Metal working – Method of mechanical manufacture – Electrical device making
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-08
2002-06-11
Vo, Peter (Department: 3729)
Metal working
Method of mechanical manufacture
Electrical device making
C029S605000, C242S445100, C242S447300, C242S443000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06401333
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a method of three-dimensional wire alignment and an apparatus therefor for manufacturing a wire structure wherein the wire is aligned three-dimensionally at prescribed pitches, and also to a method of manufacturing electrically conductive materials such as printed circuit board materials or anisotropic conductive materials using the wire structure.
BACKGROUND ART
Manufacturing wire structures wherein electrically conductive wires are aligned three dimensionally and accurately at prescribed pitches is an important technology for manufacturing an anisotropic conductive material comprising a wire structure embedded into rubber or resins. Anisotropic conductive materials are used as members for printed circuit board materials or the like wherein the electrodes on a device and on a distributing board are connected facing with respect to each other. In this case, electricity is conducted only between electrodes along the wires, and is insulated in the direction horizontally of the device or the distributing board. By taking advantage of such characteristics, anisotropic conductive materials have been widely used as wiring members for calculators, liquid crystal devices, and so on.
The printed circuit board includes a slot for receiving an integrated circuit and a group of connecting terminals for variety of electronic components on one side, and a printed conductive path for connecting components on the other side, which has been traditionally used in quantity as a constituent member for electronic equipment.
Conventionally, materials used for printed circuit boards have been manufactured by the steps of manufacturing a plate body made of insulating materials such as epoxy resin or glass, forming a through hole for conduction of electricity at a prescribed location by drilling operation, coating the through hole for conduction of electricity with a conductive metal such as copper by means of plating operation, and then sealing the through hole with a sealing agent.
However, there are recognized disadvantages in that drilling on the plate body produces chips during the process, which may lead to product defects, and that plating is subject to cracks at the edge portion of the board material, which may lead to faulty conductivity. In addition, the ratio of the length of the through hole (thickness of the board) to the diameter of the hole is limited to about 5 for drilling, and therefore, the lower limit of diameters of through holes for boards of 1 mm in thickness will be about 0.2 mm. However, smaller diameters are preferable for obtaining a printed circuit board of high densities, which has been difficult to obtain by drilling.
A circuit board manufactured using the steps of inserting electric wires, such as Ni or Co, into a frame body, pouring an insulating material such as molten epoxy resin or the like therein, cutting it along a plane perpendicular to the metal wires after the resin is hardened, and connecting both cut planes electrically is presented (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 49-8759).
However, since an epoxy resin or the like is used in this circuit board, there has been a disadvantage in that accuracy in dimension such as a pitch of the through holes may be impaired due to volumetric shrinkage of about 2 to 3% in the process of the curing of the resin. This is a serious disadvantage since accuracy in dimension is a very important factor in a high-density printed circuit board.
In addition, in this type of circuit board, a difference of the thermal expansion between the circuit board material and conductive layers laminated on one or both sides thereof (photo process layer) is not considered, and thus, separation between board materials and conductive layers may occur due to the impact applied during service or temperature variations. Separation may also occur between an insulating material and the metal wires.
In view of above described disadvantages of the prior art, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method of three-dimensional wire alignment and an apparatus used therefor that enables manufacturing of large size wire structures as well as miniature wire structures wherein a wire is aligned three-dimensionally accurately at prescribed pitches, and that ensures high productivity and facility of handling.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing conductive materials such as a printed circuit board material or an anisotropic conductive material wherein satisfactory electrical conductivity is established and the thermal expansion property may be controlled so that separation between a board material and a conductive layer, and between an insulating material and a metallic line (wire) during service can be prevented.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing conductive materials that enables the realization of a printed circuit board material or an anisotropic conductive material with higher density and improved dimensional accuracy conveniently and easily with improved workability.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention, there is provided a first method for manufacturing a wire structure having a wire aligned three-dimensionally at prescribed pitches comprising the steps of disposing one or more frame bodies, which have a prescribed thickness, peripherally of a rotary shaft. Winding wires on the frame bodies at prescribed pitches in such a manner that the wire contacts at least one surface of the frame bodies by rotating the rotary shaft; and repeating steps of stacking another frame body on the above described frame bodies and winding wires thereon at prescribed pitches.
According to the present invention, there is also provided a second method for manufacturing a wire structure having a wire aligned three-dimensionally at prescribed pitches comprising the steps of disposing two separator plates, each having a prescribed thickness, at positions parallel to and spaced from a rotation axis of a rotary shaft. The wires are wound on the separator plates at prescribed pitches by rotating the rotary shaft about the rotation axis; and repeating steps of stacking subsequent sets of separator plates on the above described two separator plates and winding wires thereon at prescribed pitches.
According to the present invention, there is further provided a third method for manufacturing wire structures having wires aligned three-dimensionally at prescribed pitches comprising the steps of building a mold, either by disposing one or more frame bodies having a prescribed thickness on the periphery of the mold or by disposing two separator plates having a prescribed thickness on any one or two sides of the periphery of the mold, keeping a prescribed distance apart from one another. The wires are wound at prescribed pitches on the above described frame bodies or the separator plates building the mold by moving a wire bobbin around the mold, and repeating steps of stacking subsequent sets of frame bodies or separator plates on the above described frame bodies or the separator plates and winding a wire thereon at prescribed pitches.
According to the present invention, there is also provided a first apparatus for three-dimensional wire alignment comprising two side plates spaced apart and facing one another disposed along a direction perpendicular to a rotation axis of a rotary shaft defined therein. Two separator plates each having a prescribed thickness, are disposed at positions parallel to and spaced from the rotation axis. The apparatus also includes a driving means for rotating the side plates and separator plates about the rotation axis; and a wire bobbin for feeding a wire to be wound thereon at prescribed pitches from the side of the outer periphery of the two separator plates.
Preferably, in the above described method and apparatus for three-dimensional wire alignment, V-shaped grooves are formed on an end surface of the separator plates at prescribed pitches for aligning wire
Suzuki Tomio
Tanaka Ritsu
Burr & Brown
NGK Insulators Ltd.
Trinh Minh
Vo Peter
LandOfFree
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