Flexible metal layer composite rigid PCB (Printed Circuit Board) type connecting piece

Abstract

The flexible metal layer composite rigid PCB plate-type connecting piece comprises a flexible metal layer connecting piece which comprises metal belts which are used for transmitting large current and are isolated from each other; and a rigid PCB connecting piece, wherein the rigid PCB connecting piece is used for transmitting a high-density integrated signal and current; and the flexible metal layer connecting piece and the rigid PCB connecting piece are partially or completely overlapped, so that at least one connecting end is connected to the same component. According to the connecting piece, the flexible metal layer connecting piece and the rigid PCB connecting piece are combined, the flexible metal layer connecting piece can exert the current-carrying advantage of the flexible metal layer connecting piece and can also have the signal transmission function, the rigid PCB connecting piece can exert the current-carrying capacity, the power distribution capacity and the signal transmission capacity of the rigid PCB connecting piece, and the flexible metal layer connecting piece and the rigid PCB connecting piece can be used in a combined mode according to the current-carrying and power distribution requirements; and meanwhile, the three-dimensional connection requirement in a narrow and limited space can be met.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application belongs to the technical field of electronic connectors, and particularly relates to a flexible metal layer composite rigid PCB board connector. Background Art

[0002] A flexible printed circuit board (abbreviated as FPC) is a highly reliable and extremely flexible printed circuit board made of polyimide or polyester film as the substrate. A flexible printed circuit board usually includes an insulating film, a conductor, and an adhesive. The conductor usually uses copper foil, which is basically divided into electrolytic copper and rolled copper. Commonly used thicknesses are 1 ounce, 1 / 2 ounce, and 1 / 3 ounce, and there are also a few of 2 ounces. According to the existing manufacturing process and structural characteristics of flexible printed circuit boards, the thickness specifications of the copper foils used are usually 35μm, 50μm, and 70μm. In the actual application process, the maximum allowable current load of the channels formed by a single copper foil is only a few amperes.

[0003] A rigid circuit board uses conductive tracks and other components arranged on a non-conductive substrate to connect electrical components. On a rigid circuit board, the non-conductive substrate usually contains fiberglass cloth, which can enhance the strength of the board and endow it with strength and stiffness. The rigid circuit board provides good support for the components and provides good thermal resistance.

[0004] In actual use, especially in the connection between electrical components in narrow and restricted spaces such as aerospace and military fields, it is necessary to transmit signals and currents simultaneously, and at the same time, it is necessary to have current-carrying capacity and power distribution capabilities. The existing flexible circuit boards or rigid circuit boards cannot meet this technical requirement when in use, and it is also difficult to meet the three-dimensional connection problem in narrow and restricted spaces. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In view of the problems in the prior art, this application proposes the following technical solutions:

[0006] A flexible metal layer composite rigid PCB board connector, comprising:

[0007] A flexible metal layer connector, the flexible metal layer connector includes metal strips that transmit large currents and are isolated from each other;

[0008] And a rigid PCB connector, the rigid PCB connector transmits high-density integrated signals and currents;

[0009] The flexible metal layer connector and the rigid PCB connector are partially or completely overlapped so that at least one connection end is connected to the same component.

[0010] Preferably, as the above technical solution, the metal strips are separated by hollow isolation parts formed on the metal conductive sheet layer, and the metal conductive sheet layer is deformed by an external force and maintains the deformed state after the external force is withdrawn.

[0011] Preferably, as the above technical solution, it further includes a coating layer, the coating layer is coated outside the metal conductive sheet layer, and the coating layer is embedded in the isolation part for physically insulating and isolating adjacent metal strips.

[0012] Preferably, as the above technical solution, the metal strip has connection holes and / or avoidance holes.

[0013] Preferably, as the above technical solution, the metal conductive sheet layer is a sheet made of any one or a combination of two or more of copper, gold, silver, molybdenum silicide, and chromium.

[0014] Preferably, as the above technical solution, the thickness of the metal conductive sheet layer does not exceed 0.2 mm, and the minimum width of the isolation part is not less than 0.3 mm.

[0015] Preferably, as the above technical solution, the coating layer is a composition including any one or a combination of two or more of polyethylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, polyimide, polypropylene glycol dibenzoate, and polypropylene.

[0016] Preferably, as the above technical solution, the metal conductive sheet layer coated inside the coating layer is single-piece or multi-piece laminated.

[0017] The beneficial effects of the present application are as follows: The connector of the present application combines a flexible metal layer connector and a rigid PCB connector. The flexible metal layer connector can exert its current-carrying advantage and also has a signal transmission function. The rigid PCB connector can exert its current-carrying ability, power distribution ability, and signal transmission ability. The two can be combined and used according to the requirements of current-carrying and power distribution, and at the same time, it can also meet the three-dimensional connection requirements in narrow and restricted spaces. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Figure 1 It shows a schematic structural diagram of a flexible metal layer composite rigid PCB board connector;

[0019] Figure 2 It shows Figure 1 The partial enlarged view of part A in

[0020] Figure 3 It shows a schematic structural diagram of one layer state of a flexible metal layer composite rigid PCB board connector;

[0021] Figure 4 It shows a schematic diagram of the state of a flexible metal layer composite rigid PCB board connector used to connect connectors at four different positions;

[0022] Figure 5 The figure shows a schematic structural diagram of a two-layer state of a flexible metal layer composite rigid PCB plate connector;

[0023] Figure 6 The figure shows a schematic structural diagram of a metal conductive sheet layer after material removal processing;

[0024] Figure 7 The figure shows Figure 6 a partial enlarged view at position B in;

[0025] Figure 8 The figure shows a schematic structural diagram of the combined use of a flexible metal layer connector and a rigid PCB connector. Specific embodiments

[0026] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of this application clearer, the technical solutions of this application will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the embodiments.

[0027] Figure 1 The figure shows a schematic structural diagram of the flexible metal layer composite rigid PCB plate connector described in this embodiment. According to Figure 1 shown, the flexible metal layer composite rigid PCB plate connector of this application includes a sheet-like metal conductive sheet layer 10. A plurality of isolation parts 11 are formed on the metal conductive sheet layer 10 by means of material removal processing. The isolation parts 11 divide the originally sheet-like metal conductive sheet layer 10 into a plurality of mutually isolated metal strips 12 on the metal conductive sheet layer 10. The metal strips 12 are used as current-carrying channels to connect between two connectors, rigid PCBs, or other components; Figure 3 The figure shows a schematic layered structural diagram of the flexible metal layer composite rigid PCB plate connector. A coating layer 20 is formed outside the metal conductive sheet layer 10. The coating layer 20 completely wraps the metal conductive sheet layer 10 inside, and at the same time fills the isolation parts 11 to isolate adjacent metal strips 12.

[0028] See Figure 1 and 2 , connection holes 121 are formed at both ends of each metal strip 12, respectively for realizing electrical connection with other components, such as connectors, active devices, printed circuit boards, etc.; at the same time, according to different design requirements, avoidance holes 122 are formed on the specific metal strips 12. The avoidance holes 122 are suitable for avoiding other components during the connection process; usually, the size of the connection holes 121 is smaller than that of the avoidance holes 122.

[0029] Figure 4The figure shows a schematic diagram of the state where the flexible metal layer composite rigid PCB plate connector is used to connect the connectors 31, 32, 33, and 34 at four different positions. The flexible metal layer composite rigid PCB plate connector is a one-to-three type connector, which is used to transmit the signals on the connector 31 to the connectors 32, 33, and 34 respectively, and then realize the docking with other corresponding connectors. At the same time, combined with Figure 4 , it can be seen that the connectors 32, 33, and 34 are located at different positions in the three-dimensional space respectively, and the flexible metal layer composite rigid PCB plate connector can be bent well to meet these connection requirements.

[0030] Traditional flexible circuit boards are applied to stack a large number of precision components in narrow and limited spaces, playing the role of signal transmission and current transmission. They can be applied to most working conditions. In particular, the flexible circuits inside them can meet the connection requirements of electronic components in special-shaped spaces (or three-dimensional spaces). Therefore, flexible circuit boards are used in the field of electronic control to connect electronic components or connectors in three-dimensional spaces to achieve signal and current transmission. This is a mature and stable technical trend that has been formed currently.

[0031] In order to meet the current transmission requirements, current transmission can be achieved by using nearly twenty or more layers of flexible circuit boards in parallel. Although the thickness of a single-layer flexible circuit board is about 0.1 mm and it has good bending performance, when nearly twenty or more layers of flexible circuit boards are fixed in parallel to achieve current transmission, due to the stress characteristics of the base material of the flexible circuit board, it is difficult to bend when connecting electronic components in special-shaped spaces, and the stacked flexible circuit boards have a large thickness. After bending, the copper foils on the inner and outer sides will be stretched to different degrees, posing a risk of damaging the flexible circuit board. That is to say, the currently used flexible circuit boards cannot meet the current-carrying requirements while ensuring good bending performance.

[0032] In the initial stage of the technical research and development of the applicant of this application, the above-mentioned flexible circuit board was also used and expected to solve the technical problem of current transmission of hundreds of amperes. However, it has always been impossible to ensure good bending performance while achieving the technical purpose of current transmission. As a result, in narrow and limited spaces, the flexible circuit board cannot be bent to the extent that it can connect two connectors.

[0033] In this embodiment, the applicant of this application completely abandons the existing mature technical route of flexible circuit boards and designs the structure of the flexible metal layer composite rigid PCB plate connector described in this application. The metal conductive sheet layer 10 in the flexible metal layer composite rigid PCB plate connector is an excellent conductor material of electricity, which can realize the functions of signal transmission and current transmission, and at the same time, the metal conductive sheet layer 10 can carry current transmission of hundreds of amperes.

[0034] Table 1 shows the relationship table of copper foil thickness, line width and current in PCB design. This relationship table is publicly available on the Internet (URL: https: / / www.elecfans.com / d / 659395.html) and is only excerpted for illustration purposes.

[0035]

[0036] Table 1: Relationship Table of Copper Foil Thickness, Line Width and Current in PCB Design

[0037] Taking a flexible circuit board as an example, a flexible circuit board with 2 ounces (copper foil thickness 70μm) and a line width of 2.5mm, after 20 identical flexible circuit boards are connected in parallel, the maximum carrying current can reach 120A, which can basically meet the requirements for current transmission of hundreds of amperes; however, correspondingly, the common thickness of flexible PCBs is 0.2mm, and the total thickness reaches 4mm after 20 identical flexible circuit boards are connected in parallel.

[0038] According to the description of this embodiment, the metal conductive sheet layer 10 designed in this application has the same width. When the maximum current-carrying capacity reaches 120A, the thickness does not exceed 1.4mm. With the outer coating layer 20 formed, the total thickness will not exceed 2mm. The advantages here are not only reflected in the ability to carry large currents, but also the entire flexible metal layer composite rigid PCB plate connector is mainly made of the metal conductive sheet layer 10. Taking copper as an example for the metal conductive sheet layer 10, it has excellent bending performance and can meet the requirements for large current transmission and bending between different electrical components in three-dimensional space.

[0039] In this embodiment, regarding the material of the metal conductive sheet layer 10, the metal conductive sheet layer 10 is a sheet made of any one or two or more compositions, and copper is preferred, with the purity of copper above 99.7%.

[0040] In this embodiment, regarding the material of the metal conductive sheet layer 10, the thickness of the metal conductive sheet layer 10 does not exceed 0.2mm, which is related to the width design of the isolation part 11 in the metal conductive sheet layer 10 and the subsequent forming process.

[0041] In this embodiment, regarding the material of the metal conductive sheet layer 10, the design of the isolation part 11 is used to form several mutually isolated metal strips 12 on the metal conductive sheet layer 10. On the premise of meeting the design requirements for current-carrying design, the cross-sectional size of the metal strips 12 cannot be changed, and in narrow and limited spaces, it is necessary to compress the width of the isolation part 11 as much as possible to achieve the miniaturization of this flexible metal layer composite rigid PCB plate connector. In this application, when the thickness of the metal conductive sheet layer 10 is set to 0.2mm, only holes with a minimum width of 0.3mm can be processed, that is, the minimum width of the design of the isolation part 11 is not less than 0.3mm.

[0042] In this embodiment, the coating layer 20 is an insulating material, including any one of polyethylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, polyimide, polyethylene terephthalate, and polypropylene.

[0043] According to the foregoing description, the thickness of the metal conductive sheet layer 10 is limited. Therefore, multiple layers of the metal conductive sheet layer 10 can be provided to achieve high current-carrying capacity. For example, Figure 5 As shown in, it is composed of two layers of the metal conductive sheet layer 10 laminated together, but it is not limited to the two-layer structure shown in this figure, and it can also be three layers, four layers or other numbers of layers according to design requirements.

[0044] Based on the structure of the flexible metal layer composite rigid PCB plate connector described in this embodiment, taking the single-layer metal conductive sheet layer 10 as an example, this embodiment provides a processing technology for the flexible metal layer composite rigid PCB plate connector, specifically:

[0045] Select the metal conductive sheet layer 10 that meets the requirements;

[0046] According to the design requirements, perform material removal processing on the metal conductive sheet layer 10 to form the isolation part 11;

[0047] Use an insulating material to form the coating layer 20 outside the metal conductive sheet layer 10.

[0048] In the above process, selecting the metal conductive sheet layer 10 that meets the requirements is to select the metal conductive sheet layer 10 with a certain thickness according to the design requirements. For example, the designed thickness of the metal conductive sheet layer 10 is 0.2 mm.

[0049] The material removal processing refers to removing the unnecessary parts from a whole and continuous metal conductive sheet layer 10, and the remaining is the required metal strip 12. It should be noted that after the material removal processing, there is at least one connecting strip 13 between adjacent metal strips 12 within the same flexible metal layer composite rigid PCB plate connector, and all the metal strips 12 are connected into an integral flexible metal layer composite rigid PCB plate connector through the connecting strip 13 to facilitate the integrity of the flexible metal layer composite rigid PCB plate connector during the subsequent processing, such as Figure 6 and Figure 7 As shown, it is a schematic structural diagram of the metal conductive sheet layer 10 after the material removal processing.

[0050] It should be noted that taking Figure 6For example, a one-into-three type of connector is shown, that is, one connector is respectively connected to three connectors through the flexible metal layer composite rigid PCB board type connector. That is, different flexible metal layer composite rigid PCB board type connectors have different numbers of branches. The connecting material 13 needs to be reserved between adjacent metal strips 12 within the branch, and the connecting material 13 does not need to be reserved between adjacent metal strips 12 in different branches.

[0051] One implementation method of the above-mentioned material removal process is the mechanical stamping and material removal method, that is, a stamping die with a corresponding pattern is designed to stamp and remove the material from the metal conductive sheet layer 10 to obtain the metal strip 12 with the connecting material 13, and at the same time, the connecting holes 121 and the avoiding holes 122 are formed.

[0052] The forming method of the coating layer 20 is as follows: Place the metal strip 12 with the connecting material 13 on the backing plate, brush the insulating material and wait for it to cure, and then turn it over to brush the other side.

[0053] It should be noted that before brushing the insulating material on the first side, the connecting material 13 needs to be removed. Usually, positioning pins corresponding to the connecting holes 121 are set on the backing plate, and all the metal strips 12 are fixed on the backing plate by the positioning pins to maintain a complete state. On the other hand, the positioning pins can play an insulating role when brushing the insulating material to prevent the insulating material from entering the connecting holes 121, which is not conducive to the electrical connection with components such as connectors in the later stage.

[0054] Of course, the method of forming the insulating material on the surface of the metal strip 12 is not limited to brushing, and other methods such as spraying and dipping can also be used.

[0055] The flexible metal layer composite rigid PCB board type connector described in this embodiment can be applied as follows:

[0056] (1) Single-piece use: According to the foregoing description, since the flexible metal layer composite rigid PCB board type connector is used in narrow and restricted spaces, combined with the requirements of the processing technology for the thickness of the metal conductive sheet layer 10 and the width of the isolation part 11, on the premise of meeting the current-carrying requirements, a single-piece flexible metal layer composite rigid PCB board type connector can be used to achieve the transmission of current and signals;

[0057] (2) Multiple-piece stacking use: According to the foregoing description, the processing technology has requirements for the thickness of the metal conductive sheet layer 10 and the width of the isolation part 11. Therefore, the current-carrying capacity of the metal strip 12 in a single-piece flexible metal layer composite rigid PCB board type connector has certain limitations. Under higher current-carrying requirements, multiple identical flexible metal layer composite rigid PCB board type connectors can be stacked and used;

[0058] (3) Used in conjunction with rigid PCBs: The flexible metal layer composite rigid PCB board connector and the rigid PCB buried copper process have different current-carrying capabilities and power distribution capabilities. Therefore, the two can be used in combination according to the requirements of current-carrying and power distribution.

[0059] Figure 8 The structure diagram showing the flexible metal layer connector 100 used in conjunction with the rigid PCB connector 200 is shown. It can be seen that Figure 8 The connector shown is of the one-to-three type, that is, one output terminal corresponds to three input terminals, or one input terminal corresponds to three output terminals. It is not limited to this type. It can also be of other types. However, at least one connection end of the flexible metal layer connector 100 and the flexible PCB connector 200 is connected to the same component, so that the flexible metal layer connector 100 and the flexible PCB connector 200 have partial overlap, such as Figure 8 In the figure, two connection ends of the one-to-three type connector are overlapped. Among them, the flexible metal layer connector 100 is a basic one-to-three type connector, and the rigid PCB connector 200 is a one-to-one type connector. Corresponding connection holes and avoidance holes will also be provided on the flexible PCB connector 200.

[0060] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, rather than limiting them.

Claims

1. Flexible metal layer composite rigid PCB board connector, characterized in that: include: A flexible metal layer connector, the flexible metal layer connector comprising metal strips that transmit large currents and are isolated from each other; and a rigid PCB connector that transmits high-density integrated signals and current; The flexible metal layer connector is partially or completely overlapped with the rigid PCB connector so that at least one connecting end is connected to the same component.

2. The flexible metal layer composite rigid PCB board connector according to claim 1, characterized in that: The metal belt is separated by hollow isolation parts formed on the metal conductive sheet layer. The metal conductive sheet layer is deformed by an external force and maintains the deformed state caused by the external force after the external force is removed.

3. The flexible metal layer composite rigid PCB board connector according to claim 2, characterized in that: It also includes a coating layer, which is coated on the outside of the metal conductive sheet layer, and the coating layer is embedded in the isolation part to physically insulate and isolate the adjacent metal strips.

4. The flexible metal layer composite rigid PCB board connector according to claim 1, characterized in that: The metal belt is provided with connection holes and / or avoidance holes.

5. The flexible metal layer composite rigid PCB board connector according to claim 2, characterized in that: The metal conductive sheet layer is a sheet made of any one of copper, gold, silver, molybdenum silicide, and chromium, or a combination of two or more thereof.

6. The flexible metal layer composite rigid PCB board connector according to claim 2, characterized in that: The thickness of the metal conductive sheet layer does not exceed 0.2 mm, and the minimum width of the isolation portion is not less than 0.3 mm.

7. The flexible metal layer composite rigid PCB board connector according to claim 3, characterized in that: The coating layer comprises any one of polyethylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, polyimide, polypropylene glycol and polypropylene, or a combination of two or more thereof.

8. The flexible metal layer composite rigid PCB board connector according to claim 3, characterized in that: The metal conductive sheet layer coated in the coating layer is a single sheet or a plurality of stacked sheets.

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