Coil and method for producing a coil
In an embodiment a coil includes a tube comprising a tube wall composed of an electrically conductive material, wherein the tube wall has an inductive portion in which a gap is arranged that shapes the tube wall so the tube wall forms a helix in the inductive portion, and wherein the tube wall has two contact portions, each contact portion forming an electrical terminal.
1 . A coil comprising:
an inductive portion in which a helix is formed by a gap in a tube wall of a tube, the tube wall being composed of an electrically conductive material;
two contact portions forming electrical terminals, each contact portion being formed from the tube wall; and
two connecting portions formed from the tube wall, each connecting portion connecting one of the two contact portions to the inductive portion,
wherein each of the contact portions has two arms pointing oppositely along a direction perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the helix,
wherein the arms are planar in a plane parallel to the longitudinal axis of the helix, and
wherein each connecting portion is shorter in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the helix than the respective arms along an entire length in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the helix, allowing positioning the coil on a printed circuit board along the entire lengths of the arms.
2 . The coil according to claim 1 , further comprising a core.
3 . The coil according to claim 1 , wherein the helix is embedded in a plastic.
4 . The coil according to claim 3 , wherein the plastic is mixed with magnetic powder, magnetic particles or another magnetic material.
5 . The coil according to claim 1 , wherein the coil has an E-shaped pot (EP) core.
6 . The coil according to claim 1 , wherein the helix has an outer diameter of between 0.2 mm and 50 mm, inclusive.
7 . The coil according to claim 1 , wherein each contact portion has a flat surface forming a solderable terminal.
8 . A module comprising:
at least two coils according to claim 1 , wherein the two coils are arranged in a common housing.
9 . A method for producing the coil according to claim 1 , the method comprising:
providing the tube with the tube wall;
creating the gap in the tube wall;
shaping at least two portions in the tube wall thereby forming the two contact portions and the two connecting portions; and
planarizing the contact portions to form the planar contact portions.
10 . The method according to claim 9 , further comprising using a laser process to create the gap and to shape the contact portions.
11 . The method according to claim 9 , further comprising removing a region of the tube wall thereby forming a recess in the contact portion of the tube.
12 . The method according to claim 11 , wherein the recess in the contact portion of the tube and the gap in the inductive portion are created jointly in a single step.
13 . The method according to claim 11 , further comprising planarizing a region in the contact portion of the tube wall that was not removed.
14 . The method according to claim 9 , wherein creating the gap comprises:
firstly creating a coil string so that a plurality of inductive portions are arranged along the tube and so that the gap is created in each inductive portion thereby forming the helix in the tube wall in a respective inductive portion, and
secondly singulating the coil string between two adjacent inductive portions in each case so that a contact portion is formed that forms an electrical terminal to the two adjacent inductive portions.
15 . The method according to claim 14 , wherein the coil has an E-shaped pot (EP) core.
16 . The method according to claim 14 , further comprising creating a plurality of coil strings, and embedding the plurality of coil strings in a plastic, wherein the coil strings are arranged parallel to each other.
17 . The method according to claim 16 , further comprising arranging cores in the coil strings.
18 . The method according to claim 16 , wherein the plastic is mixed with magnetic powder, magnetic particles or another magnetic material.
19 . The method according to claim 16 , further comprising singulating the coil strings transversely and/or parallel with respect to a central axis of the coil strings.
20 . A method for producing modules, wherein each module has at least two coils in a common housing, wherein each of the coils is the coil according to claim 1 , the method comprising:
creating at least two coil strings comprising a plurality of inductive portions in each of which the gap is created that shapes the tube wall in a respective inductive portion to form the helix, a contact portion between two adjacent inductive portions in each case and a connection portion between the contact portion and the inductive portion in each case;
planarizing the contact portions to form planar contact portions;
arranging the coil strings in parallel;
embedding the coil strings in a plastic, which forms the housing; and
singulating the coil strings connected by the plastic, along separation lines that run transverse to a central axis of the coil strings to form the modules,
wherein the contact portion, following singulation of the coil string, forms an electrical terminal to the two adjacent inductive portions in each case.
21 . A coil comprising:
an inductive portion in which a helix is formed by a gap in a tube wall of a tube, the tube wall being composed of an electrically conductive material; and
two contact portions forming electrical terminals, each contact portion being formed from the tube wall,
wherein each contact portion has two arms pointing in opposite directions,
wherein the arms are configured for positioning the coil on a printed circuit board with an axis of the helix parallel to a main plane of the printed circuit board,
wherein the helix is embedded in a plastic,
wherein the coil is connectable to the printed circuit board at a bottom side of each of the arms, the bottom side being configured to point to the printed circuit board,
wherein the coil is connectable to the printed circuit board at a lateral side of each of the contact portions, the lateral side being a side adjacent to the bottom side, and
wherein the lateral side of the coil is entirely covered by the plastic except from the lateral sides of the contact portions.
22 . The coil according to claim 21 , wherein the contact portions are solderable on a conducting path on the printed circuit board.
23 . An assembly comprising:
the coil according to claim 21 ; and
the printed circuit board,
wherein the coil is mounted on the printed circuit board such that the arms extend in a direction parallel to the main plane of the printed circuit board.
24 . An assembly comprising:
the coil according to claim 1 ; and
the printed circuit board, wherein the coil is mounted on the printed circuit board such that the arms extend in a direction parallel to a main plane of the printed circuit board.
25 . The assembly of claim 24 , wherein the coil is soldered to the printed circuit board.
26 . The module of claim 8 , wherein the helices of the two coils are arranged along a common helix axis.
27 . The module of claim 26 , wherein the coils are electrically connected in series to each other.