DEVICE HAVING AN ELECTRONICS UNIT AND A HOUSING

Abstract

A device having an electronics unit and a housing. The housing has at least one first housing part and one second housing part, which are developed and joined in such a way that electronics unit is enclosed by the housing, the first housing part and/or the second housing part being developed as a foil.

Claims

1-13. (canceled)

14. A device, comprising: an electronics unit; and a housing, wherein the housing has at least one first housing part and at least one second housing part which are configured and joined in such a way that the electronic unit is enclosed by the housing, the first housing part and/or the second housing part being formed from a foil.

15. The device as recited in claim 14, wherein the at least one first housing part and/or the at least one second housing part has at least one fastening element.

16. The device as recited in claim 15, wherein the fastening element is a wing-type element, which projects outward from the housing.

17. The device as recited in claim 15, wherein the at least one fastening element has at least one perforation.

18. The device as recited in claim 14, wherein the at least one first housing part has a first region which is formed in such a way that the at least one first housing part is more elastic in the first region than outside the first region.

19. The device as recited in claim 18, wherein the at least one first housing part at least partially has a groove in the first region.

20. The device as recited in claim 18, wherein a thickness of the at least one first housing part is thinner in the first region than a thickness of the first housing part outside the first region.

21. The device as recited in claim 14, wherein the at least one first housing part has at least one second region and a third region, which is formed in such a way that a stability of the first housing part inside the second region is greater than outside the second region, and a third region has greater protection from mechanical effects than outside the third region.

22. The device as recited in claim 21, wherein the at least one second region and the third region are part of an upper side of the first housing part, the first housing part in the third region being situated at an offset in a direction of an interior of the housing in relation to the second region such that the third region is at least partly surrounded by an elevated portion of the second region.

23. The device as recited in claim 22, wherein the electronics unit has at least one switching element, the switching element being positioned in such a way that switching element is situated below the third region in an actuating direction of the switching element.

24. The device as recited in claim 23, wherein an upper side of the switching element extends in parallel with the upper side of the first housing part in the third region.

25. The device as recited in claim 21, wherein the at least one second region of the first housing part has at least one edge, the at least one second region including a side wall of the first housing part, and the edge extending in parallel with an upper edge of the side wall.

26. The device as recited in claim 14, wherein the at least one first housing part and/or the at least one second housing part is at least regionally optically transparent.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a first exemplary embodiment of a device according to the present invention.

[0031] FIG. 2 shows a first section through the first exemplary embodiment of a device according to the present invention according to FIG. 1.

[0032] FIG. 3 shows a second section through the first exemplary embodiment of a device according to the present invention according to FIG. 1.

[0033] FIG. 4 shows a section through a second exemplary embodiment of a device according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

[0034] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a first exemplary embodiment of a device according to the present invention. Shown is a device 10, which has a housing 30. Housing 30 includes a first housing part 31 and a second housing part 32, but second housing part 32 is not visible here because it is covered by first housing part 31. First housing part 31 has two fastening elements 40. Fastening elements 40 are developed as wing-type elements in this case and project from housing 30 in the outward direction. In addition, each fastening element 40 has a plurality of perforations 41, which are embodied in the form of holes by way of example. First housing part 31 also has first regions 51, second regions 52, and third regions 53, which will be described in greater detail in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 described below.

[0035] FIG. 2 shows a first section through the first exemplary embodiment of a device of the present invention according to FIG. 1. The sectional plane includes cutting line A shown in FIG. 1 and extends perpendicular to this cutting line A through device 10, which is symbolized by double arrow A1. In addition to housing 30, which encompasses first housing part 31 and second housing part 32, device 10 also includes an electronics unit 20.

[0036] First housing part 31 and second housing part 32 are embodied and joined in such a way that electronics unit 20 is enclosed by housing 30. In addition, first housing part 31 and second housing part 32 are developed as a foil. Housing parts 31, 32 may be produced by deep-drawing of a foil, for instance, in particular by thermoforming. For example, this foil may preferably be a plastic foil, which especially preferably has a thickness of between 0.1 mm and 5 mm. In a particularly preferred manner, the plastic foil includes a biomaterial. Alternatively, however, only one of housing parts 31, 32 may be developed as a foil.

[0037] Second housing part 32 in particular has an adhesive material which may be developed as an adhesive coating. Especially preferably, second housing part 32 has a double-sided adhesive coating and, for instance, is developed as a double-sided adhesive tape with the aid of which second housing part 32 is able to be bonded to first housing part 31, in particular.

[0038] First housing part 31 has a more elastic development in first regions 51 than outside these first regions 51. This greater elasticity in first regions 51 is achieved in that first regions 51 at least partially have a groove 34 and/or in that first housing part 31 has an at least partly thinner development in first regions 51 than first housing part 31 outside these first regions 51. In particular, first regions 51 have a groove 34 whose wall thickness is reduced in comparison with a wall thickness of first housing 31 outside first region 51. Especially preferably, the wall thickness of a base of groove 34 is reduced.

[0039] In addition, the foil of first housing part 31 and/or second housing part 32 may at least regionally have an optically transparent development. This is able to be achieved in that the foil has a thin development such that an optical transparency of the foil is achieved. Alternatively, for example, the foil may have a material composition which is permeable to optical radiation, in particular within a predefined wavelength range. As an alternative thereto, the foil may also be regionally coated so that housing part 31, 32 only has an optical transparency in the particular region for optical radiation of a predefined wavelength.

[0040] In addition, first housing part 31 also has second regions 52, which are developed in such a way that the stability of first housing part 31 inside second regions 52 is greater than outside second regions 52. Moreover, first housing part 31 in particular also has a third region 53, which has greater protection from mechanical influences than outside third region 53. Second region 52 and third region 53 may be part of an upper side 35 of first housing part 31, first housing part 31 in third region 53 being offset in the direction of an interior of housing 30i in relation to second region 52 in such a way that third region 53 is surrounded by elevated second region 52.

[0041] In addition or as an alternative, at least one of second regions 52 of first housing part 31 may have at least one edge 45, this second region 52 in particular including a side wall 37 of first housing part 31, and edge 45 in particular extending in parallel with an upper edge 38 of side wall 37. In this exemplary embodiment, this second region 52 of first housing part 31 also has further edges 46, which likewise increase the stability of housing 30 and are developed in such a way that they may additionally be used for positioning electronics unit 20 in relation to first housing part 31, for instance, or also for positioning second housing part 32 in relation to first housing part 31.

[0042] For instance, electronics unit 20 has a circuit board 21 on which corresponding electronic components are situated. These electronic components, for instance, may be a sensor unit 22 and/or a switching element 23 and/or a communications unit 24. Sensor unit 22, for instance, may include an acceleration sensor and/or a temperature sensor and/or a magnetic field sensor and/or a moisture sensor and/or a light sensor in order to sense corresponding environment parameters such as the humidity or vibrations.

[0043] Switching element 23 may be embodied as a push button, for example, and be placed in such a way that an actuation of switching element 23 from outside the housing in an operating direction 60 is possible. Toward this end, switching element 23 may be disposed in such a way that it is situated in its actuating direction 60 below third region 53, which is surrounded by corresponding elastic first regions 51 in this case. In particular, an upper side 61 of switching element 23 extends in parallel with upper side 35 of first housing part 31 in third region 53. Communications unit 24 is particularly able to be developed as a wireless communications unit, e.g., as a WLAN unit and/or a Bluetooth and/or a LoRa unit and/or as a mobile radio unit.

[0044] FIG. 3 shows a second section through the first exemplary embodiment of a device of the present invention according to FIG. 1.

[0045] The sectional plane includes cutting line B shown in FIG. 1 and extends perpendicular to this cutting line B through device 10 and is symbolized by double arrow B1. Electronics unit 20 additionally includes, for instance, an energy supply element 25 and/or a further switching element 23. For example, energy supply element 25 may include an energy store and/or an energy harvesting unit. The energy store may have a battery and/or a capacitor, for instance. Further switching element 23 is developed in such a way that its actuating direction 60 extends perpendicular to actuating direction 60 of switching element 23 described in FIG. 2. Accordingly, side wall 37 of first housing part 31 is developed in such a way that it has a further groove 34 that surrounds an area which lies in actuating direction 61 of further switching element 23 in parallel with an upper side 61 of further switching element 23. This makes it possible to actuate further switching element 23 from the side.

[0046] In addition, electronics unit 20 may include a processing unit 26 and/or a memory element 27 and/or a display element 28, for instance. Processing unit 26, for example, is able to be developed as a microcontroller and in particular may also have an already integrated memory element 27. Display element 28 may include an illumination means and/or a display, for example.

[0047] By fitting circuit board 21 with corresponding electronic components, electronics unit 20 may be developed as a data logger which is able to acquire and store environment parameters. To allow electronics unit 20 to be used as a data logger particularly requires at least sensor unit 22 and memory element 27. Device 10 may then be used for monitoring an object. This object could be a transport good, for example.

[0048] FIG. 4 shows a section through a second exemplary embodiment of a device according to the present invention. This section orients itself on the section according to FIG. 2, the devices of the two exemplary embodiments having a virtually identical development.

[0049] The second exemplary embodiment differs from the first exemplary embodiment in that second housing part 32 extends into edge regions 38 of housing 30, which also include fastening elements 40, and runs in parallel with first housing part 31 in these edge regions 38. First housing part 31, for instance, is welded to second housing part 32 in edge regions 38 of housing 30. However, it is also possible that first housing part 31 and second housing part 32 are additionally or alternatively bonded to each other in edge regions 38.

[0050] Electronics unit 20 may also be bonded to second housing part 32, for instance together with its circuit board 21. In addition or as an alternative, electronics unit 20 may also be clamped between first housing part 31 and second housing part 32, which are appropriately developed for this purpose to hold electronics unit 20 in place in housing 30.