US-20260128209-A1 - INTEGRALLY-FORMED INDUCTOR

US20260128209A1US 20260128209 A1US20260128209 A1US 20260128209A1US-20260128209-A1

Abstract

The present disclosure provides an integrally-formed inductor including a magnetic core, a first winding and a second winding, the magnetic core includes a first surface, a second surface, and a side surface; the first winding includes a first longitudinal portion, a second longitudinal portion, and a first connecting portion. The first longitudinal portion extends to the first surface, forming a first pin, and the second longitudinal portion extends to the second surface, forming a second pin, the second winding includes a third longitudinal portion, a fourth longitudinal portion, and a second connecting portion, and the first and second connecting portions extend on planes forming non-zero angles with corresponding longitudinal portion.

Inventors

Mingzhun Zhang
Jinping Zhou
Min Zhou

Assignees

DELTA ELECTRONICS (SHANGHAI) CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20260106
Priority Date: 20210304

Claims (20)

1 . An integrally-formed inductor, comprising: a magnetic core comprising a first surface, a second surface, and a side surface, the first surface and the second surface being disposed opposite to each other, and the side surface being disposed between the first surface and the second surface; and a first winding comprising a first longitudinal portion, a second longitudinal portion, and a first connecting portion being provided between the first longitudinal portion and the second longitudinal portion; wherein the first longitudinal portion extends to the first surface, and a projection of the first longitudinal portion on the first surface is within a range of the magnetic core, and the first longitudinal portion forms a first pin on the first surface; the second longitudinal portion extends to a plane where the second surface is positioned, and forms a second pin on the plane where the second surface is positioned; and the first winding and the magnetic core are integrally pressed by a mold to form the inductor; wherein the inductor further comprises: a second winding comprising a third longitudinal portion, a fourth longitudinal portion, and a second connecting portion being provided between the third longitudinal portion and the fourth longitudinal portion; wherein the third longitudinal portion extends to the first surface, and forms a third pin on the first surface, the fourth longitudinal portion extends to a plane where the second surface is positioned, and forms a fourth pin on the plane where the second surface is positioned; wherein the first connecting portion extends on a first plane, where the first plane forms a non-zero angle with the first longitudinal portion and the second longitudinal portion, respectively; and the second connecting portion extends on a second plane, where the second plane forms a non-zero angle with the third longitudinal portion and the fourth longitudinal portion, respectively.
2 . The inductor according to claim 1 , wherein a projection length of the first winding in a horizontal direction is greater than a projection length of the first winding in a height direction of the magnetic core, the horizontal direction is perpendicular to the height direction of the magnetic core; wherein the height direction refers to a direction from the first surface to the second surface of the magnetic core.
3 . The inductor according to claim 1 , wherein the first winding is buried in the magnetic core, and a distance between the first winding and the side surface of the magnetic core is not less than 300 μm.
4 . The inductor according to claim 1 , wherein the second longitudinal portion at least partially exposes to the side surface.
5 . The inductor according to claim 1 , wherein a projection of the third longitudinal portion on the first surface is within a range of the magnetic core.
6 . The inductor according to claim 1 , wherein the second winding is buried in the magnetic core, and a distance between the second winding and the side surface is not less than 300 μm.
7 . The inductor according to claim 1 , wherein the fourth longitudinal portion at least partially exposes to the side surface.
8 . The inductor according to claim 1 , wherein: the first connecting portion is U-shaped, arc-shaped, C-shaped, straight line-shaped, Z-shaped or racetrack-shaped, or the first connecting portion is rectangular with a notch; and the second connecting portion is U-shaped, arc-shaped, C-shaped, straight line-shaped, Z-shaped or racetrack-shaped, or the second connecting portion is rectangular with a notch.
9 . The inductor according to claim 1 , wherein the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion are at least partially stacked along a height direction of the magnetic core.
10 . The inductor according to claim 1 , wherein the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion are stacked along a width direction of the magnetic core.
11 . The inductor according to claim 1 , wherein when a current flows through the first winding from the first pin and flows through the second winding from the third pin, the magnetic fluxes generated by the current in the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion are weakened.
12 . The inductor according to claim 12 , wherein a minimum separation distance between the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion is smaller than a minimum separation distance between the first longitudinal portion and the third longitudinal portion.
13 . The inductor according to claim 12 , wherein a length of the first connecting portion is greater than a sum of a length of the first longitudinal portion and a length of the second longitudinal portion, and a length of the second connecting portion is greater than a sum of the length of the third longitudinal portion and the length of the fourth longitudinal portion.
14 . The inductor according to claim 12 , wherein a sectional area of the first longitudinal portion, a sectional area of the second longitudinal portion, a sectional area of the third longitudinal portion, and a sectional area of the fourth longitudinal portion all are larger than a sectional area of the first connecting portion and a sectional area of the second connecting portion.
15 . The inductor according to claim 1 , wherein: the first connecting portion is rectangular with a notch, and a space enclosed by the first connecting portion is defined as a first space, the second connecting portion is rectangular with a notch, and a space enclosed by the second connecting portion is defined as a second space, the first connecting portion is at least partially located in the second space, and the second connecting portion is at least partially located in the first space.
16 . The inductor according to claim 1 , wherein: the first connecting portion is rectangular, the first connecting portion is provided with a first notch, the second longitudinal portion is provided with a second notch; the second connecting portion is rectangular, and the second connecting portion is provided with a third notch, the third longitudinal portion is provided with a fourth notch, wherein the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion are stacked along a height direction of the magnetic core by matching the first notch and the fourth notch with each other and matching the second notch and the third notch with each other.
17 . The inductor according to claim 1 , wherein the magnetic core is made of magnetic powder with distributed air gap.
18 . The inductor according to claim 1 , wherein the first plane is parallel to the second plane, the first connecting portion is perpendicular to the first longitudinal portion and the second longitudinal portion, and the second connecting portion is perpendicular to the third longitudinal portion and the fourth longitudinal portion.
19 . An integrally-formed inductor, comprising: a magnetic core comprising a first surface, a second surface, and a side surface, the first surface and the second surface being disposed opposite to each other, and the side surface being disposed between the first surface and the second surface; and a first winding comprising a first longitudinal portion, a second longitudinal portion, and a first connecting portion being provided between the first longitudinal portion and the second longitudinal portion; wherein the first longitudinal portion extends to the first surface, and a projection of the first longitudinal portion on the first surface is within a range of the magnetic core, and the first longitudinal portion forms a first pin on the first surface; the second longitudinal portion extends to a plane where the second surface is positioned, and forms a second pin on the plane where the second surface is positioned; and the first winding and the magnetic core are integrally pressed by a mold to form the inductor; wherein the inductor further comprising: a second winding comprising a third longitudinal portion, a fourth longitudinal portion, and a second connecting portion being provided between the third longitudinal portion and the fourth longitudinal portion; wherein the third longitudinal portion extends to the first surface, and forms a third pin on the first surface, the fourth longitudinal portion extends to a plane where the second surface is positioned, and forms a fourth pin on the plane where the second surface is positioned; wherein the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion are at least partially stacked along a height direction of the magnetic core, and the height direction refers to a direction from the first surface to the second surface of the magnetic core.
20 . The inductor according to claim 19 , wherein a projection length of the first winding in a horizontal direction is greater than a projection length of the first winding in the height direction of the magnetic core; or a projection length of the second winding in the horizontal direction is greater than a projection length of the second winding in the height direction of the magnetic core; wherein the horizontal direction is perpendicular to the height direction of the magnetic core.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE This application is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 17/684,462, filed on Mar. 2, 2022, which is based upon and claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202110239092.9, filed on Mar. 4, 2021, the entire contents thereof are incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD This disclosure relates to an integrally-formed inductor and a power supply module. BACKGROUND In recent years, with the development of the technology such as data centers and artificial intelligence, and an operating speed of a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU) and an integrated chip (IC) becomes faster and faster, and an operating current is increasing, so that a power supply module such as a voltage regulation module (VRM) that supplies power for these devices has a harsh demand on power density, efficiency, and dynamic performance etc., thereby providing an extremely high challenge for the design of VRM. In the VRM, a volume of an inductor has a high occupation, and an inductance of the inductor is also a main factor that directly affects efficiency and dynamic performance of the entire VRM. As the VRM has an increased power density and further reduced volume, the design of the VRM heat dissipation is facing huge challenge, and even becomes a bottleneck in the development of VRM technology. As shown in FIG. 1a which is a schematic structural view of a VRM disclosed in Chinese Patent Application CN107046366A. In the VRM structure shown in FIG. 1a, the switching unit 21 as a heat source is disposed above the inductor 10. The inductor 13 has one end disposed on an upper surface of the inductor 10 and connected with the switching unit 21, and the other end disposed on a lower surface of the inductor 10 and connected with a load. Such arrangement is provided such that the switching unit 21 containing the heat source is directly connected to a radiator (not shown) above, thereby maximizing a heat dissipation capacity of the VRM. In the inductor structure as shown in FIG. 1a, a magnetic core includes a first magnetic substrate 11, a second magnetic substrate 12, and a filling layer 15 therebetween. The first magnetic substrate 11 is provided with a first via 111, and the second magnetic substrate 12 is provided with a second via 121. A first conductor portion and a second conductor portion of an inductor coil 13 are respectively formed on the first via 111 and the second via 121 by a coated copper or a filling. Although the inductor in FIG. 1a meets a requirement that pins are disposed on the upper and lower surfaces simultaneously, the magnetic substrate of the inductor as shown in FIG. 1a is made of a high-permeability magnetic material and does not have any air gap, so that the magnetic substrate in FIG. 1a is easy to saturate and has a low utilization rate. The first magnetic substrate 11 and the second magnetic substrate 12 of the inductor in FIG. 1a are combined in an assembling manner, and a gap between the two magnetic substrates cannot be avoided. The assembling gap can produce an edge magnetic flux. The edge magnetic flux can produce eddy current loss (Fringing Effect) on the pins around the magnetic core. Such assembling manner results in that an assembly tolerance is hardly avoided, thereby being harmful to the arrangement of the power connection components; and in addition, the inductor structure as shown in FIG. 1a is not easy to implement an inverse coupling. The inverse coupling inductor technique can provide a smaller dynamic inductance to meet high dynamic performance requirements, and also can provide a high steady-state inductance to meet high efficiency requirements. Therefore, inverse coupling inductor is another current design hotspot in the field of VRM module power supply. The inductor shown in FIG. 1b is another existing inductor that can be used in the VRM structure as shown in FIG. 1a. As shown in FIG. 1b, a winding of the inductor extends to the top and bottom surfaces of the inductor from the sides of the inductor, so that the pins are disposed on the upper and lower surfaces while the inductor as shown in FIG. 1b realizes the inverse coupling. However, the inductor as shown in FIG. 1b, a winding thereof extends from the sides to the top and bottom surfaces. A path of the winding is too long such that under an operating condition of the VRM having low-voltage and high-current, the long winding means a large DC loss, which is not beneficial to the improvement of the efficiency. In addition, the winding of the inductor extends from the sides, thereby limiting the space for the power connection components on the sides of the inductor and being harmful for the improvement of the utilization rate of the magnetic core. As above described, in the VRM system structure as shown in FIG. 1a, there is an urgent need to develop an inductor that can simultaneously satisfy that the pins are disposed on the upper and lower surfaces, the path of the winding is sho