Coil structure, lead frame, and inductor

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12073985-B2
Application number	US-202117241444-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 27, 2021
Priority date	May 8, 2020
Publication date	Aug 27, 2024
Grant date	Aug 27, 2024

Abstract

A coil structure includes metal plates each including a spiral conductor, and a row of terminals, aligned in a predetermined direction on an outer side of the conductor, and formed by plate portions thicker than the conductor. Two ends of the conductor are connected to two adjacent plate portions for each metal plate. The row of terminals of a first metal plate is bonded to the row of terminals of a second, adjacent metal plate. The position where the two ends of the conductor connect to the two adjacent plate portions shifts one place toward the second end for each upward increase in level within a laminate along a laminated direction of the metal plates, so that the conductors of each of the metal plates are connected in series to form a spiral coil.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A coil structure comprising:
n metal plates that are laminated, where n is a natural number greater than or equal to two,
wherein each of the n metal plates includes a spiral conductor, and a row of terminals, aligned in a predetermined direction on an outer side of the conductor, and formed by n+1 or more plate portions thicker than the conductor,
wherein two ends of the conductor are connected to two adjacent plate portions for each of the n metal plates,
wherein the row of terminals of a first metal plate is bonded to the row of terminals of a second metal plate which is adjacent to the first metal plate, among the n metal plates that are laminated, and
wherein the two ends of the conductor of a lowermost metal plate among the n metal plates are connected to the two adjacent plate portions located at a first end of the lowermost metal plate, the two ends of the conductor of a second lowest metal plate among the n metal plates are connected to the two adjacent plate portions located at a position shifted one place toward a second end opposite to the first end of the second lowest metal plate, and the position where the two ends of the conductor connect to the two adjacent plate portions shifts one place toward the second end for each upward increase in level within a laminate along a laminated direction of the n metal plates, so that the conductors of each of the n metal plates are connected in series to form a spiral coil.

2. The coil structure as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the plate portions laminated at the first end of the row of terminals and the plate portions laminated at the second end of the row of terminals form external connection terminals.

3. The coil structure as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the plate portions in the row of terminals of each of the n metal plates, other than the plate portions connected to both ends of the conductor, are electrically isolated from the conductor and function as support portions which support the plate portions of the row of terminals of other metal plates.

4. The coil structure as claimed in claim 2 , further comprising:
an insulating film covering surfaces of each of the n metal plates.

5. The coil structure as claimed in claim 2 , further comprising:
a plurality of product regions which respectively become an inductor when singulated; and
a frame configured to support each of the plurality of product regions from a periphery thereof,
wherein the conductor and the row of terminals are formed in each of the plurality of product regions.

6. The coil structure as claimed in claim 3 , further comprising:
a plurality of product regions which respectively become an inductor when singulated; and
a frame configured to support each of the plurality of product regions from a periphery thereof,
wherein the conductor and the row of terminals are formed in each of the plurality of product regions.

7. The coil structure as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the plate portions in the row of terminals of each of the n metal plates, other than the plate portions connected to both ends of the conductor, are electrically isolated from the conductor and function as support portions which support the plate portions of the row of terminals of other metal plates.

8. The coil structure as claimed in claim 7 , further comprising:
an insulating film covering surfaces of each of the n metal plates.

9. The coil structure as claimed in claim 7 , further comprising:
a plurality of product regions which respectively become an inductor when singulated; and
a frame configured to support each of the plurality of product regions from a periphery thereof,
wherein the conductor and the row of terminals are formed in each of the plurality of product regions.

10. The coil structure as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising:
an insulating film covering surfaces of each of the n metal plates.

11. The coil structure as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising:
a plurality of product regions which respectively become an inductor when singulated; and
a frame configured to support each of the plurality of product regions from a periphery thereof,
wherein the conductor and the row of terminals are formed in each of the plurality of product regions.

12. The coil structure as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the frame includes a first portion having the same thickness as the conductor, and a second portion having the same thickness as the plate portions forming the row of terminals.

13. An inductor comprising:
the coil structure as claimed in claim 1 ; and
an encapsulating resin covering the coil structure so that a portion of the row of terminals is exposed.

14. The inductor as claimed in claim 13 , wherein the encapsulating resin includes a magnetic filler.

Assignees

• Shinko Electric Ind Co

Inventors

• Hayashi Shintaro

Classifications

• H01F27/323

  Insulation between winding turns, between winding layers · CPC title

• H01F27/255

  made from particles (H01F27/26 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H01F41/04

  for manufacturing coils {(coils for transformer or inductances H01F27/28)} · CPC title

• H01F2017/048

  with encapsulating core, e.g. made of resin and magnetic powder · CPC title

• H01F41/045

  Trimming · CPC title