Automotive control module housing

Abstract

An automotive control module includes a plastic housing with a snap-fit metal cover. A printed circuit board is positioned within a cavity formed in the housing, and is attached to the housing with a plurality of fasteners. Resilient tabs are formed on side walls of the housing and grip a cover plate surface to define a snap-fit attachment. Once the cover is attached to the plastic housing, the printed circuit board is enclosed within the cavity between the cover and the housing. The cover includes a plurality of heat transfer fins and/or stamped indentations that form surfaces that are positioned in close proximity to the printed circuit board. The cover utilizes these fins and surfaces to form a heat sink for cooling electronics mounted to the printed circuit board.

1 . An automotive electronic control module assembly comprising: 
 a housing defining an inner cavity;    a printed circuit board positioned within said inner cavity and mounted to said housing;    a cover plate positioned over said inner cavity to enclose said printed circuit board within said housing;    a plurality of resilient members formed on said housing; and    a retaining surface formed on said cover plate wherein said plurality of resilient members engage said retaining surface to securely attach said cover plate to said housing.    
   
   
       2 . The assembly as set forth in  claim 1  wherein said cover plate is positioned in an overlapping non-contact relationship with said printed circuit board and is spaced apart from said printed circuit board by a gap to form a heat sink.  
   
   
       3 . The assembly as set forth in  claim 2  wherein said cover plate is comprised of a generally flat sheet portion having an upper surface and a lower surface and includes at least one stamped indentation defining an indentation bottom surface that is non-coplanar with said upper and lower surfaces of said flat sheet portion.  
   
   
       4 . The assembly as set forth in  claim 3  wherein said gap has a predefined minimum gap height of approximately 0.3 millimeters between said indentation bottom surface and said printed circuit board.  
   
   
       5 . The assembly as set forth in  claim 2  wherein said housing is comprised of a plastic material and said cover plate is comprised of a metallic material.  
   
   
       6 . The assembly as set forth in  claim 5  wherein said metallic material comprises aluminum.  
   
   
       7 . The assembly as set forth in  claim 2  wherein said cover plate is comprised of a base portion with a plurality of fins extending outwardly from said base portion and away from said printed circuit board.  
   
   
       8 . The assembly as set forth in  claim 1  wherein said cover plate includes an upper portion and an indentation portion forming a heat sink wherein said indentation portion comprises a non-contact surface that is spaced apart from said printed circuit board to form a gap between said non-contact surface and said printed circuit board.  
   
   
       9 . The assembly as set forth in  claim 8  wherein said upper portion includes a generally flat upper surface and said indentation portion includes a generally flat indentation surface that is non-coplanar to said flat upper surface.  
   
   
       10 . The assembly as set forth in  claim 1  wherein said plurality of resilient members each comprise a resilient tab having a transversely extending distal tip facing inwardly toward a center of said inner cavity.  
   
   
       11 . The assembly as set forth in  claim 1  wherein said housing includes a connector portion having structure for attachment to a vehicle wiring harness.  
   
   
       12 . The assembly as set forth in  claim 1  wherein the automotive electronic control module assembly generates a vehicle control signal to control a vehicle powertrain system.  
   
   
       13 . A method for assembling an automotive electronic control module comprising the steps of: 
 a) mounting a printed circuit board within a cavity formed within a housing; and    b) enclosing the printed circuit board within the cavity by snapping a cover plate into gripping engagement with the housing to form a secure snap-fit attachment between the housing and the cover plate.    
   
   
       14 . The method set forth in  claim 13  including unsnapping the cover plate from the housing when necessary to perform service operations.  
   
   
       15 . The method set forth in  claim 14  wherein step (b) further includes forming the cover plate from aluminum to include a body portion with at least one indentation, and positioning the at least one indentation closer to the printed circuit board than the body portion to form a heat sink that facilitates heat transfer from the printed circuit board to the cover plate.  
   
   
       16 . The method as set forth in  claim 15  including spacing the at least one indentation apart from the printed circuit board to form a gap.  
   
   
       17 . The method as set forth in  claim 14  wherein step (b) further includes forming a plurality of fins on an upper surface of the cover plate with the plurality of fins extending outwardly from the upper surface and away from the printed circuit board to facilitate heat transfer from the printed circuit board to the cover plate.  
   
   
       18 . The method as set forth in  claim 13  including forming a connector portion in the housing for connection to a vehicle wire harness.  
   
   
       19 . The method as set forth in  claim 13  wherein the printed circuit board and associated control electronics comprise a control module and including generating a vehicle control signal from the control module to control a vehicle powertrain system.  
   
   
       20 . The method as set forth in  claim 13  including forming the housing from plastic and forming the cover plate from metal.