METHOD FOR PRODUCING A CONNECTION CONTACT

Abstract

A method for producing a connection contact for a sensor or an actuator of a vehicle, the method including: providing a printed circuit board having at least one electronic component arranged thereon and having an opening; inserting a contact bushing into the opening; and combined soldering the at least one component to the printed circuit board and the contact bushing to the printed circuit board in one task. Also described are a related circuit board and a vehicle control unit.

Claims

1-10. (canceled)

11. A method for producing a connection contact for a sensor or an actuator of a vehicle, the method comprising: providing a printed circuit board having at least one electronic component arranged thereon and having an opening; inserting a contact bushing into the opening; and combined soldering the at least one component to the printed circuit board and the contact bushing to the printed circuit board in one task.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the combined soldering process is a reflow soldering process.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the sensor or the actuator can be electrically contacted by a contact pin, and wherein the inserting of the contact bushing is performed by a placement machine and the inserted contact bushing has a locking device for the contact pin.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the locking device is configured in the inserted contact bushing to hold the contact pin by press-in technology.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the contact bushing is inserted by a placement machine so that the placement machine grips the contact bushing by a vacuum and inserts it into the opening.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the contact bushing has a through-going opening having a temporary covering, which is embodied from paper, so that the contact bushing is grippable by a vacuum, and wherein the temporary covering is removed after the combined soldering process has been performed.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the printed circuit board has on both sides a soldering arrangement at the opening.

18. A circuit board having a connection contact for a sensor or for an actuator in a vehicle, comprising: a contact bushing having a through-going opening to receive a contact pin that contacts the sensor or the actuator of the vehicle and to provide an electrical contact; and a reflow solder connection between the contact bushing and a metallization of the printed circuit board and further reflow solder connections between one or more components and the printed circuit board.

19. The circuit board of claim 18, wherein the contact bushing has a through-going opening having a temporary covering, which is embodied from a paper material, wherein the temporary covering is configured so that the contact bushing is grippable by a placement machine by a vacuum.

20. A vehicle control unit, comprising: a printed circuit board having a connection contact for a sensor or for an actuator in a vehicle, including: a contact bushing having a through-going opening to receive a contact pin that contacts the sensor or the actuator of the vehicle and to provide an electrical contact; and a reflow solder connection between the contact bushing and a metallization of the printed circuit board and further reflow solder connections between one or more components and the printed circuit board; a sensor or an actuator; and at least one contact pin that provides an electrical connection between the printed circuit board and the sensor or the actuator.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] FIG. 1 illustrates a flow diagram for a method according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

[0018] FIG. 2 illustrates for example a printed circuit board having a contact bushing that has been configured in accordance with the exemplary embodiments on the printed circuit board.

[0019] FIG. 3 illustrates for example the printed circuit board having the contact bushing that renders it possible to produce an electrical contact to a sensor/actuator by way of contact pins.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] FIG. 1 illustrates a flow diagram for a method according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention. The method comprises: [0021] providing S110 a printed circuit board having at least one electronic component arranged thereon and having (at least) one opening; [0022] inserting S120 a contact bushing into the opening; and [0023] combined soldering S130 the at least one component to the printed circuit board and to the contact bushing in one method step.

[0024] FIG. 2 illustrates for example a printed circuit board 110 having an opening 115 in which a contact bushing 120 is located. The contact bushing 120 comprises a through-going opening 121 having locking means 122 configured therein in order to fix a contact pin 70 and thus to produce a reliable electrical connection to a component (actuator, sensor, valve etc.). The locking means 122 can have for example flexibly designed arms 123 that deform as the contact pin 70 is inserted and hold the contact pin 70 in the contact bushing 120 by way of a pre-stressing force. The contact bushing 120 comprises also a funnel guide 126 in order to facilitate the procedure of inserting the contact pin 70 into the contact bushing 120. Furthermore, the contact bushing 120 comprises a covering 124 on the face of the contact bushing 120 that lies opposite the funnel guide 126 and the covering covers for example temporarily the through-going opening 121 with the result that the contact bushing 120 can be gripped for example by way of a vacuum suction method and can be automatically placed into the opening 115 of the printed circuit board 110. The covering 124 can be removed after the contact bushing 120 has been soldered onto the printed circuit board 110 with the result that the contact pin 70 can extend through the contact bushing 120.

[0025] In order to fix the contact bushing 120 in the opening 115 of the printed circuit board 110, it is possible to use a reflow soldering process that can be performed together with the SMD reflow process (SMD=surface mounted devices) and produce the reflow solder connection 130. The reflow solder connection 130 produces an electrical contact between the contact bushing 120, which is embodied for example from metal, and a metallization of the printed circuit board 110, with the result that the sensor or the actuator can be electrically connected by way of the contact pin 70 to the components on the printed circuit board 110. In order to perform the reflow soldering process, the printed circuit board 110 can have on both sides a corresponding solder material that liquefies during the reflow soldering process in order to produce the reflow solder connection 130 between the printed circuit board 110 and the contact bushing 120 or to the components. For example, a ca. 5 μm thick tin layer can be configured for this purpose on the printed circuit board 110 around the opening 115 and this thick tin layer can then later produce the electrical contact 130 to the contact bushing 120. The reflow soldering process for the contact bushing 120 consequently replaces the additional spring contact to the printed circuit board in the guide strip as is used in the case of conventional contacting methods. It is likewise possible that the contact bushing 120 is inserted into the opening 115 by means of a placement machine in an automated SMT assembly procedure (SMT=surface-mount technology).

[0026] The opening 115 can comprise for example a diameter of 2 to 4 mm or of ca. 2.8 mm. The through-going opening 121 within the contact bushing 120 can comprise for example a diameter between 2 . . . 3 mm or of ca. 2.5 mm and the contact pins 70 can have a diameter of ca. 1 . . . 2 mm. Moreover, a contact pad can be configured around the opening 115 (on one side or on both sides of the printed circuit board 110) and this contact pad can extend around the opening 115 in a width of ca. 5 mm and have the corresponding solder material (e.g. a 5 μm thick layer of tin).

[0027] FIG. 3 illustrates for example the printed circuit board 110 that by way of the contact pins 70 produces an electrical contact to a sensor/actuator 50. The printed circuit board 110 is securely screwed, for example by means of attachment screws 80, in the commercial vehicle (e.g. in a control unit) at the position of the actuator or sensor 50. The mechanical attachment can also be realized by means of a press-in technology in lieu of attachment screws 80. The contact pin 70 can therefore not slip out independently. The locking means 122 in the contact bushing 120 consequently do not need to prevent the contact pin sliding out but rather above all need to ensure the electrical contact. This can be achieved by means of a corresponding spring force of the contact fingers 123. The printed circuit board 110 comprises electronic components that are not illustrated in FIG. 2 or FIG. 3. They illustrate for example a control procedure of the actuator or sensor 50 or comprise an evaluating unit.

[0028] A great advantage of exemplary embodiments is that only one soldering process is required to attach the electronic components to the printed circuit board 110 and to configure the contact between the contact connection and the sensor or the actuator 50. Moreover, the bushing 120 can be inserted automatically, for example by way of a placement machine, wherein for example a vacuum suction method can be used. The contact bushing 120 can have for example locking means 122 that can have by means of a press-in/clamping connection for the contact pin(s) 70 to the sensor and/or the actuator.

[0029] The features of the invention that are disclosed in the description, the claims and the figures can be essential both individually and also in any combination for the implementation of the invention.

THE LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS IS AS FOLLOWS

[0030] 50 Actuator, sensor, . . . [0031] 70 Contact pin(s) [0032] 80 Attachment screws [0033] 110 Printed circuit board [0034] 115 Openings of the printed circuit board [0035] 120 Connection bushing [0036] 121 Through-going opening [0037] 122 Locking means [0038] 123 Deformable fingers [0039] 124 Rear-face, temporary covering [0040] 126 Funnel guide [0041] 130 Reflow solder connection