The present invention relates to a pulse transformer and, more particularly, to a surface-mount type pulse transformer using a drum core and a plate-like core.
As a surface-mount type pulse transformer using a drum core and a plate-like core, the pulse transformer described in JP 2010-109267 A is known. While the planar size of a pulse transformer is determined according to required characteristics, it is difficult to set the planar size to less than 3 mm square in order to ensure a dielectric strength voltage between primary- and secondary-sides. Thus, a general pulse transformer is often designed to have a size of about 3 mm to about 5 mm long and about 3 mm to about 4 mm wide.
Conventionally, the shape of the drum core is designed so that sufficient magnetic characteristics can be ensured in such a planar size. Specifically, the thickness of a flange part is reduced to some extent in order to ensure a length of a winding core part, while the sectional area of the winding core part is maximized in order to reduce the magnetic resistance of the winding core part.
Insertion loss is one of the characteristics of the pulse transformer. In many cases, insertion loss and inductance are in a trade-off relation, so that it is difficult to reduce insertion loss while ensuring inductance to a certain extent, as far as a conventional drum core shape is concerned.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to reduce the insertion loss of a pulse transformer while ensuring the inductance to a certain degree.
In order to reduce the insertion loss of a pulse transformer, the winding core part is designed to be thin to reduce the wire length. However, when the thickness of the winding core part is reduced, the magnetic resistance of the winding core part is increased to inevitably reduce the inductance. However, many demonstration experiments made by the present inventors have revealed that the sectional area of the winding core part and insertion loss, and the sectional area of the winding core part and inductance are not simply proportional to each other, but it is possible to reduce the insertion loss while ensuring the inductance to a certain extent when the sectional area of the winding core part falls within a predetermined range in relationship with the facing area between the flange part and a plate-like core.
The present invention has been made based on the above technical knowledge, and a pulse transformer according to the present invention includes: a drum core including a winding core part, a first flange part provided at one end of the winding core part in the axial direction thereof, and a second flange part provided at the other end of the winding core part in the axial direction thereof; a plurality of wires wound around the winding core part; and a plate-like core fixed to the drum core so as to face a first surface of the first flange part that is parallel to the axial direction and a second surface of the second flange part that is parallel to the axial direction. Assuming that the area of the cross section of the winding core part that is perpendicular to the axial direction is S1 and that the facing area between the plate-like core and the first or second surface is S2, the value of S1/S2 is 0.19 or more and 0.47 or less.
The value of S1/S2 in a general pulse transformer is 0.5 or more, while the value of S1/S2 in the pulse transformer according to the present invention is less than 0.47, so that the length of the wire is reduced to make it possible to reduce insertion loss more than in a general pulse transformer. In addition, the value of S1/S2 is set to 0.19 or more, a reduction in inductance can be suppressed to, e.g., 20% or less.
In the present invention, the value of S1/S2 may be 0.38 or less. This can reduce the insertion loss by, e.g., 5% or more than in a general transformer.
In the present invention, the value of S1/S2 may be 0.21 or more. That is, by making the thickness of the flange part larger than that in a general transformer, a reduction in inductance can be prevented. Further, when the thickness of the winding core part is small, if the thickness of the flange part is large, the winding core part is liable to be easily broken; however, when the value of S1/S2 is set to 0.21 or more, the breakage of the winding core part can be prevented.
In the present invention, the drum core may have a length of 3 mm or more and 5 mm or less in the axial direction and a width of 3 mm or more and 4 mm or less in a first direction crossing the axial direction and parallel to the first and second surfaces. The present invention can suitably be applied to such a small-sized pulse transformer.
In the present invention, the value of S1 may be 0.85 mm2 or more and less than 1.43 mm2. Generally, in a small-sized pulse transformer having the above planar size, the value of S1 is about 1.7 mm2, while when the value of S1 is set in the above range, it is possible to reduce the insertion loss while ensuring the inductance to a certain extent.
The pulse transformer according to the present invention may further include a pair of primary-side signal terminals and a secondary-side center tap which are formed on the first flange part and a pair of secondary-side signal terminals and a primary-side center tap which are formed on the second flange part. One end of each of the plurality of wires may be connected to any one of the pair of primary-side signal terminals and the secondary-side center tap, and the other end of each of the plurality of wires may be connected to any one of the pair of secondary-side signal terminals and the primary-side center tap. In a pulse transformer having such a configuration, the primary-side terminal and secondary-side terminal coexist in the same flange part, so that the flange part needs to have a certain thickness in order to ensure a dielectric strength voltage. The present invention can be applied to a pulse transfer having such a configuration.
In the present invention, the height of the winding core part in a second direction crossing the axial direction and first direction may be larger than the width of the winding core part in the first direction. This makes the winding core part less likely to be broken at manufacturing or mounting.
As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the insertion loss of a pulse transformer while ensuring the inductance to a certain extent.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of this invention will become more apparent by reference to the following detailed description of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be explained in detail with reference to the drawings.
As illustrated in
The drum core 20 includes a winding core part 23, a first flange part 21 provided at one end of the winding core part 23 in the axial direction (x-direction) thereof, and a second flange part 22 provided at the other end of the winding core part 23 in the axial direction. The drum core 20 is a block made of a high permeability material such as ferrite and has a configuration in which the flange parts 21 and 22 and the winding core part 23 are formed integrally. While the yz cross section (cross section perpendicular to the axial direction) of the winding core part 23 has a rectangular shape, the corners thereof are chamfered by barrel polishing. The cross section of the winding core part 23 need not necessarily be rectangular but may have other shapes, e.g., a polygonal shape other than a rectangle, such as a hexagon or an octagon. Further, the winding core part 23 may have partly a curved surface.
The first flange part 21 has an inside surface 21i connected to the winding core part 23, an outside surface 210 positioned on the side opposite to the inside surface 21i, a bottom surface 21b facing a substrate at mounting, and a surface 21t positioned on the side opposite to the bottom surface 21b. The inside surface 21i and outside surface 210 each constitute the yz plane, and the bottom surface 21b and the surface 21t each constitute the xy plane. Similarly, the second flange part 22 has an inside surface 22i connected to the winding core part 23, an outside surface 22o positioned on the side opposite to the inside surface 22i, a bottom surface 22b facing the substrate at mounting, and a surface 22t positioned on the side opposite to the bottom surface 22b. The inside surface 22i and the outside surface 22o each constitute the yz plane, and the bottom surface 22b and the top surface 22t each constitute the xy plane. In the present embodiment, the corner between the bottom surface 21b and the inside surface 21i of the first flange part 21 is chamfered into a slope 21s. Similarly, the corner between the bottom surface 22b and inside surface 22i of the second flange part 22 is chamfered into a slope 22s.
The plate-like core 30 is bonded to the surface 21t of the first flange part 21 and the surface 22t of the second flange part 22. The plate-like core 30 is a plate-like body made of a high permeability material such as ferrite and constitutes a closed magnetic path together with the drum core 20. The plate-like core 30 may be made of the same material as that of the drum core 20. The plate-like core 30 may be directly bonded to the drum core 20 by an adhesive or may be indirectly bonded to the drum core 20 with the wires W1 to W4 and the plate-like core 30 bonded to each other by an adhesive.
As illustrated in
Similarly, three terminal electrodes 44 to 46 are provided on the second flange part 22. The terminal electrodes 44 to 46 are arranged in this order in the y-direction and each have an L-like shape that covers the bottom surface 22b and the outside surface 22o. The fourth terminal electrode 44 is connected with the other ends of the first and second wires W1 and W2, the fifth terminal electrode 45 is connected with the other end of the fourth wire W4, and the sixth terminal electrode 46 is connected with the other end of the third wire W3.
The terminal electrodes 41 to 46 may each be a terminal metal fitting bonded to the drum core 20 or may each be directly formed on the drum core 20 using a conductive paste.
The first and third wires W1 and W3 and the second and fourth wires W2 and W4 are wound in the opposite directions. Thus, as illustrated in the circuit diagram of
The first and second terminal electrodes 41 and 42 constituting the pair of primary-side terminals are terminals that input thereto or output a pair of differential signals. The connection relationship between the first and second terminal electrodes 41 and 42 and first and second wires W1 and W2 is not limited to that illustrated in
While the planar size of the drum core 20 is not particularly limited, it is difficult to reduce the width thereof at least in the y-direction to less than a predetermined value since the primary- and secondary-side terminals coexist in the same flange part. Specifically, the primary-side terminal and the secondary-side terminal (i.e., the terminal electrodes 42 and 43 or terminal electrodes 44 and 45) need to be spaced apart from each other by about 1.5 mm in the y-direction from the view point of ensuring a dielectric strength voltage. Taking this into consideration, it is difficult to reduce the width of the drum core 20 in the y-direction to less than 3 mm. Meanwhile, electronic components are required to be miniaturized as much as possible, so that the width of the drum core 20 in the y-direction is preferably 3 mm or more and 4 mm or less.
The length of the drum core 20 in the x-direction is preferably equal to or slightly larger than the width of the drum core 20 in the y-direction in consideration of mounting efficiency on a circuit board. Thus, the width of the drum core 20 in the x-direction is preferably 3 mm or more and 5 mm or less. As one example, the length of the drum core 20 in the x-direction can be set to 4.5 mm, and the width of the drum core 20 in the y-direction can be set to 3.2 mm. As another example, the length of the drum core 20 in the x-direction can be set to 3.2 mm, and the width of the drum core 20 in the y-direction can be set to 3.2 mm.
The following describes more specifically the shape of the drum core 20 constituting the pulse transformer 10A.
The drum core 20 used in the present embodiment has the following characteristics in terms of the shape thereof. First, as illustrated in
Further, as illustrated in
The graph of
Although the value A slightly varies depending on the planar size of the drum core 20, a concrete value thereof falls within a range of 0.4 or more to less than 0.5 in a drum core of general size. In particular, when the length of the drum core 20 in the x-direction is 3 mm or more and 5 mm or less, and the width there of in the y-direction is 3 mm or more and 4 mm or less, the value A becomes about 0.47. On the other hand, in a general pulse transformer, the width S1y of the winding core part 23 in the y-direction is about half the width S2y of each of the flange parts 21 and 22 in the y-direction, and the height S1z of the winding core part 23 in the z-direction is equal to or slightly larger than the thickness S2x of each of the flange parts 21 and 22 in the x-direction. Thus, the value of S1/S2 in a general pulse transformer falls within a range of about 0.5 to about 0.6.
The reduction in the inductance can be compensated by increasing the number of turns of each of the wires W1 to W4, whereas the increase in the number of turns increases the insertion loss. In this view, some reduction in the inductance can be tolerated, but it is difficult to tolerate a reduction exceeding 20%. Further, when the S1/S2 becomes smaller than the value C, a change in the inductance with respect to a change in the S1/S2 becomes large, with the result that a change in the inductance due to manufacturing variations becomes conspicuous. Taking this into consideration, it is necessary to set the S1/S2 equal to or more than the value C.
Although the value C slightly varies depending on the planar size of the drum core 20, a concrete value thereof falls within a range of 0.15 or more to less than 0.20 in a drum core of general size. In particular, when the length of the drum core 20 in the x-direction is 3 mm or more and 5 mm or less, the width thereof in the y-direction is 3 mm or more and 4 mm or less, and the thickness of each of the flange parts 21 and 22 in the x-direction is about 0.9 mm, the value C becomes about 0.19.
To reduce the value of S1/S2, as illustrated in
Alternatively, as illustrated in
On the other hand, to reduce the area S1, as illustrated in
As described above, in the pulse transformer 10A according to the present embodiment, the value of S1/S2 is less than the value A that is considerably smaller than that in a general pulse transformer, thus allowing the insertion loss to be reduced. In addition, the S1/S2 is set to the value C or more, thus making it possible to minimize a reduction in the inductance and to ensure mechanical strength.
As illustrated in
In the present embodiment, one ends of the third and fourth wires W3 and W4 are connected respectively to the terminal electrodes 43A and 43B, and the other ends of the second and first wires W2 and W1 are connected respectively to the terminal electrodes 44A and 44B.
The terminal electrodes 43A and 43B constitute a secondary-side center tap and are short-circuited on a circuit board on which the pulse transformer 10B is mounted. The terminal electrodes 44A and 44B constitute a primary-side center tap and are short-circuited on the circuit board on which the pulse transformer 10B is mounted. As a result, the same circuit configuration as that of the pulse transformer 10A according to the first embodiment can be obtained. The connection relationship between the terminal electrodes 43A, 43B and the wires W3, W4 may be inverted. Similarly, the connection relationship between the terminal electrodes 44A, 44B and the wires W2, W1 may be inverted.
As exemplified in the present embodiment, in the present invention, the number of the terminal electrodes to be formed on each of the first and second flange parts 21 and 22 need not necessarily be three but may be four.
It is apparent that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, but may be modified and changed without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.
Samples A1 to A12 of pulse transformers each having the similar configuration to that of the pulse transformer 10A illustrated in
In all the samples A1 to A12, the drum core had an x-direction length of 4.5 mm, a y-direction width of 3.34 mm, and a z-direction height of 1.58 mm, and the plate-like core had an x-direction length of 4.5 mm, a y-direction width of 3.34 mm, and a z-direction height of 1.07 mm. Further, in all the samples A1 to A12, the thickness S2x of the flange part in the x-direction was 0.9 mm. Accordingly, in all the samples A1 to A12, the area S2 was 3.006 mm2 (=0.9 mm×3.34 mm).
In the sample A1, the width S1y of the winding core part in the y-direction was set to 1.6 mm, and the height S1z of the winding core part in the z-direction was set to 1.07 mm. That is, in the sample A1, the area S1 was 1.712 mm2 (=1.6 mm×1.07 mm), and the value of S1/S2 was about 0.57 (given as rounding at triple figures below decimal point). The above sample A1 has the shape and size of a typical pulse transformer. On the other hand, the samples A2 to A12 are samples obtained by reducing the sectional area (S1) of the winding core part of the sample A1. The sectional area of the winding core part was reduced in the same proportion in the y- and z-directions. Thus, the cross-sectional shapes of the respective winding core parts in the samples A1 to A12 are similar to one another.
Simulation results are shown in
On the other hand, it can be seen that the insertion loss becomes significantly small when the value of S1/S2 falls below 0.47. The value of S1 in the sample A2 is about 1.43 mm2, so that when the planar size of the drum core is equivalent to that in the samples A1 to A12, S1 may be set to a value less than about 1.43 mm2 in order to significantly reduce the insertion loss.
The insertion loss in the sample A4 (S1/S2=0.38) is reduced by about 5% relative to that in the sample A1, and the insertion loss in the sample A5 (S1/S2=0.28) is reduced by about 10% relative to that in the sample A1. Thus, the value of S1/S2 may be set to 0.38 or less in order to reduce the insertion loss by 5% or more relative to that in a general pulse transformer, and the value of S1/S2 may be set to 0.28 or less in order to reduce the insertion loss by 10% or more.
On the other hand, the inductance becomes lower as the value of S1/S2 is smaller for all the numbers of turns; however, the reduction is not linear. Specifically, the inclination of the inductance curve is gentle in the vicinity of S1/S2=0.47 at which the insertion loss starts changing, and the inclination becomes steeper as the value of S1/S2 is smaller. As compared with the sample A2 (S1/S2=0.47) in which the insertion loss starts reducing, the reduction in the inductance is suppressed to 10% or less in the sample A5 (S1/S2=0.28), and the reduction in the inductance is suppressed to 20% or less in the sample A6 (S1/S2=0.19). Thus, the value of S1/S2 may be set to 0.28 or more in order to suppress the reduction in the inductance to 10% or less relative to the induction in the sample A2 corresponding to the upper limit, and the value of S1/S2 may be set to 0.19 or more in order to suppress the reduction in the inductance to 20% or less. The value of S1 in the sample A5 is about 0.856 mm2, and the value of S1 in the sample A6 is about 0.571 mm2, so that when the planar size of the drum core is equivalent to that in the samples A1 to A12, the value of S1 may be set to about 0.85 mm2 or more in order to suppress the reduction in the inductance to 10% or less, and the value of S1 may be set to about 0.57 mm2 or more in order to suppress the reduction in the inductance to 20% or less.
When the value of S1/S2 is made excessively small, the mechanical strength of the drum core becomes insufficient, making the winding core part more liable to be broken. Thus, the samples A7 to A12 in which the value of S1/S2 is 0.15 or less are impractical.
Next, simulations were carried out assuming samples B1 to B12 having the same configurations as those of the respective samples A1 to A12 except that the thickness S2x of the flange part in the x-direction was increased to 1.2 mm. Thus, in all the samples B1 to B12, the area S2 was 4.008 mm2 (=1.2 mm×3.34 mm). The planar size of the drum core was the same as that in the samples A1 to A12. Thus, the length of the winding core part in the x-direction was reduced by the increase in the thickness of the flange part. The number of turns per wire was set to two different values: 20 and 32 in each of the samples B1 to B12.
Simulation results are shown in
Next, simulations were carried out assuming samples C1 to C12 having the same configurations as those of the respective samples A1 to A12 except that the thickness S2x of the flange part in the x-direction was increased to 1.5 mm. Thus, in all the samples C1 to C12, the area S2 was 5.01 mm2 (=1.5 mm×3.34 mm). The planar size of the drum core was the same as that in the samples A1 to A12. Thus, the length of the winding core part in the x-direction was reduced by the increase in the thickness of the flange part. The number of turns per wire was set to two different values: 20 and 32 in each of the samples C1 to C12.
Simulation results are shown in
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2017-123037 | Jun 2017 | JP | national |