Abstract
The invention relates to a distance compensating element for arrangement between two components with a metal foil (4), with spring elements (6) integrally formed with the metal foil (4), wherein the spring elements (6) project from the plane (E) of the metal foil (4) and wherein the spring elements (6) are adapted to be in contact with at least one of the components. The invention also relates to an arrangement comprising two components (22, 24) and a distance-compensating element (2). The invention solves the technical problem of improving a spacer element and an arrangement of two components and a spacer element.
Claims
1. A distance compensation element for arrangement between two components with a metal foil and with spring elements integral with the metal foil, wherein the spring elements protrude from the plane of the metal foil, wherein the spring elements are designed to be in contact with at least one of the components, and wherein a slit arrangement with a plurality of slits is introduced into the metal foil, characterized in, that the metal foil is deformed by stretching.
2-6. (canceled)
7. The distance compensation element according to claim 1, characterised in, that the metal foil is provided in sections with spring elements and is formed in sections as a plane metal foil.
8. The compensation element according to claim 1, characterised in, that the metal foil consists of at least two metal layers, that at least one metal layer consists of a first metal, that at least one metal layer consists of a second metal, in that the first metal has a greater modulus of elasticity than the second metal, and that the second metal has a greater thermal conductivity than the first metal.
9. The distance compensating element according to claim 8, characterised in, that the first metal is made of an aluminium alloy and the second metal is made of a stainless steel.
10. The distance compensation element according to claim 8, characterised in, that the metal foil consists of three layers, the two outer layers consisting of the first metal and the middle layer consisting of the second metal.
11. The distance compensating element according to claim 8, characterised in, that the metal foil comprises a ferromagnetic metal at least in sections and in at least one layer.
12. The distance compensation element according to claim 1, characterised in, that an electrically insulating layer is arranged on at least one side of the metal foil.
13. The use of a metal foil as a distance compensation element for arrangement between two components, wherein the metal foil is formed according to claim 1.
14. The arrangement of a first component, a distance compensating element and a second component, wherein the distance compensating element is formed according to claim 1, wherein the distance compensating element is arranged between the two components, wherein the spring elements of the distance compensating element compensate for dimensional variations of the first component, and wherein the distance compensating element transfers thermal energy from the first component to the second component.
15. The arrangement according to claim 14, characterised in, that when the spring elements protrude only to one side of the plane of the metal foil, the spring elements are in contact with one of the components and the metal foil with the non-deformed portions is in contact with the other component.
16. The arrangement according to claim 14, characterised in, that the at least two distance compensating elements are arranged between the first component and the second component.
17. The arrangement according to claim 14, characterised in, that the first component is an electrical component, in particular a battery, a battery cell arrangement or a display, and that the second component is a mechanical component, in particular a battery tray, a housing, a dashboard of a vehicle or an aircraft, a display panel or a road sign.
18. The arrangement according to claim 14, characterised in, that the metal foil connects the electrical contacts of batteries and is connected to an electrical line.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0058] In the following, the invention is explained by means of embodiment examples with reference to the drawing. The drawing shows
[0059] FIG. 1 an example of a distance compensation element according to the invention,
[0060] FIG. 2 the metal foil for producing the distance compensation element according to FIG. 1 with an inserted slot arrangement,
[0061] FIG. 3 a top view of the distance compensation element shown in FIG. 1,
[0062] FIG. 4, 4a a side view of the distance compensation element shown in FIG. 1,
[0063] FIG. 5a, b an example of a distance compensation element according to the invention,
[0064] FIG. 6a-f Examples of metal foils with different slot arrangements for the production of distance compensation elements,
[0065] FIG. 7a, b a section of a metal foil with a slot arrangement for producing a distance compensation element,
[0066] FIG. 8a, b a section of a metal foil with a slot arrangement for producing a distance compensation element,
[0067] FIG. 9a, b an arrangement according to the invention with a distance compensation element according to FIG. 8,
[0068] FIG. 10a, b an example of a distance compensation element according to the invention,
[0069] FIG. 11 an example of a distance compensation element according to the invention and
[0070] FIG. 12 an arrangement according to the invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0071] In the following description of the various embodiments according to the invention, the same components are given the same reference signs, even if the components may differ in dimension or shape in the various embodiments.
[0072] FIGS. 1 to 4 show a first embodiment of a distance-compensating element 2 according to the invention for arrangement between two components, the figures depicting different states and views of the metal foil 4.
[0073] The completed distance compensation element 2 is first shown in FIG. 1 in a perspective view and consists of a metal foil 4 and spring elements 6 integrally formed with the metal foil 4. The spring elements 6 protrude from the plane E of the metal foil 4 and are designed to be in contact with at least one of the components. Such an arrangement is shown in FIG. 12 and will be explained in more detail below.
[0074] The still unprocessed metal foil 4 is first provided with a slit arrangement 8. FIG. 2 shows a section of the metal foil 4 with the slot arrangement 8 before further processing. The slit arrangement 8 consists of a number of slits 10 inserted parallel to each other, which form a functional geometry. The slits 10 are made in the metal foil 4 with knives, cutting or punching or alternatively by etching.
[0075] FIG. 3 shows the same section of the metal foil after the metal foil 4 has been formed and FIG. 1 shows the perspective view of the entire metal foil 2. In each case, a section between two slits 10 has been formed, i.e. punched, out of the plane E of the metal foil 4 towards one side, while the adjacent section between the slits 10 has been punched towards the other side. Thus, the formed sections alternate on both sides of the metal foil 4 and form the spring elements 6. The spring elements 6 each have a flat section which, when installed, is in contact with one of the components. The flanks of the protruding spring elements 6 are deep-drawn.
[0076] This arrangement of the spring elements 6 is also clear from FIGS. 4 and 4a, which is an enlargement of a section. FIG. 4 shows a cross-section of the metal foil 4, whereby FIG. 4a clearly shows the alternating course of the spring elements 6.
[0077] The material selection of the metal foil 4 described above enables a combination of good elasticity and good thermal conductivity at the same time, so that the distance compensation element 2 fulfils two different functionalities in one component.
[0078] FIG. 5 shows a further embodiment of a distance compensation element 2 according to the invention, which is produced by stretching a metal foil 4. FIG. 5a shows the metal foil 4 in the initial state with inserted slots 10 of a slot arrangement 8 before stretching. The slits 10 have a distance a.
[0079] In FIG. 5b the metal foil 4 is shown after stretching, i.e. as expanded metal. By stretching the metal foil 4 in the direction of the two arrows shown on the left, the slits are pulled apart so that they form oval openings 11 with webs 13 arranged between them. On the one hand, this results in a greater length of the stretched metal foil 4, so that the distance a′ is greater than the original distance a. On the other hand, the webs 13 are set up transversely to the plane E (drawing plane in the upper section of FIG. 5) of the metal foil 4 as is usual when stretching, whereby the webs 13 are deflected upwards and downwards according to FIG. 5 and form spring elements 6 projecting upwards and downwards.
[0080] The bars 13 are shown in FIG. 5b as oblique lines. In the enlarged section, the letters H and T indicate that the corresponding edge of the bars 13 between two oval openings 11 protrude upwards (H—high) or downwards (T—low).
[0081] The metal foil 4 has thus been transformed into the distance compensation element by stretching. The protruding spring elements 6 run at an angle to the plane E of the metal foil 4, cause a change in height and thus form the elastic spring elements 6.
[0082] FIGS. 6a to 6f show six further designs of metal foils 4 in section, which have slot arrangements 10 with different geometries. In all examples, the direction of pull is vertical and the respective exemplary hatched sections of the metal foil 4 bounded by slits 8 straighten transversely to the plane E (drawing plane of FIG. 6) when the metal foil 4 is stretched and form the spring elements 6.
[0083] FIGS. 7a and 7b show an example of an embodiment in which the non-stretched metal foil 4 is shown in FIG. 7a. FIG. 7b shows the metal foil 4 after stretching. By stretching in the direction of the arrows shown, the middle section twists and forms protruding spring elements 6 on both sides transverse to the plane E (drawing plane of FIGS. 7a, 7b).
[0084] The spring elements 6 explained above with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7 project at an angle transverse to the plane E of the metal foil 4. When the spring elements 6 come into contact with a component and come into contact, the spring elements 6 are partially bent over and thus generate the elastic spring force. In the process, the spring elements 6 come at least partially into surface contact with the component in order to realise the heat transfer.
[0085] FIG. 8 shows a further design of a distance-compensating element 2 according to the invention. According to FIG. 8a, the metal foil 4 has a slot arrangement 10 in the initial state, which has a rectangular or square ground plan. The square slots 10 arranged one inside the other have interruptions alternately at the corners or centrally along the side edges.
[0086] FIG. 8b shows the forming of the metal foil 4, whereby in the outer areas of the slit structure the metal foil is pressed relatively downwards and the middle area is pressed relatively upwards. This creates an accordion-like structure that protrudes from the plane E of the metal foil 4 similar to a pyramid.
[0087] In a further embodiment, the distance compensation element 2 may be provided with a plurality of spring elements 2 previously described with reference to FIG. 8.
[0088] FIG. 9 shows an application example of a distance compensation element 2 according to FIG. 8 in the form of a battery holder 12 with a receptacle 14 for a cylindrical battery 16. The receptacle 14 has the distance compensation element 2 with the projecting spring element 6 on the right edge, in FIG. 9a in the relaxed state. When the battery 16 is inserted as shown in FIG. 9b, the spring element 6 is partially compressed and holds the battery 16 securely in the receptacle 14. At the same time, the distance compensation element 2 ensures both heat dissipation and electrical contact and transmission of the electrical energy through the flat contact of the spring element 6 with the negative pole of the battery 16.
[0089] FIGS. 10a, 10b and 11 show two further embodiments of distance compensation elements 2, each consisting of a shirred metal foil 4.
[0090] FIG. 10a shows a cross-section through the metal foil 4 and FIG. 10b shows a partially cut three-dimensional representation. In contrast to previous embodiment examples, the metal foil 4 does not have a slit structure, but is produced from a flat starting metal foil by folding and bending along parallel lines and at regularly recurring intervals. This results in a three-dimensional structure with elongated spring elements 6 protruding to both sides. In the cross-section shown in FIG. 10a, it can be seen that each spring element 6 has inner sections 6a running obliquely in cross-section, which give way in the event of vertically acting forces and cause the required elasticity of the spring elements 6.
[0091] In FIG. 10b it can also be seen that the spring elements 6 have spaced projecting contact elements 18, which were introduced by punching in the flat spring elements 6 before folding and bending. With the contact elements 18, the spring force of the spring elements 6 is concentrated on a few contact sections.
[0092] FIG. 11 shows another embodiment similar to the example in FIG. 10. The distance compensation element 2 in FIG. 10 has a straight course of the projecting surfaces of the spring elements 6 and the inner sections 6a. The distance compensation element according to FIG. 11, on the other hand, shows a slightly curved course of the projecting surfaces of the spring elements 6.
[0093] FIG. 12 shows an arrangement 20 according to the invention consisting of a first component in the form of a plurality of rechargeable batteries 22, a distance compensation element according to FIG. 1 and a second component in the form of a battery tray 24. The distance compensation element 2 is arranged between the two components 22 and 24. By closing and, if necessary, latching a cover 26, the batteries 22 are pressed down against the distance compensation element 2 and thus fixed within the battery housing formed by the battery tray 24 and cover 26.
[0094] The spring elements 6 of the distance compensation element 2 thus compensate for variations in the dimensions of the batteries 22, as the individual spring elements 6 are deformable independently of each other and can apply different spring forces. In addition, the distance compensation element 2 transfers the heat energy in the batteries during use or during charging from the batteries 22 to the battery tray 24 by resting on both components 22 and 24.
[0095] The illustration of the arrangement in FIG. 12 is schematic and does not take into account the electrical connections necessary for such a battery cell arrangement.
