Laminated impedance device

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to a laminated impedance device, and more particularly, to a laminated impedance device including a variety of electronic circuits that define a noise filter.

2. Description of the Related Art

A laminated impedance device of this type as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 9-7835 or Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 6-82822 is well known in the art. Such a laminated impedance device includes a laminate formed by laminating a plurality of coil units having different permeabilities. The coil units are associated with coil conductor patterns which are electrically connected to each other in series to define a spiral coil. The laminated impedance device ensures high impedance in a wide frequency range from a low frequency to a high frequency, thereby extending the noise-free frequency band.

In the prior art laminated impedance device, a first external electrode is connected to the coil conductor patterns in a high-permeability coil unit, while a second external electrode is connected to the coil conductor patterns in a low-permeability coil unit. Thus, a problem occurs in that the electrical properties of the impedance device differs depending upon which one of the high-permeability coil unit and the low-permeability coil unit is used as a mounting surface when mounted on a printed board.

To overcome the above-described problems, preferred embodiments of the present invention provide a laminated impedance device which can be mounted on any surface without altering the electrical properties thereof.

To this end, a laminated impedance device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a high-permeability coil unit having a laminate of a plurality of magnetic layers made of a relatively-high-permeability material and a plurality of coil patterns, the high-permeability coil unit including at least first and fourth coil portions, and a low-permeability coil unit including a laminate of a plurality of magnetic layers made of a relatively-low-permeability material and a plurality of coil patterns, the low-permeability coil unit including at least second and third coil portions. The high-permeability coil unit and the low-permeability coil unit are stacked on each other such that the first coil portion, the second coil portion, the third coil portion, and the fourth coil portion are electrically connected in series in a sequential manner to define a spiral coil. The laminated impedance device according to this preferred embodiment may be a laminated inductor.

The first and fourth coil portions of the high-permeability coil unit are connected to input and output external electrodes so as to ensure consistent electrical properties regardless of the mounting direction or orientation.

The second coil portion and the third coil portion of the low-permeability coil unit are preferably wound such that a magnetic flux generated by the second coil portion is directed in a different direction from a magnetic flux generated by the third coil portion. This provides electromagnetic coupling of the magnetic flux generated by the second coil portion and the magnetic flux generated by the third coil portion, thereby yielding a high inductance in the low-permeability coil unit.

The first coil portion and the fourth coil portion of the high-permeability coil unit are wound such that a magnetic flux generated by the first coil portion is in the same direction as a magnetic flux generated by the fourth coil portion. Therefore, an electromagnetic coupling of the magnetic flux generated by the first coil portion and the magnetic flux generated by the fourth coil portion does not occur. This prevents a high-frequency component input to the laminated impedance device from directly flowing to the output side due to the electromagnetic coupling of the first and fourth coil portions of the high-permeability coil unit, thereby avoiding the phenomenon where the high-frequency component is not passed to the second and third coil portions of the low-permeability coil unit.

The first, second, third, and fourth coil portions are wound such that a magnetic flux generated by the first coil portion of the high-permeability coil unit is directed in a different direction from a magnetic flux generated by the second coil portion of the low-permeability coil unit and a magnetic flux generated by the fourth coil portion of the high-permeability coil unit is directed in a different direction from a magnetic flux generated by the third coil portion of the low-permeability coil unit. Therefore, an electromagnetic coupling of the magnetic flux generated by the high-permeability coil unit and the magnetic flux generated by the low-permeability coil unit does not occur. This allows the impedance characteristic of the high-permeability coil unit to operate independently from the impedance characteristic of the low-permeability coil unit. As a result, the high-permeability coil unit effectively removes low-frequency noise, while the low-permeability coil unit effectively removes high-frequency noise.

Other features, elements, characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a laminated impedance device according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perceptive view of the laminated impedance device shown in FIG. 1 .

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the laminated impedance device shown in FIG. 2 .

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a modification of the laminated impedance device according to the first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a laminated impedance device according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a graph showing the impedance characteristic of the laminated impedance device shown in FIG. 5 .

FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a modification of the laminated impedance device according to the second preferred embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view of another modification of the laminated impedance device according to the second preferred embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view of still another modification of the laminated impedance device according to the second preferred embodiment.

A laminated impedance device according to the present invention will now be described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof and the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, a laminated impedance device 1 according to a first preferred embodiment preferably includes high-permeability magnetic sheets 3 to 6 having coil conductor patterns 12 to 15 and 24 to 27 provided thereon, and low-permeability magnetic sheets 8 to 11 having coil conductor patterns 16 to 23 provided thereon. The magnetic sheets 2 to 6 are preferably made by forming an insulating paste including a high-permeability ferrite powder into sheets. The magnetic sheets 7 to 11 are preferably made by forming an insulating paste containing a low-permeability ferrite powder into sheets. In the first preferred embodiment, the relative permeability μ of the high-permeability magnetic sheets 2 to 6 is preferably at least about 300, and the relative permeability μ of the low-permeability magnetic sheets 7 to 11 is preferably at least about 100 or less, by way of example.

The coil conductor patterns 12 to 27 are preferably made of Cu, Au, Ag, Ag—Pd, Ni, or other suitable material, and are electrically connected in series through via-holes 30 a to 31 h provided in the magnetic sheets 3 to 10 , respectively, to define a substantially U-shaped spiral coil L within the impedance device 1 . More specifically, the coil conductor patterns 12 to 15 are connected in series through the via-holes 30 a to 30 c to define a first coil portion L 1 of a high-permeability coil unit 35 . The coil conductor patterns 16 to 19 are connected in series through the via-holes 30 f to 30 h to define a second coil portion L 2 of a low-permeability coil unit 36 . The coil conductor patterns 20 to 23 are connected in series through the via-holes 31 f to 31 h to define a third coil portion L 3 of the low-permeability coil unit 36 . The coil conductor patterns 24 to 27 are connected in series through the via-holes 31 a to 31 c to define a fourth coil portion L 4 of the high-permeability coil unit 35 .

The first, second, and third coil portions L 1 , L 2 , and L 3 are wound clockwise, while the fourth coil portion L 4 is wound counterclockwise, as viewed from the top of the impedance device 1 . The first and second coil portions L 1 and L 2 are electrically connected in series through the via-holes 30 d and 30 e . The second and third coil portions L 2 and L 3 are electrically connected in series by connecting the coil conductor patterns 19 and 20 provided on the magnetic sheet 11 . The third and fourth coil portions L 3 and L 4 are electrically connected in series through the via-holes 31 d and 31 e . An extending end 12 a of the coil conductor pattern 12 is exposed on the left side of the magnetic sheet 3 . An extending end 27 a of the coil conductor pattern 27 is exposed on the right side of the magnetic sheet 3 . The coil conductor patterns 12 to 27 are provided on the top surfaces of the magnetic sheets 3 to 6 and 8 to 11 by a technique such as printing or other suitable forming technique.

The magnetic sheets 2 to 11 are stacked in order and pressed into contact as shown in FIG. 1, and are then integrally fired to form a laminate 40 shown in FIG. 2 . An input external electrode 41 and an output external electrode 42 are provided on the left and right end surfaces of the laminate 40 , respectively. The extending end 12 a of the coil conductor pattern 12 is connected to the input external electrode 41 , and the extending end 27 a of the coil conductor pattern 27 is connected to the output external electrode 42 .

The laminated impedance device 1 preferably includes a laminate of the high-permeability coil unit 35 formed by stacking the relatively-high-permeability magnetic sheets 2 to 6 , and the low-permeability coil unit 36 formed by stacking the relatively-low-permeability magnetic sheets 7 to 11 .

The first and fourth coil portions L 1 and L 4 of the high-permeability coil unit 35 primarily function to remove low-frequency noise, and the second and third coil portions L 2 and L 3 of the low-permeability coil unit 36 primarily function to remove high-frequency noise. Since the second coil L 2 of the low-permeability coil unit 36 is wound in the same direction as the third coil portion L 3 , a magnetic flux H 2 generated by the second coil portion L 2 and a magnetic flux H 3 generated by the third coil portion L 3 are electromagnetically coupled with each other to form a coupled flux. This yields a high inductance in the low-permeability coil unit 36 .

The measurement of the inductance where the second coil portion L 2 and the third coil portion L 3 are wound in the same direction, and the inductance where they are wound in the opposite directions is shown below in Table 1. Sample numbers 1 to 4 have different coil diameters of the coil portions L 2 and L 3 or different distances G 2 therebetween.

As shown in Table 1 the inductance is higher when the second coil portion L 2 and the third coil portion L 3 are wound in the same direction.

Both ends of the spiral coil L are led from the coil conductor patterns 12 and 27 provided on the high-permeability coil unit 35 to the input external electrode 41 and the output external electrode 42 , respectively, and are symmetric in the equivalent circuit, thereby providing consistent electrical properties regardless of the mounting direction (obverse or reverse surface) of the laminated impedance device 1 . Since the first and fourth coil portions L 1 and L 4 of the high-permeability coil unit 35 are wound in opposite directions, a magnetic flux H 1 generated by the first coil portion L 1 and a magnetic flux H 4 generated by the fourth coil portion L 4 are not electromagnetically coupled with each other. Thus, the signal input from the input external electrode 41 is sequentially passed to the first, second, third, and fourth coil portions L 1 to L 4 , and is then output from the output external electrode 42 . Thus, a high-frequency component input from the input external electrode 41 is prevented from being directly output from the output external electrode 42 due to the electromagnetic coupling of the first and fourth coil portions L 1 and L 4 .

In the first preferred embodiment, the distance G 1 between the first coil portion L 1 and the fourth coil portion L 4 is preferably greater than the distance G 2 between the second coil portion L 2 and the third coil portion L 3 . This prevents electromagnetic coupling of the first coil portion L 1 and the fourth coil portion L 4 , such that the electromagnetic coupling of the second coil portion L 2 and the third coil portion L 3 is greatly increased.

Furthermore, in the first preferred embodiment, the input external electrode 41 is electrically connected to the coil conductor pattern 12 of the high-permeability coil unit 35 to improve the signal waveform quality. The relative permeability μ of the high-permeability coil unit 35 is preferably at least about 300, thereby providing damping to reduce the ringing phenomenon in the signal waveform. Therefore, the signal waveform quality is further improved. Since the low-permeability coil unit 36 of which the relative permeability μ is preferably about 100 or less ensures a high impedance in a high-frequency region (about 100 MHz or higher), outstanding damping is achieved. Therefore, a high impedance characteristic is achieved even at a high-frequency band.

Preferably, the impedance of the first and fourth coil portions L 1 and L 4 of the high-permeability coil unit 35 is a total of about 220Ω or less (100 MHz), and the impedance of the second and third coil portions L 2 and L 3 of the low-permeability coil unit 36 is a total of about 220Ω or less (100 MHz). This is because when the impedance of the high-permeability coil unit 35 is too high, the signal level or waveform rounding is reduced. On the other hand, when the impedance of the low-permeability coil unit 36 is too high, a high Q factor with a sharp impedance curve in gradient is produced, in which case the damping ability is greatly diminished, and thus, waveform distortion is not sufficiently suppressed.

If the magnetic fluxes H 1 and H 4 generated by the high-permeability coil unit 35 are electromagnetically coupled with the magnetic fluxes H 2 and H 3 generated by the low-permeability coil unit 36 , the noise removing capability is greatly diminished. To prevent the electromagnetic coupling between the magnetic fluxes H 1 and H 4 , and the magnetic fluxes H 2 and H 3 , in the first preferred embodiment, the distance D is greater between the first and fourth coil portions L 1 and L 4 arranged in the high-permeability coil unit 35 and the second and third coil portions L 2 and L 3 arranged in the low-permeability coil unit 36 .

In a laminated impedance device la shown in FIG. 4, an intermediate layer 37 made of a nonmagnetic material is preferably interposed between the high-permeability coil unit 35 and the low-permeability coil unit 36 to more reliably prevent an electromagnetic coupling between the magnetic fluxes H 1 and H 4 , and the magnetic fluxes H 2 and H 3 . Although not specifically shown in the drawings, a hole may be formed between the high-permeability coil unit 35 and the low-permeability coil unit 36 . The intermediate layer 37 or the hole prevents an interdiffusion of the material of the high-permeability coil unit 35 and the material of the low-permeability coil unit 36 or prevents warping or cracking due to a difference in shrinkage.

The laminated impedance device 1 a preferably includes an elongated via-hole between each of the coil conductor patterns 12 to 15 and each of the coil conductor patterns 27 to 24 on the magnetic sheet 3 to 6 . The magnetic sheets 3 to 6 are laminated to concatenate the elongated via-holes to define a substantially cylindrical shield 38 . The substantially cylindrical shield 38 reliably prevents the electromagnetic coupling between the first coil portion L 1 and the fourth coil portion L 4 .

A laminated impedance device 51 according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 9 . In the laminated impedance device 51 , the magnetic fluxes generated by adjacent coil units in the lamination direction of the laminated impedance device 51 are arranged in different (opposite) directions. The same reference numerals designate the same components as those in the laminated impedance device 1 according to the first preferred embodiment, and a detailed description thereof is thus omitted.

As shown in FIG. 5, coil conductor patterns 52 to 67 are electrically connected in series via via-holes provided in the magnetic sheets to define a substantially U-shaped spiral coil L within the laminated impedance device 51 . The coil conductor patterns 52 to 55 define a first coil portion L 11 of the high-permeability coil unit 35 , and the coil conductor patterns 56 to 59 define a second coil portion L 12 of the low-permeability coil unit 36 . The coil conductor patterns 60 to 63 define a third coil portion L 13 of the low-permeability coil unit 36 , and the coil conductor patterns 64 to 67 define a fourth coil portion L 14 of the high-permeability coil unit 35 .

The second and fourth coil portions L 12 and L 14 are wound clockwise, while the first and third coil portions L 11 and L 13 are wound counterclockwise, as viewed from the top of the laminated impedance device 51 . The first and second coil portions L 11 and L 12 are electrically connected in series through via-holes. The second and third coil portions L 12 and L 13 are electrically connected in series by connecting the coil conductor patterns 59 and 60 provided on the same magnetic sheet. The third and fourth coil portions L 13 and L 14 are electrically connected in series through via-holes. The first and second coil portions L 11 and L 12 are coaxially aligned in the lamination direction of the magnetic sheets, and the third and fourth coil portions L 13 and L 14 are coaxially aligned in the lamination direction of the magnetic sheets.

The laminated impedance device 51 produces a high inductance in the low-permeability coil unit 36 because the low-permeability coil unit 36 includes the second and third coil portions L 12 and L 13 .

The first and fourth coil portions L 11 and L 14 of the high-permeability coil unit 35 primarily function to remove low-frequency noise, and the second and third coil portions L 12 and L 13 of the low-permeability coil unit 36 primarily function to remove high-frequency noise. A magnetic flux H 11 generated by the first coil portion L 11 of the high-permeability coil unit 35 is directed (upward in the figure) in the opposite direction from a magnetic flux H 12 generated by the second coil portion L 12 of the low-permeability coil unit 36 (downward in the figure). A magnetic flux H 14 generated by the fourth coil portion L 14 of the high-permeability coil unit 35 is directed (upward in the figure) in the opposite direction from a magnetic flux H 13 generated by the third coil portion L 13 of the low-permeability coil unit 36 (downward in the figure). Thus, the magnetic flux H 11 generated by the high-permeability coil unit 35 is not electromagnetically coupled with the magnetic flux L 12 generated by the low-permeability coil unit 36 . The magnetic flux H 14 generated by the high-permeability coil unit 35 is not electromagnetically coupled with the magnetic flux H 13 generated by the low-permeability coil unit 36 . Therefore, the impedance characteristic of the high-permeability coil unit 35 and the impedance characteristic of the low-permeability coil unit 36 work independently. As a result, the high-permeability coil unit 35 successfully removes low-frequency noise, and the low-permeability coil unit 36 successfully removes high-frequency noise.

The impedance characteristic between the external electrodes 41 and 42 of the laminated impedance device 51 is shown in FIG. 6, as indicated by a solid line 87 . In FIG. 6, a broken line 85 indicates the impedance characteristic of the high-permeability coil unit 35 , and a broken line 86 indicates the impedance characteristic of the low-permeability coil unit 36 . As indicated by the solid line 87 , the impedance does not significantly increase even in an intermediate-frequency band surrounded by a circle “A” in FIG. 4 . This is because the magnetic fluxes H 11 and H 14 generated in the high-permeability coil unit 35 repel the magnetic fluxes H 12 and H 13 generated in the low-permeability coil unit 36 in the vicinity of the interface between the high-permeability coil unit 35 and the low-permeability coil unit 36 , thereby preventing the magnetic fluxes H 11 and H 14 from leaking to the low-permeability coil unit 36 or the magnetic fluxes H 12 and H 13 from leaking to the high-permeability coil unit 35 .

Both ends of the spiral coil L are led to the input external electrode 41 and the output external electrode 42 in the high-permeability coil unit 35 , and are symmetric in the equivalent circuit, thereby maintaining consistent electrical properties regardless of the mounting direction (obverse or reverse surface) of the laminated impedance device 51 . Since the first and fourth coil portions L 11 and L 14 of the high-permeability coil unit 35 are wound in the opposite directions, the magnetic flux H 11 generated by the first coil portion L 11 and the magnetic flux H 14 generated by the fourth coil portion L 14 are not electromagnetically coupled with each other. Thus, a high-frequency component input from the input external electrode 41 is sequentially passed to the first, second, third, and fourth coil portions L 11 to L 14 , and is then output from the output external electrode 42 . Thus, the high-frequency component input from the input external electrode 41 is not directly output from the output external electrode 42 due to the electromagnetic coupling of the first and fourth coil portions L 11 and L 14 .

FIGS. 7 to 9 show other modifications of the laminated impedance device 51 shown in FIG. 5, in which the magnetic fluxes generated by adjacent coil portions in the lamination direction of a laminated impedance device are directed in different (opposite) directions. The same reference numerals designate the same components as those in the laminated impedance device 51 , and a detailed description thereof is thus omitted.

In a laminated impedance device 51 a shown in FIG. 7, the magnetic flux H 11 is directed (downward in the figure) in the opposite direction from the magnetic flux H 12 (upward in the figure). The magnetic flux H 14 is directed (downward in the figure) in the opposite direction from the magnetic flux H 13 (upward in the figure).

In a laminated impedance device 51 b shown in FIG. 8, the magnetic flux H 11 is directed (downward in the figure) in the opposite direction from the magnetic flux H 12 (upward in the figure). The magnetic flux H 14 is directed (upward in the figure) in the opposite direction from the magnetic flux H 13 (downward in the figure).

In a laminated impedance device 51 c shown in FIG. 9, the magnetic flux H 11 is directed (upward in the figure) in the opposite direction from the magnetic flux H 12 (downward in the figure). The magnetic flux H 14 is directed (downward in the figure) in the opposite direction from the magnetic flux H 13 (upward in the figure).

The laminated impedance device 51 a , 51 b , or 51 c achieve the same advantages as those achieved with the laminated impedance device 51 .

A laminated impedance device according to the present invention is not limited to the preferred embodiments described above, and a variety of modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. For example, a laminated impedance device may have variations in design for the number of turns of the spiral coil and the shape of the coil conductor patterns, according to the specification.

The relative permeability of the high-permeability coil unit is preferably at least about 300 in the preferred embodiments described above, but this value is not a limiting example. The relative permeability of the high-permeability coil unit may be a value ranging from about 100 to about 300. In this case, in addition to the peak of the impedance of the spiral coil L, the peak of the impedance may be generated in a lower frequency region by resonating the inductance in the high-permeability coil unit and the stray capacitance which is generated so as to be electrically coupled in parallel to that inductance.

In the preferred embodiments described above, magnetic sheets each having coil conductor patterns provided thereon are stacked, and are then integrally fired. However, a magnetic sheet that is fired in advance may be used. An inductor may be manufactured by the following steps of: forming a magnetic layer made of a magnetic paste material by a technique such as printing; coating a conductive paste material over the surface of the magnetic layer to define coil conductor patterns; and coating a magnetic paste material over the coil conductor patterns to define a magnetic layer containing the coil conductor patterns. While the coil conductor patterns are electrically connected to each other, they are coated one by one in the same way, thereby forming an inductor having a laminate construction.

While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it is to be understood that modifications and changes will be apparent to those skilled in the art within the scope and spirit of the present invention. The scope of the present invention, therefore, is to be determined solely by the following claims.