EP4406375A1

EP4406375A1 - A spacer, an electronic module, a vehicle and a manufacturing method

Info

Publication number: EP4406375A1
Application number: EP21783167.6A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Andreas Aal
Original assignee: Volkswagen AG
Current assignee: Volkswagen AG
Priority date: 2021-09-22
Filing date: 2021-09-22
Publication date: 2024-07-31
Also published as: WO2023046278A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a spacer, an electronic module, a vehicle and a manufacturing method for an electronic module. The spacer (10; 10a-g) for supporting a printed circuit board (20) in a housing (30) of an electronic module (40) comprises a flexible structure (12) configured to at least partly decouple the printed circuit board (20) from the housing (30) mechanically. The flexible structure (12) is further configured to thermally couple the printed circuit board (20) and the housing (30) for heat absorption from the printed circuit board (20) towards the housing (30).

Description

A Spacer, an Electronic Module, a Vehicle and a Manufacturing Method

The present invention relates to a spacer, an electronic module, a vehicle and a manufacturing method for an electronic module, more particularly, but not exclusively, to a concept for mounting a printed circuit board into a housing of an electronic module for a vehicle with thermal coupling and mechanical decoupling.

Compute or control units in vehicles are very common. The more complex and automated vehicles become the higher the need for electronic components, e.g. providing processing capacity, communication, security applications, driver assistance, etc. In the prior art multiple integration concepts are known for electronic components in vehicles. For example, to avoid a large number of different components, some manufacturers integrate components on common substrates/modules (printed circuit boards, PCBs), which lowers the number of separate electronic components in a vehicle. At the same time these modules become more complex. Their mounting, cooling and mechanical decoupling in the vehicular environment (mechanical stress, wide temperature range, etc.) becomes more challenging.

Various Tier 1 suppliers of the automobile industry have built their own "rack system". However, existing "modular" Tier 1 constructions only cover limited "compute" and “power” domains, e.g. related to driver assistant systems or infotainment. This approach leads to multiple non-standardized solutions amongst "compute" and “power” domains. Examples are domain compute units that are built on various supplier-based housing and mainboard configurations that are not compatible between each other. As a consequence, multiple power supplies and mainboards plus eventually hardware extensions only mapped to those individual configurations including software (SW) are available. Complex and expensive system integration may result. At present, it can be observed that a huge number of variants for system integration of those compute units (which may be hardware and/or software) exist. This may result in integration design issues, non-optimized hardware and/or software operation. Functional loss and fail-operations may arise during development as well as during hardware and software maintenance including change management and the like. A key challenge of a central compute unit-based architecture is the change of the software- defined operation principle from an embedded to a non-embedded system that requires hardware co-design with respect to the operating system and its features chosen.

Electronic components in the vehicular environment are subject to various influences from the environment, such as large temperature differences, mechanical stress and vibrations, electromagnetic influences from other components, e.g. high voltage components, and access attempts by non-qualified parties, e.g. hackers.

Some integration solutions lead to solder fatigue or delamination related hard failures and to crack-induced stray capacitance variations with temperature that lead to software-bug look- a-like failures. Also, pure mechanical force-related temporarily limited piezoelectric event effects can cause functional deviations that create problems for engineers, when trying to find the cause of the issue.

There is a demand for an improved concept for preventing or reducing failures of electronic components in a vehicle. This demand is addressed by the subject matter of the independent claims.

Embodiments are based on the finding that in the past, investigations for failure root causes were always "reactive". It is a further finding, that spacers can be used for mounting a printed circuit board into a housing. A spacer can be used to mechanically support and decouple the printed circuit board from the housing and to thermally couple the printed circuit board, electronic components mounted thereon, respectively, to the housing. Embodiments may achieve a systematic and proactive measure via failure prevention by design.

Embodiments provide a spacer for supporting a printed circuit board in a housing of an electronic module. The spacer comprises a flexible structure configured to at least partly decouple the printed circuit board from the housing mechanically. The flexible structure is further configured to thermally couple the printed circuit board and the housing for heat absorption from the printed circuit board towards the housing. Embodiments of the spacer may achieve a defined mechanical support of the printed circuit board and a defined thermal coupling for heat dissipation.

For example, the flexible structure may be flexible in at least one direction and it may comprise spring properties with a predefined spring constant. Embodiments may enable defined mechanical coupling properties in at least one direction of the printed circuit board. In some embodiments the flexible structure may be flexible in at least two directions to allow printed circuit board movements in multiple directions in the housing. Embodiments may also enable defined mechanical and/or dynamic properties in multiple directions.

Various implementations for the flexible structure are conceivable in different embodiments, e.g., the flexible structure may comprise carbon, carbon/metal, or metal.

Embodiments also provide an electronic module comprising a housing, a printed circuit board supported by the housing and at least one spacer as described herein supporting the printed circuit board in the housing. The printed circuit board can therewith be mounted into the housing with defined or predetermined mechanical and thermal coupling.

For example, the electronic module may comprise at least two spacers and the at least two spacers may comprise different spring properties with different spring constants. The mechanical support, which goes along with the mechanical decoupling, can be adapted to the properties of the printed circuit board or its components, respectively.

In some embodiments, the electronic module may further comprise one or more positioning components to place the printed circuit board inside the housing. Embodiments may allow placing and holding the printed circuit board within a predefined position or area in the housing using one or more positioning elements or components.

The one or more positioning components may have a spring character to flexibly hold the printed circuit board in place inside the housing. Embodiments may allow certain movements of the printed circuit board inside the housing, e.g. to reduce vibrations or shocks on the printed circuit board.

For example, the positioning components comprise carbon, carbon/metal, rubber material, or metal. Therewith, the positioning components may provide sufficient stability and damping for the printed circuit board.

In further embodiments the electronic module may further comprise one or more damping components and/or attenuators configured to mechanically decouple the printed circuit board inside the housing. That way, the printed circuit board may further be mechanically stabilized in the housing. For example, the damping components may comprise elastomeric or rubber damping material. Furthermore, the damping components may be configured to enable a slide-in mounting or a clip-in mounting of the printed circuit board into the housing. Embodiments may allow for different mounting variants.

In some embodiments the electronic module may be further configured to be thermally coupled to a cooling system of a vehicle. Embodiments may enable an efficient cooling concept for an electronic module in a vehicle.

Another embodiment is a vehicle comprising one or more electronic module as described herein.

Embodiments also provide a manufacturing method for an electronic module as described herein. The method comprises mounting the printed circuit board into the housing and thermally coupling the printed circuit board to the housing using the one or more spacers. The method further comprises mechanically decoupling the printed circuit board from the housing at least partly using the one or more spacers.

Some other features or aspects will be described using the following non-limiting embodiments of apparatuses or methods or computer programs or computer program products by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying figures, in which:

Fig. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a spacer;

Fig. 2 illustrates an embodiment of an electronic module with a printed circuit board and multiple spacers;

Fig. 3 illustrates a principle built of an electronic module in an embodiment;

Fig. 4 shows heat transfer in an embodiment;

Fig. 5 shows heat transfer in an embodiment with spring spacers;

Fig. 6 illustrates shock absorption in an embodiment;

Fig. 7 illustrates an embodiment with multiple spacers with different spring properties;

Fig. 8 an embodiment with multiple spacers; Fig. 9 shows a printed circuit board mounted in a housing with metal spacers and multiple rubber positioning components in an embodiment;

Fig. 10 illustrates a magnified view of the spacers in the embodiment of Fig. 9; and

Fig. 11 illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment of a manufacturing method.

Various example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings in which some example embodiments are illustrated. In the figures, the thicknesses of lines, layers or regions may be exaggerated for clarity. Optional components may be illustrated using broken, dashed, or dotted lines.

Accordingly, while example embodiments are capable of various modifications and alternative forms, embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the figures and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that there is no intent to limit example embodiments to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, example embodiments are to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the invention. Like numbers refer to like or similar elements throughout the description of the figures.

As used herein, the term "or" refers to a non-exclusive or, unless otherwise indicated (e.g., “or else” or “or in the alternative”). Furthermore, as used herein, words used to describe a relationship between elements should be broadly construed to include a direct relationship or the presence of intervening elements unless otherwise indicated. For example, when an element is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another element, the element may be directly connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly connected” or “directly coupled” to another element, there are no intervening elements present. Similarly, words such as “between”, “adjacent”, and the like should be interpreted in a like fashion.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”, “comprising”, “includes”, or “including”, when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components or groups thereof. Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which example embodiments belong. It will be further understood that terms, e.g., those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

Fig. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a spacer 10. The spacer 10 is configured to support a printed circuit board 20 in a housing 30 of an electronic module 40 (shown in broken lines as being optional from the perspective of the spacer 10). The spacer 10 comprises a flexible structure 12, which is configured to at least partly decouple the printed circuit board 20 from the housing 30 mechanically. The flexible structure 12 is further configured to thermally couple the printed circuit board 20 and the housing 30 for heat absorption from the printed circuit board 20 towards the housing 30. The spacer 10 as shown in Fig. 1 has a double z- shape structure 12 to provide the desired mechanical and thermal properties. For example, the flexible structure 12 is flexible in at least one direction and comprises spring properties with a predefined spring constant. Principally, in Fig. 1 the spacer 10 may be able to bend towards the left-right direction, the up-down direction, and/or to the inward-outward direction of the projection plane. That way, movements in all directions may be allowed for the printed circuit board 20 in the housing 30.

For example, the flexible structure 12 is flexible in at least two directions allowing printed circuit board 20 movements in multiple directions in the housing 30. The spacer 10 may comprise different materials in different implementations. For example, the flexible structure 12 may comprise carbon, carbon/metal, or metal. These materials are examples only, in other embodiments other materials with respective mechanical and thermal properties may be used.

Fig. 1 also illustrates an embodiment of an electronic module 40 comprising a housing 30, a printed circuit board 20 supported by the housing 30 and at least one spacer 10 according to the above description supporting the printed circuit board 20 in the housing 30. In embodiments multiple spacers 10 may be used to support the printed circuit board 20 and they can potentially be used on both or multiple sides of the printed circuit board 20. For example, an electronic module 40 may comprise at least two spacers 10. The at least two spacers 10 may comprise different spring properties with different spring constants. Fig. 2 illustrates another embodiment of an electronic module 40 with a printed circuit board 20 and multiple spacers 10a-g. The printed circuit board 20 has multiple chips or electronic components 60a, b mounted on both of its surfaces. As indicated in Fig. 2, the flexibility of the spacers 10a-g can also be achieved using a foam-like or mesh-like structure. Other variants may include clip- or spring-like structures. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 2 the electronic module 40 further comprises multiple positioning components 50a-d to place the printed circuit board 20 inside the housing 30. The positioning components 50a-d may also serve as spacers and may have a spring character to flexibly hold the printed circuit board 20 in place inside the housing 30. For example, the positioning components 50a-g comprise carbon, carbon/metal, rubber material, or metal.

Embodiments may provide a module construction that allows quasi-free-standing integration of printed circuit boards (PCB) 20. The free-standing characteristic may increase fatigue lifetime for solder joints and also inner-chip construction interfaces. It may also reduce additional stress components transferred from the PCB 20 to chip packages 60a, b mounted on the PCB 20 that can lead to inner chip parameter drift due to piezoelectric effects. In embodiments the PCB 20 may be flexibly clamped and the heat transfer spacers may be heat transfer spring spacers with spring constants k1>k2 leading to protection from the mechanical environment around the chip and soft spring dampening for the heat transfer connection from a chip 60b to module housing 30.

The spacers 10a-g may be light-weight, together with the clamps 50a-d, they lead to a good stable positioning of the PCB 20 in the module 40, but with enough flexibility to reduce thermo-mechanical gradients and thermally induced strain-related deformation or deformation due to shock/vibration. A major contribution to avoid the cause of degradation and/or failure. Embodiments may enable integration of the latest modern chip & assembly technologies, which otherwise would not withstand automotive load conditions in classical constructions. Embodiments may provide a simple, cheap and light-weight mounting solution for a PCB with shock/vibration dampening being shifted from a “rack construction” supported dampening to an inherent module solution.

Fig. 3 illustrates a principle built of an electronic module 40 in an embodiment. Fig. 3 depicts cross sections of an electronic module 40 in an embodiment. The electronic module 40 for a vehicle comprises a PCB 20, which will be described in more detail subsequently. The electronic module 40 comprises electronic components 60 mounted on the PCB 20 and a housing 30 for the PCB 20 with the electronic components 60. The electronic components 60 may comprise any semiconductor devices or chips, resistors, capacitors, inductors, transistors, diodes, etc.

The electronic module 40 further comprises thermal interface material 70 (TIM) configured to thermally couple the electronic components 60 and the housing 30. For example, the TIM 70 may be any heat conducting material such as copper or aluminum that may be used within a paste or flexible material. Also non electrically conducting heat transfer materials such as thermal foils do fall under this category. The TIM connection may also be realized through a solder connection or coupling, even if it rendered a manufacturing process more challenging.

Moreover, the electronic module 40 comprises one or more spacer dice 10, which are configured to thermally couple one or more thermal coupling areas of the PCB 20 with the housing 30. The spacer dice 10 might not exactly be symmetric dice but have a cubic or almost cubic size, e.g. they may be some sort of heat conducting cushions. As for all heat conducting components described herein, heat conducting material may be used, e.g. in form of powder, fibers, lanes, grid, mesh, crystalline, massive, etc. Optionally, TIM 70 may be used to thermally couple at least one of the one or more spacer dice 10 to the housing 30.

Furthermore, the spacer dice 10 comprise a flexible structure (not explicitly shown in Fig. 3) in line with the above description for mechanically decoupling or damping the PCB 20 from the housing 30. The spacers 10 can be configured to be grounded together with the housing 30. The housing 30 is configured to shield the PCB 20 from electromagnetic radiation. The one or more spacer dice 10 are further configured to mechanically stabilize the PCB 20 in the housing 30. Therefore, the spacer dice 10 may be implemented using a material that provides some mechanical robustness itself but also comprises a flexible structure, such as defined spring properties.

Fig. 3 shows at the top a cross section of a PCB 20 with electronic components 60, spacer dice 10, TIM 70, and a module housing 30. Fig. 3 depicts at the bottom a magnified cross section of the PCB 20. Here, it can be seen that the PCB 20 comprises a grounded thermal heat distribution layer 80, which is connected to the spacer dice 10. In embodiments TIM 70 on the electrical components 60 can be optional as ideally, the heat distribution layer 80 provides enough heat dissipation.

The PCB 20 for the electronic vehicular component comprises the thermal distribution layer 80 in the PCB 20. The PCB 20 may be seen as a sort of carrier for the electronic components 60 that has certain conductor lines, vias, and contacts implemented on a basically non-conductive carrier substrate. A PCB 20 may have several layers of conductor planes, of which at least some can be electrically contacted from the surface of the PCB 20.

The thermal distribution layer 80 may be implemented using a laminar or plane implementation of heat-conducting material, e.g. such material could be metal such as copper or aluminum. The implementation could be as a plane, as multiple lanes, meanders, a mesh, a grid etc. The thermal distribution layer 80 is shown as being implemented in the center of the PCB 20, e.g. it could be a layer laminated into the PCB 20, which can be in the middle of the PCB 20, but it may as well be implemented asymmetrically, e.g. closer to one surface of the PCB 20 than to another. The PCB 20 comprises one or more thermal coupling areas on the surface of the PCB 20. These areas are located between the electronic components 60 in Fig. 3 and are coupled to the spacer dice 10. The one or more thermal coupling areas are configured for heat dissipation away from the PCB 20 and the one or more thermal coupling areas are thermally coupled to the thermal distribution layer 80 in the PCB 20. Therewith, heat is distributed in the PCB 20 and can be led of the PCB 20 through the thermal coupling areas.

In the present embodiment the PCB 20 comprises one or more contacts for grounding the thermal distribution layer 80. In some embodiments the thermal coupling areas are electrically coupled to the thermal distribution layer 80, which may support shielding of the electronic components 60.

Fig. 4 shows heat transfer in an embodiment. Fig. 4 illustrates a cross section of an electronic module 40 in an embodiment with heat flow indications 90, 92, 94. As can be seen, there is heat transfer via radiation 92 (e.g. from electrical components 60 towards the housing 30 if no TIM 70 is used) and heat transfer via conduction 94 (e.g. through the spacers 10 and the TIM 70).

Fig. 5 shows heat transfer in an embodiment with spring spacers 10, 10a. Fig. 5 shows another electronic module 40 with an embedded PCB 20, where the arrows illustrate the heat flow. In this embodiment spring spacers 10, 10a are used to thermally couple the PCB 20 to the housing 30 and to mechanically decouple the PCB 20 from the housing 30.

Fig. 6 illustrates shock absorption in an embodiment. Fig. 6 shows another embodiment with spring spacers 10, 10a, 10b, which have different spring properties and spring constants ki, k₂. Therewith different support forces and damping characteristics may be applied to different areas or components on the PCB 20. The positioning components 50 are implemented as metal clamps, which also have a spring character. Therewith, shocks and/or vibrations from multiple directions can be attenuated or absorbed.

Fig. 7 illustrates an embodiment with multiple spacers 10a, 10b with different spring properties ki , k2. The position element is a PCB metal clamp with spring character and the spacers 10a, 10b also have spring characters with different constants ki and k2. Fig. 7 further illustrates glued interfaces between a spring spacer and TIM, between the PCB and the spring spacer, respectively.

Fig. 8 shows multiple embodiments with multiple spacers 10a and 10b. As shown in Fig. 8 PCB 20a has a first spacer 10a of a first category or geometry and PCB 20b has a second spacer 20b with of a second category or geometry. The other PCBs shown in Fig. 8 have further geometries. As can be seen the spacers 10a, 10b have a double-z-shape cross sections with different heights (extension in normal z-direction of the respective PCB) and different depths (extension in lateral x-direction of the respective PCB). Along the x direction there can be multiple spacers with gaps in between. The extension of the spacers in x- direction and the gaps in between define the flexibility of the spacer in x-direction. In some embodiments there could be multiple spacers side by side with defined gaps in between to achieve a desired flexibility. The flexibility in general (all directions) is influenced by multiple parameters of the spacer such as material, geometry of the cross section, material depth, etc.

Fig. 9 shows a printed circuit board 20 mounted in a housing 30 (only the bottom of the housing 30 is shown in Fig. 9) of an electronic module 40 with metal spacers 10a, 10b and multiple rubber positioning components 50abcd in an embodiment. The spacers 10a, 10b have a clip-like double-z-shape cross sections as already indicated in Fig. 8 and they may have different spring/flexibility properties. In this embodiment the electronic module 40 further comprises damping components/attenuators 50abcd configured to mechanically decouple the printed circuit board 20 inside the housing 30. The damping/positioning components 50abc are positioned on the PCB 20 and stabilize the PCB 20 against the side walls of the housing 30. The damping/positioning component 50d stabilizes the PCB 20 against the bottom and/or upper shell of the housing 30. For example, the damping/positioning components 50abcd comprise elastomeric or rubber damping material. Thereby, the damping components 50abcd allow for relative movements between the PCB 20 and the housing 30, which reduces mechanical stress for the PCB 20 and electronic components mounted thereon. Fig. 10 illustrates a magnified view of the spacers 10ab in the embodiment of Fig. 9. As can be seen the spacers 10ab are glued (thermal adhesive/TIM) to the housing 30 and PCB 20 using a thin layer of heat conducting glue.

In embodiments the damping components 50abc may be configured to enable a slide-in mounting or a clip-in mounting of the printed circuit board 20 into the housing 30. For example, there may be rails that guide the PCB 20 inside the housing 30, e.g. as shown in the embodiments of Figs. 2, 5, 6, and 7. Additionally or alternatively, there could be a clip-in mounting. For example, the damping elements 50abc as illustrated in Fig. 9 could clip into corresponding recesses in the housing 30 and stabilize or hold the PCB 20 in that position. The general purpose of the positioning/damping elements 50abcd may be to absorb shocks or vibrations from the PCB 20, additionally they may be used to fix or stabilize the PCB 20 within the housing.

In further embodiments the electronic module 40 may be further configured to be thermally coupled to a cooling system of a vehicle. For example, the housing 30 may be thermally coupled to a cooling medium, e.g. an air stream from an air conditioning system or a cooling liquid of the vehicle.

Another embodiment is a vehicle comprising one or more electronic modules 40 as described herein.

Fig. 11 illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment of a manufacturing method 300. The manufacturing method 300 for an electronic module 40 comprises mounting 302 the printed circuit board 20 into the housing 30 and thermally coupling 304 the printed circuit board 20 to the housing 30 using the one or more spacers 10a, 10b. The method 300 further comprises mechanically decoupling 306 the printed circuit board 20 from the housing 30 at least partly using the one or more spacers 10a, 10b.

A vehicle may be understood as a device for transporting persons and/or goods, such as passenger vehicles, trucks, busses, trains, ships, drones, aircrafts, space crafts and the like. Embodiments may be installed in a vehicle of the automotive industry, especially to a car, a bus or a truck, but not limited to these applications.

A vehicle central compute unit (vehicle CCU) may be understood as a device used for computing data and/or information regarding a vehicle. The vehicle CCU may be installed on-board of the vehicle. Parts of the vehicle CCU may be located or at least be interactive with a compute device off-board, such as a cloud computing system or a computing entity. Moreover, the vehicle CCU may be portable and exchangeable. Thus, the vehicle CCU or its modules 40 may be replaced in the vehicle during maintenance of the computing system.

Embodiments may provide a solution for a centralized compute unit. The suggested construction and integration of such a unit may replace a plurality of single control units in a vehicle. Embodiments may be implemented in high integrated electronic systems, which may be related to security sensitive applications. Embodiments may be applicable for applications of high life-span products which may have a high environmental impact. These applications may be found in automotive industry, in aircraft and space industry as well as ship and train vehicles.

Moreover, embodiments relate to the construction architecture of a vehicle CCU that provides implementation solutions to challenges around complexity management, scalability, upgradeability, easy exchangeability, optimized power and thermal management, EMI issue avoidance/reduction and especially safety/reliability enablement for current and future leading-edge electronics.

While above several exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described, it has to be noted that a great number of variations thereto exists. Furthermore, it is appreciated that the described exemplary embodiments only illustrate non-limiting examples of how the present invention can be implemented and that it is not intended to limit the scope, the application or the configuration of the herein-described apparatuses and methods. Rather, the preceding description will provide the person skilled in the art with constructions for implementing at least one exemplary embodiment of the invention, wherein it has to be understood that various changes of functionality and the arrangement of the elements of the exemplary embodiment can be made, without deviating from the subjectmatter defined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents.

Moreover, embodiments may be relevant for certain standards that apply or at least have influence on vehicle implementations. For example, embodiments may conform to the standards set by the Joint Electron Device Engineering Council (JEDEC), by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), by the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA), by the Institute of Printed Circuits (IPC), the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), etc. The description and drawings merely illustrate the principles of the invention. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise various arrangements that, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the invention and are included within its spirit and scope. Furthermore, all examples recited herein are principally intended expressly to be only for pedagogical purposes to aid the reader in understanding the principles of the invention and the concepts contributed by the inventor(s) to furthering the art, and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions. Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects, and embodiments of the invention, as well as specific examples thereof, are intended to encompass equivalents thereof.

It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that any block diagrams herein represent conceptual views of illustrative circuitry embodying the principles of the invention. Similarly, it will be appreciated that any flow charts, flow diagrams, state transition diagrams, pseudo code, and the like represent various processes which may be substantially represented in computer readable medium and so executed by a computer or processor, whether or not such computer or processor is explicitly shown.

Furthermore, the following claims are hereby incorporated into the detailed description, where each claim may stand on its own as a separate embodiment. While each claim may stand on its own as a separate embodiment, it is to be noted that - although a dependent claim may refer in the claims to a specific combination with one or more other claims - other embodiments may also include a combination of the dependent claim with the subject matter of each other dependent claim. Such combinations are proposed herein unless it is stated that a specific combination is not intended. Furthermore, it is intended to include also features of a claim to any other independent claim even if this claim is not directly made dependent to the independent claim.

It is further to be noted that methods disclosed in the specification or in the claims may be implemented by a device having means for performing each of the respective steps of these methods. Reference list:

10a-g spacer

12 flexible structure

20ab printed circuit board (PCB)

30 housing

40 electronic module

50a-d positioning/damping components

60ab electronic components

70 thermal interface material

80 thermal distribution layer

90 heat transfer flow

92 heat transfer via radiation

94 heat transfer via conduction

300 a manufacturing method for an electronic module

302 mounting the printed circuit board into the housing

304 thermally coupling the printed circuit board to the housing using the one or more spacers

306 mechanically decoupling the printed circuit board from the housing at least partly using the one or more spacers

Claims

1. A spacer (10; 10a-g) for supporting a printed circuit board (20) in a housing (30) of an electronic module (40), the spacer (10; 10a-g) comprising a flexible structure (12) configured to at least partly decouple the printed circuit board (20) from the housing (30) mechanically, wherein the flexible structure (12) is further configured to thermally couple the printed circuit board (20) and the housing (30) for heat absorption from the printed circuit board (20) towards the housing (30).

2. The spacer (10; 10a-g) of claim 1, wherein the flexible structure (12) is flexible in at least one direction and comprises spring properties with a predefined spring constant.

3. The spacer (10; 10a-g) of one of the claims 1 or 2, wherein the flexible structure (12) is flexible in at least two directions to allow printed circuit board (20) movements in multiple directions in the housing (30).

4. The spacer (10; 10a-g) of one of the claims 1 to 3, wherein the flexible structure (12) comprises carbon, carbon/metal, or metal.

5. An electronic module (40) comprising a housing (30), a printed circuit board (20) supported by the housing (30) and at least one spacer (10; 10a-g) according to one of the claims 1 to 4 supporting the printed circuit board (20) in the housing (30).

6. The electronic module (40) of claim 5, comprising at least two spacers (10; 10a-g), wherein the at least two spacers (10; 10a-g) comprise different spring properties with different spring constants.

7. The electronic module (40) of one of the claims 5 or 6, further comprising one or more positioning components (50a-d) to place the printed circuit board (20) inside the housing (30).

8. The electronic module (40) of claim 7, wherein the one or more positioning components (50a-d) have a spring character to flexibly hold the printed circuit board (20) in place inside the housing (30).

9. The electronic module (40) of one of the claims 7 or 8, wherein the positioning components (50a-d) comprise carbon, carbon/metal, rubber material, or metal.

10. The electronic module (40) of one of the claims 5 to 9, further comprising one or more damping components/attenuators (50a-d) configured to mechanically decouple the printed circuit board (20) inside the housing (30).

11. The electronic module (40) of claim 10, wherein the damping components (50a-d) comprise elastomeric or rubber damping material.

12. The electronic module (40) of one of the claims 10 or 11 , wherein the damping components (50a-d) are configured to enable a slide-in mounting or a clip-in mounting of the printed circuit board (20) into the housing (30).

13. The electronic module (40) of one of the claims 5 to 12, being further configured to be thermally coupled to a cooling system of a vehicle.

14. A vehicle comprising one or more electronic modules (40) of one of the claims 5 to 13.

15. A manufacturing method (300) for an electronic module (40) of one of the claims 5 to 13, mounting (302) the printed circuit board (20) into the housing (30); thermally (304) coupling the printed circuit board (20) to the housing (30) using the one or more spacers (10; 10a-g); and mechanically decoupling (306) the printed circuit board (20) from the housing (30) at least partly using the one or more spacers (10; 10a-g).