mounted component breaks down due to humidity, and various devices controlled by the mounted component malfunction.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and for an electronic component in which an electronic substrate is housed in a substrate case, a potting agent filled in the substrate case so that the electronic substrate is embedded is at a high temperature. It is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic component capable of promptly and surely detecting that a liquefied and dripping due to aged deterioration in a humid environment.

In the electronic component according to the present invention, the electronic substrate, the substrate case containing the electronic substrate, the potting agent filled in the substrate case so as to embed the electronic substrate, and the potting agent are hydrolyzed. It is equipped with a potting agent dripping detecting means for detecting the liquefaction and dripping.

Since the electronic component has a potting agent dripping detecting means for detecting that the potting agent is hydrolyzed, liquefied and drips, the potting is exposed to a high temperature and high humidity environment and is hydrolyzed and liquefied due to aged deterioration. It is possible to detect the dripping of the agent early and surely.

In the electronic component, preferably, the potting agent dripping detecting means is a capacitance sensor or a pressure sensor having a planar detection unit.
If a planar detection unit of the potting agent dripping detecting means is provided at a place where the liquefied potting agent drips, the dripping potting agent can be easily received and reliably detected. Therefore, the potting agent dripping detecting means can be reacted quickly.

Capacitance sensors and pressure sensors are the detection means having a planar detection unit, and if it is a capacitance sensor, it recognizes the capacitance component of the potting agent and before and after the potting agent drips. The presence or absence of dripping of the potting agent can be detected by the change in capacitance. If it is a pressure sensor, it is possible to detect the presence or absence of dripping of the potting agent by the change in weight due to the potting agent.

In the electronic component, preferably, the potting agent dripping detecting means has a detection region provided with the planar detection portion and a connection region provided with a connection portion connected to the electronic substrate.
The connection portion is directly connected to the electronic substrate, and the connection region is embedded in the potting agent.
A capacitance sensor or a pressure sensor having a surface-shaped detection unit can be configured by one flat substrate. If a connection terminal is provided on this substrate, the substrate is directly connected to the electronic substrate, and the connection portion is embedded with a potting agent, the potting agent dripping detecting means can be easily protected from moisture.
In addition, the liquefied and dripping potting agent can be detected more reliably by the detection unit.

The electronic component preferably further includes a determination unit for determining dripping of the potting agent.
The determination unit
Monitor whether or not a predetermined change is detected by the potting agent dripping detecting means, and
By comparing the first characteristic value when the predetermined change is detected with the second characteristic value after a predetermined time has elapsed from the detection of the predetermined change, it is determined whether or not the potting agent drips. That's what I did.

For example, in the case of an electronic component housed in the casing of an appliance used in a hot and humid environment such as a bathroom heater / dryer, dew condensation is likely to occur in the substrate case. Therefore, the moisture condensed in the substrate case may be detected by the potting agent dripping detecting means, and may be erroneously detected as liquefied potting agent dripping.
On the other hand, the water evaporates with the passage of time even in a normal temperature atmosphere, but the potting agent composed of the resin component hardly evaporates in the normal temperature atmosphere.
Therefore, by comparing the first characteristic value when a predetermined change is detected by the potting agent dripping detecting means with the second characteristic value after a predetermined time has elapsed from the occurrence of the predetermined change, a predetermined value is determined. It is possible to reliably determine whether the detection target that caused the change is a potting agent or water.

As described above, according to the electronic component according to the present invention, it is possible to detect that the potting agent in which the electronic substrate is embedded is hydrolyzed, liquefied and drips due to aged deterioration by the potting agent dripping detecting means. Therefore, it is possible to make the user recognize the abnormality of the device early and surely. As a result, the mounted parts on the electronic board are not left in an exposed state without the potting agent for a long period of time, so that the mounted parts on the electronic board are exposed to moisture and a problem occurs, and the device becomes uncontrollable. It is possible to prevent inconveniences such as becoming.

It is a partially cutaway front view which shows the structure of the bathroom heater / dryer which mounted the electronic component in embodiment of this invention. It is a vertical sectional view which shows the inside of the electronic component in Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view of the substrate case and the electronic substrate excluding the lid of the electronic component in embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the control of the potting agent dripping detecting means provided in the electronic component in embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the other example of the electronic component in embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the electronic component (1) of the present embodiment shall be mounted on the bathroom heater / dryer (3).
The bathroom heater / dryer (3) is a wall-mounted type that heats, dries, or ventilates the bathroom by blowing hot air into the bathroom using hot water supplied from the heat source machine. It has a rear case (31) that can be mounted on the wall and a front cover (32) that covers the front of the rear case (31).
The rear case (31) is formed in the shape of a horizontally long box that opens to the front, and the front cover (32) is attached to this open portion. The front cover (32) has a suction port (33) for sucking in the air in the bathroom on the upper surface and an outlet (34) for blowing out warm air on the lower surface. Inside the rear case (31), there is a heat exchanger (36) that exchanges heat between the hot water supplied from the heat source machine and the air in the bathroom, a circulation fan (37) that circulates the air in the bathroom, and a blower. A device such as a louver (38) that adjusts the direction of the warm air blown from the outlet (34) is provided, and an electronic component (1) that controls these devices is installed on the left end side in the rear case (31). Has been done.

As shown in FIG. 2, the electronic component (1) houses a flat plate-shaped electronic board (2) on which various mounting components (21) that collectively control the above equipment are mounted, and an electronic board (2). It consists of a board case (10) consisting of a possible flat box.
The board case (10) has a flat square box-shaped case body (11) that opens to the front (left side in FIG. 2) and a square plate shape that can close the front side opening portion of the case body (11). The case body (11) is composed of a square back wall (11a) and side walls standing on four sides around the back wall (11a) integrally formed. At the same time, the screws projecting from the upper side wall (11c) and the back wall (11a) of the case body (11) in an upright posture with the back wall (11a) and the lid plate (12) of the case body (11) standing upright. It is screwed to the rear case (31) via the stopper pieces (15) and (16).

As described above, when the substrate case (10) is upright, a partition plate having a height of about half the height of the side wall (11b) in the case body (11) is located near the lower side wall (11b). 13) is projected from the back wall (11a) toward the lid plate (12) in parallel with the lower side wall (11b), and the electronic substrate (2) is located in the upper region of the partition plate (13). , Contained in a position along the back wall (11a) side.
In this state, a gap is formed between the outer peripheral region of the electronic substrate (2) and the back wall (11a), and the partition plate (13) of the case body (11) passes through the gap. The potting agent (20) made of urethane resin or the like is filled in the upper region and on the back wall (11a) side so that the electronic substrate (2) is embedded.
By embedding the electronic board (2) with the potting agent (20), the mounted component (21) mounted on the electronic board (2) can be protected from moisture.
The filling amount of the potting agent (20) is equal to or less than the height of the partition plate (13), and the connection portion of each mounting component (21) mounted on the electronic board (2) with the electronic board (2) is The amount to be buried.

In the region below the partition plate (13), a potting agent pool (14) is provided to store the potting agent (20) when it is hydrolyzed and drips due to aged deterioration. , Detects the presence or absence of the potting agent (20) dripping from the tip of the partition plate (13) on the lower side wall (11b) of the case body (11), which is the bottom wall of the potting agent pool (14). As a potting agent dripping detecting means, a planar detection unit (22) of a capacitance sensor is provided. The detection unit (22) is electrically connected to a connector provided on the electronic board (2) via a through wire (23).

The board case (10) cannot be completely sealed because it is provided with an opening for pulling out the harness from the electronic board (2). Therefore, as described above, in the electronic component (1) installed in the rear case (31) of the bathroom heater / dryer (3), the inside of the substrate case (10) is exposed to the high temperature and high humidity environment of the bathroom. As a result, the potting agent (20) filled in the case body (11) is hydrolyzed under the influence of high temperature and humidity over time to become liquid, and drips onto the lower partition plate (13).
The liquid potting agent (20) that cannot be received on the partition plate (13) drips downward from the tip of the partition plate (13), but the lower side wall (11b) of the case body (11) has a partition. By providing a planar detection unit (22) of the capacitance sensor at a location corresponding to the tip of the plate (13), the potting agent (20) hangs down on the detection unit (22) and detects it. When a change in capacitance is detected on the unit (22), the capacitance sensor reacts.

In this embodiment, although not shown, the electronic component (1) monitors whether or not the detection unit (22) detects a change in capacitance, and the change causes the potting agent (20) to drip. It has a determination circuit (determination unit) for determining whether or not it is due to.
As a functional configuration means, the determination circuit includes a monitoring unit that monitors intrusion into the detection unit (22) according to the capacitance indicated by the detection signal output from the detection unit (22), and a predetermined state from the initial state. When the above change in capacitance occurs, the first characteristic value acquisition unit that sets the capacitance at that time as the first characteristic value and the predetermined determination time after the change in capacitance by a predetermined value or more occurs. The timing unit for measuring, the second characteristic value acquisition unit whose second characteristic value is the capacitance after a predetermined determination time has elapsed, and the second characteristic value and the first characteristic value are compared, and the second characteristic value is calculated. If it does not decrease from the first characteristic value, it is provided with a notification unit that determines that dripping of the potting agent (20) has occurred and notifies from a notification means such as a remote control (not shown).

The control operation of the capacitance sensor will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.
When the operation of the bathroom heater / dryer (3) is started (step S1), the detection unit (22) of the capacitance sensor monitors whether or not there is a change in the capacitance (step S2). ).
In step S3, when the determination unit (22) detects that there is a change in the capacitance, the determination unit detects the capacitance at that time. This value is the first characteristic value as a specific matter of the present invention. Then, at the same time, a timer provided as a time measuring unit is activated, and measurement for a predetermined time (for example, 2 hours) is started (step S4).
When the predetermined time elapses in step S4, the capacitance at that time is acquired in the next step S5. The value at this time is the second characteristic value as a specific matter of the present invention.

If it is determined that the capacitance (second characteristic value) detected in step S5 is not less than the capacitance (first characteristic value) acquired in step S4, the change in capacitance in step S3. It is determined in step S6 that the detected object to be detected is the potting agent (20) dripping from the electronic substrate (2), the process proceeds to the next step S7, and an error is given to the user by the notification means. Is notified.
When an error is notified by the notification means, the user can know the abnormality of the bathroom heater / dryer (3), stop the operation, and perform processing such as notifying the maintenance company.
Therefore, it is possible to prevent the inconvenience that the operation of the bathroom heater / dryer (3) is continued without the mounting component (21) being protected by the potting agent (20), and the damage of the electronic board (2) due to humidity and various accompanying damages can be prevented. It is possible to prevent equipment malfunctions and failures.

When the capacitance (second characteristic value) detected in step S5 is smaller than the capacitance (first characteristic value) detected in step S3, that is, when "NO" in step S5, In step S8, it is considered that the cause of the change in capacitance detected in step S3 is not due to the potting agent (20) but due to the dropping of moisture due to moisture, and the process returns to step S2. The detection unit (22) of the capacitance sensor continues to monitor whether the capacitance has changed.

In the above embodiment, the planar detection unit (22) of the capacitance sensor as the potting agent dripping detecting means is installed on the lower side wall (11b) of the case body (11), and the wiring (passing) ( The configuration is such that it is connected to the connector provided on the electronic board (2) via 23), but the planar detection unit (22) is configured to be directly fixed to the electronic board (2) as shown in FIG. Is also good.
The capacitance sensor is provided with a detection area (25) provided with a planar detection unit (22) and a connection area (27) having a connection part (26) connected to the electronic board (2). The connection area (27) is embedded in the potting agent (20).
As a result, the connection portion (26) of the potting agent dripping detecting means can also be easily protected from moisture.
Further, by directly fixing the detection unit (22) to the electronic board (2), it is not necessary to provide the through wiring (23), and the dripping of the potting agent (20) can be detected quickly and reliably. ..

Further, in the above embodiment, as a means for detecting the dripping of the potting agent, the electrostatic capacity for determining the presence or absence of the dripping of the potting agent (20) is detected by detecting the change in the capacitance before and after the dripping of the potting agent (20). Although a capacitance sensor is used, a pressure sensor that detects a change in the weight of the potting agent dripping on the detection unit (22) may be used as a device that uses a similar planar detection unit (22). ..

Further, as the potting agent dripping detecting means, a transmission / reception unit is provided as a detection unit, and an ultrasonic sensor that detects the presence or absence of the potting agent from the time until the ultrasonic wave is reflected and returned, and the detection unit emits light. It is also possible to adopt an infrared sensor that is provided with a light emitting part and a light receiving part and detects the presence or absence of a substance between the light emitting part and the light receiving part depending on whether or not the infrared light transmitted from the light emitting part to the light receiving part is blocked in the middle. It is possible.

As the notification means, the abnormality may be guided by a voice or an alarm sound such as a buzzer, may be guided by blinking or screen display, and further, the potting agent dripping may be detected by the potting agent dripping detecting means. When it is detected, the operation of the device may be automatically stopped to notify the device. Further, in the above embodiment, the electronic component (1) according to the present invention is mounted on the bathroom heater / dryer (3), but the device to be mounted is not limited to this, and other devices are mounted. A hot water heater, a water heater, a dishwasher, etc. may be used.
Further, the heat source machine may be a gas type that supplies hot water heated by gas, or an electric type that is heated by waste heat from a power generation device or a heat pump device.

(1) ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ Electronic parts
(2) ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ Electronic board
(10) ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ Board case
(20) ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ Potting agent
(22) ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ Detection unit

Claims (4)

The electronic substrate, the substrate case containing the electronic substrate, the potting agent filled in the substrate case so as to embed the electronic substrate, and the potting agent hydrolyzed, liquefied, and dripped. An electronic component equipped with a potting agent dripping detecting means for detecting. In the electronic component according to claim 1,
The potting agent dripping detecting means is an electronic component that is a capacitance sensor or a pressure sensor having a planar detection unit. In the electronic component according to claim 2,
The potting agent dripping detecting means has a detection region provided with the planar detection portion and a connection region provided with a connection portion connected to the electronic substrate.
An electronic component in which the connection portion is directly connected to the electronic substrate and the connection region is embedded in a potting agent. In the electronic component according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Further, it is provided with a determination unit for determining the dripping of the potting agent.
The determination unit
Monitor whether or not a predetermined change is detected by the potting agent dripping detecting means, and
By comparing the first characteristic value when the predetermined change is detected with the second characteristic value after a predetermined time has elapsed from the detection of the predetermined change, it is determined whether or not the potting agent drips. Electronic components.

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