AN ELECTRONIC APPARATUS OR COMPONENT AND A METHOD OF PROVIDING SUCH AN APPARATUS OR COMPONENT

Abstract: An electronic apparatus comprises a housing (10) having walls (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 23, 25 and 26) of an electrically conductive material and together defining an inner space (32). The walls of the housing comprise outer walls (11-15), and partition walls (23-26) extending from one of the walls (15) of the housing into the inner space (32) of the housing dividing the inner space into different compartments. The apparatus further comprises an electronic circuit board (17) having electronic components (20, 21 and 22) mounted thereon and being provided with apertures (27, 28, 29 and 30) through which the partition walls extend shielding the individual compartments and the electronic circuits contained within the individual compartments from each other. The outer walls of the housing further shield the electronic circuits of the apparatus from the environment or the surroundings.

Description: "An electronic apparatus or component and a method of providing such an apparatus or • component". The present invention relates to the electronic field . More specific¬ ally, a first aspect of the present invention relates to an electronic apparatus comprising a housing having walls of an electrically con¬ ductive material and together defining an inner space of the housing . Within the electronic industry, different kinds of electronic apparatuses of the above type are provided . Within particular fields of the electronic industry, electronic apparatus are provided in which various electronic circuits are included which requi re shielding from one another and from the envi ronment or su rroundings . An example of such a field is the telecommunication field . I n the commonly em- ployed shielding technique the individual electronic circuits are shielded from each other and from the environment or su rroundings in individual metallic encasings . I n one embodiment of this circuit en¬ casing technique, the individual electronic circuits are provided on separate circuit boards, such as printed ci rcuit boards, e. g . single or double-sided printed circuit boards , which are enclosed within individual metallic encasings or housings . However, as the electronic industry is moving towa rds a miniaturizing of the electronic circuits, involving the technique of providing integrated circuits and fu rther involving the well-known layer techniques, including thick-film tech- nique and thin-film technique, the provision of the individual electronic circuits to be shielded from one another and from the environment or surroundings on separate circuit boards and arranging the individual circuit boards within individual metallic encasings is considered to be an i rrational technique which to a great deal coun- teracts the miniaturizing and integration trend . I n order to solve the problem of combining the miniatu rizing and integration technique and the shielding requirements of the electronic circuits which are to be shielded, it has been attempted to arrange the electronic components together constituting the electronic ci rcuits of the apparatus on a single ci rcuit board and to provide shielding of individual electronic circuits in relation to one another and in relation to the environment or surroundings . I n Swedish patent No. 75 108 00-1 one of these attempts is disclosed, including the provision of shielding plates which are soldered on to the circuit board together with the electronic component and which together define compartments in which the individual electronic circuits are encased . The ci rcuit board including the electronic com- ponents and the shielding plates is arranged within the inner space of the apparatus housing which serves the purpose of shielding the electronic circuit in relation to the environment or su rroundings . However, this technique is not quite satisfactory since the technique involves the provision of a great number of individual components, viz . the individual shielding plate, which are to be mounted and soldered on to the circuit board . Furthermore, the shielding plates have to provide galvanic contact with the apparatus housing and, consequently, contact means serving the purpose of establishing contact between 'the shielding plates and the apparatus housing has to be provided. A fu rther problem relating to the technique of providing separate shielding plates soldered on to the circuit board and encasing the electronic circuits also mounted thereon originates from the trend to mount more and more components on the circuit board by arranging components on both sides thereof and soldering the components on to the circuit board in automatized processes such as dip soldering processes or wave soldering processes in which the entire circuit board having all components arranged on both sides thereof is soldered . When employing these automatized soldering processes, the above shielding plates have to be arranged on the side of the circuit board opposite to the side from which the solder is supplied as the individual compartments defined by the shielding plates would be filled out with solder in case it is attempted to supply solder to the side of the circuit board on which the shielding plates are mounted . I n another attempt to combine the miniatu rizing and integration of the electronic circuits and the shielding of the individual electronic circuits described in US Patent No. 4,370, 700, it has been suggested to provide a housing having integrally formed perpendicular walls extending outwardly from the housing into the inner space thereof and to arrange the printed circuit board in abutting engagement with the perpendicularly extending walls so that the circuit board is posi¬ tioned parallel with the base of the housing and the perpendicularly extending walls encircle the circuits which are located on the board and which are to be shielded . Although this well- known technique eliminates some of the major disadvantages of the above described technique involving the provi¬ sion of individual shielding plates soldered on to the circuit, viz. reduces the number of components, this technique still suffers from several severe drawbacks . Fi rst of all as the shielding effect is highly dependent on the close abutting arrangement of the circuit board relative to the perpendicularly extending walls . Even a minor gap between the outer side su rface of the ci rcuit board and the perpendicularly extending wall of the housing may cause deteriorating leakage which to a great extent reduces the desired shielding effect. Fu rthermore, as the shielding walls are arranged on one side of the circuit board exclusively, the shielding effect is reduced as compared to the technique involving individual encasings enclosing the indivi¬ dual electronic circuits to be sh ielded . Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus of the above described type in which a single electronic circuit board including the electronic circuits is provided and in which the electron ic ci rcuits to be shielded from one another are effectively shielded from each other and from the environment or surroundings . This object is obtained in an electronic apparatus according to the invention comprising a housing having walls of an electrically con¬ ductive material and together defining an inner space of the housing, and an electronic circuit board arranged within said inner space and including at least two electronic ci rcuits located at different sections of the circuit boa rd, the circuit board fu rther being provided with at least one apertu re separating said sections from each other, and the walls of the housing comprising outer walls and at least one partition wall extending from one of said outer walls into the inner space of the housing and th rough the apertu re of the circuit board, so as to substantially divide the inner space of the housing into mutually shielded compartments each containing one of said sections of the circuit board . Although the individual electronic ci rcuits located at different sections of the circuit board may be totally independent of each other and operate independently of each other, the teaching of the present invention renders it possible to provide said at least two ci rcuits adapted to cooperate electronically, and to provide the electronic circuit board provided with a circuit interconnecting said sections of the circuit board, as the shielding of the electronic circuit is ac¬ complished by the partition wall extending th rough the apertu re of ' the. ci rcuit board . The teaching of the present invention may be combined with any of the well- known ci rcuit board techniques , including printed circuit boards, either single-sided or double-sided printed ci rcuit boards, multi-layer printed circuit boards and layer techniques, such as thin-layer technique and thick-layer technique, involving the provi¬ sion of the circuit board as a thick-film substrate. The partition wall which in accordance with the principles of the present invention extends from one of the outer walls of the housing into the inner space of the housing may be constituted by a separate wall component which is either removably or fixedly fastened to the inner surface of the said one outer wall . However, in accordance with the presently preferred embodiment of the invention , the partition wall is an integral part of the said outer wall of the housing . By providing the partition wall as an integral part, it is rendered possible to provide the said outer wall of the housing together with the partition wall or the partition walls in a single production process, such as a drawing, casting or pouring process . Since the partition wall is conventionally of a plate configu ration , said at least one apertu re may preferably be of a substantially elongated configuration or composed of segments of a substantially elongated configu ration adapted to said plate configu ration of the partition wall . I n accordance with the preferred embodiment of the apparatus accord¬ ing to the invention , the walls of the housing are of substantially rectangular configurations . In this preferred embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention , the house may be provided with generally parallel top and base walls, the ci rcuit board may be ar- ranged generally parallel to said top and base walls, the said one outer wall of the housing may be the base wall of the housing, and said at least one partition wall may extend generally perpendicula rly from the base wall to the top wall of the housing . Although the circuit board ' may obviously be mounted and fastened to any of the outer walls of the housing in any appropriate manner, e. g . by means of conventional fastening means, such as screws, bolts etc. , i . e. fastened to the top, side, front or rear wall of the hous¬ ing, the ci rcuit board is preferably mounted on and fastened to the base wall of the housing, and the top wall is a removable wall pro- viding direct access to the ci rcuit boa rd when removed from the housing . Another aspect of the present invention relates to an electronic com¬ ponent in which the shielding technique of the present invention is employed . The electronic component according to the invention com- prises a housing having walls of an electrically conductive material and together defining an inner space of the housing, and an electronic circuit board arranged within said inner space and includ¬ ing at least two electric circuits located at different sections of the circuit board, the ci rcuit board further being provided with at least one aperture separating said sections from each other, and the walls of the housing comprising outer walls and at least one partition wall extending from one of said outer walls of the housing into the in ner space of the housing and through the aperture of the circuit board, so as to substantially divide the inner space of the housing into mutually shielded compartments each containing one of said sections of the circuit board . The electronic component according to the invention may be of any configuration, e. g . included in any of the conventional electronic component packages or may constitute a subcomponent or subapparatus of a main apparatus . The electronic component according to the invention may fu rther include any of the above described characteristics of the apparatus according to the invention and may fu rther have the inner space of the housing filled with an electrically insulating casting as is con- ventional in the art and serving the well- known mechanical fixation , insulation and impenetration pu rposes . A further aspect of the present invention relates to a method provid¬ ing an electronic apparatus or an electronic component including at least two electronic circuits, comprising : providing a housing having walls of an electrically conductive material and together .defining an inner space of the housing, at least a part of one of the walls of the housing being removable so as to provide an opening to the inner space of the housing, and the walls of the housing comprising outer walls and at least one partition wall extend- ing from one of the outer walls of the housing into the inner space of the housing substantially dividing the inner space of the housing into at least two compartments, providing an electronic ci rcuit board having at least one apertu re and including said at least two electronic circuits located at different sections of the circuit board, said at least one aperture separating said sections from each other, introducing the circuit board into the inner space of the housing through the opening thereto, arranging the circuit board in the inner space of the housing so as to make said at least one partition wall of the housing extend th rough said at least one aperture of the circuit board in order to arrange said sections of the circuit board in said compartments of the inner " space of the housing so as to mutually shield said compartments and said sections arranged therein from each other, and arranging said at least part of one wall of the housing thereon so as to shield said sections . of the ci rcuit board from the envi ronment or the su rroundings . The invention will now be further described with reference to the drawing, on which a perspective, pa rtially cut-away view of a pre¬ ferred embodiment of an apparatus according to the invention is shown . I n the drawing, an apparatus housing designated 10 in its enti rety is shown . The housing 10 comprises a rear wall 11 which further con- stitutes a heat sink of the apparatus and is provided with protruding heat radiating fins , side walls 12 and 13, a front wall 14 which is partially shown in dotted line, a base wall 15, and a detachable cover 16 constituting the top wal l of the housing . The outer wal ls 11 - 16 of the apparatus housing 10 defines an inner space 32 of the housing . Within the inner space 32, a printed ci rcuit board 17 is arranged . As is evident from the drawing, the printed circuit board 17 is fastened to the base wall 15 of the apparatus housing by means of screws , one of which is shown on the drawing and designated the reference nume¬ ral 18, and distance pieces, one of which is shown on the drawing and designated the reference numeral 19. On the upper side su rface of the printed ci rcuit board 17 electronic components, including an integrated circuit designated 20, a trans¬ istor designated 21 , and a capacitor 22, are arranged and soldered on to circuit tracks of the printed circuit board . Apart from the electronic components arranged on the upper side surface of the printed ci rcuit board 17, the printed ci rcuit board may in accordance with the teaching of the present invention further be provided with electronic components arranged on the lower side su rface of the printed ci rcuit board . As will be understood, the apparatus housing 10 shields the electronic circuits of the electronic apparatus from the invi ronments or the surroundings . However, the individual circuits of the apparatus which are located at different sections of the printed ci rcuit board 17, may fu rther require shielding from each other. This shielding of the individual electronic circuits from each other is in accordance with the principles of the present invention provided by means of partition walls , fou r of which are designated the reference numerals 23-26, and which extend generally perpendicularly from the base wall 15 of the apparatus housing 10 into the inner space 32 thereof. As is evident from the drawing, the partition walls 23-26 extend to such a height that the upper edges of the partition walls are brought into contact with the lower side su rface of the detachable cover 16 when the cover is mounted on top of the apparatus housing . The circuit board 17 is provided with apertu res th rough which the partition walls extend and fou r of which are designated the reference numerals 27-30. As is evident from the drawing, the apertures are basically of an elongated configuration and fu rther provide areas of the circuit board intercon- necting the individual sections thereof first of all serving the pu rpose of mechanically keeping the entire ci rcuit board together and fu rther serving the pu rpose of providing electrical connection between the individual sections of the circuit board as illustrated by a ci rcuit track 31 . ■ It is to be understood., that numerous modifications are possible and obvious to the skilled art worker and are to be included within the scope of the appending claims .

Claims: CLAIMS 1 . An electronic apparatus comprising a housing having walls of an electrically conductive material and together defining an inner space of the housing, and an electronic ci rcuit board arranged within said inner space and including at least two electronic circuits located at different sections of the circuit board, the circuit board further being provided with at least one aperture separating said sections from each other, and the walls of the housing comprising outer walls and at least one partition wall extending from one of said outer walls into the inner space of the housing and th rough the apertu re of the circuit board, so as to substantially divide the inner space of the housing into mutually shielded compartments each containing one of said sections of the ci rcuit board . 2. An apparatus according to claim 1 , said at least two ci rcuits being adapted to electronically cooperate, and the electronic circuit board being provided with a ci rcuit interconnecting said sections • of the circuit board . 3. An apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, the ci rcuit board being a printed ci rcuit board . 4. An apparatus according to claim 3, the printed circuit board being a double-sided printed circuit board . 5. An apparatus according to claim 3, the printed ci rcu it board being a multi-layer printed ci rcuit board . 6. An apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, the circuit board being a thick-film substrate. 7. An apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, the parti¬ tion wall being an integral part of the said outer wall of the housing. 8. An apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, said at least one apertu re being of a substantially elongated configu ration or composed of segments of substantially elongated configu rations . 9. An apparatus according to any of the preceding claims , the walls of the housing being of substantially rectangular configu rations . 10. An apparatus according to claim 9, the housing being provided with generally parallel top and base walls, the circuit board being arranged generally parallel to said top and base walls, the said one outer wall of the housing being the base wall of the housing, and said at least one partition wall extending generally perpendicularly from the base wall to the top wall of the housing . 11 . An apparatus according to claim 10, the circuit board being mounted on and fastened to the base wall of the housing, and the top wall being removable. 12. An electronic component comprising a housing having walls of an electrically conductive material and together defining an inner space of the housing, and an electronic ci rcuit board arranged within said inner space and including at least two electric circuits located at different sections of the ci rcuit board, the circuit board fu rther being provided with at .least one apertu re separating said sections from each other, and the walls of the housing comprising outer walls and at least one partition wall extending from one of said outer walls of the housing into the inner space of the housing and th rough the apertu re of the circuit board, so as to substantially divide the inner space of the housing into mutually shielded compartments each con¬ taining one of said sections of the ci rcuit board . 13. An electronic component according to claim 12, said at least two circuits being adapted to electronically cooperate, and the electronic circuit board being provided with a ci rcuit interconnecting said sec¬ tions of the circuit board . 14. An electronic component according to claim 12 or 13, the ci rcuit board being a thick-film substrate. 15. An electronic component according to any of the claims 12-14, the partition wall being an integral part of the said outer wall of the housing . 16. An electronic component according to any of the claims 12- 15, the inner space of the housing being filled with an electrically insulating casting . 17. A method of providing an electronic apparatus or an electronic component including at least two electronic circuits , comprising: providing a housing having walls of an electrically conductive material and together defining an inner space of the housing, at least a pa rt of one of the walls of the housing being removable so as to provide an opening to the inner space of the housing, and the walls of the housing comprising outer walls and at least one partition wall extend¬ ing from one of the outer walls of the housing into the inner space of the housing substantially dividing the inner space of the housing into at least two compartments, providing an electronic circuit board having at least one apertu re and including said at least two electronic ci rcuits located at different sections of the ci rcuit board, said at least one aperture separating said sections from each other, introducing the circuit board into the inner space of the housing through the opening thereto, arranging the circuit board in the inner space of the housing so as to make said at least one partition wall of the housing extend th rough said at least one apertu re of the ci rcuit board in order to arrange said sections of the circuit board in said compartments of the inner space of the housing so as to mutually shield said compartments and said sections arranged therein from each other, and arranging said at least part of one wall of the housing thereon so as to shield said sections of the circuit board from the envi ronment or the surroundings .

Inventors: TUGCU MEHMET, TUGCU, MEHMET
Applicants: STORNO AS, STORNO A/S
Application year: 1985
Main classification: H05K9
IPC codes: H05K9