Hot press machine and method for continuously hot pressing flexible flat cables

Abstract

Disclosed is a heat press machine and method for continuously heat pressing a flexible flat cable, the heat press machine comprising: a plurality of heat press units arranged along a feeding direction of the flexible flat cable and spaced apart from each other, and a central controller operatively connected to the plurality of heat press units and configured to cause the plurality of heat press units to synchronously heat press the flexible flat cable located within each of the plurality of heat press units.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of manufacturing flexible flat cables, and more specifically to a hot pressing machine and method for continuously hot pressing flexible flat cables. Background Technology

[0002] In the fabrication of flexible flat cables, conductors are sandwiched between two insulation layers, and insulating adhesive is filled between the two layers to secure the conductors and insulation. To cure the adhesive while holding the conductors in place, the flexible flat cable needs to be heated and pressurized (hereinafter referred to as "hot pressing"). Curing the adhesive requires the flexible flat cable to remain stationary for a considerable time, typically half an hour, making continuous hot pressing of flexible flat cables difficult to automate. The longer the curing time, the longer the distance the automated production line travels, requiring larger hot pressing machinery to accommodate this distance. This not only increases the manufacturing cost of the hot pressing machinery but also results in a large footprint, which is undesirable for flexible flat cable manufacturers. Therefore, currently, hot pressing of flexible flat cables can only be performed manually. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The present invention aims to solve at least one aspect of the above-mentioned technical problems.

[0004] According to one aspect of the present invention, a hot pressing machine for continuously hot pressing a flexible flat cable is provided, comprising: a plurality of hot pressing units arranged and spaced apart from each other along the feed direction of the flexible flat cable, and a central controller operatively connected to the plurality of hot pressing units and configured such that the plurality of hot pressing units simultaneously hot press the flexible flat cable located in each of the plurality of hot pressing units.

[0005] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the flexible flat cable is divided into a first portion and a second portion arranged alternately at intervals; the central controller is further configured to, after synchronously hot-pressing the first portion located in each of the plurality of hot-pressing units, remove the first portion from the corresponding hot-pressing unit and move the second portion of the flexible flat cable located between two adjacent hot-pressing units in the plurality of hot-pressing units into the corresponding hot-pressing unit for synchronous hot-pressing of the second portion.

[0006] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the length of the second part is equal to or slightly less than the length of the first part.

[0007] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the hot press further includes: an input roller located on the input side of the hot press, through which a flexible flat cable is fed into the hot press; and an output roller located on the output side of the hot press, through which the flexible flat cable is output from the hot press.

[0008] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the hot press further includes: a first reverse roller located on the output side of the hot press, through which a flexible flat cable enters the hot press in the direction opposite to the feeding direction and proceeds parallel to the input side; and a second reverse roller located on the input side of the hot press, through which the flexible flat cable that has traveled to the input side via the first reverse roller enters the hot press in the feeding direction and proceeds parallel to the output side.

[0009] According to one embodiment of the invention, each of the first and second reverse rollers is spaced apart from the adjacent hot pressing unit by a distance equal to half the length of the second portion.

[0010] According to one embodiment of the present invention, each hot pressing unit includes four hot pressing plates, which are aligned vertically and used to synchronously hot press the flexible flat cable between each pair of adjacent hot pressing plates.

[0011] According to one embodiment of the invention, each hot pressing unit further includes a hot pressing controller operably connected to the four hot pressing plates, the hot pressing controller being configured to determine a control curve describing the relationship between temperature and time, and to control the pressure applied by the hot pressing plates based on the predetermined control curve.

[0012] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the hot press controller is further configured to adjust the control curve by adjusting one or more of the following parameters: preheating time, curing time, cooling time, and curing temperature.

[0013] According to another aspect of the present invention, a method for continuously hot-pressing a flexible flat cable is provided, comprising: feeding the flexible flat cable into a hot-pressing machine, the hot-pressing machine including a plurality of hot-pressing units arranged and spaced apart from each other along the feeding direction of the flexible flat cable; simultaneously hot-pressing a first portion of the flexible flat cable located in each of the plurality of hot-pressing units using the plurality of hot-pressing units; after simultaneously hot-pressing the first portion, moving a second portion of the flexible flat cable located between two adjacent hot-pressing units into a corresponding hot-pressing unit for simultaneously hot-pressing the second portion; and removing the flexible flat cable from the hot-pressing machine.

[0014] According to one embodiment of the present invention, in the step of feeding the flexible flat cable, firstly, the flexible flat cable is fed into the hot press machine using an input roller located on the input side of the hot press machine; then, the flexible flat cable traveling to the output side is driven into the hot press machine in the opposite direction to the feeding direction and proceeds to the input side using a first reverse roller located on the output side of the hot press machine; subsequently, the flexible flat cable traveling to the input side is driven into the hot press machine in the feeding direction and proceeds to the output side using a second reverse roller located on the input side of the hot press machine; and finally, the flexible flat cable is output from the hot press machine using an output roller located on the output side of the hot press machine.

[0015] According to one embodiment of the present invention, in the step of simultaneously hot-pressing the first part and / or the second part, the pressure applied by the hot platen of the hot press is controlled based on a predetermined control curve describing the relationship between temperature and time.

[0016] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the control curve is adjusted by adjusting one or more of the preheating time, curing time, cooling time, and curing temperature.

[0017] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the length of the second part is equal to or slightly less than the length of the first part.

[0018] According to one embodiment of the invention, each of the first and second reverse rollers is spaced apart from the adjacent hot pressing unit by a distance equal to half the length of the second portion. Attached Figure Description

[0019] Embodiments of the invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, by way of example only.

[0020] Figure 1 This is a perspective view of a hot pressing machine for continuously hot pressing flexible flat cables according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0021] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 The side view of the hot pressing machine shown.

[0022] Figure 3 yes Figure 2 A simplified side view of the hot pressing unit of the hot pressing machinery.

[0023] Figure 4 It is to utilize Figure 1 The graph shown illustrates the relative relationship between temperature and time when hot-pressing different flexible flat cables using different pressures.

[0024] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the principle of continuous hot pressing of a flexible flat cable according to an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0025] The technical solution of the present invention will be further described in detail below through embodiments and in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In this specification, the same or similar reference numerals indicate the same or similar parts. The following description of the embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings is intended to explain the overall inventive concept of the present invention and should not be construed as a limitation thereof.

[0026] Furthermore, in the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth for ease of explanation to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments disclosed herein. However, it will be apparent that one or more embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and apparatuses are illustrated to simplify the figures.

[0027] Figure 1 This is a perspective view of a hot pressing machine 100 for continuously hot pressing a flexible flat cable 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 yes Figure 1 The side view of the hot pressing machine 100 shown.

[0028] like Figures 1 to 2 As shown, the hot press machine 100 includes: an input roller 102 located on the input side 300 of the hot press machine 100, through which a flexible flat cable 200 is fed into the hot press machine 100; an output roller 103 located on the output side 400 of the hot press machine 100, through which the flexible flat cable 200 is output from the hot press machine 100; and four hot pressing units 101 located between the input roller 102 and the output roller 103, arranged along the feeding direction D of the flexible flat cable 200 and spaced apart from each other.

[0029] The number of hot-pressing units 101 is not limited to four. The number can be set according to actual needs such as the length of the flexible flat cable 200, the curing time of the insulating adhesive, and the floor space required. That is, there can be more than four or fewer hot-pressing units 101. These separate hot-pressing units 101 should all be identical, have the same operating parameters, and be able to perform the same operating functions. By setting multiple separate identical hot-pressing units 101, the design of the hot-pressing machine 100 as a single large and complex machine can be avoided, enabling the automation of continuous hot-pressing of the flexible flat cable 200 with a simple mechanical structure.

[0030] To unify the operation of the hot pressing units 101, a central controller (not shown) of the hot pressing machine 100 is operably connected to the plurality of hot pressing units 101 and configured such that the plurality of hot pressing units 101 synchronously hot press the flexible flat cable 200 located within each of the plurality of hot pressing units 101. The flexible flat cable 200 is divided into a first portion 201 and a second portion 202 arranged alternately at intervals, as shown... Figure 5 As shown, this will be described in further detail below. The central controller is also configured to, after synchronously hot-pressing a first portion 201 located within each of the plurality of hot-pressing units 101, remove the first portion 201 from the corresponding hot-pressing unit 101 and move a second portion 202 of the flexible flat cable 200 located between two adjacent hot-pressing units 101 into the corresponding hot-pressing unit 101 for synchronous hot-pressing of the second portion 202, i.e., the distance of each feed of the flexible flat cable 200 is equal to the length of the second portion 202. In this way, continuous hot pressing of a certain length of flexible flat cable 200 can be completed in just two steps. After hot pressing, the hot-pressed flexible flat cable 200 is removed from the hot pressing machine 100, and the subsequent flexible flat cable 200 to be hot-pressed is moved into the hot pressing machine 100. This better maintains the continuity of the hot pressing operation, avoids equipment wear caused by repeated start-up or shutdown, and greatly simplifies the preparation process of flexible flat cable 200.

[0031] To ensure that all parts of the flexible flat cable 200 can be heat-pressed, the spacing between adjacent heat-pressing units 101 along the feeding direction D is typically equal to or slightly less than the length of a single heat-pressing unit 101 along the feeding direction D, such that the length of the second part 202 is equal to or slightly less than the length of the first part 201. This ensures that adjacent sections between the first part 201 and the second part 202 are always heat-pressed.

[0032] like Figure 2As shown, the hot press 100 further includes: a first reverse roller 104, located on the output side 400 of the hot press 100 and above the output roller 103, through which the flexible flat cable 200 enters the hot press 100 in the opposite direction to the feeding direction D and proceeds parallel to the input side 300; and a second reverse roller 105, located on the input side 300 of the hot press 100 and below the input roller 102, through which the flexible flat cable 200, which has traveled to the input side 300 via the first reverse roller 104, enters the hot press 100 in the feeding direction D via the second reverse roller 105 and proceeds parallel to the output side 400. The first reverse roller 104 and the second reverse roller 105 divide the flexible flat cable 200 into three layers in the hot press 100. Accordingly, each hot press unit 101 includes four hot press plates 1011 (e.g., ...). Figure 3 As shown, the four hot press plates 1011 are aligned vertically and used to simultaneously hot press the three-layered flexible flat cable 200 between each pair of adjacent hot press plates 1011. Layering the flexible flat cable 200 using reverse rollers greatly extends the length of the flexible flat cable 200 that the hot press machine 100 can hot press in one operation, and also reduces the number of hot press units 101, thus lowering the manufacturing cost of the hot press machine 100. The flexible flat cable 200 is not limited to three layers; more reverse rollers can be provided as needed to divide the flexible flat cable 200 into five or seven layers, etc. For ease of description, this application only uses a hot press machine 100 including two reverse rollers as an example.

[0033] To ensure that all parts of the flexible flat cable 200 can be hot-pressed, each of the first reverse roller 104 and the second reverse roller 105 is spaced apart from the adjacent hot-pressing unit 101 by a distance equal to half the length of the second part 202.

[0034] like Figure 3 As shown, to better control the operation of the hot press plates 1011, each hot press unit 101 also includes a hot press controller 1012 operably connected to the four hot press plates 1011. Different types of flexible flat cables 200 need to be hot-pressed at different temperatures and pressures for different time periods. The hot press controller 1012 is configured to determine a control curve describing the relationship between temperature and time. Figure 4 Examples of two control curves 111 and 112 are shown, and the pressure applied by the hot press plate 1011 is controlled based on the predetermined control curves. This further improves the accuracy and automation of continuous hot pressing of the flexible flat cable 200.

[0035] The hot press controller 1012 is also configured to adjust the control curve by adjusting one or more of the following parameters: preheating time, curing time, cooling time, and curing temperature.

[0036] Figure 5 The principle of continuous hot pressing of a flexible flat cable 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. Figure 5 In the diagram, the flexible flat cable 200 is divided into three layers. For ease of description, the flexible flat cable 200 is divided into a first part 201 and a second part 202, which are alternately spaced along the feeding direction D. For easy distinction, the first part 201 is shaded, while the second part 202 is not shaded. For illustration purposes... Figure 5 The connections between the layers are omitted.

[0037] A method for continuously hot-pressing a flexible flat cable 200 based on this principle includes: feeding the flexible flat cable 200 into a hot-pressing machine 100, the hot-pressing machine 100 including a plurality of hot-pressing units 101 arranged and spaced apart from each other along the feeding direction D of the flexible flat cable 200; synchronously hot-pressing a first portion 201 of the flexible flat cable 200 located in each of the plurality of hot-pressing units 101 with the plurality of hot-pressing units 101; after synchronously hot-pressing the first portion 201, moving a second portion 202 of the flexible flat cable 200 located between two adjacent hot-pressing units 101 into the corresponding hot-pressing unit 101 to synchronously hot-press the second portion 202; and removing the flexible flat cable 200 from the hot-pressing machine 100.

[0038] In the step of feeding the flexible flat cable 200, firstly, the flexible flat cable 200 is fed into the hot press machine 100 using the input roller 102 located on the input side 300 of the hot press machine 100; then, the flexible flat cable 200 traveling to the output side 400 is driven into the hot press machine 100 in the opposite direction to the feeding direction D using the first reverse roller 104 located on the output side 400 of the hot press machine 100 and proceeds parallel to the input side 300 using the second reverse roller 105 located on the input side 300 of the hot press machine 100 and proceeds parallel to the output side 400 using the feeding direction D using the second reverse roller 105 located on the input side 300 of the hot press machine 100; and finally, the flexible flat cable 200 is output from the hot press machine 100 using the output roller 103 located on the output side 400 of the hot press machine 100.

[0039] In the step of simultaneously hot-pressing the first part 201 and / or the second part 202, the pressure applied by the hot platen 1011 of the hot press machine 100 is controlled based on a predetermined control curve describing the relationship between temperature and time.

[0040] Those skilled in the art will understand that the embodiments described above are exemplary and can be improved upon. The structures described in the various embodiments can be freely combined without causing any conflict in structure or principle.

[0041] After a detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, those skilled in the art will clearly understand that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the appended claims, and that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described in the specification.

Claims

1. A hot pressing machine for continuously hot pressing flexible flat cables, comprising: Multiple hot-pressing units are arranged along the feeding direction of the flexible flat cable and spaced apart from each other. A central controller, operably connected to the plurality of hot-pressing units, is configured to cause the plurality of hot-pressing units to synchronously hot-press the flexible flat cable located within each of the plurality of hot-pressing units. The first reverse roller, located on the output side of the hot press, allows the flexible flat cable to enter the hot press in the opposite direction to the feeding direction and proceed parallel to the input side of the hot press. The second reverse roller, located on the input side of the hot press, carries the flexible flat cable that has traveled to the input side of the hot press via the first reverse roller. The cable then enters the hot press along the feeding direction via the second reverse roller and proceeds parallel to the output side of the hot press. The multiple hot-pressing units have the same operating parameters and can perform the same operating functions.

2. The hot pressing machinery according to claim 1, wherein, The flexible flat cable is divided into a first part and a second part that are alternately spaced apart from each other; The central controller is also configured to, after synchronously hot-pressing a first portion located in each of the plurality of hot-pressing units, remove the first portion from the corresponding hot-pressing unit and move a second portion of the flexible flat cable located between two adjacent hot-pressing units in the plurality of hot-pressing units into the corresponding hot-pressing unit for synchronous hot-pressing of the second portion.

3. The hot pressing machinery according to claim 2, wherein, The length of the second part is equal to or slightly less than the length of the first part.

4. The hot pressing machinery according to claim 2 or 3 further includes: The input roller, located on the input side of the hot press, allows the flexible flat cable to be fed into the hot press. The output roller, located on the output side of the hot press, allows the flexible flat cable to be output from the hot press.

5. The hot pressing machinery according to claim 1, wherein, The distance between each of the first and second reverse rollers and the adjacent hot pressing unit is equal to half the length of the second section.

6. The hot pressing machinery according to claim 1 or 5, wherein, Each hot-pressing unit includes four hot-pressing plates aligned vertically and used to simultaneously hot-press the flexible flat cable between each pair of adjacent hot-pressing plates.

7. The hot pressing machinery according to claim 6, wherein, Each hot pressing unit also includes a hot pressing controller operably connected to the four hot pressing plates, the hot pressing controller being configured to determine a control curve describing the relationship between temperature and time, and to control the pressure applied by the hot pressing plates based on a predetermined control curve.

8. The hot pressing machinery according to claim 7, wherein, The hot-press controller is also configured to adjust the control curve by adjusting one or more of the following parameters: Preheating time, curing time, cooling time, and curing temperature.

9. A method for continuously hot-pressing a flexible flat cable, comprising: The flexible flat cable is fed into a thermoforming machine, which includes multiple thermoforming units arranged and spaced apart from each other along the feeding direction of the flexible flat cable. The first portion of the flexible flat cable located within each of the plurality of hot-pressing units is simultaneously hot-pressed using the plurality of hot-pressing units. After the first part is synchronously hot-pressed, the second part of the flexible flat cable, located between two adjacent hot-pressing units in the plurality of hot-pressing units, is moved into the corresponding hot-pressing unit for synchronous hot-pressing of the second part. Remove the flexible flat cable from the thermoforming machine. The multiple hot-pressing units have the same operating parameters and can achieve the same operating functions. Specifically, in the step of feeding the flexible flat cable... First, the flexible flat cable is fed into the hot press using the input roller located on the input side of the hot press. Then, using the first reverse roller located on the output side of the hot press, the flexible flat cable traveling to the output side is driven into the hot press in the opposite direction to the feeding direction and proceeds parallel to the input side. Subsequently, the flexible flat cable traveling to the input side is propelled into the hot press along the feeding direction by the second reverse roller located on the input side of the hot press and then proceeds to the output side. Finally, the flexible flat cable is output from the hot press using the output roller located on the output side of the hot press.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein, In the step of simultaneously hot-pressing the first part and / or the second part, the pressure applied by the hot platen of the hot press is controlled based on a predetermined control curve describing the relationship between temperature and time.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein, The control curve can be adjusted by adjusting one or more of the preheating time, curing time, cooling time, and curing temperature.

12. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein, The length of the second part is equal to or slightly less than the length of the first part.

13. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein, The distance between each of the first and second reverse rollers and the adjacent hot pressing unit is equal to half the length of the second section.

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