Electrical connectors – Preformed panel circuit arrangement – e.g. – pcb – icm – dip,... – With provision to conduct electricity from panel circuit to...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-09-08
2001-10-02
Sircus, Brian (Department: 2839)
Electrical connectors
Preformed panel circuit arrangement, e.g., pcb, icm, dip,...
With provision to conduct electricity from panel circuit to...
C439S091000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06296493
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method for electrically connecting two sets of electrode terminals in array on the respective electronic board units such as a combination of a liquid crystal display panel, which may be referred to as a LCD panel hereinafter, and circuit board for driving the LCD panel. More particularly, the invention relates to a method for electrically connecting two sets of electrode terminals on the respective electronic board units such as a combination of two circuit boards and a combination of a LCD panel and a circuit board for driving the LCD panel by using a press-contact connector interposed therebetween.
Although the following description is given mainly for the combination of a LCD panel and a circuit board therefor, it may be too much to say that the scope of the present invention can be extended to any combinations of two electronic board units each bearing an array of electrode terminals.
It is a widely practiced prior art method for electrically connecting two sets of electrode terminals in array on the respective electronic board units such as a LCD panel and a heat-adhesive circuit board therefor that an anisotropic conductive film (ACF) is used for adhesively bonding a flexible printed circuit (FPC) board to the arrays of electrode terminals on the LCD panel and the circuit board under heating and pressing.
In the above mentioned method by hot-pressing with interposition of an ACF, however, it is indispensable to conduct an exact position matching work between the electrode terminals of the LCD panel and the electrode terminals of the circuit board so that the productivity of the assemblage process involving the above mentioned positioning work cannot be high enough.
Besides the above mentioned disadvantage of low productivity, the above mentioned electrical connecting method by hot-press bonding has a problem that the LCD panel is sometimes damaged by the pressure under heating. When the LCD panel is of the chip-on-glass (COG) type, in particular, the residual stress due to hot-press bonding causes a load on the LCD panel per se or the LCD panel-driving ICs resulting in softening of the ACF connecting the IC by the heat of hot-press bonding to cause failure of electrical connection of the IC for LCD panel driving.
The above mentioned troubles due to the heat in hot-press bonding can of course be alleviated by decreasing the temperature of hot-press bonding but at the sacrifice of the adhesive bonding strength of the ACF and reliability of electrical connection therewith.
Another serious problem in the above mentioned method for electrical connection is that, once a LCD panel and a circuit board have been connected together by hot-pressing of an ACF, the assemblage can hardly be disassembled into the respective parts without damaging the parts more or less even in need for testing or inspection desirably followed by repairing. Accordingly, it is the usual way that, when disorder is found in the assemblage, the most expensive LCD panel must be discarded even when the performance disorder is not due to the LCD panel per se.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention accordingly has an object, in view of the above described problems and disadvantages in the prior art method for electrically connecting a LCD panel and a circuit board by using an ACF, to provide an easy and efficient method for electrically connecting two sets of electrode terminals in array on the respective electronic board units such as a combination of a LCD panel and a circuit board therefor without necessitating discarding of the expensive LCD panel in re-assembling the parts after disassemblage into parts for inspection or repairing.
The method provided by the invention is a method for electrically connecting two sets of electrode terminals in array each on an electronic board unit by interposing a press-contact connector having conductive bodies between the arrays of the electrode terminals on a first electronic board unit and on a second electronic board unit which comprises the steps of:
(a) integrating a press-contact connector with a clip member of a metallic material having clipping parts to form a connector device;
(b) securing the connector device to the first electronic board unit by clipping a periphery thereof with the clipping parts at a position not on the electrode terminal array thereof in such a fashion that the electrode terminal array is in contact with the conductor bodies of the press-contact connector;
(c) bringing the conductor bodies of the press-contact connector into contact with the electrode terminal array of the second electronic board unit; and
(d) compressing the press-contact connector between the electrode terminal array of the first electronic board unit and the electrode terminal array of the second electronic board unit so as to electrically connect the electrode terminals of the first and second electronic board units through the conductor bodies of the press-contact connector.
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patent: 4028794 (1977-06-01), Ritchie et al.
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Nguyen Son V.
Shin-Etsu Polymer Co. Ltd.
Sircus Brian
Wenderoth , Lind & Ponack, L.L.P.
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