Patent Grant
7900808
This application is related to, and claims the benefit of, a foreign priority application filed in Taiwan as Serial No. 097112276 on Apr. 3, 2008. The related application is incorporated herein by reference.
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to soldering systems and methods, and more particularly to a soldering system and method using a supporting structure.
2. Description of Related Art
Electronic devices typically employ printed circuit boards (PCBs) to carry electronic elements and function circuits therein. For example, a power supply circuit, a driving circuit, and other circuits may be accommodated in an electronic device. Moreover, a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) enables electrical communication between two function circuits respectively disposed on different PCBs.
Generally, a PCB includes a plurality of parallel elongate metal terminals (herein called gold fingers) configured for soldering to a corresponding FPCB. The FPCB includes a plurality of soldering spots, each of which corresponds to a respective gold finger of the PCB. The gold fingers can be attached to the soldering spots by solder material.
In a typical soldering process, solder balls are attached on the golden fingers of the PCB, and the FPCB is aligned with the PCB so as to be sandwiched between the golden fingers and the corresponding soldering spots. The solder balls are heated and melt, and external force is applied at the same time to maximize contact between the FPCB and PCB. After the heating is finished, the melted solder balls re-solidify as solder bumps. Thereby, the golden fingers are attached to the corresponding soldering spots, with electrical connection between the FPCB and the PCB formed as a result.
During this soldering process, the applied external force must be controlled accurately. Otherwise, the melted solder ball on a golden finger may extend to an adjacent melted solder ball and result in unwanted connection. However, due to trends toward compactness in electronic device development, spaces between adjacent golden fingers are becoming smaller. Thus, accurate control requirements are increased, creating difficulty in most manufacturing environments and inflating costs.
What is needed is a soldering method which can overcome the above deficiencies, and a soldering system using the same.
The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of at least one embodiment. In the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the various views.
Reference will now be made to the drawings to describe exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure in detail.
The supporting structure 270 includes a first spacer 271 away from the main region 218 and a second spacer 272 adjacent to the main region 218. The first spacer 271 and the second spacer 272 are longitudinal and parallel, and intersect the first terminals 211. The first spacer 271 and the second spacer 272 superpose the first terminals 211 in part, respectively. The material of the first spacer 271 and the second spacer 272 can be insulating tape or paint.
The soldering object 220 is soldered on the circuit board 210 via the solder blocks 230. In particular, each first terminal 211 is soldered to a corresponding second terminal 222 via a respective solder block 230. The first spacer 271 and the second spacer 272 correspondingly support the soldering object 220, such that the solder blocks 230 are approximately the same height as the first spacer 271 and the second spacer 272, and the depth of the gap between the circuit board 210 and the soldering object 220. In the illustrated embodiment, a height of each of the solder blocks 230 is slightly less than a common height of the first and second spacers 271, 272, and slightly less than a height of the gap between each first terminal 211 and the soldering object 220.
The disclosed soldering system 200 can be used, as an example, in a disclosed soldering method as shown in
In step S11, referring to
In step S12, referring to
In step S13, referring to
In step S14, referring to
Referring to
In step S16, the solder paste 290 is cooled, thereby forming a plurality of solder blocks 230. The first terminals 211 and the second terminals 222 are electrically connected by the solder blocks 230 respectively, such that the soldering object 220 is soldered on the circuit board 210. A height of the solder blocks 230 is approximately the same as that of the first spacer 271 and the second spacer 272.
The soldering method of the soldering system 200 includes forming a supporting structure 270, and maintaining the depth of the gap between the soldering object 220 and the circuit board 210 during soldering the soldering object 220 to the circuit board 210. As a result, the height of the solder blocks 230 can be controlled. Thus, the electrical connection of the first terminals 211 and the second terminals 222 is reliable, and the productivity of the soldering method is also improved.
It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present embodiments have been set out in the foregoing description, together with details of the structures and functions of the embodiments, the disclosure is illustrative only; and that changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of arrangement of parts within the principles of the disclosure to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 97112276 A | Apr 2008 | TW | national |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20040036181 | Hedler et al. | Feb 2004 | A1 |
| 20040134976 | Keyser et al. | Jul 2004 | A1 |
| 20070139134 | Ratell et al. | Jun 2007 | A1 |
| 20090051004 | Roth et al. | Feb 2009 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20090250507 A1 | Oct 2009 | US |
