Brush-holder regulator for motor vehicle alternator

Abstract

The brush-holder regulator comprises a casing made from an insulating material suitable for being mounted on a rear bearing of an alternator and forming a one-piece assembly with at least one housing suitable for containing brushes allowing an electrical connection to be established with an excitation winding of a rotor of the alternator, an electronic control component (22) connected electrically to a trace circuit (21) overmoulded in the casing, and a cooling radiator (24) for the control component. According to the invention, the control component comprises a back electrode (225) on which the radiator (24) is mounted, the back electrode (225) and the radiator (24) being in electrical and thermal contact and rigidly attached to a portion (216) of the trace circuit.

Claims

1. A brush-holder regulator (2) for a motor vehicle alternator, comprising: a casing (20) made of insulating material fitted on a rear bearing of the alternator and forming a single piece assembly with at least one receptacle (12a, 12b) for receiving brushes adapted to establish an electrical connection with an excitation winding of a rotor of the alternator; an electronic regulation component (22) connected electrically to a circuit of tracks (21) overmolded in the casing (20); and a cooling radiator (24) for the electronic regulation component, wherein the electronic regulation component (22) comprises a dorsal electrode (225) on which the cooling radiator (24) is fitted, the dorsal electrode (225) and the cooling radiator (24) being in electrical and thermal contact, and secured integrally on a portion (216) of the circuit of tracks (21).

2. The brush-holder regulator (2) according to claim 1, wherein the portion on which the dorsal electrode (225) and the cooling radiator (24) are secured overhangs the circuit of tracks (21).

3. The brush-holder regulator (2) according to claim 1, wherein the electronic regulation component (22) is contained in a first receptacle of the casing (20), an opening of which is covered by the cooling radiator (24).

4. The brush-holder regulator (2) according to claim 3, wherein the casing (20) comprises a second receptacle containing a capacitor (23b), an opening of which is covered by the cooling radiator (24).

5. The brush-holder regulator (2) according to claim 1, wherein the cooling radiator is formed by an aluminum wafer.

6. The brush-holder regulator (2) according to claim 1, wherein the fitting of the cooling radiator (24) and the dorsal electrode (225) on the portion (216) of the circuit of tracks (21) is ensured by a screw (25).

7. The brush-holder regulator (2) according to claim 1, wherein the electronic regulation component (22) comprises bent connection pins forming connection lugs (220 to 223) which are connected electrically to corresponding connection areas (210 to 213) of the circuit of tracks (21).

8. The brush-holder regulator (2) according to claim 7, wherein the connection lugs (220 to 223) are connected by electric welding to the corresponding connection areas (210 to 213) of the circuit of tracks (21).

9. The brush-holder regulator (2) according to claim 1, wherein an assembly of electrical connections of the electronic regulation component (22) and auxiliary electronic components (23a, 23b) added onto the brush-holder regulator (2) is carried out by an electric welding on a single face of the circuit of tracks (21).

10. The brush-holder regulator (2) according to claim 1, wherein the electronic regulation component (22) is a standard component comprising a communication port of the LIN or multifunction type.

11. The brush-holder regulator (2) according to claim 2, wherein the electronic regulation component (22) is contained in a first receptacle of the casing (20), an opening of which is covered by the cooling radiator (24).

12. The brush-holder regulator (2) according claim 2, wherein the cooling radiator is formed by an aluminum wafer.

13. The brush-holder regulator (2) according claim 3, wherein the cooling radiator is formed by an aluminum wafer.

14. The brush-holder regulator (2) according to claim 4, wherein the cooling radiator is formed by an aluminum wafer.

15. The brush-holder regulator (2) according to claim 2, wherein the fitting of the cooling radiator (24) and the dorsal electrode (225) on the portion (216) of the circuit of tracks (21) is ensured by a screw (25).

16. The brush-holder regulator (2) according to claim 3, wherein the fitting of the cooling radiator (24) and the dorsal electrode (225) on the portion (216) of the circuit of tracks (21) is ensured by a screw (25).

17. The brush-holder regulator (2) according to claim 4, wherein the fitting of the cooling radiator (24) and the dorsal electrode (225) on the portion (216) of the circuit of tracks (21) is ensured by a screw (25).

18. The brush-holder regulator (2) according to claim 5, wherein the fitting of the cooling radiator (24) and the dorsal electrode (225) on the portion (216) of the circuit of tracks (21) is ensured by a screw (25).

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of a brush-holder regulator for a motor vehicle alternator according to the prior art, shown in a partially stripped-down state;

(2) FIGS. 2a, 2b and 2c are views of a particular embodiment of a brush-holder regulator according to the invention, the brush-holder regulator being shown in these figures in different partially stripped-down states;

(3) FIGS. 3a and 3b are views in perspective of the electronic regulation component contained in this particular embodiment of the brush-holder regulator according to the invention;

(4) FIG. 4 is a view in perspective showing the circuit of tracks of the brush-holder regulator and fitting of the electronic regulation component on the latter;

(5) FIG. 5 is a partial view from above showing the welds of the lugs of the connection pins of the electronic regulation component on the circuit of tracks;

(6) FIG. 6 is a view in perspective of the radiator wafer; and

(7) FIGS. 7a and 7b are views in perspective showing the fitting of the electronic regulation component and the radiator wafer on the circuit of tracks.

(8) FIG. 8 is a cross-section of FIG. 7a.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)

(9) A particular embodiment of a brush-holder regulator 2 according to the invention is now described with reference in a first stage to FIGS. 2a, 2b and 2c.

(10) As shown in FIGS. 2a, 2b and 2c, the brush-holder regulator 2 substantially comprises a single-piece casing 20 including receptacles 12a, 12b for conductive brushes and an overmolded circuit of tracks 21, an electronic regulation component 22, auxiliary electronic components 23a, 23b, and a cooling radiator (or radiator wafer) 24.

(11) The casing 20 is designed such as to accommodate the regulation component 22 and the radiator wafer 24, as well as the auxiliary electronic components 23a, 23b. The circuit of tracks 21 can be produced according to different methods, and is overmoulded in order to form the casing 20.

(12) The regulation component 22 shown in FIG. 3a is typically a component available from a catalogue, for example, in this embodiment, a component available as a standard casing of type TO220 with five pins. It can for example be a regulator of the type with a LIN VDA communication interface, as offered by the company Infineon (registered trademark) under the reference TLE8880, which can control a communication connection of the LIN type with the vehicle engine electronic control unit. Voltage regulators in a standard casing, with a communication interface of a multifunction type, are also suitable for a brush-holder regulator according to the invention.

(13) As shown in FIG. 3b, in this particular embodiment, the regulation component 22 comprises five connection pins 220 to 224. According to the invention, the connection pins 220 to 224 are bent. In this case, the connection pins 220 to 224 each have a double bend at 90 in opposite bending directions. These bending operations carried out on the pins 220 to 224 make it possible to form at their respective ends lugs which can be welded electrically on respective welding areas 210 to 214, shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, of the circuit of tracks 21.

(14) The regulation component 22 also comprises a dorsal electrode 225 which is provided with an orifice 226, and is designed to be secured on the circuit of tracks 21 by means of a securing screw 25, as shown in FIG. 8.

(15) The auxiliary electronic components 23a, 23b are capacitors which substantially have filtering functions, respectively for the regulation circuit 22 and the LIN communication connection. These capacitors 23a and 23b each comprise in a known manner two connection pins which are designed to be welded electrically on respective welding areas 230a and 230b, shown in FIGS. 2c and 4.

(16) It will be noted here that the components 22 and 23a, 23b are implanted in the regulator 2 such that the assembly of the connection lugs of the latter, which are designed to be welded electrically, are welded on a single side of the regulator, which avoids operations of overturning the regulator 2 during the production process.

(17) The radiator wafer 24 and its fitting in the regulator 2 are shown in FIG. 6 and FIGS. 2a, 7a, 7b and 8.

(18) The radiator wafer 24 is typically made of aluminium, and comprises an orifice 240 for the passage of the securing screw 25. As shown in cross-section in FIG. 8, the screw 25 is inserted in the orifice 240 in the radiator wafer 24 and in the orifice 226 in the dorsal electrode 225 of the regulation component 22, and is screwed into a corresponding orifice 215 in the circuit of tracks 21, on an overhanging portion 216 of the latter. The overhanging portion 216 can be seen in FIGS. 4, 7a and 7b. The radiator wafer 24 and the dorsal electrode 225 of the regulation component 22 are sandwiched and clamped between the head of the screw 25 and the overhanging portion 216. It will be noted that the screw 25 is advantageously a self-tapping screw.

(19) The radiator wafer 24 comprises a lower face in electrical and thermal contact with the dorsal electrode 225 of the regulation component 22, and an upper face in contact with the head of the screw 25. The upper face of the radiator wafer 24 faces onto the exterior of the regulator 2, and permits cooling of the regulation component 22 by conduction and convection, the lower face of the radiator wafer 24 being in thermal contact with the dorsal electrode 225.

(20) The dorsal electrode 225 of the regulator 2 is also in electrical and thermal contact with the overhanging portion 216 of the circuit of tracks. This thermal contact with the overhanging portion 216 also permits thermal dissipation of the calories obtained from the regulation component through a metal earthing part constituted by the circuit of tracks 21.

(21) It will be noted that, once the radiator wafer 24 is fitted on the regulator 2, it closes an opening in the receptacle containing the regulation component 22, as well as an opening in the receptacle containing the capacitor 23b (shown in FIG. 2c). A function of protection against mechanical impacts and penetration of impurities/contaminants is also thus ensured by the radiator wafer 24.

(22) It will be noted that the invention makes it possible to avoid interlacing of portions of the circuit of tracks, and makes it possible to obtain portions of tracks for the electric welding of the electronic regulation component which are all flat on a single plane. These characteristics facilitate the production process.

(23) The invention now having been disclosed by means of the particular embodiment described in detail above, persons skilled in the art will be able to take advantage of the teaching contained in the present application to conceive of other embodiments of the invention suitable for particular applications of the invention. The invention thus incorporates all the possible variant embodiments, provided that the characteristics of this brush-holder regulator do not depart from the context established by the following claims.