Patent Publication Number: US-2023154664-A1

Title: Connection structure of inductive element

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuing application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/145,894, filed on Sep. 28, 2018, and entitled “CONNECTION STRUCTURE OF INDUCTIVE ELEMENT,” which claims priority to CN201810542419.8 filed May 30, 2018. The entire disclosures of the above applications are all incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     Technical Field 
     The present disclosure relates to a connection structure, and more particularly to a connection structure of inductive element. 
     Description of Related Art 
     The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and do not necessarily constitute prior art. 
     Please refer to  FIG.  1   , which shows a circuit block diagram of a grid-connected inverter system of the related art. The grid-connected inverter system is provided to convert a DC power source Vdc generated from renewable energy, such as solar energy, wind energy, or so on into an AC power source Vac to feed into an electrical grid. In the grid-connected inverter system, a front stage DC-to-DC converter  11 A is used to adjust a voltage value of the DC power source Vdc, such as a boost converter for stepping up the DC power source Vdc. A next stage DC-to-AC converter  12 A is used to convert the DC power source Vdc into an AC power source. The filter  13 A is used to filter the AC power source to feed into the electrical grid. 
     In the DC-to-DC converter  11 A, a boost inductor is usually used, and in the filter  13 A, a filter inductor is usually used. However, unwanted interference in the system would be generated from the boost inductor and/or the filter inductor. 
     Please refer to  FIG.  2 A  and  FIG.  2 B , which show an assembled sectional view and an assembled top view of a first connection manner between an inductor  20 A and a circuit board  10 A of the related art, respectively. A connection manner between an inductor  20 A and a circuit board  10 A is shown in  FIG.  2 A  and  FIG.  2 B . The inductor  20 A is electrically connected to the circuit board  10 A through connection wires  21 A. In this connection manner, digging holes on the circuit board  10 A is necessary so that the connection wires  21 A can pass through the circuit board  10 A to be electrically connected to and locked on the circuit board  10 A. However, it would cause damage to the connection wires  21 A as well as increase process time. 
     Please refer to  FIG.  3 A  and  FIG.  3 B , which show an assembled sectional view and an assembled top view of a second connection manner between the inductor  20 A and the circuit board  10 A of the related art, respectively. Another connection manner between the inductor  20 A and the circuit board  10 A is shown in  FIG.  3 A  and  FIG.  3 B . In comparison with  FIG.  2 A  and  FIG.  2 B , the connection wires  21 A bypasses the circuit board  10 A to be electrically connected to and locked on the circuit board  10 A without digging holes on the circuit board  10 A. However, it would increase costs and power consumption due to the lengthening connection wires  21 A. 
     Moreover, in the two connection manners, since the connection wires  21 A extend above the circuit board  10 A, the electromagnetic interference caused by the high-frequency current flowing through the connection wires  21 A to interfere circuit components mounted on the circuit substrate  10 A and reduce overall efficiency. 
     SUMMARY 
     An objective of the present disclosure is to provide a connection structure of an inductive element to solve problems of increasing costs, power consumption, and electromagnetic interference due to the lengthening connection wires. 
     In order to achieve the above-mentioned objective, the connection structure of the inductive element includes a circuit substrate, an inductive element, at least one connection wire, a supporting element, a containing element, a positioning element, a connecting element, and a locking element. The circuit substrate has a through hole. Each connection wire has a first end and a second end opposite to the first end. The first end is connected to the inductive element and a fixed terminal is disposed on the second end. The supporting element is disposed on a base body and provided to support the connection wire. The containing element is formed on the supporting element and provides a containing space. The positioning element is contained in the containing space, and the positioning element has a positioning part. The connecting element has a first connecting part and a second connecting part, and the first connecting part is connected to the positioning part to clip the fixed terminal. The locking element has a locking part, and the locking part is connected to the second connecting part to lock on the circuit substrate. 
     Accordingly, the connection structure of the inductive element is provided to effectively and significantly reduce costs, power consumption, and electromagnetic interference. 
     It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary, and are intended to provide further explanation of the present disclosure as claimed. Other advantages and features of the present disclosure will be apparent from the following description, drawings, and claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING 
       The present disclosure can be more fully understood by reading the following detailed description of the embodiment, with reference made to the accompanying drawings as follows: 
         FIG.  1    is a circuit block diagram of a grid-connected inverter system of the related art. 
         FIG.  2 A  is an assembled sectional view of a first connection manner between an inductor and a circuit board of the related art. 
         FIG.  2 B  is an assembled top view of the first connection manner between the inductor and the circuit board of the related art. 
         FIG.  3 A  is an assembled sectional view of a second connection manner between the inductor and the circuit board of the related art. 
         FIG.  3 B  is an assembled top view of the second connection manner between the inductor and the circuit board of the related art. 
         FIG.  4    is a perspective exploded view of a connection structure of an inductive element according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  5    is an assembled sectional view of the connection structure of the inductive element according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  6    is an assembled sectional view of the connection structure of the inductive element disposed on a base body according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  7    is a partial perspective exploded view of the connection structure of the inductive element according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  8    is a partial perspective exploded view of the connection structure of the inductive element according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  9    is a partial perspective exploded view of the connection structure of the inductive element according to a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  10    is an assembled sectional view of the connection structure of the inductive element according to a fifth embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  11    is an assembled sectional view of the connection structure of the inductive element according to a sixth embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  12    is an assembled sectional view of the connection structure of the inductive element according to a seventh embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Reference will now be made to the drawing figures to describe the present disclosure in detail. It will be understood that the drawing figures and exemplified embodiments of present disclosure are not limited to the details thereof. 
     Please refer to  FIG.  4    and  FIG.  5   , which show a perspective exploded view and an assembled sectional view of a connection structure of an inductive element according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure, respectively. The connection structure of the inductive element (hereinafter referred to as “connection structure”) includes a circuit substrate  10 , an inductive element  20 , at least one connection wire  21 , a supporting element  30 , a containing element  40 , a positioning element  50 , a connecting element  60 , and a locking element  70 . The circuit substrate  10  may be a printed circuit board (PCB) or other substrates capable of supporting circuit elements. The circuit substrate  10  has a through hole  11  thereon. The inductive element  20 , such as an inductor which has a core and a coil wound on the core. In particular, the type of the core may be a U-shaped core, a block-shaped core, or others. 
     Each connection wire  21  may be, for example but not limited to, a cable wire. More specifically, the at least one connection wire  21  may be connected to the coil through at least one connection pin (not shown) so that an output voltage and/or an output current of the inductive element  20  can be provided through the at least one connection pin. The connection wire  21  has two ends, i.e., a first end and a second end. The first end (also referred to as “connection end”) is connected to a coil wound on the core of the inductive element  20 , and a fixed terminal  22  is disposed on the second end (also referred to as “free end”). In different embodiments, the fixed terminal  22  may be a ring-shaped terminal, a C-shaped terminal, a U-shaped terminal, a V-shaped terminal, or so on. 
     Please refer to  FIG.  6   , which shows an assembled sectional view of the connection structure of the inductive element disposed on a base body according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. The major difference between  FIG.  6    and  FIG.  5    is that a base body  90  is illustrated in the former. The base body  90  may be an inner base of a case, and the inner base may be made of non-conductive materials or conductive materials. The inductive element  20 , the circuit substrate  10 , and the above-mentioned elements are contained in the case. Also, the base body  90  may be, for example but not limited to, formed by a die-casting manner. The supporting element  30  is disposed on the base body  90 , namely the supporting element  30  is disposed on the inner base of the case. Further, by injecting glue into an inner space of the case, the inductive element  20  can be firmly disposed on the base body  90  and has good heat dissipation. 
     See  FIG.  4    and  FIG.  5    again, the containing element  40  is formed on the supporting element  30  to provide a containing space  41 . In different embodiments, the supporting element  30  is integrally or detachably formed with the containing element  40 . For example, the supporting element  30  may be integrally with the containing element  40  by an injection-molded manner or a die-casting manner so that the containing space  41  is formed in the containing element  40  and the containing element  40  is formed on the supporting element  30 . Further, the supporting element  30  and the containing element  40  are two separable elements (i.e., two-piece construction), and the containing element  40  is formed on the supporting element  30  by connecting the two separable elements. 
     The positioning element  50  is contained in the containing space  41  of the containing element  40 , and the positioning element  50  has a positioning part  51 . As the embodiment shown in  FIG.  4   , the containing element  40  has a hexagonal cross section from top view, and the positioning element correspondingly has a hexagonal cross section from top view so that the positioning element  50  can be contained in the containing space  41  of the containing element  40 . In one embodiment, the positioning element  50  is a hexagonal nut which can be a plastic nut or a metal nut. In other embodiments, the positioning element  50  may be a nut with a polygonal cross section from top view or made of another material. Also, the containing element  40  is designed corresponding to the positioning element  50 . 
     The connecting element  60  has a first connecting part  61  and a second connecting part  62 . As the embodiment shown in  FIG.  4    and  FIG.  5   , the first connecting part  61  of the connecting element  60  passes through the fixed terminal  22 , which is a ring-shaped terminal, to connect to the positioning part  51  of the positioning element  50  so that the fixed terminal  22  is clipped between the first connecting part  61  and the positioning part  51 . As the embodiment shown in  FIG.  4    and  FIG.  5   , the connecting element  60  has a hexagonal cross section from top view, and the first connecting part  61  with an external thread outwardly protrudes from one end of the connecting element  60 . The positioning part  51  of the positioning element  50  is a concave structure. Take the positioning element  50  as the hexagonal nut for example, the positioning part  51  is an internal thread of the hexagonal nut. Accordingly, the first connecting part  61  with the external thread passes through the fixed terminal  22  to connect to the internal thread, namely the positioning part  51  of the hexagonal nut by a screw connection manner. When the first connecting part  61  is screwed and fastened to the positioning part  51 , the fixed terminal  22  can be clipped between the first connecting part  61  and the positioning part  51 . 
     The locking element  70  has a locking part  71 . As the embodiment shown in  FIG.  4   , the locking part  71  of the locking element  70  passes through the through hole  11  of the circuit substrate  10  to connect to the second connecting part  62  of the connecting element  60  so that the locking element  70  locks on the circuit substrate  10 . As the embodiment shown in  FIG.  4    and  FIG.  5   , the second connecting part  62  of the connecting element  60  is a concave structure. Take the connecting element  60  as a hexagonal column for example, the second connecting part  62  is an internal thread of the hexagonal column. Also, the locking part  71  with an external thread outwardly protrudes from one end of the locking element  70 . In this embodiment, the locking element  70  may be a screw. Accordingly, the locking part  71  with the external thread passes through the through hole  11  of the circuit substrate  10  to connect to the internal thread, namely the second connecting part  62  of the hexagonal column by a screw connection manner. When the locking part  71  is screwed and fastened to the second connecting part  62 , the circuit substrate  10  can be clipped between the locking part  71  and the second connecting part  62 , namely the locking element  70  locks on the circuit substrate  10 . 
     Please refer to  FIG.  7   ,  FIG.  8   , and  FIG.  9   , which show partial perspective exploded views of the connection structure of the inductive element according to a second embodiment, a third embodiment, and a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure, respectively. These embodiments show different connection designs between the positioning part  51  and the first connecting part  61  and between the locking part  71  and the second connecting part  62 . 
     As the second embodiment shown in  FIG.  7   , the positioning part  51  of the positioning element  50  is a concave structure, and therefore the first connecting part  61  of the connecting element  60  is correspondingly a convex structure. Moreover, the second connecting part  62  of the connecting element  60  is a convex structure, and therefore the locking part  71  of the locking element  70  is correspondingly a concave structure. 
     As the third embodiment shown in  FIG.  8   , the positioning part  51  of the positioning element  50  is a convex structure, and therefore the first connecting part  61  of the connecting element  60  is correspondingly a concave structure. Moreover, the second connecting part  62  of the connecting element  60  is a concave structure, and therefore the locking part  71  of the locking element  70  is correspondingly a convex structure. 
     As the fourth embodiment shown in  FIG.  9   , the positioning part  51  of the positioning element  50  is a convex structure, and therefore the first connecting part  61  of the connecting element  60  is correspondingly a concave structure. Moreover, the second connecting part  62  of the connecting element  60  is a convex structure, and therefore the locking part  71  of the locking element  70  is correspondingly a concave structure. 
     The four different connection designs between the positioning part  51  and the first connecting part  61  and between the locking part  71  and the second connecting part  62  are not limited to implement by the hexagonal nut or the hexagonal column with the internal thread for the concave structure and to implement by the hexagonal column or the screw with the external thread for the convex structure. As long as a component which has connecting and/or locking functions, it would be used as the positioning part  51 , the first connecting part  61 , the second connecting part  62 , or the locking part  71 , that is, the concave structure is not limited to be implemented by the nut with the internal thread and the convex structure is not limited to be implemented by the screw with the external thread. 
     Please refer to  FIG.  10   , which shows an assembled sectional view of the connection structure of the inductive element according to a fifth embodiment of the present disclosure. The major difference between  FIG.  10    and  FIG.  5    is that the position of the connection wire  21  extending from the inductive element  20  is different. In the latter shown in  FIG.  5   , the connection wire  21  is extended from at one side, which is away from the positioning element  50  (or the connecting element  60 , the locking element  70 ) of the inductive element  20 . From the view of  FIG.  5   , the connection wire  21  is connected at a left side of the inductive element  20  and extended to the positioning element  50 . If the connection wire is not easily bent, the configuration shown in  FIG.  5    is beneficial to reduce the distance between the inductive element  20  and the connecting element  60  (or the locking element  70 ), thereby saving the inner space of the case. In comparison with  FIG.  5   , if the connection wire is easily bent, the connection wire  21  shown in  FIG.  10    is extended from at one side, which is near to the positioning element  50  (or the connecting element  60 , the locking element  70 ) of the inductive element  20 . From the view of  FIG.  10   , the connection wire  21  is connected at a right side of the inductive element  20  and extended to the positioning element  50 . Therefore, the configuration shown in  FIG.  10    is beneficial to significantly shorten length and reduce costs of the connection wire  21 . 
     Please refer to  FIG.  11   , which shows an assembled sectional view of the connection structure of the inductive element according to a sixth embodiment of the present disclosure. The major difference between  FIG.  11    and  FIG.  6    is that the position of the supporting element  30  corresponding to the inductive element  20  is different. In the latter shown in  FIG.  6   , the supporting element  30  is disposed in a space between the core and the coil, namely the supporting element  30  is disposed inside the inductive element  20 . In comparison with  FIG.  6   , the supporting element  30  is not disposed in the space between the core and the coil, namely the supporting element  30  is disposed outside the inductive element  20 . Moreover, the position of the supporting element  30  is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and therefore the position of the supporting element  30  corresponding to the inductive element  20  may be adjusted according to the type of the core, the available space, or so on. Regardless of the U-shaped core or the block-shaped core, the connection relationship among the circuit substrate  10 , the inductive element  20 , the supporting element  30 , the containing element  40 , the positioning element  50 , the connecting element  60 , and the locking element  70  can be implemented. 
     Please refer to  FIG.  12   , which shows an assembled sectional view of the connection structure of the inductive element according to a seventh embodiment of the present disclosure. In this embodiment, the connection structure further includes a metal plate  80 . The metal plate  80  is disposed between the circuit substrate  10  and the connection wire  21  for providing radiation shielding, thereby significantly reducing electromagnetic interference caused by the high-frequency current flowing through the connection wire  21  to interfere circuit components mounted on the circuit substrate  10 . 
     In conclusion, the present disclosure has following features and advantages:
         1. The connection structure of the inductive element is provided to shorten length of the connection wire, reduce required costs, and reduce power consumption.   2. The connection structure of the inductive element is provided to reduce electromagnetic interference and increase overall efficiency.   3. The positioning part, the first connecting part, the second connecting part, and the locking part can be concave structure or convex structure to increase design diversity and convenience of use.   4. The glue is injected into the inner space of the case to fix the inductive element and make the inductive element have good heat dissipation.       

     Although the present disclosure has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the details thereof. Various substitutions and modifications have been suggested in the foregoing description, and others will occur to those of ordinary skill in the art. Therefore, all such substitutions and modifications are intended to be embraced within the scope of the present disclosure as defined in the appended claims.