US-12625167-B2 - Current sensing device

US12625167B2US 12625167 B2US12625167 B2US 12625167B2US-12625167-B2

Abstract

A current sensing device includes a substrate and one or more coil elements. The substrate comprises a plurality of holes extending at least partially through the substrate from a first surface of the substrate. The coil element comprises two locating pins. A first locating pin engages a locating cavity of a first flange and locates in a first hole. A second locating pin engages another locating cavity of a second flange and locates in a second hole. The end of the first locating pin bends to form an obtuse angle. The end of the second locating pin also bends to form an obtuse angle.

Inventors

Adrian HOZOI
Jaromir Podzemny

Assignees

ABB SCHWEIZ AG

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20240329
Priority Date: 20230330

Claims (13)

1 . A current sensing device, comprising: a substrate; and one or more coil elements; wherein the substrate comprises a plurality of holes extending at least partially through the substrate from a first surface of the substrate, wherein prior to a coil element being mounted to the substrate each of the plurality holes has a circular cross section; wherein the coil element comprises a winding body, two flanges disposed at either end of the winding body, a length of wire, and two locating pins; wherein the winding body has an outer surface around an axis of the winding body, and wherein at least a portion of the length of wire is wound multiple times around the outer surface of the winding body in a generally circumferential direction with respect to the axis of the winding body; wherein, when the coil element is mounted to the first surface of the substrate: a first locating pin of the two locating pins is engaged in at least one locating cavity of a first flange of the two flanges and an end portion of the first locating pin of the two locating pins is located in a first hole of the plurality of holes, and a second locating pin of the two locating pins is engaged in at least one locating cavity of a second flange of the two flanges and an end portion of the second locating pin is located in a second hole of the plurality of holes; and a first section of the first locating pin including the end portion located in the first hole is bent with respect to a second section of the first locating pin such that there is an obtuse angle between the first section and second section of the first locating pin; and a first section of the second locating pin including the end portion located in the second hole is bent with respect to a second section of the second locating pin such that there is an obtuse angle between the first section and second section of the second locating pin, wherein the two locking pins comprise at least one locking anchor configured to stop the two flanges from moving perpendicularly away from the first surface of the substrate, and wherein the locking anchor is formed from a bridge part connecting the first locating pin to the second locating pin, and wherein when the coil element is mounted to the first surface of the substrate and the end portions of the locating pins are located in their respective holes of the substrate a portion of the bridge part is located adjacent to a surface of the first flange facing away from the first surface of the substrate and a portion of the bridge part is located adjacent to a surface of the second flange facing away from the first surface of the substrate.
2 . The current sensing device according to claim 1 , wherein the obtuse angle between the first section and second section of the first locating pin is in a direction toward the second locating pin; and wherein the obtuse angle between the first section and second section of the second locating pin is in a direction toward the first locating pin.
3 . The current sensing device according to claim 1 , wherein an angle between the first section and second section of the first locating pin is increased in magnitude to form the obtuse angle between the first section and second section of the first locating pin as a consequence of the first locating pin having been located in the first hole of the plurality of holes in the substrate; and wherein an angle between the first section and second section of the second locating pin is increased in magnitude to form the obtuse angle between the first section and second section of the second locating pin as a consequence of the second locating pin having been located in the second hole of the plurality of holes in the substrate.
4 . The current sensing device according to claim 1 , wherein an angle between the first section and second section of the first locating pin is increased in magnitude to form the obtuse angle between the first section and second section of the first locating pin as a consequence of the first locating pin having been located in the first hole of the plurality of holes in the substrate or a straight section of the first locating pin is bent to form the obtuse angle between the first section and second section of the first locating pin as a consequence of the first locating pin having been located in the first hole of the plurality of holes in the substrate; and wherein an angle between the first section and second section of the second locating pin is increased in magnitude to form the obtuse angle between the first section and second section of the second locating pin as a consequence of the second locating pin having been located in the second hole of the plurality of holes in the substrate or a straight section of the second locating pin is bent to form the obtuse angle between the first section and second section of the second locating pin as a consequence of the second locating pin having been located in the second hole of the plurality of holes in the substrate.
5 . The current sensing device according to claim 4 , wherein the at least one locating cavity in each flange comprises a first locating portion and a second locating portion, wherein when the coil element is mounted to the first surface of the substrate the first locating portion is a part of the flange adjacent to the substrate and the second locating portion is a part of the flange further from the substrate than the first locating portion, and wherein the at least one locating cavity is at least one hole going through each flange or at least one groove in each flange.
6 . The current sensing device according to claim 5 , wherein when the coil element is mounted to the first surface of the substrate and the end portion of the first locating pin of the two locating pins is located in the first hole of the plurality of holes of the substrate at least a part of the second section of the first locating pin is engaged with the first locating portion and the second locating portion of the first flange, and wherein when the coil element is mounted to the first surface of the substrate and the end portion of the second locating pin of the two locating pins is located in the second hole of the plurality of holes of the substrate at least a part of the second section of the second locating pin is engaged with the first locating portion and the second locating portion of the second flange.
7 . The current sensing device according to claim 4 , wherein when the coil element is mounted to the first surface of the substrate and the end portion of the first locating pin of the two locating pins is located in the first hole of the plurality of holes of the substrate the second section of the first locating pin is perpendicular to the first surface of the substrate; and wherein when the coil element is mounted to the first surface of the substrate and the end portion of the second locating pin of the two locating pins is located in the second hole of the plurality of holes of the substrate the second section of the second locating pin is perpendicular to the first surface of the substrate.
8 . The current sensing device according to claim 1 , wherein each flange comprises two supporting edges at opposite ends of one side of the flange, and wherein when the coil element is mounted to the first surface of the substrate the two supporting edges of each flange are in contact with the first surface of the substrate.
9 . The current sensing device according to claim 1 , wherein each flange comprises a recess or releasing hollow adjacent to one end of the locating cavity of the flange, and wherein when the coil element is mounted to the first surface of the substrate the recess or releasing hollow is at a location adjacent to the first surface of the substrate.
10 . The current sensing device according to claim 1 , wherein the first locating pin comprises a locking anchor, wherein when the coil element is mounted to the first surface of the substrate and the end portion of the first locating pin of the two locating pins is located in the first hole of the plurality of holes of the substrate a portion of the locking anchor is located adjacent to a surface of the first flange facing away from the first surface of the substrate; and wherein the second locating pin comprises a locking anchor, wherein when the coil element is mounted to the first surface of the substrate and the end portion of the second locating pin of the two locating pins is located in the second hole of the plurality of holes of the substrate a portion of the locking anchor is located adjacent to a surface of the second flange facing away from the first surface of the substrate.
11 . The current sensing device according to claim 1 , further comprising a second substrate, wherein the second substrate comprises a plurality of holes projecting at least part way through the second substrate from a first surface of the second substrate, wherein prior to the coil element being mounted to the second substrate each of the plurality of holes has a circular cross section, and wherein, when the coil element is mounted to the first surface of the second substrate: a second end portion of the first locating pin of the two locating pins is located in a first hole of the plurality of holes in the second substrate; a second end portion of the second locating pin of the two locating pins is located in a second hole of the plurality of holes in the second substrate; a third section of the first locating pin including the second end portion located in the first hole in the second substrate is bent with respect to the second section of the first locating pin such that an obtuse angle between the third section and second section of the first locating pin is in the direction of the second locating pin; and a third section of the second locating pin including the end portion located in the second hole in the second substrate is bent with respect to a second section of the second locating pin such that an obtuse angle between the third section and second section of the second locating pin is in the direction of the first locating pin.
12 . The current sensing device according to claim 1 , wherein prior to the locating pins being located into the holes in the substrate the coil element is configured such that the two locating pins can move within their respective at least one locating cavity in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the winding body.
13 . The current sensing device according to claim 1 , comprising a plurality of coil elements mounted to the substrate.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The instant application claims priority to European Patent Application No. 23165433.6, filed Mar. 30, 2023, which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE The present disclosure generally relates to a current sensing device and a method of manufacturing a current sensing device. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Current sensing devices comprising one or more coil elements have been receiving increasing interest in the last decades. A coil element comprises a bobbin and a winding segment applied on a winding body of the bobbin which is non-magnetic and non-conductive, where the winding segment is formed from a length of wire wound around a central axis of the winding body. A current sensing device can have just one coil element, however a current sensing device can have a plurality of coil elements. In such a current sensing device with a plurality of coil elements, a common form is the Rogowski coil configuration, where the coil elements are arranged to form an approximately closed path around an opening foreseen for a conductor and are connected electrically to sum their signals and to provide a measurement voltage of the device, which is indicative of the current in the conductor. U.S. Pat. No. 9,664,711B2 describes placing the bobbin elements into cavities or slots of a plastic carrier and using alignment posts to facilitate individual placement of the bobbin elements within an encapsulating header. However, this does not provide for precise and economical positioning of the bobbin elements on substrates, and also has no consideration to do so on simple substrates like PCBs. It is also known to mount coil elements on a PCB using basic component placement concepts, not optimized for high positioning precision. EP0209415B1 describes mounting a plurality of coil elements on a PCB, where fixing of a coil element is implicitly achieved through its electrical connecting pins. Significant clearance is needed between a connecting pin and a mating PCB hole to reduce the risk to stress the pin during mating and to ensure that the electrical connection or the winding wire connected to the pin is not severed or cut. However, this placement of coil elements on a PCB using a basic component placement concept results in limited positioning precision. In bulkier applications like transformers or relays, a coil can be firmly fixed to a substrate using fasteners like screws, however, the solutions are not sufficiently precise and compact for the device here. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present disclosure describes an improved current sensing device. In a first aspect, there is provided a current sensing device, comprising a substrate; and one or more coil elements. The substrate comprises a plurality of holes projecting at least part way through the substrate from a first surface of the substrate. Prior to a coil element being mounted to the substrate each of the plurality holes has a circular cross section. The coil element comprises a winding body; two flanges located at either end of the winding body; a length of wire; and two locating pins. The winding body has an outer surface around an axis of the winding body, and at least a portion of the length of wire is wound multiple times around the outer surface of the winding body in a generally circumferential direction with respect to the axis of the winding body. When the coil element is mounted to the first surface of the substrate, a first locating pin of the two locating pins is engaged in at least one locating cavity of a first flange of the two flanges and an end portion of the first locating pin of the two locating pins is located in a first hole of the plurality of holes, and a second locating pin of the two locating pins is engaged in at least one locating cavity of a second flange of the two flanges and an end portion of the second locating pin is located in a second hole of the plurality of holes. A first section of the first locating pin including the end portion located in the first hole is bent with respect to a second section of the first locating pin such that there is an obtuse angle between the first section and second section of the first locating pin, and a first section of the second locating pin including the end portion located in the second hole is bent with respect to a second section of the second locating pin such that there is an obtuse angle between the first section and second section of the second locating pin. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S) FIG. 1 is an outline view of an exemplary current sensing device with a plurality of exemplar coil elements in accordance with the disclosure. FIG. 2A shows an end view of an exemplar coil element in accordance with the disclosure. FIG. 2B shows a view of an exemplar current sensing device viewing a second surface of a substrate and where a coil element is mounted to a first surface of the substrate in