Abstract:
A component carrier for substantially electrical components ( 1 ), in particular for electrical/electronic components ( 1 ) as parts of motor vehicle locking systems, preferably motor vehicle door lock component carriers, comprising a main part ( 2 ) and at least one side wall ( 3, 4 ), wherein the side wall ( 3, 4 ) is detachably connected to the main part ( 2 ) at least in some regions.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The invention relates to a component carrier for substantially electrical components, in particular for electrical/electronic components as part of motor vehicle locking systems, preferably motor vehicle door lock component carriers, comprising a main part and at least a side wall. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Component carriers for electrical or electronic components are used in practical applications to accommodate and combine different electrical/electronic as well as mechanical components inside, for instance a motor vehicle door lock. An electro-mechanical assembly with the arrangement described above, is for instance described in DE 103 26 141 B4. The invention discloses a signal line and a contact field formed by a flexible printed circuit. The aim is to achieve a longer service life. 
         [0003]    A comparable component carrier is disclosed in DE 20 2007 005 076 U1, which relates to a component carrier for a closing system, in particular a component carrier for electrical components of a motor vehicle door lock. The component carrier is made of a single piece and contains at least a first section and a second section. A delicate linear connection is provided between the two sections. 
         [0004]    Finally DE 10 2006 037 159 A1 describes a wired electrical assembly and a process for its production. The invention discloses a component carrier in which the accommodated components are secured on or in a floor area of the said component carrier. Circuit wires running across the floor area are secured to the connection areas of the components. The free space above the floor area, covered by circuit wires, is filled with a sealing compound. This sealing compound substantially protects the contacts or contact connections of the electrical/electronic components retained and accommodated by the component carrier. The casting compound also provides the required stability of the thus assembled component carrier. 
         [0005]    Because of this method, a relatively wide design of the thus formed potting trough is inevitable, as prior to applying the sealing compound, the electrical and/or mechanical connections must be established. This means that the potting trough to be filled must have sufficient space to allow the use of respective jointing techniques, such as soldering, gluing, bonding, etc. At present, potting troughs are, in any case, rather large. Consequently a not inconsiderable amount of sealing compound is required for filling the potting trough and sealing the electrical/mechanical connections contained therein. This in turn results in considerable costs due to, on one hand, the required amount of sealing compound and, on the other hand, due to the fact that the filling of the potting trough takes a considerable amount of time. This is where the invention provides a solution. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    The invention is based on the technical problem of further developing a component carrier of the described type in such a way that the amount of sealing compound required is reduced and production time during filling is shortened, thus resulting in lower production costs. 
         [0007]    In order to solve the problem the component carrier of the described type is provided with a side wall, which is at least partially detachably connected to the main part. 
         [0008]    In general, the side wall contains at least two parts, with one part being a fixed part inseparably connected or inseparably connectable to a main part and a loose part, detachably connected or detachably connectable to the main part. In most cases the main part and the fixed part form a single-piece component, such as a plastic injection molded part. The loose part is detachably connected to this unit consisting of the main part and the fixed part. 
         [0009]    It has proven to be advantageous if the loose part is at least one bulkhead guided in grooves. Naturally, the design can also comprise several loose parts and thus several bulkheads guided in grooves. The grooves for the one bulkhead or several bulkheads can be formed on the fixed part and/or the electrical component or the several electric components. The invention is based on the fact that the electrical component is often a part of the side wall and is integrated in the side wall. In this way, the housing of the electrical component is basically used as a side wall or a part thereof. 
         [0010]    The grooves in the fixed part and/or the electrical component generally extend transversely to the longitudinal extension of the fixed part of the side wall or to the longitudinal extension of the electrical component. In this way, the loose part of the side wall or of the bulkhead can be inserted from above into a recess and can be pulled out again from this recess, when required. The recess is defined in the side wall or in the fixed part or between the fixed part and the electrical component or between two electrical components and can be sealed with the aid of the bulkhead so that, with the bulkhead inserted, a potting trough is formed. In this case, the main part and the fixed part connected to the main part and the at least one loose part or the bulkhead form the respective potting trough, which can then be filled with a plastic-based hardening sealing compound. 
         [0011]    Of special significance for the invention is a design in which the loose part of the side wall, when viewing the main part from above, is arranged directly against or in close proximity to the connection elements of the electrical component or actually the electrical component. This means that the loose part of the side wall or the bulkhead or the several bulkheads are pressed against the parts to be encapsulated and, in particular, against the electrical components located in the potting trough or the electrical components defining a part of the potting trough. In fact the loose part or the bulkhead directly adjoin the connection elements of the respective electrical component or are positioned in close proximity thereto. 
         [0012]    The invention thus achieves that the electrical component is contacted and that contact can also be advantageously provided, as in the area of the connection elements of the electrical component the recess is advantageously located into which the bulkhead is inserted after contacting. This means that the electrical component is contacted first, after which the loose part is connected to the fixed part of the side wall. Only then is the potting trough defined and can be finally filled and sealed with the hardening sealing compound. 
         [0013]    In this way, the invention provides unimpeded and free access to the connection elements of the electrical component, as at this point the recess in the side wall provides a respective access and, for instance, easy access for soldering. This also allows the option of standardizing the component carrier of the invention. In fact it is feasible that depending on the electrical component accommodated on the component carrier and thus the dependency of the topological arrangement of the connection element of the respective component compared to the main part, different positions of the insertable bulkhead are possible. 
         [0014]    This means that depending on the electrical component connected to the main part, the fixed part of the side wall contains several grooves, so that the bulkhead, inserted into the grooves after contacting, assumes a desired position directly adjoining or in close proximity to the connection elements. It is thus in any case ensured that the loose part of the side wall is arranged in the area of the connection element of the electrical component accommodated in the main part. 
         [0015]    The invention thus not only considerably reduces the amount of required sealing compound but also reduces the production cost of a thus finished component carrier due to the fact that the application of the sealing compound is quicker because of the low amount required and also due to the fact that because of its standardized design, the component carrier can be produced in larger quantities than before. 
         [0016]    Finally, a design is in most cases chosen for the device in which, when viewed from the side, the side wall and the electrical component, forming in most cases a part of the side wall, are of about equal height. Also, the side wall and the electrical component together encapsulate said potting trough. As already explained, the potting trough is open during the connecting of the electrical component to the component carrier or its main part and also during its contacting, insofar as the recess for accommodating the one or several bulkhead(s) in the side wall is open. 
         [0017]    Only once all electrical connections have been established is the loose part of the side wall or the bulkhead detachably inserted into the grooves located on the side of the recess and extending transversely to the longitudinal extension of the side wall. It is indeed feasible to move the bulkhead as close as possible to the connection elements, with any previously assumed position generally still being correctable as a result of the detachable connection to the fixed part of the side wall. This applies in particular where several grooves are provided to the side of the recess, allowing fixing of the bulkhead at a variable distance to the connection elements. 
         [0018]    Generally, the invention is based on the knowledge that usually an electrical component constitutes a part of a side wall and forms the potting trough together with the other side wall. At the same time, the connection elements providing the electric contact for the component are located inside the potting trough or are arranged on a back wall of the electrical component facing inwards. The electrical connection elements can be so-called soldering tags, extending substantially perpendicularly from the rear wall of the electrical component and pointing to the inside of the potting trough. Naturally, the electrical connection elements or soldering tags are connected at such a height to the respective rear wall of the electrical component that they will in any case be covered by the sealing compound filled in the later formed potting trough. These are the main advantages of the invention. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0019]    Below, the invention is explained in more detail with reference to exemplary drawings showing only one embodiment, as follows: 
           [0020]      FIG. 1  shows a section of the component carrier of the invention without the installed bulkhead; and 
           [0021]      FIG. 2  shows an adapted arrangement of the component carrier of  FIG. 1  with the bulkhead installed and prior to the application of the sealing compound. 
       
    
    
       [0022]    Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0023]    The exemplary figures show a component carrier and, in particular, a motor vehicle door lock component carrier, substantially housing electrical components. These electrical components  1  in the embodiment are, although the invention is not restricted to this, a switch  1 , such as a rotary latch switch of a motor vehicle door lock. In fact, the said component carrier is positioned inside a motor vehicle door lock, with the electrical component or the switch  1  detecting the position of a rotary latch inside the motor vehicle door lock. Apart from electrical components or switch  1 , the component carrier could generally also contain mechanical elements, such as a worm gear, as disclosed in the aforementioned DE 103 26 141 B4. Details of this have, however not been shown in the figure. 
         [0024]    Such a component carrier serves in any case to substantially accommodate one or several electrical components  1 , with these electrical components  1  together with the component carrier being positioned inside the motor vehicle door lock in the example. As a result, the electrical components or the switch  1  are directly moved into the correct position and assembly of the motor vehicle door lock is simplified by the arrangement being reduced to a few individual components. In order to ensure the permanent functioning of the electrical component or of the switch  1  in the example and prevent its electrical contact being affected by environmental influences, the electrical component or the switch  1  and the component carrier are encapsulated. For this purpose, the component carrier is substantially made up of a main part  2  and a side wall  3 ,  4 . 
         [0025]    According to the invention, the side wall  3 ,  4  consists of two parts, a main part  2  with an inseparably linked or an inseparably linkable fixed part  3  and a loose part  4  detachably connectable to the main part  2 . The main part  2  and the fixed part  3  form in fact a single-piece component, a plastic injection molded part in the embodiment. In contrast, the loose part  4  is a part of the side wall  3 ,  4  detachably connected in this way with the main part  2 . 
         [0026]    As part of this arrangement, the loose part  4  is a bulkhead  4  guided in grooves  5 . Although the invention is not limited to this, the grooves  5  in the embodiment for guiding the loose parts  4  or the bulkhead are arranged in each case at the end of the fixed part  3  of the side wall  3 ,  4 . The grooves  5  extend transversely to the longitudinal extension of the fixed component  3  of the side wall  3 ,  4 , so that the bulkhead  4  can be detachably inserted and removed again from a recess  6  defined in this way. The bulkhead  4  is in fact inserted into the respective recess  6  from the top. For this process, several positions of the bulkhead  4  are feasible, as several pairs are realized on opposing grooves  5 , as indicated in  FIG. 1 . 
         [0027]    It is apparent that the electrical component or the switch  1  is first of all integrated in the side wall  3 ,  4  or is a part of the side wall  3 ,  4 . Furthermore, the electrical component contains connection elements  7  or the switch  1  in its rear wall, facing the inside of a potting trough  1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4  consisting of the main part  2 , the side walls  3 ,  4  and finally the electrical component  1 . In this way, contact to the connection elements  7  can be easily provided through recess  6  with the bulkhead  4  removed, for instance by soldering to the only indicated connection lines  8 . 
         [0028]    In the shown example, these connecting lines  8  extend upwards out of the potting trough  1  to  4 . Once the contact to the electrical component  1  has been provided, the loose part or the bulkhead  4  is connected to the fixed part  3  of the side wall  3 ,  4 , so that the potting trough  1  to  4  is now sealed. A hardening plastic sealing compound can then be poured into the thus sealed potting trough  1  to  4 . 
         [0029]    As the side wall  3 ,  4  and the electrical component  1  integrated in the side wall  3 ,  4  or forming a part of the side wall  3 ,  4  are of about equal height when viewed from the side, it is ensured that the highest of the connection elements  7 , not exceeding the height of the side wall  3 ,  4 , are covered by the sealing compound filled into the potting trough  1  to  4  and are sealed correctly and permanently. 
         [0030]    Of special significance is the fact that, when viewing the main part  2  from the top, the loose part or the bulkhead  4  of the side wall  3 ,  4  is arranged or can be arranged directly adjacent or at close proximity to the connection elements  7 . As a result, the size of the potting trough  1  to  4  can be reduced to a minimum. In this context there is also the option of using several recesses  6 , formed by the respective fixed part  3  of the side wall  3 ,  4  with the aid of the lateral grooves  5 . This is indicated in  FIG. 1 . 
         [0031]    Depending on the size of the electrical component  1  integrated in the side wall  3 ,  4 , the bulkhead or the loose part  4  of the side wall  3 ,  4  can be arranged at different positions, as indicated in  FIG. 1 . As a result, a standardized component carrier can be used, which can be combined with various electrical components  1 . Lastly  FIG. 2  indicates the further option of using several bulkheads  4 , shown in the example as being generally U-shaped and which connect to the rear wall of the electrical component  1 . 
         [0032]    It is to be understood that the above-described embodiment is illustrative of only one of the many possible specific embodiments which can represent applications of the principles of the invention. Numerous and varied other arrangements can be readily devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.