Electrical Component With Added Connecting Conducting Paths

This invention relates to circuits having a high density array of conducting paths and more particularly to supplying additional conduction paths in a high density conducting path environment.

As power supply and other circuits increase in power density and are reduced in size, it has become increasingly difficult to provide the desired number of isolated high current conducting paths on a single circuit substrate. In particular the circuit topology frequently requires nonintersecting conducting paths to cross over one another. In a hybrid thick film technology this requires that a first conducting path deposited on the substrate be subsequently covered with a layer of dielectric material on which a second conducting path crossing the first conducting path is deposited. In a particularly dense or congested circuit arrangement several such layers and multilayers at one location of the substrate may be required. Not only is construction of these layers difficult and expensive, but the current in one conducting path may interfere with a conducting path either under it or overlaid thereon. This occurs frequently when one conducting path conducts a heavy current load as compared with the other conducting path. Other problems arise, when many conducting path overlays are necessary, including conducting path distortions due to curvature of the path as the overlaying path bridges a lower path. This curvature often distorts the cross section of the overlaying conducting path causing resistance variation problems. Therefore, avoidance of overlaid conducting paths is desirable both from an expense of production consideration and from an electrical performance consideration.

Additional conducting paths are provided in high density circuits in accord with the invention by providing connecting conducting paths in components mounted on the circuit substrate and which particular conducting paths are utilized solely to interconnect two points on the substrate with a high current conducting path that is unrelated to the electrical function of the component's electrical device.

In a particular embodiment of the invention a surface mounted magnetic component such as an inductor or transformer on a hybrid thick film circuit layered in turn on a ceramic substrate is used to provide connecting conducting paths. This magnetic component includes independent connecting conduction paths on a plastic base on which the magnetic element is mounted that interconnect two added or unused terminal members on the periphery of the base. These connecting conductor paths are electrically joined to existing conducting paths on the substrate at these terminal members. These independent connecting conducting paths are unrelated as part of the component to the magnetic element (i.e. transformer or inductor) and its winding terminations and operates solely to provide additional connecting conducting paths that normally would have to be overlaid or deposited on the ceramic substrate. It is readily apparent that this provides an inexpensive and viable method of providing high current crossing conduction paths in very congested density populated portions of the substrate requiring many crossing conductor paths.

An appreciation of the invention may be readily attained by reference to the following specification and the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a surface mountable inductor including independent conduction paths in accordance with the principles of the invention;

FIG. 2 discloses a surface view of a hybrid thick film circuit layered on a ceramic substrate with an outline of the base portion of the component and the connecting conducting paths plotted thereon showing where the surface mounted inductor of FIG. 1 is applied to provide additional crossing connecting conducting paths on a substrate densely populated with conducting paths, and

FIG. 3 depicts a surface mountable inductor mounted on a ceramic substrate in order to provide additional crossover connecting conducting paths independent of the functioning of the inductor.

A simple surface mountable inductor structure including auxiliary connecting conducting paths illustrative of the principles of the invention is disclosed in an exploded perspective view in FIG. 1 of the drawing. A base structure 10 is shown including connecting conductor paths 20 and 21 placed on a top surface 9 of the base 10 and interconnecting opposing mounting tabs of the base 10. Connecting conducting path 20, a thin copper sheet strip is secured to the top surface 9 of base 10, interconnects the two component mounting tabs 11 and 12. Connecting conducting path 21, also a copper sheet strip, interconnects mounting tabs 13 and 14. In each instance the sheet conducting path and the tab it connects to is wrapped with tinned copper wire 15 to permit subsequent reflow surface mounting. While the illustrative embodiment herein depicts sheet copper conducting paths, it is readily apparent that many other methods of providing conduction paths may be utilized without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

The toroid core 30 which may be composed of a ferrite material is shown including a winding 31 whose terminal ends 32 and 33 (as shown by dotted lines 34 and 35) are intended to be connected to the mounting tabs 17 and 18 and wrapped with tinned wire 15 to permit reflow surface mounting. At reflow temperature the tinned solder melts and when it solidifies it provides an electrical connection to the component footprints or conduction lands on the substrate and also secures the component to the substrate. An insulation layer 110 is positioned between the toroid structure and the base surface 9 to electrically isolate the core 30 and winding 31 from the connecting conducting paths 20 and 21.

A typical conduction path layout of a circuit deposited on a ceramic substrate 200 is shown in FIG. 2 with a defined outline 250 of the electrical component of FIG. 1 overlaid thereon in order to show how the connecting conducting paths are used to interconnect conducting paths deposited on the ceramic substrate. Two heavy duty conducting paths 201 and 202 are shown passing under the base area 203 of the component (defined by line 250) which is covered by the electrical component. It is desired to provide interconnections to the circuit via additional conducting paths that bridge both of these heavy duty conducting paths 201 and 202. In particular it is desired to connect a terminus 204 of conducting path 205 to a conducting land 206 and a terminus 207 of conducting path 208 to a terminus 211 of conducting path 212. In order to accomplish this, connecting conducting paths 214 and 215 are provided on the base of the electrical component rather than overlaying and depositing conducting paths on the substrate itself. These connecting conducting paths 214 and 215 are added to the component base structure solely as connecting conducting paths and have no relation to the operation or functioning of the component's electrical device.

A perspective view of the electrical component surface mounted on a circuit substrate 300 (shown in fragmentary form) is shown in FIG. 3. The terminal members 317 and 318 connect the electrical device (inductor 350) of the component to the circuit conducting paths at the substrate. The tabs 311 and 312 represent the ends of one connecting conducting path and electrically connect the conducting leads 305 and 306. Similarly, tabs 313 and 314 are the end at another connecting conducting path joining the conducting leads 307 and 308.