This application claims the benefit of Taiwan Patent Application Serial No. 104111190, filed Apr. 8, 2015, the subject matter of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to a technique for electrically connecting two mutually isolated circuit layers to each other and, more particularly, to a crimping apparatus and system and method for electrically connecting two mutually isolated circuit layers formed on a flexible printed circuit to each other through mold pressing.
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In the conventional art, the crimping process is performed by using a resilient element for storing a resilient force by which the mold pressing can be operated. Thereafter, the resilient force is released for driving a mold to press the flexible printed circuit 1 whereby the first circuit layer 11 formed on the upper surface of the isolation layer 10 is penetrated throughout the isolation layer 10 and electrically connected to the second circuit layer 12 formed on the bottom surface of the isolation layer 10. In one operation embodiment, such as roll-to-roll manufacturing process, since a plurality of flexible printed circuits are sequentially arranged on the flexible substrate, it is necessary to control a plurality of resilient elements for simultaneously performing the crimping process on the plurality flexible circuits respectively corresponding to the plurality of resilient elements. It is well known that the key for performing crimping process toward a plurality of flexible printed circuits simultaneously is the compression control of the resilient elements, i.e., the height of the pressing mold. However, a compression control for ensuring each resilient element to possess the same compression magnitude at the same time so as to generate the same resilient force for mold pressing is difficult. Accordingly, the consequence of crimping process using resilient elements will induce unstable of electrical conduction between the first and second circuit layers 11 and 12 as well as will cause the difficulties of the same compression magnitude of each resilient element adjusted and tuned by the engineers.
It is also known that the crimping quality depends on the stability control of the compressive stress exerted on the flexible printed circuit 1 during crimping process. If the compressive stress is insufficient, such as the illustration shown in
Accordingly, there is a need for a crimping apparatus and system and method that is insensitive to the pressing height of mold press and to the influence of pressed material and is also easily adjusted by the user for electrically connecting two mutually isolated circuit layers to each other thereby solving the conventional problem of the crimping process.
The present invention provides a crimping apparatus and system and method for crimping the flexible printed circuit in which a fluid pressure is converted into an action force acting on the pressing mold and the pressing mold is driven to move by a translation module for pressing an object with a constant stress. By means of controlling the fluid pressure, the action force or stress acting on the object during the press procedure can be kept constant thereby generating better quality of crimping result. In addition to preventing the flexible printed circuit from being pressed by excessively applied action force, thereby generating damaged structures, the present invention further prevents friction between the pressing molds, e.g. upper mold and bottom mold, so as to extend the lifetime of pressing mold.
In one embodiment, the present invention provides a crimping apparatus, comprising a pressure module, a pressing mold, a translation module, and a pressure control module. The pressure module is configured to provide a pressure through a fluid. The pressing mold is connected to the pressure module for receiving the pressure provided from the pressure module. The translation module is connected to the pressure module for moving the pressure module toward an object whereby the pressing mold is moved to press the object. The pressure control module is configured to control the pressure of the fluid within the pressure module when the pressing mold presses the object so that an action force that the pressing mold acts on the object is kept constant.
In another embodiment, the present invention further provides a crimping system, comprising a roll-to-roll conveying module for conveying a flexible substrate roll, at least one pressure control module, and a plurality of crimping apparatus. The roll-to-roll conveying module has a plurality of flexible printed circuits formed thereon, and each flexible printed circuit comprises an isolation layer, a first circuit layer formed on an upper surface of the isolation layer, and a second circuit layer formed on a bottom surface of the isolation layer. Each crimping apparatus is configured to correspond to one of the flexible printed circuit and comprises a pressure module, a pressing mold, and a translation module. The pressure module is configured to provide a pressure through a fluid. The pressing mold is connected to the pressure module for receiving the pressure from the pressure module. The translation module is connected to the pressure module for moving the pressure module toward the corresponding flexible printed circuit so as to move the pressing mold to press the flexible printed circuit thereby causing the first circuit layer to penetrate throughout the isolation layer and connect to the second circuit layer. The at least one pressure control module is configured to control the pressure of the fluid within each the pressure module when the pressing mold presses the flexible printed circuit so that an action force that the pressing mold acts on the flexible printed circuit is kept constant.
In a further embodiment, the present invention further provides a method for crimping a flexible printed circuit. At first, at least one flexible printed circuit and a crimping system are provided, wherein each flexible printed circuit comprises an isolation layer, a first circuit layer formed on an upper surface of the isolation layer, and a second circuit layer formed on a bottom surface of the isolation layer and the crimping system comprises at least one crimping apparatus respectively corresponding to the at least one flexible printed circuit, each crimping apparatus further comprising a pressure module, a pressing mold coupled to the pressure module, and a translation module. The crimping system further comprises at least one pressure control module for controlling a fluid flowing into the pressure module. After that, a step of controlling the translation module of each crimping apparatus to move the pressure module thereof toward the corresponding flexible printed circuit is performed thereby leading the pressing mold to press the corresponding flexible printed circuit. Finally, a step of controlling the pressure generated by the fluid inside the pressure module is performed whereby an action force generated by the pressing mold is kept constant during the pressing mold pressing the flexible printed circuit such that the first circuit layer penetrates throughout the isolation layer and electrically connects to the second circuit layer.
All of these objectives achieved by the crimping apparatus and system and method for electrically connecting two mutually isolated circuit layers formed on a flexible printed circuit to each other are described below. The accompanying figures are schematic and are not intended to be drawn to scale. In the figures, each identical, or substantially similar component that is illustrated in various figures may be represented by a single numeral or notation (though not always). For purposes of clarity, not every component is labeled in every figure. Nor is every component of each embodiment of the invention shown where illustration is not necessary to allow those of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention.
The present invention will now be specified with reference to its preferred embodiment illustrated in the drawings, in which:
The invention disclosed herein is directed to a crimping apparatus and system and method for crimping a flexible printed circuit using the same. In the following description, numerous details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be appreciated by one skilled in the art that variations of these specific details are possible while still achieving the results of the present invention. In other instances, well-known components are not described in detail in order not to unnecessarily obscure the present invention.
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In the present invention, the pressing mold 21 further comprises an upper mold 210 and a bottom mold 211, in which the upper mold 210 is coupled to the piston rod 201 of the pressure module 20 whereas the bottom mold 211 is at a specific distance away from the upper mold 210 for supporting an object 91 corresponding to the upper mold 210. In one embodiment, the object 91 is a flexible printed circuit. It is noted that there has no specific limitation on the profile of the pressing mold 21 and it is designed according to the user's need so that the mold is not limited to the present described embodiment having upper mold and bottom mold but instead may be variously embodied according to the actual needs.
The pressure control module 23, in one embodiment, comprises a pressure source 230 and an adjusting device 231. The pressure source 230 is configured to provide fluid 90, which can be liquid such as oil liquid, or gas, such as air, which can be properly selected according to the actual need. In the present embodiment, the fluid 90 is a gas. Correspondingly, the pressure cylinder 200 can be a single-acting cylinder or double-acting cylinder, wherein, in the present embodiment, the pressure cylinder 200 is a single-acting cylinder. In addition, the adjusting device 231 respectively coupled to the pressure module 20 and pressure source 230 through pipes 232 for adjusting the fluid amount flowing into the pressure module 20 whereby the force acting on the piston rod 201 converted from the pressure inside the pressure module 20 can be controlled by the adjusting device 231 and transmitted to the pressing mold 21. It is noted that the pressure range required for generating the action force can be implemented by using, but is not be limited to, pressure gauge or any mechanical or electrical control valves, which can be properly designated by the user according to the actual need.
The translation module 22 comprises a base 220 and a driving unit 221. The base 220 is coupled to the pressure module 20. In the present embodiment, a clamping element 222 is arranged on the base 220 for claiming and fastening the pressure module 20 on the base 220 through fasteners 223 such as, for example, a combination of bolt and nut. It is noted that the clamping element is not limited to the embodiment shown in the present invention. The one having ordinary skilled in the art can determine the proper means for claming and fastening the pressure module 20 on the base 220 according to the actual need.
It is noted that, in the embodiment shown in
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In another embodiment, the crimping apparatus can be further applied in a roll-to-roll process for forming a crimping system shown in
In the present embodiment, since the surface area of the flexible substrate roll 31 is large, a plurality of crimping apparatuses 2 such as the embodiment shown in
Accordingly, the crimping apparatus, crimping system and method for crimping the flexible printed circuit in the present invention are capable of providing constant action force or stress that the pressing mold presses on the object during the crimping process whereby one circuit layer is pressed to penetrate throughout the isolation layer and electrically connect to the other circuit layer which is formerly isolated from the pressed circuit layer without generating defects so that not only can the electrical connection between two circuit layers be greatly improved but also the pressing mold can be protected from being rubbed thereby increasing the usage lifetime of the pressing mold.
While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to a preferred embodiment, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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104111190 | Apr 2015 | TW | national |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 14805438 | Jul 2015 | US |
Child | 15994543 | US |