ELECTRONIC BOARD FOR VOLTAGE CONVERTER

Abstract

Circuit board, defining a plurality of switching arms connected in parallel so as to convert a first voltage into a second voltage, at least one of which is DC voltage. The board includes a plurality of controllable electronic switches mounted pairwise in series on either side of a midpoint, so as to produce the switching arms connected in parallel. A plurality of decoupling capacitors are connected in parallel to one another, and in parallel to the DC voltage. Two electrically conductive layers are arranged parallel to one other, one of which is at the highest potential of the DC voltage and the other of which is at the lowest potential of the DC voltage. Each of the decoupling capacitors having one terminal connected to one of these electrically conductive layers and its other terminal connected to the other of these electrically conductive layers.

Claims

1. A circuit board, defining a plurality of switching arms connected in parallel so as to convert a first voltage to a second voltage, at least one of these voltages being a DC voltage, the board comprising: a plurality of controllable electronic switches mounted pairwise in series on either side of a midpoint, so as to produce the switching arms connected in parallel, a plurality of decoupling capacitors, these capacitors being connected in parallel to one another, and in parallel to the DC voltage, and two electrically conductive layers, in particular arranged parallel to one other, one of these electrically conductive layers electrically being at the highest potential of the DC voltage and the other of these electrically conductive layers being at the lowest potential of the DC voltage, each of the decoupling capacitors having one terminal connected to one of these electrically conductive layers and its other terminal connected to the other of these electrically conductive layers, the electronic switches being arranged on the board so that the pattern connecting all the midpoints of the switching arms defines a first polygon which has a number of sides greater than or equal to 3, and each of the two electrically conductive layers extending at least over a face superposed on the first polygon.

2. The circuit board as claimed in claim 1, each controllable electronic switch of a switching arm occupying either a position far from the center of the first polygon with respect to the midpoint of said arm or a position close to the center of the first polygon with respect to said midpoint.

3. The circuit board as claimed in claim 1, the decoupling capacitors being arranged on the board so that the pattern connecting all these capacitors defines a second polygon, this second polygon being in particular of the same type as the first polygon.

4. The circuit board as claimed in claim 3, the second polygon being contained inside, or at least predominantly inside, the first polygon, or the first polygon being contained inside, or at least predominantly inside, the second polygon.

5. The circuit board as claimed in claim 1, both the first voltage and the second voltage being a DC voltage, the first DC voltage being in particular greater than the second DC voltage.

6. The circuit board as claimed in claim 5, comprising a plurality of decoupling capacitors connected in parallel to one another, and in parallel to the first DC voltage, and a plurality of decoupling capacitors connected in parallel to one another and in parallel to the second DC voltage, one of the pluralities of capacitors being arranged on the board so that the pattern connecting all these capacitors defines the second polygon and the other of the pluralities of capacitors being arranged on the board so that the pattern connecting all these capacitors defines a third polygon, the third polygon being in particular of the same type as the first and the second polygon.

7. The circuit board as claimed in claim 6, the third polygon being contained inside, or at least predominantly inside, the first polygon, or the first polygon being contained inside, or at least predominantly inside, the third polygon.

8. The circuit board as claimed in claim 6, the second polygon being contained inside, or at least predominantly inside, the first polygon, and the first polygon being contained inside, or at least predominantly inside, the third polygon.

9. The circuit board as claimed in claim 6, comprising a plurality of inductors, each inductor being associated with a switching arm and electrically connected to the midpoint of said arm, the inductors being arranged on the board so that the pattern connecting all these inductors defines a fourth polygon, the fourth polygon being in particular of the same type as the first polygon.

10. The circuit board as claimed in claim 6, the first DC voltage being defined between a first positive potential and ground, and the second DC voltage being defined between a second positive potential and ground, the board comprising: a first electrically conductive layer at the first electric potential, a second electrically conductive layer at the second electric potential, and a third electrically conductive layer at ground, at least two of the electrically conductive layers, in particular all the electrically conductive layers, extending at least over a face superposed on the first polygon.

11. The circuit board as claimed in claim 9, one of the first, second, third and fourth polygons containing all the other polygons, and at least two of the electrically conductive layers, in particular all the electrically conductive layers, extending at least over a face superposed on this polygon inside which all the other polygons are arranged.

12. The circuit board as claimed in claim 10, each capacitor of the plurality of capacitors defining the second polygon having one terminal electrically connected to the first electrically conductive layer and its other terminal electrically connected to the third electrically conductive layer, and each capacitor of the plurality of capacitors defining the third polygon having one terminal electrically connected to the second electrically conductive layer and its other terminal electrically connected to the third electrically conductive layer.

13. A voltage converter, in particular a DC/DC voltage converter, and in particular a 12 V/48 V DC voltage converter, comprising a circuit board as claimed in claim 1.

14. The circuit board as claimed in claim 2, the decoupling capacitors being arranged on the board so that the pattern connecting all these capacitors defines a second polygon, this second polygon being in particular of the same type as the first polygon.

15. The circuit board as claimed in claim 2, both the first voltage and the second voltage being a DC voltage, the first DC voltage being in particular greater than the second DC voltage.

16. The circuit board as claimed in claim 7, comprising a plurality of inductors, each inductor being associated with a switching arm and electrically connected to the midpoint of said arm, the inductors being arranged on the board so that the pattern connecting all these inductors defines a fourth polygon, the fourth polygon being in particular of the same type as the first polygon.

17. The circuit board as claimed in claim 7, the first DC voltage being defined between a first positive potential and ground, and the second DC voltage being defined between a second positive potential and ground, the board comprising: a first electrically conductive layer at the first electric potential, a second electrically conductive layer at the second electric potential, and a third electrically conductive layer at ground, at least two of the electrically conductive layers, in particular all the electrically conductive layers, extending at least over a face superposed on the first polygon.

18. The circuit board as claimed in claim 10, one of the first, second, third and fourth polygons containing all the other polygons, and at least two of the electrically conductive layers, in particular all the electrically conductive layers, extending at least over a face superposed on this polygon inside which all the other polygons are arranged.

19. The circuit board as claimed in claim 11, each capacitor of the plurality of capacitors defining the second polygon having one terminal electrically connected to the first electrically conductive layer and its other terminal electrically connected to the third electrically conductive layer, and each capacitor of the plurality of capacitors defining the third polygon having one terminal electrically connected to the second electrically conductive layer and its other terminal electrically connected to the third electrically conductive layer.

20. A voltage converter, in particular a DC/DC voltage converter, and in particular a 12 V/48 V DC voltage converter, comprising a circuit board as claimed in claim 2.

Description

[0055] The invention may be better understood on reading the following description of non-limiting exemplary implementations thereof and on examining the appended drawing, in which:

[0056] FIG. 1 shows the circuit diagram of a circuit formed by a circuit board according to one exemplary implementation of the invention,

[0057] FIG. 2 shows a top view of a circuit board according to the example of FIG. 1,

[0058] FIG. 3 is a partial cross section along III-III of the circuit board of FIG. 2,

[0059] FIG. 4 is a partial cross section along IV-IV of the circuit board of FIG. 2, and

[0060] FIGS. 5 and 6 show, similarly to FIG. 2, circuit boards according to other exemplary implementations of the invention.

[0061] FIG. 1 shows the electrical circuit borne by a circuit board 1 according to one exemplary implementation of the invention. This circuit board 1 forms in this instance part of a voltage converter which is, in the example under consideration, a DC/DC voltage converter. It is, for example, a 12 V/48 V voltage converter, but the invention is not limited to such an example. The circuit board 1 is in this instance a printed circuit board.

[0062] In a known manner, the voltage converter comprises in this instance a first DC voltage input 4, a second DC voltage input 5 and a plurality of switching arms 6 making it possible to convert the voltage value at the first DC voltage input 4 to another voltage value available at the second DC voltage input 5, and vice versa. The number of switching arms 6 is greater than or equal to three, being in this instance exactly equal to three.

[0063] Each switching arm 6 comprises, in the example under consideration, two controllable electronic switches 10 which are connected in series and which define a midpoint between them connected to the second voltage input 5.

[0064] Each controllable switch 10 is in this instance a MOSFET, using, for example, gallium nitride, silicon carbide or silicon.

[0065] The electronic component 1 further comprises: [0066] a first plurality of decoupling capacitors 11, these capacitors 11 all being connected in parallel, and in parallel to the switching arm 6, and [0067] a second plurality of decoupling capacitors 12, these capacitors all being connected in parallel, and in parallel to the second DC voltage input 5.

[0068] The capacitors 11 and the capacitors 12 are, for example, of the same type, namely in particular chemical capacitors or ceramic capacitors.

[0069] It may further be observed in FIG. 1 that the electrical circuit further comprises a plurality of inductors 13, each inductor being associated with a switching arm 6 and electrically connected between the midpoint of the arm 6 with which it is associated and the highest potential of the second DC voltage.

[0070] In the example under consideration, there are as many capacitors 11 as there are capacitors 12, and as there are inductors 13, this common value being equal to the number of switching arms 6. The invention is not, however, limited to such a common value for the aforementioned components.

[0071] As may be seen in FIG. 2, the capacitors 11, the capacitors 12, the inductors 13 and the controllable electronic switches 10 are mounted, in the example under consideration, on an outer face 15 of the circuit board 1.

[0072] The circuit board 1 receives, in the example of FIG. 2, three electrically conductive layers, respectively being: [0073] a first electrically conductive layer 16 at the highest potential of the first DC voltage, also called the “first positive potential” and which is in this instance 48 V, [0074] a second electrically conductive layer 17 at the highest potential of the second DC voltage, also called the “second positive potential” and which is in this instance 12 V, and [0075] a third electrically conductive layer 18 at ground, this ground being in this instance common to the first DC voltage and to the second DC voltage.

[0076] In a variant which is not described, the first DC voltage and the second DC voltage have insulated grounds, in which case two third electrically conductive layers 18 which are not connected to one another are provided, one of these third electrically conductive layers forming the ground of the first DC voltage and the other of these third electrically conductive layers forming the ground of the second DC voltage.

[0077] The capacitors 11 each have, in the example under consideration, one terminal electrically connected to the first electrically conductive layer 16 and one terminal electrically connected to the third electrically conductive layer 18, as shown in FIG. 3, in which the second electrically conductive layer 17 has been omitted for the sake of the clarity of the drawing.

[0078] The capacitors 12 each have, in the example under consideration, one terminal electrically connected to the second electrically conductive layer 17 and one terminal electrically connected to the third electrically conductive layer 18, as shown in FIG. 4, in which the first electrically conductive layer 16 has been omitted for the sake of the clarity of the drawing.

[0079] It may be observed that, in the example under consideration, the first electrically conductive layer 16 extends in planes which are parallel to the planes in which the second electrically conductive layer 17 extends, and also parallel to the planes in which the third electrically conductive layer 18 extends. Each of these layers 16, 17 and 18 is formed in this instance by a copper plate. Each of these layers 16, 17 and 18 is also arranged inside the circuit board 1, and a capacitor terminal is in this instance connected to the corresponding electrically conductive layer by means of a via 19, which is a metallized hole.

[0080] In the examples which will now be described, the switching arms 6, and therefore their electronic switches 10, are arranged on the board 1 so that the pattern connecting all the midpoints of the switching arms 6 defines a first polygon P1 which has a number of sides greater than or equal to 3, and each electrically conductive layer 16, 17 and 18 extends at least over a face superposed on the first polygon.

[0081] In the example of FIG. 2, this first polygon is a triangle, whereas it is a quadrilateral in the examples of FIGS. 5 and 6.

[0082] It may be observed in FIG. 2 that, for a given switching arm 6, one of the controllable electronic switches 10 is arranged outside the first polygon P1, whereas the other controllable electronic switch 10 is arranged inside this first polygon P1.

[0083] It may also be observed that the capacitors 11 associated with the first DC voltage input 4 are arranged on the board 1 so that the pattern connecting all these capacitors 11 defines a second polygon P2, this second polygon P2 being in this instance a triangle.

[0084] It may be observed in FIG. 2 that this second polygon P2 is arranged inside the first polygon P1.

[0085] Still in the example of FIG. 2, the capacitors 12 associated with the second DC voltage input 5 are arranged on the board 1 so that the pattern connecting all these capacitors 12 defines a third polygon P3, this third polygon P3 also being in this instance a triangle. It may be observed in FIG. 2 that the third polygon P3 extends in some parts inside the first polygon P1 and in other parts outside this first polygon P1. In the example of FIG. 2, the third polygon P3 extends predominantly inside the first polygon P1.

[0086] In addition, in the example of FIG. 2, the inductors 13 are arranged on the board 1 so that the pattern connecting all these inductors 13 defines a fourth polygon P4, the fourth polygon also being in this instance a triangle. It may be observed that this fourth polygon extends in some parts inside the first polygon P1 and in some parts outside this polygon P1.

[0087] Each of the electrically conductive layers 16, 17 and 18 extends, in the example described, over a face superposed on the polygon P5 in which the components 10, 11, 12 and 13 of the board are arranged, all the polygons P1 to P4 being arranged inside this polygon P5.

[0088] In the example of FIGS. 5 and 6, four switching arms 6 are present, four capacitors 11 are associated with the first DC voltage input 4, and four capacitors 12 and four inductors 13 are associated with the second DC voltage input 5.

[0089] The presence of a first polygon P1, second polygon P2, third polygon P3 and fourth polygon P4, which are in this instance quadrilaterals, may also be observed here.

[0090] In the example of FIG. 5, the second polygon P2, which relates to the capacitors 11 associated with the first DC voltage input 4, is arranged inside the first polygon P1, this first polygon P1 itself being arranged inside the fourth polygon P4, which relates to the inductors 13, and this fourth polygon P4 being arranged inside the third polygon P3, which relates to the capacitors 12 associated with the second DC voltage input 5. Positioning the capacitors 11 as much on the inside as possible makes it possible to increase the value of the mutual inductance between these capacitors 11 pairwise.

[0091] FIG. 6 depicts another exemplary circuit board 1, in which the polygons P1 to P3 are also quadrilaterals. In contrast to the preceding examples, the inductors 13 are not connected by a pattern defining a polygon but by a line. It may be observed, in addition, that none of the polygons P1, P2 and P3 is contained inside another polygon, the polygon P1 overlapping with the polygon P2 and the polygon P3 overlapping with both the polygon P1 and the polygon P2. It may also be observed in FIG. 6 that safety transistors 20 are borne by the circuit board 1.

[0092] The invention is not limited to the examples which have just been described.