Wiring components and devices that use these wiring components

Abstract

Provided are: a wiring member that makes it possible to form an identification mark at low cost; and a device that uses the wiring member. This wiring member 14 has a base part 51, a first conductor layer 52 that is formed on one surface of the base part 51 and has an electrode part 52a that has end parts 14a, 14b that are exposed to the outside, a first cover layer 54 that is formed on an outside surface of the first conductor layer 52, and an electromagnetic wave shield layer 57 that is formed on an outside surface of the first cover layer 54. The electromagnetic wave shield layer 57 has an identification mark 57a at which a portion of the electromagnetic wave shield layer 57 has been removed to expose the first cover layer 54.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a wiring member and an apparatus using this wiring member.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, when inserting a Flexible Printed Circuit (FPC) into a connector for the FPC on a circuit board, if the FPC is not properly inserted, a contact failure occurs. Therefore, as a method for preventing incorrect insertion of the FPC into the connector, for example, as shown in Patent Document 1, an FPC in which a white line as a mark is silk-printed along the width direction of the reinforcing plate has been proposed for the purpose of easily and properly inserting the FPC into the connector.

[0003] Also, as shown in FIG. 8, conventionally, we have been connecting two circuit boards 200 and 300 using an FPC 100 having terminals at both ends. Since the specifications (such as thickness) of each individual signal line of this FPC 100 differ according to the signals to be conducted, it is necessary to connect one terminal 101 of the FPC 100 to the circuit board 200 and the other terminal 102 of the FPC 100 to the circuit board 300. <000 / / 013>[[ID= / / 18]]

[0004] However, since the shapes of the terminals at both ends of this FPC 100 are symmetric and the connectors 201 and 301 of the circuit boards 200 and 300 are also common components, one terminal 101 can be connected to both the circuit board 200 and the circuit board 300, and the other terminal 102 can also be connected to both the circuit board 200 and the circuit board 300. Therefore, there is a problem that incorrect assembly can occur, and as a result, signals cannot be transmitted correctly.

[0005] Therefore, we have formed a character 103 as an identification mark on one terminal 101 side of the FPC 100 by silk printing to prevent incorrect assembly.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Publication No. 2000-252598 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0007] However, there was a problem in that forming silk screen printing on FPC100 was costly.

[0008] Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of these points, and aims to provide a wiring member that can form an identification mark at low cost, and an apparatus that uses this wiring member. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] To achieve the above objective, the wiring member 14 of this disclosure includes a base portion 51, a first conductor layer 52 formed on one side of the base portion 51 and having electrode portions 52a with ends 14a and 14b exposed to the outside, a first cover layer 54 formed on the outer surface of the first conductor layer 52, and an electromagnetic wave shielding layer 57 formed on the outer surface of the first cover layer 54, wherein the electromagnetic wave shielding layer 57 has an identification mark 57a where a portion is removed and the first cover layer 54 is exposed. The first conductor layer 52 has a plurality of circuit patterns 52b and a wide circuit pattern 52c that is wider than the circuit patterns 52b, and the identification mark 57a is formed at a position opposite the wide circuit pattern 52c. It is characterized by the following:

[0010] To achieve the above objective, the apparatus of this disclosure includes a base 51, a first conductor layer 52 formed on one side of the base 51 and having electrode portions 52a with ends 14a and 14b exposed to the outside, a first cover layer 54 formed on the outer surface of the first conductor layer 52, and an electromagnetic wave shielding layer 57 formed on the outer surface of the first cover layer 54, wherein the electromagnetic wave shielding layer 57 has an identification mark 57a on which a part of the first cover layer 54 is exposed, and a wiring member 14 The present invention comprises circuit boards 25a and 13 having connecting members 25c and 13a for connecting the wiring member 14, wherein the circuit boards 25a and 13 have corresponding identification marks 25d around the connecting members 25c and 13a that correspond to the identification marks 57a. It is characterized by doing so. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] A diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention in which the HUD1 is mounted on a vehicle. [Figure 2] A diagram showing the configuration of the projector and circuit board. [Figure 3] A diagram showing an FPC connected to two circuit boards. [Figure 4] Cross-sectional view of the FPC along line AA in Figure 3. [Figure 5] Figure 5 shows the first conductor layer in the back view of the FPC. [Figure 6] Figure 3 shows the back view of the FPC. [Figure 7] A figure showing a modified example of the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] A diagram showing a device using a conventional FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit). [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0012] This disclosure relates to wiring components and devices using these wiring components, and can be applied, for example, to wiring components used in instrumentation devices mounted on mobile vehicles such as automobiles, motorcycles, agricultural machinery, or construction machinery.

[0013] Embodiments of this disclosure will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 7, but the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications are possible without departing from this disclosure.

[0014] The wiring members according to the embodiments of this disclosure will be described below with reference to Figures 1 to 6, using a head-up display mounted in a vehicle as an example.

[0015] As shown in FIG. 1, a head-up display 1 (HUD) is mounted on a vehicle and projects display light L toward a windshield 2 which is a transmissive-reflective member of the vehicle, thereby projecting a virtual image V.

[0016] The HUD 1 is disposed below the windshield 2 of the vehicle. The display light L is generated by a projector 10 inside the head-up display 1. The generated display light L is projected from an opening of the housing to the windshield 2 through transmission / reflection in an optical system (screen 11, concave mirror 12). The occupant (user) 4 can view the rectangular virtual image V several meters ahead from the viewpoint by visually recognizing the display light L reflected by the windshield 2 from the eye point 3.

[0017] The virtual image V displays information that is highly necessary to draw the attention of the occupant 4, such as vehicle information such as speed and engine speed, route guidance displays such as turn-by-turn and maps, and warning displays such as blind spot indicators and speed limit violation warnings. Thereby, a driving environment with reduced need for the occupant 4 to move the viewpoint and adjust the focal length of the eyes is provided.

[0018] The HUD 1 is electrically connected to the vehicle by connecting a circuit board (circuit board) 13 to a CAN (Controller Area Network) provided in the vehicle. Various electronic devices, which are ECUs mounted on the vehicle, are connected to the CAN via a bus line. The HUD 1 communicates with the electronic devices to acquire information (such as vehicle information such as vehicle speed information and driving information such as position information) necessary to determine the display mode of the virtual image V, and controls the projector 10 and the concave mirror 12 to project the virtual image V.

[0019] The projector 10 emits the display light L toward the screen 11. The screen 11 is a transmissive screen using a microlens array or a diffuser plate, and forms an image and diffuses the display light L emitted by the projector 10. The projector 10 is electrically connected to the circuit board 13 by an FPC (wiring member) 14.

[0020] The concave mirror 12 is formed by vapor-depositing silver or the like on a resin or metal substrate, and is a reflecting member that reflects the display light L toward the windshield 2 while expanding the display light L. The concave mirror 12 has a drive unit (not shown). The drive unit is electrically connected to a circuit board 13 having control means, changes the angle of the concave mirror 12, and positions the virtual image V to a desired extent.

[0021] The circuit board 13 is composed of a rigid wiring board having a wiring pattern formed on a flat glass epoxy-based substrate such as FR-4 (Flame Retardant-4), and includes a storage unit such as a ROM and a RAM (not shown) used for storing a predetermined program and various data, a storage area during calculation, etc., a CPU for performing arithmetic processing according to the predetermined program, and a microcomputer provided with an input / output interface, etc. The circuit board 13 forms an image to be displayed on the display means (the projector 10 and the screen 11), controls the display of the display means, and controls the illuminance of the illumination means based on the vehicle information received from an external in-vehicle device.

[0022] Fig. 2 shows the configuration of the projector 10. The projector 10 includes a light source 20, a dichroic mirror 21, a plane mirror 22, a convex lens 23, a prism 24, a DMD unit 25, a PD unit 26, an FPC 27, a projection optical system 30, a housing 40, and a case 41.

[0023] The light source 20 emits illumination light. By being accompanied by the dichroic mirror 21, the light source 20 emits illumination light in a field sequential method. As an example of the configuration, the light source 20 has a red light source 20r, a green light source 20g, and a blue light source 20b, and the dichroic mirror 21 has dichroic mirrors 21r, 21g, 21b that transmit or reflect each color light ray as shown in Fig. 2.

[0024] Various light emitting components can be applied to the light source 20, and for example, it can be composed of an LED (Light Emitting Diode). The light source 20 sequentially lights up according to a signal transmitted from the circuit board 13 that is electrically connected, and emits each color light ray toward the dichroic mirror 21.

[0025] The dichroic mirror 21 is a reflective and transmissive member capable of transmitting or reflecting light in a predetermined wavelength range, and guides each color ray toward the plane mirror 22. The plane mirror 22 can be constructed, for example, by plating the surface of a resin or glass substrate with silver, and reflects illumination light with its reflective surface 22a. The convex lens 23 is made of a translucent synthetic resin, is formed in a lens shape, and focuses light rays incident parallel to the optical axis toward the focal point.

[0026] The prism 24 is made of a translucent synthetic resin and is formed into a polyhedron, which splits the illumination light into detection illumination light and display illumination light. The prism 24 reflects a portion of the illumination light as detection illumination light in the direction of the PD unit 26 (dashed line), while transmitting a portion of the illumination light as display illumination light in the direction of the DMD unit 25.

[0027] The DMD unit 25 is an image forming device that emits display light L containing vehicle information by spatially modulating (selectively reflecting to a spectral plane) display illumination light based on image information input from an electrically connected circuit board 13. The DMD unit 25 has a DMD substrate (second circuit board) 25a and a DMD 25b.

[0028] The DMD25b is a Digital Micromirror Device and is a reflective image forming element that forms an image by selectively reflecting display illumination light. The DMD substrate 25a is a rigid wiring board configured similarly to the circuit board 13, and is electrically connected to the circuit board 13 by an FPC 14. The DMD25b, which is provided on the surface into which the display illumination light is incident, is electrically connected to the circuit board 13. The DMD25b changes the angle of tiny mirrors arranged in a matrix on the incident surface according to a control signal from the electrically connected circuit board 13, and reflects the light in a predetermined direction.

[0029] The PD unit 26 comprises a PD substrate 26a and a PD 26b, and is a light intensity detector that detects the amount of illumination light. The PD substrate 26a is a circuit board connected to the DMD substrate 25a by an FPC 27 and indirectly connected to the circuit board 13. The PD 26b is an applicable light intensity detector such as a photodiode.

[0030] The projection optical system 30 is an optical system having at least one lens to image the display light L reflected by the prism 24 onto the screen 11. The projection optical system 30 emits the display light L reflected by the prism 24 toward the screen 11.

[0031] The housing 40 is made of a dark-colored resin molded product and houses the light source 20, dichroic mirror 21, plane mirror 22, convex lens 23, prism 24, DMD unit 25, and PD unit 26, which are fixed in the relative positions shown in Figure 2 by known means such as fitting, locking, bonding, and screwing.

[0032] As shown in Figure 3, one end 14a of the FPC 14 is connected to a connector (connecting member) 25c on the DMD substrate 25a, and the other end 14b is connected to a connector (connecting member) 13a on the circuit board 13. The connectors 25c and 13a are made of a rectangular parallelepiped-shaped synthetic resin and are mounted on the DMD substrate 25a and the circuit board 13, respectively. The connectors 25c and 13a house and lock the one end 14a and the other end 14b of the FPC 14, respectively.

[0033] Connectors 25c and 13a have terminals that are electrically connected to a circuit pattern that contacts the electrode portion 52a. The FPC 14 achieves electrical conduction between the DMD substrate 25a and the circuit board 13 when these terminals and the electrode portion 52a come into contact.

[0034] As shown in Figure 4, the FPC14 is a flexible printed circuit board having a first conductor layer 52 formed on one side (front) of the base 51, a second conductor layer 53 formed on the opposite side (rear) of the base 51 from the first conductor layer 52, and further having a first cover layer 54 formed on the outer surface (front) of the first conductor layer 52 and a second cover layer 55 formed on the outer surface (rear) of the second conductor layer 53.

[0035] The FPC14 has an electrode portion 52a where the second conductor layer 53 and the second cover layer 55 on the rear side of the first conductor layer 52 are removed (cut out), exposing both ends of the first conductor layer 52 to the outside. The FPC14 has a reinforcing plate portion 56 on the outer surface (front) of the first cover layer 54 opposite the electrode portion 52a. The FPC14 is formed with the same external shape at both ends. The FPC14 has an electromagnetic wave shielding layer 57 formed in the area where the reinforcing plate portion 56 is not formed on the outer surface (front) of the first cover layer 54.

[0036] The base portion 51 is made of an orange-colored polyimide resin film with a thickness of approximately 20 μm and serves as the base material for forming the first conductor layer 52 and the second conductor layer 53.

[0037] The first conductor layer 52 and the second conductor layer 53 are made of electrolytic copper foil with a thickness of approximately 18 μm. As shown in Figure 5, the first conductor layer 52 has multiple circuit patterns 52b that connect multiple electrode portions 52a at both ends in a straight line and transmit high-frequency electrical signals between the electrode portions 52a at both ends. Each circuit pattern 52b has its width (thickness) adjusted to match a specific signal (impedance) in order to transmit high-frequency electrical signals at high speed, and is a pattern that cannot transmit signals correctly if affected by external noise (electromagnetic waves).

[0038] The first conductor layer 52 has a wide circuit pattern 52c which is wider than the circuit pattern 52b formed by combining (joining) multiple circuit patterns 52b. The wide circuit pattern 52c can be used to apply power lines, ground lines, dummy lines, etc., and is a pattern that is less affected by external noise than the circuit pattern 52b (a pattern with high noise immunity).

[0039] As shown in Figure 6, the second conductor layer 53 is formed in a mesh pattern to prevent external noise from entering the first conductor layer 52 from the second conductor layer 53. Note that the pattern shape of the second conductor layer 53 can be various shapes other than a mesh.

[0040] The first cover layer 54 and the second cover layer 55 are made of a highly flexible, bright orange-colored polyimide resin film with a thickness of approximately 20 μm. The first cover layer 54 and the second cover layer 55 are components that protect the first conductor layer 52 and the second conductor layer 53 from the outside.

[0041] The reinforcing plate portion 56 is made of a brown-colored polyimide resin plate with a thickness of approximately 125 μm. The reinforcing plate portion 56 is made of a polyimide resin plate with a higher hardness than the first cover layer 54 and the second cover layer 55.

[0042] The electromagnetic shielding layer 57 consists of a resin film containing, for example, silver (Ag) paste, which is colored black and has a thickness of approximately 22 μm. The electromagnetic shielding layer 57 prevents noise from entering the first conductor layer 52 from the first conductor layer 52 side. The electromagnetic shielding layer 57 has an identification mark 57a. The identification mark 57a is a mark that is visible when a circular portion of the electromagnetic shielding layer 57 is removed, exposing the first cover layer 54 in a circular shape.

[0043] The identification mark 57a is not formed in a position opposite the circuit pattern 52b, but only in a position opposite the wide circuit pattern 52c. The identification mark 57a is formed closer to one end 14a of the FPC 14. The identification mark 57a is formed with a width smaller than the width of the wide circuit pattern 52c so that it fits within the width direction of the wide circuit pattern 52c.

[0044] The FPC 14 has a pair of notches 14d on the side surface in the direction connecting one end 14a and the other end 14b, which are recessed in a roughly U-shape to form the first cover layer 54 and the reinforcing plate portion 56. The connectors 25c and 13a have protrusions inside that fit into the notches 14d.

[0045] The DMD substrate 25a has a substrate-side identification mark (corresponding identification mark) 25d around the connector 25c. The substrate-side identification mark 25d is formed by removing a portion of the surface layer of the DMD substrate 25a in a circular shape similar in shape to the identification mark 57e. The surface layer is a so-called solder resist made of green insulating ink. As a result, the substrate-side identification mark 25d is visible by the color of the conductive layer. The conductive layer is a so-called copper foil with a bright reddish-orange conductive color, such as rolled copper foil or electrolytic copper foil. The substrate-side identification mark 25d is formed on the side of the connector 25c corresponding to the identification mark 57a in the width direction of the FPC 14.

[0046] Since one end 14a and the other end 14b of the FPC 14 are formed to have the same external shape, one end 14a can be assembled to both connector 25c and connector 13a. Similarly, the other end 14b can be assembled to both connector 25c and connector 13a. Therefore, incorrect assembly can occur.

[0047] Whether one end 14a and the connector 25c are properly inserted is automatically detected by capturing the insertion state of both with a video camera. For example, the presence and shape of the identification mark 57a and the board-side identification mark 25d are detected to determine whether the combination is correct. Additionally, the distance W between the identification mark 57a and the board-side identification mark 25d is detected, and whether the two are properly mated is determined by whether this distance W falls within a threshold.

[0048] The presence and shape of the identification mark 57a are determined by comparing the colors of the electromagnetic shielding layer 57 and the first cover layer 54, and using the contrast (difference in brightness between light and dark areas of the image). Since the electromagnetic shielding layer 57 is black and the first cover layer 54 is bright orange, the contrast is high and false detection can be prevented. The presence and shape of the substrate-side identification mark 25d are determined by comparing the colors of the surface layer and the conductor layer, and using the contrast. Since the surface layer is green and the conductor layer is reddish-orange, the contrast is high and false detection can be prevented.

[0049] In this disclosure, by forming the connector in this manner, misassembly of the connector 25c (DMD substrate 25a) and one end 14a (FPC14) can be detected without applying costly silk screen printing to the FPC14.

[0050] Furthermore, this disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the gist of this disclosure.

[0051] For example, the identification mark 57a and the board-side identification mark 25d may be square-shaped identification marks 57b and 25e, respectively, instead of being circular, as shown in Figure 7. Alternatively, a triangular identification mark 57e may be provided on the other end 14b of the FPC 14, and a triangular board-side identification mark 25f, similar in shape to the identification mark 57e, may be provided around the connector 13a.

[0052] Furthermore, while FPC14 was a flexible printed circuit board, it may also be a flexible flat cable (FFC). Also, the colors of the first cover layer 54, second cover layer 55, reinforcing plate portion 56, and electromagnetic shielding layer 57 of FPC14 can be set to any color. Additionally, while the electromagnetic shielding layer 57 was formed on one side, it may be formed on both sides by wrapping a resin film around it. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0053] 1. Head-up display 12 concave mirror 10 Projectors 11 screens 13 Circuit board (circuit board) 13a Connector (connecting component) 14. FPC (Fixed Printed Circuit) 14a One end 14b The other end 14d Notch 51 Base 52 First Conductor Layer 52a Electrode part 52b Circuit Pattern 52c wide circuit pattern 53 Second Conductor Layer 54. First Cover Layer 55. Second Cover Layer 56 Reinforcement plate section 57 Electromagnetic shielding layer 57a Identification mark 2 Windshields 3 Eye Point 4. Crew (Passengers) 20 light source 21 Dichroic Mirror 22 plane mirror 23 Convex lens 24 prisms 25 MD units 25a DMD board (circuit board) 25b DMD 25c connector (connecting component) 25d Circuit board identification mark (corresponding identification mark) 26 PD Units 27 FPC 30 Projection optical system 40 cabinets 41 cases L display light V Illusion W distance

Claims

1. The base and, A first conductor layer having an electrode portion formed on one side of the base portion, with its end exposed to the outside, A first cover layer formed on the outer surface of the first conductor layer, The first cover layer comprises an electromagnetic wave shielding layer formed on the outer surface of the first cover layer, The electromagnetic shielding layer has an identification mark on which a part of the first cover layer is exposed. The first conductor layer has a plurality of circuit patterns and a wide circuit pattern that is wider than the circuit patterns, The wiring member is characterized in that the identification mark is formed at a position opposite to the wide circuit pattern.

2. The wiring member according to claim 1, characterized in that the wide circuit pattern is a pattern that is less susceptible to external noise than the circuit pattern.

3. A second conductor layer formed on the surface of the base opposite to the first conductor layer, The second conductor layer comprises a second cover layer formed on the outer surface of the second conductor layer, The wiring member according to claim 1, characterized in that the second conductor layer is formed in a pattern that prevents the intrusion of external noise.

4. The wiring member according to claim 1, characterized in that one end and the other end of the aforementioned end are formed in the same shape.

5. The wiring member according to claim 4, characterized in that the identification mark is formed at the position on one end side.

6. The wiring member according to claim 1, A circuit board having a connecting member for connecting the aforementioned wiring member, The device is characterized in that the circuit board has corresponding identification marks around the connecting member that correspond to the identification marks.

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