A plug slot structure, step slot manufacturing method and step plate

Abstract

The present invention relates to the field of PCB technology, and discloses a slot plugging structure, a step slot manufacturing method, and a step plate. The slot plugging structure includes a plating resist body; the plating resist body is in a groove structure matching the slot body, and the plating resist body is divided into a plating resist functional area and a hollow area according to the pattern in the slot; the plating resist functional area corresponds to the non-pattern production area of the inner wall of the slot body, and is used to block copper plating / electroplating solution from contacting the non-pattern production area, so as to prevent the non-pattern production area from forming an electroplating layer; the hollow area corresponds to the pattern production area of the inner wall of the slot body, and is used for copper plating / electroplating solution to flow to contact the pattern production area, so as to form an electroplating layer in the pattern production area. Since the selective plating resist structure of the slot plugging structure is simple to manufacture, has high manufacturing precision and is controllable, and the slot plugging operation is simple and the alignment precision is high, the embodiment of the present invention not only greatly simplifies the manufacturing process, shortens the manufacturing cycle, and reduces costs, but also can effectively improve the pattern production precision and enhance product quality.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of PCBs (Printed Circuit Boards), and in particular to a plugging slot structure, a step slot manufacturing method, and a step plate. Background Art

[0002] Currently, only simple patterns can be fabricated on the bottom of a stepped trench, and its sidewalls can only be fully metallized or non-metallized. However, with the increasing demands of electronic design, high-precision circuit patterns need to be fabricated on the bottom and sidewalls. By fabricating high-precision patterns within the trench, the same placement, welding, and signal transmission functions can be achieved inside the trench as on the surface, thus enabling the mass production of fully functional 3D structured printed circuit boards.

[0003] To this end, dry film and laser soldering methods are currently commonly used to create high-precision patterns on the bottom of the groove. However, both conventional processes have significant drawbacks: With the dry film method, the dry film on the bottom of the groove often fails to form a smooth, flat surface, resulting in low pattern accuracy. With the laser soldering method, the process is not only cumbersome and inefficient, but the depth of the stepped groove significantly affects pattern accuracy and positional precision. Furthermore, there is currently no technology for creating high-precision patterns on the sidewalls of the stepped groove. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a plug slot structure, a step slot manufacturing method and a step plate, so as to solve the problems of complicated process, long cycle and low precision in the traditional step slot manufacturing process.

[0005] To achieve this object, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

[0006] A slot plugging structure is used to plug a slot body of a stepped slot where a pattern is to be formed. The inner wall of the slot body is divided into a pattern forming area and a non-pattern forming area according to the pattern in the slot. The slot plugging structure includes a resist plating body.

[0007] The plating resist body is in a groove structure matching the groove body, and the plating resist body is divided into a plating resist functional area and a hollow area according to the pattern in the groove;

[0008] The plating resistance functional area corresponds to the non-pattern production area of the inner wall of the tank body and is used to prevent copper plating / electroplating solution from contacting the non-pattern production area, so as to prevent the non-pattern production area from forming an electroplating layer;

[0009] The hollow area corresponds to the pattern production area on the inner wall of the tank body and is used for copper plating / electroplating solution to flow and contact the pattern production area, so that the pattern production area forms an electroplating layer.

[0010] Optionally, the outer wall of the resist functional area of the resist body is provided with a flexible outer layer that fits in contact with the non-pattern production area of the inner wall of the tank body.

[0011] Optionally, the flexible outer layer is fixed to the outer wall of the resist functional area of the resist body by an adhesive.

[0012] Optionally, the outer bottom wall of the flexible outer layer is provided with a positioning groove for aligning with the groove body.

[0013] Optionally, the inner side wall of the resist functional area of the resist body is provided with a hook groove for connecting with a slot plugging tool.

[0014] Optionally, the surface of the resist body is coated with a PTFE film layer.

[0015] A method for manufacturing a stepped groove comprises the following steps:

[0016] Providing a printed circuit board with a slot body;

[0017] Inserting the slot plugging structure described in any one of the above into the slot body until the plating resistance functional area of the slot plugging structure is aligned with the non-patterning area of the inner wall of the slot body;

[0018] Performing copper electroplating on the slot body that has been plugged into the slot plugging structure to form an electroplating layer on the pattern production area of the inner wall of the slot body;

[0019] The plugging groove structure is removed to obtain a stepped groove.

[0020] Optionally, the inner side wall of the resist functional area of the resist body is provided with a hook groove for connecting with a slot plugging tool;

[0021] The method for removing the slot plugging structure includes: firstly placing the hook portion of a slot plugging tool into the hook slot, and then using the slot plugging tool to pull the slot plugging structure out of the stepped slot.

[0022] Optionally, the outer wall of the resist functional area of the resist body is provided with a flexible outer layer that fits the non-pattern production area of the inner wall of the tank body, and the outer bottom wall of the flexible outer layer is provided with a positioning groove;

[0023] The step groove manufacturing method also includes: pre-making a positioning PAD on the bottom core board of the groove body of the printed circuit board; when inserting the groove plugging structure into the groove body, aligning the positioning groove with the positioning PAD to position the groove plugging structure.

[0024] A stepped plate comprises a stepped groove, wherein the stepped groove is manufactured according to the stepped groove manufacturing method described above.

[0025] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0026] The slot plugging structure of the embodiment of the present invention has a selective plating resistance function. After being inserted into the slot body of the printed circuit board, the pattern production area on the inner wall of the slot body can contact the copper plating solution to form an electroplating layer, while the non-pattern production area cannot contact the copper plating solution due to the obstruction of the plating resistance body and cannot form an electroplating layer. Therefore, any type of pattern production can be achieved in the slot body. Compared with the existing technology, the selective plating resistance structure of the slot plugging structure is simple to manufacture, with high and controllable manufacturing precision. At the same time, the slot plugging operation is simple and the alignment accuracy is high. Therefore, the embodiment of the present invention not only greatly simplifies the production process, shortens the production cycle, and reduces costs, but also effectively improves the pattern production precision and enhances product quality. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0028] Figure 1 A schematic cross-sectional view of a plugging slot structure provided in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0029] Figure 2 Flowchart of a method for manufacturing a stepped groove provided in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0030] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the manufacturing process of the stepped groove provided in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0031] Explanation of the reference numerals: slot plugging structure 1, resist plating body 11, resist plating functional area 111, hollow area 112, flexible outer layer 12, positioning slot 13, hook slot 14, printed circuit board 2, slot body 3, and slot inner pattern 4. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] In order to make the purpose, features, and advantages of the present invention more obvious and easy to understand, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the embodiments described below are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0033] In order to solve the various problems of the existing step groove production method, such as complicated process, long cycle and low precision, the embodiment of the present invention provides a new solution. First, a novel slot plug structure 1 with partial plating resistance function is plugged into the slot body 3, and then the slot body 3 is subjected to conventional copper electroplating. The electroplating layer can be selectively plated on the inner wall of the slot body 3 to form a step groove with a pattern in the slot.

[0034] For ease of description, the inner wall of the groove body 3 used to form the stepped groove is divided into a pattern-forming area and a non-pattern-forming area based on the groove pattern 4 to be formed. It should be noted that the groove pattern 4 mentioned in the embodiments of the present invention can specifically include various types, such as a groove bottom gold finger pattern, a groove bottom circuit pattern, and a groove sidewall circuit pattern.

[0035] See also Figure 1 , an embodiment of the present invention provides a slot plugging structure 1 for plugging a slot body 3 of a stepped slot for forming a slot pattern 4, the slot plugging structure 1 includes a resist plating body 11;

[0036] The resist body 11 is in a groove structure matching the tank body 3, and the resist body 11 is divided into a resist functional area 111 and a hollow area 112 according to the groove pattern 4;

[0037] The plating resistance functional area 111 corresponds to the non-patterned area of the inner wall of the tank body 3 and is used to prevent copper plating / electroplating solution from contacting the non-patterned area, thereby preventing the formation of an electroplated layer in the non-patterned area;

[0038] The hollow area 112 corresponds to the pattern production area on the inner wall of the tank body 3 and is used for copper plating / electroplating solution to flow and contact the pattern production area, so as to form an electroplating layer in the pattern production area.

[0039] It is understandable that when inserted into the tank body 3, the outer wall of the resist body 11 of the slot plugging structure 1 can maintain a fit with the inner wall of the tank body 3, and the resist functional area 111 of the resist body 11 is aligned with the non-patterning area of the inner wall of the tank body 3, and the hollow area 112 of the resist body 11 is aligned with the patterning area of the inner wall of the tank body 3. Therefore, when the tank body 3 is completely immersed in the copper plating / electroplating solution, the resist functional area 111 of the resist body 11 can block the copper plating / electroplating solution to prevent the copper plating / electroplating solution from contacting the non-patterning area of the inner wall of the tank body 3; at the same time, because the hollow area 112 of the resist body 11 is a hollow structure, the copper plating / electroplating solution can pass through the hollow area 112 and contact the patterning area of the inner wall of the tank body 3 to form an electroplating layer on its surface. Therefore, using this slot plugging structure 1, patterning in a stepped tank can be achieved.

[0040] To achieve the resist plating effect, the resist plating body 11 can be made of any material such as non-conductive plastic, as long as it cannot penetrate the copper plating / electroplating solution to cause the copper plating / electroplating solution to contact the inner wall of the tank 3 at the corresponding position.

[0041] In an optional embodiment, the resist body 11 is made of hard plastic, which refers to plastic with relatively high hardness. Since the resist body 11 is made of hard plastic, the hard plastic has good support performance due to its high hardness, and the overall size of the slot plugging structure 1 can remain stable during the plugging process, making it easier to quickly insert the slot plugging structure 1 into the slot body 3 and achieve position alignment, thereby improving the slot plugging accuracy. Exemplarily, the hard plastic is made of PC (polycarbonate) or AS (styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer).

[0042] At the same time, in order to improve the fit between the resist plating functional area 111 of the resist plating body 11 and the inner wall of the tank body 3, the outer wall of the resist plating functional area 111 of the resist plating body 11 is also provided with a flexible outer layer 12 that fits the non-graphic production area of the inner wall of the tank body 3. The flexible outer layer 12 can be made of a flexible rubber material. Due to its good elastic deformation performance, the flexible outer layer 12 can be adaptively deformed under the restriction of the inner wall of the tank body 3 during the slot plugging process, so as to adapt to the current tank body 3 to a greater extent and improve the fit between the flexible outer layer 12 and the inner wall of the tank body 3. In this way, not only can the manufacturing tolerances of the internal dimensions of the tank body 3 and the external dimensions of the slot plugging structure 1 be overcome, but also the compatibility of the slot plugging structure 1 with a group of tank bodies 3 (including multiple tank bodies 3 whose theoretical size manufacturing differences are within a preset range) can be achieved.

[0043] In addition, the flexible outer layer 12 may be fixed to the outer wall of the resist functional area 111 of the resist body 11 by an adhesive, or any other conventional fixing method may be used, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present invention.

[0044] The outer bottom wall of the flexible outer layer 12 is provided with a positioning groove 13 for aligning with the slot body 3. The notch of the positioning groove 13 faces the slot body 3 and does not penetrate the resist body 11. When the slot plug structure 1 is inserted into the slot body 3, the positioning groove 13 can be used to align with the positioning PAD at the bottom of the slot body 3, thereby realizing the positioning function of the slot plug structure 1 and improving the accuracy of pattern production.

[0045] To further enhance the reusability of the slot plug structure 1, the surface of the resist body 11 is coated with a PTFE (Poly tetrafluoroethylene) film. When immersed in copper plating / electroplating solutions, the PTFE film prevents corrosion or the formation of an electroplated layer on the surface of the slot plug structure 1 due to a chemical reaction between the surface of the slot plug structure 1 and the solution.

[0046] Typically, after the copper electroplating is completed, the slot plugging structure 1 needs to be removed. To facilitate removal, the inner side wall of the resist functional area 111 of the resist body 11 is provided with a hook groove 14 for connecting with a slot plugging tool, so that the hook portion of the slot plugging tool can be used to hook the slot plugging structure 1 to quickly remove the slot plugging structure 1.

[0047] See also Figure 2 and Figure 3 , an embodiment of the present invention further provides a step groove manufacturing method, comprising the steps of:

[0048] Step 101: Provide a printed circuit board 2 with a slot body 3.

[0049] Specifically, the conventional process can be followed to first stack and press the boards to obtain the printed circuit board 2, and then the trough body 3 can be made on the printed circuit board 2 by controlled depth milling; or, first, a window can be opened on the inner core board, and then the boards can be stacked and gaskets can be placed at the window positions, and finally, after pressing, the cover can be opened and the gaskets can be taken out to obtain the trough body 3.

[0050] Step 102 , insert the slot plugging structure 1 into the slot body 3 so that the resist plating functional area 111 of the resist plating body 11 of the slot plugging structure 1 is aligned and fits with the non-pattern production area of the inner wall of the slot body 3 .

[0051] In this embodiment, the resist body 11 has a groove structure that matches the tank body 3, and the structure and size of the resist body 11 and the tank body 3 are basically the same. Therefore, in this step, the slot filling accuracy of the slot filling structure 1 can be easily achieved, thereby ensuring a high pattern production accuracy.

[0052] A flexible outer layer 12 is provided on the outer wall of the resist functional area 111 of the resist body 11, which is in contact with the non-graphic production area of the inner wall of the groove body 3. When a positioning groove 13 is provided on the outer bottom wall of the flexible outer layer 12, a positioning PAD can be made in advance on the bottom core board of the groove body 3 of the printed circuit board 2; when the slot plugging structure 1 is inserted into the groove body 3, the positioning groove 13 is aligned with the positioning PAD to position the slot plugging structure 1, so as to further improve the slot plugging accuracy.

[0053] Step 103 , copper electroplating is performed on the slot body 3 filled with the slot plugging structure 1 to form an electroplating layer in the pattern production area of the inner wall of the slot body 3 , and the electroplating layer is the in-slot pattern 4 .

[0054] After the slot plugging structure 1 is inserted, the non-pattern production area of the inner wall of the slot body 3 is blocked by the resist functional area 111 of the resist body 11, while the pattern production area is not blocked because it is aligned with the hollow area 112 of the resist body 11. Therefore, after copper electroplating, the non-pattern production area of the inner wall of the slot body 3 cannot form an electroplating layer, while the pattern production area of the inner wall of the slot body 3 forms an electroplating layer.

[0055] Step 104: remove the slot plugging structure 1 to obtain a stepped slot.

[0056] If the inner wall of the resist functional area 111 of the resist body 11 is provided with a hook groove 14 for connecting with a slot plugging tool, the method for removing the slot plugging structure 1 may specifically include: first placing the hook portion of the slot plugging tool into the hook groove 14, and then using the slot plugging tool to pull the slot plugging structure 1 out of the stepped groove. This removal method is simple and quick, and does not damage the slot plugging structure 1, thereby ensuring the service life of the slot plugging structure 1.

[0057] In summary, the step groove manufacturing method provided in the embodiment of the present invention only requires inserting an adaptive groove plugging structure 1 into the groove body 3 and then copper electroplating to obtain the groove pattern 4. Compared with the existing technology, it simplifies the process and reduces processing costs.

[0058] The embodiment of the present invention further provides a stepped plate having a stepped groove, which is manufactured according to the above-mentioned stepped groove manufacturing method. Since the stepped groove of the stepped plate is manufactured using the above-mentioned method, it has a high pattern manufacturing accuracy.

[0059] As described above, the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, rather than to limit the same. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the above embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that the technical solutions described in the above embodiments can still be modified, or some of the technical features thereof can be replaced by equivalents. However, these modifications or replacements do not deviate the essence of the corresponding technical solutions from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A slot plugging structure, used for plugging a slot body into a stepped slot for forming a pattern in the slot, wherein the inner wall of the slot body is divided into a pattern forming area and a non-pattern forming area according to the pattern in the slot; characterized in that: The slot plugging structure includes a resist plating body; The plating resist body is in a groove structure matching the groove body, and the plating resist body is divided into a plating resist functional area and a hollow area according to the pattern in the groove; The plating resistance functional area corresponds to the non-pattern production area of the inner wall of the tank body and is used to prevent copper plating / electroplating solution from contacting the non-pattern production area, so as to prevent the non-pattern production area from forming an electroplating layer; The hollow area corresponds to the pattern production area on the inner wall of the tank body and is used for copper plating / electroplating solution to flow and contact the pattern production area, so as to form an electroplating layer on the pattern production area; The resist body is made of hard plastic; The outer wall of the resist functional area of the resist body is provided with a flexible outer layer which is in contact with the non-pattern production area of the inner wall of the tank.

2. The plugging slot structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: The flexible outer layer is fixed to the outer wall of the resist functional area of the resist body through an adhesive.

3. The plugging slot structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: The outer bottom wall of the flexible outer layer is provided with a positioning groove for aligning with the groove body.

4. The plugging slot structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: The inner side wall of the resist plating functional area of the resist plating body is provided with a hook groove for connecting with a slot plugging tool.

5. The plugging slot structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: The surface of the resist body is coated with a PTFE film layer.

6. A method for manufacturing a stepped groove, characterized in that: Including steps: Providing a printed circuit board with a slot body; Inserting the slot plugging structure according to any one of claims 1 to 5 into the slot body until the plating resistance functional area of the slot plugging structure is aligned with the non-patterning area of the inner wall of the slot body; Performing copper electroplating on the slot body that has been plugged into the slot plugging structure to form an electroplating layer on the pattern production area of the inner wall of the slot body; The plugging groove structure is removed to obtain a stepped groove.

7. The step groove manufacturing method according to claim 6, characterized in that: The inner side wall of the resist plating functional area of the resist plating body is provided with a hook groove for connecting with a slot plugging tool; The method for removing the slot plugging structure includes: firstly placing the hook portion of a slot plugging tool into the hook slot, and then using the slot plugging tool to pull the slot plugging structure out of the stepped slot.

8. The step groove manufacturing method according to claim 6, characterized in that: The outer wall of the resist plating functional area of the resist plating body is provided with a flexible outer layer that fits in with the non-pattern production area of the inner wall of the tank body, and the outer bottom wall of the flexible outer layer is provided with a positioning groove; The step groove manufacturing method also includes: pre-making a positioning PAD on the bottom core board of the groove body of the printed circuit board; when inserting the groove plugging structure into the groove body, aligning the positioning groove with the positioning PAD to position the groove plugging structure.

9. A step plate, comprising a step groove, characterized in that: The stepped groove is made according to the stepped groove making method according to claim 6.

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