This application claims priority to European Patent Application No. 20183921.4, filed on Jul. 3, 2020, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
The present disclosure relates to an electric circuit system including a cooling system for cooling of an electric component soldered to a printed circuit board. The present disclosure also relates to an assembling method of such an electric circuit system.
Outdoor power supply systems are commonly used to supply power to outdoor power consuming systems. One example of such outdoor power consuming systems is telecom equipment, such as telecom base stations. Such a telecom base station is typically supplied with a 48 VDC voltage delivered from a power supply system located adjacent to, or in the proximity of, the base station.
The power supply system may include an alternating current (AC)/direct current (DC) converter for converting an AC voltage from the AC mains (or a fossil-fueled AC generator etc.).
Alternatively, the power supply system may include a DC/DC converter for converting a DC voltage (from a solar panel system, or another type of DC power source).
The power supply system may further include rechargeable batteries to provide UPS (uninterrupted power supply) functionality.
The outdoor power supply system further includes a cabinet in which electrical equipment is protected from the environment. The cabinet provides protection from fine particles (dust, sand etc.) and humidity (rain, snow etc.).
As the converter and other parts of the power supply system generates heat, a cooling system is needed to cool the air within the cabinet. The cooling system may be a heat exchanger, an air conditioner or a fan-filter. The cooling system has several disadvantages; it reduces the overall power efficiency, it increases the size of the cabinet, it increases the costs of the overall power supply system and it reduces the reliability of the overall system. As shown in
The converter module of
One object of the present disclosure is to improve cooling of such inductor devices. Another object of the present disclosure is to make it easier to robotize the mounting and soldering process of such inductor devices to the printed circuit board.
The embodiment of the present disclosure provides an electric circuit system, including:
wherein the printed circuit board is compartmentalizing the inside of the housing into a first compartment in which the electric component is situated; and a second compartment;
characterized in that
In one embodiment, the cooling system further includes at least one second heat transferring element provided between the first heat transferring element and the housing surrounding the second compartment, where the heat flowing path is defined to transfer heat from the electric component to the housing via the first heat transferring element and the second heat transferring element.
In one embodiment, the at least one second heat transferring element is provided as part of the housing.
Alternatively, the at least one second heat transferring element is an element separate from the housing, the element being connected between the at least one first heat transferring element and the housing.
In one embodiment, the at least one first or second heat transferring element extend through an opening of the printed circuit board.
Hence, the heat flowing path is defined to transfer heat from the first compartment to the second compartment, i.e. from a first side or the component side of the printed circuit board to a second side or opposite side of the printed circuit board, via an opening in the printed circuit board.
In one embodiment, the opening of the printed circuit board is a circular or oval aperture, an elongated aperture or a notch provided from one of the sides of the printed circuit board.
In one embodiment, the at least one second heat transferring element extend through the opening of the printed circuit board; the cooling system includes a connection system for connecting the first heat transferring element and the second heat transferring element to each other; and the connection system includes a first heat transferring surface provided in one end of the first heat transferring element and a second heat transferring surface provided in one end of the second heat transferring element, the first and second heat transferring surfaces being in contact with each other.
In one embodiment, the system includes an electric insulator provided between the second heat transferring element and the printed circuit board.
In one embodiment, the connection system includes:
In one embodiment, the connection system includes:
In one embodiment, the connection system includes:
In one embodiment, the first heat transferring element includes a planar heat transferring surface provided adjacent to the housing surrounding the first compartment and is adapted to form a further heat flowing path defined to transfer heat from the electric component to the housing via the at least one first heat transferring element.
In one embodiment, the cooling system includes a thermally conducting material provided between the planar heat transferring surface and the housing surrounding the first compartment.
In one embodiment, the first heat transferring element include a side surface facing the electric component, where the side surface is shaped according to the shape of the electric component.
In one embodiment, one single heat transferring element is located adjacent to two or more electric components.
In one embodiment, two second heat transferring elements are provided between the one single first heat transferring element and the housing.
In one embodiment, a thermally conducting material is provided between the electric component and the first heat transferring element.
In one embodiment, the housing is a protective housing protecting the inside of the housing from an outdoor environment.
In one embodiment, the housing is made of a thermally conducting material.
Accordingly, the housing may be considered to be a part of the cooling system, wherein heat is dissipated from the housing to the environment. In one embodiment, the cooling system includes cooling fins provided on the outer surface of the housing.
In one embodiment, the electric circuit system is a power converter, such as an AC/DC converter, a DC/DC converter and/or an DC/AC converter.
In one embodiment, a distal end of the electric component with respect to the printed circuit board is aligned with a distal end of the first heat transferring element with respect to the printed circuit board.
An embodiment of the present disclosure also provides an assembling method of an electric circuit system, including the steps of:
In one embodiment, the step of securing the first heat transferring element to the second heat transferring element includes the steps of:
Embodiments of the disclosure will now be described in detail with respect to the enclosed drawings, wherein:
An introduction of the embodiment of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to
The distribution circuit 20 includes cable connectors, circuit breakers/relays, a controller for controlling power through the converter(s) etc., while the converter module 40 includes an AC/DC converter, a DC/DC converter, and/or an DC/AC converter, depending on the input power and load requirement. UPS functionality may also be provided by connecting a rechargeable battery to the distribution circuit 20.
In
The electric circuit system 100 will now be described with reference to
In
The housing 103 is defining a compartment indicated with a dashed line C in
An electric component 101 is shown conductively mounted to the printed circuit board PCB by means of a soldering S. The electric component 101 is provided in the first compartment C1 and the soldering is provided in the second compartment C2. However, the electric component 101 may also be a surface mounted device electrically mounted to the first compartment C1 facing side of the printed circuit board PCB.
When supplied with electric power, the electric component 101 produces heat, which must be removed from the compartment C to prevent overheating.
The system 100 therefore includes a cooling system generally referred to as 110. In an embodiment, the cooling system 110 includes a passive cooling system. The housing 103 may be a part of the cooling system 110, where heat is dissipated from the housing 103 to the environment. The housing 103 is therefore made of a thermally conducting material, such as a metal. In one aspect, the cooling system 110 includes cooling fins 104 provided on the outer surface of the housing 103 (not shown in the simplified illustrations in
Preferably, the system 100 is designed for outdoor use. In such a case, the housing 103 is a protective housing 103 protecting the inside (i.e. the PCB and the electric component 101) of the housing 103 from an outdoor environment. The system 100 may for example have an IP65 classification.
Preferably, the housing 103 is made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy. The cooling fins of the passive cooling system may be manufactured together with the converter module housing in a die casting process or a machining process.
Different embodiments will now be described further in detail below.
It is referred to
In this embodiment, the first heat transferring element 120 is secured directly to the second housing section 103b.
Hence, heat generated by the electric component 101 is transferred from the first compartment C1 on one side of the printed circuit board PCB to the second compartment C2 on the opposite side of the printed circuit board PCB and further to the second housing section 103b.
In
In
It is now referred to
Hence, heat generated by the electric component 101 is transferred both to the first and the second housing sections 103a, 103b.
To further improve the heat transfer, the cooling system 110 includes a thermally conducting material 142 provided between the planar heat transferring surface 122a and the housing 103 surrounding the first compartment C1.
Again, to further improve the heat transfer, the cooling system 110 includes a thermally conducting material 143 provided between the electric component 101 and the first heat transferring element 120.
The above thermally conducting material may for example be a thermally conducting pad, a thermally conducting gap filler or a solidified liquid gap filler.
It is now referred to
Here, the cooling system 110 further includes a second heat transferring element 130 provided between the first heat transferring element 120 and the housing 103 surrounding the second compartment C2, i.e. the second housing section 103b, where the heat flowing path HP is defined to transfer heat from the electric component 101a, 101b, 101c to the housing 103 via the first heat transferring element 120 and the second heat transferring element 130.
In this embodiment, the second heat transferring element 130 is an element separate from the housing 103, the element being connected between the at least one first heat transferring element 120 and the housing 103.
The cooling system 110 includes a connection system CS for connecting the first heat transferring element 120 and the second heat transferring element 130 to each other. In this embodiment, the connection system CS is located in the second compartment C2.
It is now referred to
Here, the connection system CS is located in the first compartment C1. This is also the case for the embodiment shown in
Here, the second heat transferring element 130 is provided as part of the housing 103.
In the embodiment shown in
One embodiment of the connection system CS will now be described in detail with reference to
The connection interface CS includes a first heat transferring surface 121a provided in one end of the first heat transferring element 120 and a second heat transferring surface 131a provided in one end of the second heat transferring element 130, the first and second heat transferring surfaces 121a, 131a being in contact with each other when the system 100 is assembled. One purpose of these heat transferring surfaces 121a, 131a is to ensure an efficient heat transfer between the first and second heat transferring elements 120, 130. The heat transferring surfaces are preferably oriented in a plane parallel to the printed circuit board PCB plane.
The connection system CS further includes U-shaped edge 121b protruding from the first heat transferring surface 121a and surrounding at least parts of the second heat transferring element 130 when the system 100 is assembled.
The connection system CS further includes a through bore 121d provided through the first heat transferring element 120 and a fastener receiving bore 131d provided in the second heat transferring element 130. The fastener receiving bore 131d is aligned with the through bore 121d. In addition, the connection system CS includes a fastener 140 (
The connection system CS further includes a notch 131c provided in the second heat transferring surface 131a; and a notch engaging element 121c protruding from the first heat transferring surface 121c. One purpose of the edge 121b and the notch 131c engaging the element 121c is to enable a manufacturing machine to place or set the first heat transferring element 120 onto the second heat transferring element 130 while ensuring that the bores 121d, 131d are aligned correctly to allow the manufacturing machine to insert the fastener and fasten the first heat transferring element 120 to the second heat transferring element 130.
It is now referred to
It is also shown here that one first heat transferring element 120 is connected to two second heat transferring elements 130 by means of two connection systems CS. Hence, two fasteners 140 are used to secure the first heat transferring element 120 to the two second heat transferring elements 130.
It is now referred to
Assembly Method
The assembly of the electric circuit system 100 will now be described with reference to
Initially, the different parts have been manufactured and are located near the assembly site. Hence, the first and second housing sections 103a, 103b are stored or provided near the assembly line together with the first heat transferring element.
In a first step shown in
The printed circuit board PCB has already been manufactured and electric components are conductively mounted to the printed circuit board PCB. Only one such electric component 101 are shown in
In
In
In
In
In
As many heat generating electric components are located in the first compartment C1, also most of the heat will be generated in the first compartment C1. A printed circuit board PCB is typically not a very good heat conductor. According to the embodiments described above, heat may be transferred efficiently from an electric component on one side of the printed circuit board PCB to the opposite side of the printed circuit board PCB and hence, a more distributed cooling is achieved.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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20183921 | Jul 2020 | EP | regional |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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5272599 | Koenen | Dec 1993 | A |
9398726 | You | Jul 2016 | B2 |
9414480 | Lu | Aug 2016 | B2 |
9655288 | You | May 2017 | B2 |
9661786 | Lu | May 2017 | B2 |
9668384 | You | May 2017 | B2 |
10660243 | You | May 2020 | B2 |
20080304238 | Chien | Dec 2008 | A1 |
20160307818 | Kawase | Oct 2016 | A1 |
Entry |
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EESR of EP201839214. |
Internal Search Report by the applicant. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20220022312 A1 | Jan 2022 | US |