阅读说明：本技术 电子模块及其制造方法 (Electronic module and method for manufacturing the same ) 是由 H·布劳恩 于 2019-06-18 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明涉及一种电子模块(1)和一种用于制造其的方法。该电子模块(1)具有：电路板(3)；第一结构元件(5),该第一结构元件布置在电路板(3)的配备侧(7)上并且与该电路板电接触；多个能够导电的、长形的接触销(9),这些接触销分别以电路板侧的端部(13)电接触电路板(3)的配备侧(7)；和电绝缘的保护物质(11),该保护物质液态地加工并且然后能够硬化,并且该保护物质如此遮盖电路板(3)的配备侧(7),从而第一结构元件(5)被封装到保护物质(11)中,并且接触销(9)在侧向被保护物质(11)包围,并且接触销(9)的远离电路板的端部(15)从保护物质(11)中伸出。该电子模块(1)的特征在于,所述接触销(9)并排地布置在保持条(17)中,所述保持条如此机械地接触所有接触销(9),使得所述接触销(9)保持在所述保持条(17)上并且通过所述保持条(17)相对于彼此定位。(The invention relates to an electronic module (1) and a method for producing the same. The electronic module (1) comprises: a circuit board (3); a first structural element (5) which is arranged on the installation side (7) of the circuit board (3) and is in electrical contact therewith; a plurality of electrically conductive, elongated contact pins (9) which each electrically contact the installation side (7) of the circuit board (3) with a circuit board-side end (13); and an electrically insulating protective substance (11) which is liquid-processed and can then be hardened and which covers the installation side (7) of the circuit board (3) in such a way that the first structural element (5) is encapsulated in the protective substance (11), and the contact pin (9) is laterally enclosed by the protective substance (11), and an end (15) of the contact pin (9) remote from the circuit board protrudes out of the protective substance (11). The electronic module (1) is characterized in that the contact pins (9) are arranged next to one another in a holding strip (17) which mechanically contacts all the contact pins (9) in such a way that the contact pins (9) are held on the holding strip (17) and are positioned relative to one another by the holding strip (17).)

1. An electronic module (1) having:

a circuit board (3) which is provided with a plurality of printed circuit boards,

a first structural element (5) which is arranged on the installation side (7) of the circuit board (3) and is in electrical contact with said circuit board,

a plurality of electrically conductive, elongated contact pins (9) which each electrically contact the associated side (7) of the printed circuit board (3) with a printed circuit board-side end (13),

an electrically insulating protective substance (11) which can be worked in liquid form and then hardened and which covers the installation side (7) of the circuit board (3) in such a way that the first structural element (5) is encapsulated in the protective substance (11) and the contact pin (9) is laterally enclosed by the protective substance (11) and the end (15) of the contact pin (9) remote from the circuit board protrudes out of the protective substance (11), characterized in that,

the contact pins (9) are arranged side by side in a holding strip (17) which mechanically contacts all contact pins (9) in such a way that the contact pins (9) are held on the holding strip (17) and are positioned relative to one another by the holding strip (17).

2. An electronic module according to claim 1, wherein the retaining strip (17) is embedded in the protective substance (11) in such a way that the protective substance (11) adjoins a circuit-board-side region of the retaining strip (17) and a region of the retaining strip (17) remote from the circuit board protrudes from the protective substance (11).

3. The electronic module according to one of the preceding claims, further comprising a second component (19) which is electrically connected, in particular soldered, to an end (15) of at least one of the contact pins (9) remote from the circuit board.

4. An electronic module according to claim 3, wherein the second structural element (19) has a counter strip (21) at least in the contact region, which counter strip cooperates mechanically with the retaining strip (17) in order to fix the second structural element (19) on the retaining strip (17).

5. The electronic module according to one of the preceding claims, further having a debris protection cover (23) which covers the region of the contact pins (9) remote from the circuit board.

6. The electronic module according to any of claims 3 to 5, wherein the retaining strip (17) and the counterpart strip (21) or the debris protection cover (23) are geometrically configured such that a labyrinth seal is formed at the contact surface of the retaining strip (17) with the counterpart strip (21) or the debris protection cover (23).

7. The electronic module according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the length of the contact pins (9) is larger than the largest cross-sectional dimension of the contact pins (9).

8. The electronic module according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the smallest lateral distance between the nearest neighboring contact pins (9) is smaller than the length of the contact pins (9).

9. The electronic module according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the retaining strip (17), the counter strip (21) and/or the debris guard cover (23) are plastic structural elements, in particular injection-molded structural elements.

10. A method for manufacturing an electronic module (1), comprising:

providing a circuit board (3),

providing and arranging a first structural element (5) of the installation side (7) of the circuit board (3) in such a way that the structural element (5) electrically contacts the circuit board (3),

a plurality of electrically conductive, elongated contact pins (9) are provided and arranged in such a way that each contact pin (9) is in electrical contact with the installation side (7) of the circuit board (3) with a circuit board-side end (13),

applying an electrically insulating protective substance (11) in a liquid state in such a way that the protective substance (11) covers the installation side (7) of the circuit board (3) in such a way that the first structural element (5) is encapsulated in the protective substance (11) and the contact pin (9) is laterally enclosed by the protective substance (11) and that the end (15) of the contact pin (9) remote from the circuit board protrudes from the protective substance (11) and subsequently the protective substance (11) is hardened,

it is characterized in that the preparation method is characterized in that,

the contact pins (9) are arranged side by side in a holding strip (17), wherein the holding strip (17) mechanically contacts all contact pins (9) in such a way that the contact pins (9) are held on the holding strip (17) and are positioned relative to one another by the holding strip (17).

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an electronic module, as it can be used in particular for implementing a control unit, such as a transmission control unit, for example in a motor vehicle, and to a method for producing an electronic module.

Background

Electronic modules are used to construct electrical circuits in which different electrical and/or electronic components are connected to one another. By means of the structural elements thus connected, the electronic module can provide a specific function.

For example, an electronic module in the form of a transmission control module is used to control the functions of a transmission in a motor vehicle. In addition to simple components, such as, for example, resistors, capacitors, inductors, etc., or even more complex components, such as, for example, Integrated Circuits (IC) or application-specific ICs (ASIC), the electronic module can also have sensors here, for example, to measure the state within the transmission to be controlled or in the environment, and/or plugs, for example, to electrically connect the electronic module or parts thereof to an external Circuit. The component can be arranged on a circuit board.

Sensitive structural elements of the electronic module should be protected against damage due to mechanical loads and against attack by chemically aggressive substances. For this purpose, the structural elements may be encapsulated, for example, in a protective substance (Schutzmasse) which covers the surface of the circuit board carrying the structural elements. The protective substance can be made of a plastic, for example a thermosetting plastic, in particular a polymer, for example an epoxy resin.

In order to be able to electrically contact the circuit board, for example to be able to electrically connect further components and/or mating connectors to the circuit board, contact pins can be provided on the circuit board, which contact pins project through a protective layer made of a protective substance and covering the circuit board.

DE 102015214311 a1 describes an electronic module with structural elements that can be flexibly placed by means of socket elements and a method for producing the electronic module. DE 102017210176 a1 describes another electronic module. DE 102016209488 a1 describes another electronic module with a clamping connection for a transmission control unit.

Disclosure of Invention

On this background, an electronic module and a method for producing an electronic module according to the independent claims are described using the approaches described here. Advantageous refinements and improvements of the solution proposed here emerge from the description and are described in the dependent claims.

Embodiments of the invention can be realized in an advantageous manner: an electronic module is provided and produced, which can be used in particular for a transmission controller, in which a plurality of contact pins can be arranged closely adjacent to one another and can be accessed and contacted from outside a layer of protective substance, and which can be produced simply, reliably and/or cost-effectively.

According to a first aspect of the invention, an electronic module is proposed, which has a circuit board, a first structural element, a plurality of electrically conductive, elongated contact pins and an electrically insulating protective substance. The first structural element is arranged on the installation side of the circuit board and is in electrical contact with the circuit board. The contact pins each electrically contact the installation side of the circuit board with the end of the circuit board side. The protective substance can be processed in liquid form and then can be hardened and covers the installation side of the circuit board as a protective layer in such a way that the first structural element is encapsulated in the protective substance and the contact pin is laterally enclosed by the protective substance and the end of the contact pin remote from the circuit board protrudes from the protective substance. The electronic module is characterized in that the contact pins are arranged side by side in a holding strip which mechanically contacts all the contact pins in such a way that the contact pins are held on the holding strip and are positioned relative to one another by the holding strip.

A second aspect of the invention relates to a method for manufacturing an electronic module having the above-mentioned features. The method is characterized in that contact pins of the electronic module are provided, which are arranged next to one another in a holding strip, and in that the holding strip mechanically contacts all the contact pins in such a way that the contact pins are held on the holding strip and are positioned relative to one another by the holding strip.

The idea of an embodiment of the invention can be seen in particular as being based on the idea and recognition described below.

As mentioned at the outset, the circuit board, including the components provided thereon, can be protected from damage by chemically aggressive media and/or from external mechanical influences by means of a protective substance which is deposited in an encapsulated manner on the circuit board. The contact pins can here extend from the installation side of the circuit board through the protective substance, so that they can be contacted from the outside.

The contact pins can be arranged on the equipment side of the circuit board before the protective substance is applied. Usually, the contact pin is usually pre-soldered to the fitting side. For this purpose, the contact pin may have a widened base which can be soldered flat to the contact surface on the installation side.

Subsequently, a protective substance can be applied such that it covers the component to be protected and laterally abuts against the contact pin or surrounds the contact pin, wherein the ends of the contact pin remote from the circuit board each project outward beyond the protective substance and are thus freely accessible.

The protective substance can then be hardened. For this purpose, the printed circuit board together with the protective substance is usually introduced into an oven, for example a through-oven (durchlafofen), in order to be able to harden the protective substance at elevated temperatures. The circuit board together with the protective substance can have a small overall height, so that the oven used can be designed as space-saving as possible. In particular, the volume that should accommodate the circuit boards for heating in the oven may be flat.

After the hardening of the protective substance, further components and/or plugs accessible from the outside can be arranged at the exposed end of the contact pin remote from the circuit board. The terminal, which can conduct electricity, can be electrically connected to the end of the contact pin, for example by soldering, clamping or preferably welding. It is therefore also not necessary to fit further structural elements or plugs during the heating and hardening of the protective substance, so that no additional space needs to be provided for this in the furnace for heating.

However, it is known that, in particular in the case of a plurality of contact pins which are to be arranged next to one another closely on the mounting side of the circuit board, difficulties can then arise in that the contact pins can be arranged close enough to one another and/or in a suitable positioning relative to one another on the circuit board and electrically connected thereto.

In order to overcome these difficulties, it is proposed not to arrange a plurality of contact pins individually on the circuit board and to connect them with the circuit board. Instead, the plurality of contact pins should be prearranged in a special holding strip which holds the contact pins in position mechanically relative to each other in place. The holding strip can then be arranged on the installation side of the circuit board together with the contact pins held therein and the contact pins are electrically connected to the circuit board, for example by soldering. This can preferably be carried out in the context of the production of electronic modules, after which a protective substance is applied to the equipped side of the circuit board in order to form a protective layer. If a protective substance is subsequently applied, it can surround the holding strip or lie tightly against it, so that after hardening it mechanically fixes the holding strip to the circuit board.

The elongated contact pin can have a length greater than its maximum cross-sectional dimension, preferably more than twice or even more than four times its length. In other words, the contact pins can have a smaller cross-sectional dimension than their length, i.e. in the case of circular contact pins, a small diameter, so that a plurality of contact pins can be arranged side by side on a small partial surface of the installation side of the circuit board. In particular, the contact pins do not require a widened base, which is otherwise normally used for this purpose, so that elongated, thin contact pins can be mounted on the circuit board at their base by sufficient mechanical retention without being bent away laterally under load. Alternatively, the contact pin may be thin over its entire length and, for example, have a constant cross-sectional dimension. Such a contact pin can be produced simply and cost-effectively. The contact pin can then be fixed in the holding strip at the circuit-board-side end and/or in the region further away from the circuit-board-side end and is held in particular by the holding strip in order to prevent lateral bending away.

Here, the smallest lateral distance between the nearest neighboring contact pins may preferably be less than the contact pin length, preferably less than half the contact pin length or even less than a quarter of the contact pin length. In other words, the contact pins can be arranged very close to one another, i.e. on a small surface, wherein the holding bars can ensure a correct positioning and/or a sufficient spacing between adjacent contact pins.

The holding strip can be embedded in the protective substance in such a way that the protective substance adjoins the region of the holding strip on the circuit board side and the region of the holding strip remote from the circuit board protrudes from the protective substance. In other words, the protective substance can laterally surround the retaining strip and reach the retaining strip all the way to the lateral direction. The protective layer formed from the protective substance can, however, have a thickness which is smaller than the height of the retaining strip, so that the retaining strip projects away from the circuit board beyond the protective layer. The holding strip can thus be accessible from the outside similarly to the contact pins accommodated therein, so that the holding strip can be coupled with other components of the electronic module, for example.

The electronic module may have at least one second component which is electrically connected, in particular soldered, to an end of at least one of the contact pins remote from the circuit board. The second structural element can be, for example, a sensor which projects from the circuit board in order to be able to locally measure the physical parameter. Alternatively, the second structural element can be, for example, a plug which can be contacted from the outside, for example, in order to be able to establish an electrical connection to an external sensor or other circuit. The second component can have a similar or greater overall height than the printed circuit board to which the protective substance is applied. The second component can be connected to the end of the contact pin remote from the printed circuit board, if necessary afterwards, i.e. after the printed circuit board has been provided with the protective substance and the protective substance has hardened. For this purpose, for example, the metal contact terminal of the second component and the contact pin can be welded, in particular laser welded, in an electrically conductive manner. Accordingly, no additional installation space needs to be provided for the second structural element when the protective substance is cured in the oven used for this purpose.

The second structural element may have a mating strip at least in the contact region, which mating strip interacts mechanically with the retaining strip in order to fix the second structural element to the retaining strip. The counter strip and the retaining strip can each be geometrically designed such that they can be coupled to one another in a force-fitting and/or form-fitting manner. The counter strip can in particular surround the second component and/or components projecting therefrom, such as, for example, electrical lines or terminals, and can thus be connected to the second component as rigidly as possible mechanically. When the counter bar is coupled to the holding bar, the second component is therefore fixed to the holding bar and via the holding bar to the circuit board. In this case, the forces acting on the second component no longer need to be dissipated, for example, by a welded or soldered connection between the connecting element of the second component and the contact pin, but can be dissipated for the most part by the counter bar and the holding bar, which are mechanically coupled to one another.

Furthermore, the electronic module can have a debris protection cap which covers the region of the contact pins remote from the circuit board. In this case, the debris protection cap can cover in particular the regions of the contact pins which are exposed without the debris protection cap and on which, for example, electrically conductive metal debris can come into contact with the contact pins and short circuit the contact pins to one another. The debris protection cap can be coupled to the retaining strip and/or the mating strip, i.e. fixed thereto. The debris protection cap together with the holding strip and/or the mating strip can then enclose the volume in which the contact pins are accommodated in such a way that debris having a critical dimension sufficient for short-circuiting adjacent contact pins cannot reach the enclosed volume. However, the volume need not be enclosed in a tight manner, i.e. fluids such as, for example, transmission oil can penetrate into the volume via the debris protection cover.

The retaining strip and the counterpart strip or the debris protection cap can be geometrically designed such that a labyrinth is formed at the contact surface of the retaining strip with the counterpart strip or the debris protection cap. The labyrinth seal can be designed such that debris having the above-mentioned critical dimensions can no longer pass through it into the volume covered by the debris protection cap.

The retaining strip, the counter strip and/or the debris protection cover can be a plastic structural element, in particular an injection-molded structural element. Such a plastic component can be produced simply and cost-effectively and with sufficient precision for the respective component.

It is noted that some of the possible features and advantages of the invention are described herein with reference to different embodiments of the electronic module on the one hand and the method for manufacturing the electronic module on the other hand. Those skilled in the art realize that the described features can be combined, matched or substituted in a suitable manner in order to realize other embodiments of the invention.

Drawings

Embodiments of the invention are described below with reference to the drawings, wherein neither the drawings nor the description should be regarded as limiting the invention.

Fig. 1 shows a perspective cross-sectional view through an electronic module according to the invention.

Fig. 2 shows a perspective top view of an electronic module according to the invention coupled with a second structural element.

Fig. 3 shows a perspective cross-sectional view through an electronic module according to the invention provided with a debris protection cover.

Fig. 4 shows a longitudinal section through an electronic module according to the invention provided with a debris protection cover.

Fig. 5 (a), (b) show longitudinal sectional views through different designs of the electronic module according to the invention.

The figures are schematic only and are not to scale. The same reference numerals indicate the same or functionally similar features in the drawings.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of an electronic module 1 according to an embodiment of the invention. The electronic module 1 comprises a circuit board 3, on the installation side 7 of which one or preferably a plurality of components 5 (shown only very schematically for the sake of simplicity) are arranged. The structural element 5 can be electrically connected to the circuit board 3 in an electrically conductive structure (not explicitly shown), such as, for example, a printed conductor. These electrically conductive structures can in turn be connected to contact pins 9, by means of which contact with other components or contacts to be made from the outside in the form of plugs can be made.

The contact pins 9 are arranged in a holding strip 17, which holds the contact pins 9 mechanically and is positioned closely adjacent to one another. The contact pins 9 are significantly longer than their diameter and than the distance between the nearest neighboring contact pins 9. Preferably, the contact pins 9 can be accommodated in the holding strip 17 in a parallel orientation to one another. The retaining strip 17 may be a simple plastic member. For example, the plurality of contact pins 9 can be injection-molded by injection molding of an electrically insulating plastic.

When assembling the electronic module 1, the plurality of contact pins 9 can be jointly mounted in the holding strip 17 in such a way that the holding strip 17 is arranged on the installation side 7 of the circuit board 3 and the circuit-board-side ends 13 of the contact pins 9 are electrically connected, for example soldered, to the associated contact surfaces on the circuit board 3.

In order to protect the first structural element 5 in particular against attack by chemically aggressive media, such as transmission oil, the installation side 7 (after the arrangement of the structural element 5 and the holding strip 17 with the contact pins 9 there) is covered by a polymeric protective substance 11 during the production of the electronic module 1. The protective substance 11 covers the structural element 5 and therefore encapsulates it. However, the retaining strip 17 has a greater height than the structural element 5, which height is in particular greater than the thickness of the protective layer formed by the protective substance 11, so that the protective substance 11, although adjoining the circuit-board-side region of the retaining strip 17, projects out of the protective substance 11 in the upward direction and is exposed at the region of the retaining strip 17 remote from the circuit board.

Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of the electronic module 1, wherein the circuit board 3 is connected to a second structural element 19. The second structural element may be, for example, an additional circuit board, a stamped grid or a similar structure with components provided thereon. Alternatively, the second structural element 19 can also be a sensor, a mating plug or the like. The second structural element 19 can be coupled with the retaining strip 17 by means of a counter strip 21. The contact terminals 25 arranged in the counter-bar 21 can in this case make electrical contact with the contact pins 9 accommodated in the holding bar 17 at their end 15 remote from the circuit board and can be soldered to them. However, the load-bearing mechanical connection between the circuit board 3 and the second component 19 is preferably not effected primarily via the contact terminals 25 connected to the contact pins 9, but is established via a suitable mechanical connection between the holding strip 17 and the counter strip 21.

Fig. 3 shows a cross-sectional view through the electronic module 1, which is connected by its retaining strip 17 to the counter strip 21 of the second structural element 19. Fig. 4 shows a longitudinal section through an electronic module 1 of similar construction. The counter strip 21 and the holding strip 17 are geometrically designed such that they can be coupled to one another in a simple, reliable and mechanically sufficiently loadable manner. For example, the counter strip 21 and the holding strip 17 may be clamped to each other. The holding element 27, which may be arranged on the holding strip 17, may be inserted into a recess 29 arranged in the counter strip 21, for example, in order to stabilize the mechanical connection between the holding strip 17 and the counter strip 21, so that forces acting on the second component 19 do not excessively load the electrical connection between the contact pin 9 in the holding strip 17 and the contact terminal 25 in the counter strip 21.

In order to be able to avoid the situation in which, for example, metal debris floating in the surrounding transmission oil reaches the contact pins 9 or the contact terminals 25 and can electrically short them, a debris protection cover 23 is provided in the vicinity of the connection between the retaining strip 17 and the counterpart strip 21. The debris protection cover 23 can cover the region of the contact pin 9 remote from the circuit board in the vicinity of the end 15 of the contact pin 9 remote from the circuit board, so that no metal debris can reach there. In a similar manner, the debris protection cover 23 may also cover the contact terminals 25. The debris protection cover 23 can be made of an electrically insulating plastic material, similar to the retaining strip 17 and the counter strip 21, and can be a simple injection-molded component, for example.

The debris protection cover 23, the retaining strip 17 and the counter strip 21 can be geometrically configured such that a labyrinth seal is configured at the transition between these components. Along this labyrinth seal, the path to the interior of the volume covered by the debris protection cover 23 is labyrinthinly wound in such a way that no elongate metal debris can pass through. However, fluids, such as transmission oil in particular, may still be able to pass through the labyrinth seal.

Fig. 5 (a) and (b) show a longitudinal section through a possible embodiment of the electronic module 1 and in particular through its retaining strip 17.

As shown in fig. 5 (a), the holding plate 17 can be designed with openings 31 through which the contact pins 9 extend with a certain lateral clearance. The contact pin 9 is held here only by the webs 33 on the remaining part of the holding strip 17. Thus, although the contact pins 9 are roughly positioned in the holding strip 17, they can still be slightly displaced laterally during the assembly of the holding strip 17 before they are then soldered with their circuit-board-side end 13, for example with the contact surface 35, on the mounting side 7 of the circuit board 3.

Alternatively, as shown in fig. 5 (b), the holding plate 17 may tightly surround the contact pins 9 and thus be fixedly positioned. For example, the contact pins 9 can be pressed into narrow openings in the holding strip 17 or injected directly during the production of the holding strip 17.

The supplementary information and possible design options of an embodiment of the electronic module according to the invention are explained below in the selection of words with slight modifications in part.

Embodiments of the present invention relate to mechanical and electrical connection of discrete components in an electronic module, preferably for transmission control of an automatic transmission. The invention is particularly advantageous for connecting plug connectors, sensor modules and the like to a plurality of electrical conductors to be joined.

The known electronic modules comprise essentially a controller with electrical components for signal processing, power electronics and discrete components such as sensors for detecting position and rotational speed, an electrical interface, for example in the form of a plug connection, and at least one plug connection for connection to a vehicle cable harness.

The electronic module is mounted, for example, under transmission oil and is subjected to high temperatures in the transmission (e.g., -40 … +150 ℃). The design of the control module should therefore meet various requirements, such as for example helping to avoid chemical attack by aggressive oils, as well as providing good temperature and vibration resistance and preventing short circuits due to metal debris.

The position of the separate component is usually predetermined by the structure of the transmission. Typically, this position is out of the plane of the controller. Electrical conductors are required for electrical connection to the controller. This may be, for example, a cable, a stamped grid or a flexible film. Additionally, a carrier is required for mechanical positioning and fixing in space. This may be a plastic body, for example. The electrical conductor and the mechanical bearing can be combined into one component or one component and are referred to below as a sensor dome (Sensordom).

Typically, the controller and discrete components, such as the sensor dome, are manufactured in separate manufacturing steps. Subsequently, these components are joined together. Methods such as soldering, welding and plug-in connection are used for the electrical contacting. Signal interruptions and changes in the resistance of the contact zone during operation must be avoided. For the mechanical connection, screws, plastic laser welding, metal rivets or plastic hot rivets are used, for example.

Embodiments of the present invention may be particularly advantageously used with the applicants' new module platform of a control module having a polymer protection system. In this case, the electronic component is arranged on a substrate, such as, for example, a printed circuit board, and is subsequently surrounded by a subsequently hardened liquid polymer.

In order to obtain as many circuit boards as possible during the curing process, for example in an oven, the component should be as flat as possible. In this case, the assembly of the sensor dome or of other discrete components should take place after the polymer has hardened.

However, embodiments of the present invention may also be applied in other electronic modules, in particular in other controllers.

The object of the invention is, in particular, to make it possible to establish a simpler and therefore more cost-effective connection between, for example, a controller and a discrete component, such as a sensor and a plug connector.

The connection produced with the embodiments of the electronic module described herein is mechanically very robust (robust). In particular, it is robust against vibration loads and thermal changes, compared to pins soldered directly in the circuit board.

As few contact points as possible between the individual conductor track sections are required. Electrical contact points present a quality risk during operation and increase the production costs due to the required processing.

Embodiments of the invention are advantageous in particular when a large number of connections have to be established, as is the case with plugs and sensor modules as separate components.

This solution is particularly advantageous when using a polymer protection system for packaging the controller. In these protection systems, processes such as reflow soldering, hardening processes, molding processes and the like are required, wherein the components to be treated should be as flat as possible, since otherwise the costs would be significantly increased due to the larger tools and equipment. Thus, the discrete components that have to protrude from the plane of the controller substrate can lead to significantly increased costs in the manufacture of the electronic module.

The manufacture of discrete components/assemblies is generally independent of the actual circuit board manufacture. Thus, the most advantageous design, supplier and manufacturing method can be selected for each component separately.

In summary, the following advantages can be obtained:

high reliability in operation due to the reliable connection at the electrical contact points by means of the soldered connection;

low cost, since the joining process is sufficient for all components and assemblies;

high reliability in terms of interruption, resistance change, interaction of the contact points with a medium, such As Transmission Fluid (ATF); there is no need to compensate for thermal expansion or micro-motions caused by vibration loads in the contact surfaces. (advantage: welded connection with plug contact or spring contact)

A high number of connections can be realized cost-effectively.

The advantages for the polymer protection system platform are, among others:

the flat components used for the hardening process result in a significant cost reduction;

minimal space consumption on the PCB (circuit board) results in more space for equipping the electrical components for the controller;

the location of the electrical connections is more flexible than conventional solutions.

In the construction of an electronic module according to the invention, the contact pins or pins are soldered to the circuit board (FR 4, HDI, …) of the controller. Preferably, this is done by the SMD method. This can be achieved in the same step if other SMD components are placed and soldered. The circuit board is then overmolded with a resin (e.g., epoxy) and cured. The pins protrude from the resin with their end faces.

The contact faces of the contact terminals of the separate components are placed onto the end faces and a non-detachable electrical connection is achieved, preferably by laser welding.

In order to connect as many contacts/welds as possible simultaneously, any number of contact pins may be placed in one or more rows in the narrowest space. The contact surfaces of the discrete components may be stamped from sheet metal.

The contact pins can be fitted to the circuit board in that they are embedded, arranged with or without play in a plastic retaining strip on the fitting side of the circuit board and are subsequently soldered and cast with resin.

As a debris guard, the metal circuit board of the discrete component may be injection molded with plastic, for example in the form of an injection molded stamped grid. The plastic can be embedded in a plastic retaining strip. Another debris protection cover may be disposed thereover and protect and separate the individual pins.

In order to relieve the electrical connection points, the second component can be fastened, for example, by means of its injection-molded stamped grid, heat-riveted to the plastic retaining strip or to the circuit board.

Finally it is pointed out that concepts such as "having", "comprising" and the like do not exclude other elements or steps, and that concepts such as "a" or "an" do not exclude a plurality or a plurality. Reference signs in the claims shall not be construed as limiting.