Electricity: conductors and insulators – Conduits – cables or conductors – Preformed panel circuit arrangement
Patent
1998-08-12
2000-11-21
Gaffin, Jeffrey
Electricity: conductors and insulators
Conduits, cables or conductors
Preformed panel circuit arrangement
361749, H05K 100
Patent
active
061506141
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a conductor foil for conductively connecting electrical and/or electronic components.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
It is known to use conductor foils for electrically connecting electrical or electronic components. The conductor foils have a multilayer structure, printed circuit trace patternings, insulated to the outside, being applied to a nonconductive carrier foil. For example, it is known to apply thin copper printed circuit traces onto a carrier foil made of polyimide and to cover them with a further carrier foil. The printed circuit traces are conductively connected to the soldering surfaces arranged on the conductor foil for hard-soldering to the electrical terminals of components. Conductor foils of this type are employed, for example, near automobile engines or transmission units. Thus it is known, for example, to integrate a hybrid circuit in the housing of a clutch actuator, the hybrid circuit being connected, via a conductor foil, to various valves for regulating compressed air as well as to an eddy current sensor and to a plug-in part for connection to external cables. The hybrid circuit has a plug connector for this purpose, whose connector pins are soldered to the soldering surfaces of the conductor foil, which are designed as soldering eyelets. The elastically malleable conductor foils have great strength in the face of vibration stresses, but the most extreme shaking stresses arising in units of this type with acceleration up to 50 g, exert extremely heavy stresses on the soldering surfaces of the conductor foil. Vibration stresses, which are transmitted to the plug connector via a vibrating feed line segment of the conductor foil, can lead to the soldering points breaking or individual connecting pins being broken from the plug connector.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The conductor foil of the present invention has an advantage that the forces exerted by the vibrations of a feed line segment of the conductor foil are not transmitted to the soldering surfaces of the conductor foil, and, in this way, damage to the soldering points is avoided and the reliability of the electrical connection is increased. This is achieved by providing for at least one stiffening segment branching off from the feed line segment, the stiffening segment bringing about a diversion of the forces of vibrations transmitted to the stiffening segment, via the movable end of the feed line segment, which is not connected to the soldering surfaces.
It is particularly advantageous, as a means of force diversion, to arrange on the conductor foil at least one reinforcing layer to stiffen the elastically malleable conductor foil, the stiffening layer covering the feed line segment in the bonding area of the feed line segment and extending at least partly over the stiffening segment. The reinforcing layer can be applied to the conductor foil using conventional production methods in a simple manner.
Furthermore, it is advantageous to integrate a connecting point into the stiffening segment, the connecting point being spatially separate from the soldering points of the feed line segment and able to be connected to a connecting means. The connecting point can be affixed to a housing part, for example, using a screw or a corresponding aid. Then, in response to vibration stresses, the forces of the conductor foil feed line segment, acting upon the stiffening segment, are transmitted to the screw connected to the connecting point.
The reinforcing layer can advantageously be an additional polyimide layer and/or a metallic layer applied on the conductor foil, e.g., a tin-coated copper layer. These layers can advantageously produce an abrasion protection effect for the conductor foil at such points where the conductor foil contacts housing parts. During the production of the conductor foil, the tin-coated copper layer, together with the soldering surfaces provided for the connection to the components, can be produced in a simple manner.
It is particularly advantageous to provide the
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Copy of reference not enclosed--originally forwarded with Search Report by International Searching Authority C.D. Keirstead, "Flexible Printed Circuits: A Design Primer", Assembly Engineering, Bd. 31, No. 5, 1988, pp. 32-36.
Copy of reference not enclosed--originally forwarded with Search Report by International Searching Authority Patent Abstracts of Japan, vol. 15, No. 290 (M-1139), Jul. 23, 1991 & JP 03 104755, May 1, 1991.
Miller Bernhard
Roether Friedbert
Schneider Norbert
Gaffin Jeffrey
Norris Jeremy
Robert & Bosch GmbH
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