Flexible Circuit Board Carrier Assembly for Handling Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Flexible circuit boards face challenges during shipping, processing, and transportation due to their light and thin nature, which can lead to bending and separation of conductive traces or copper foils, affecting their quality.
Innovation Solution
A carrier board with a thick copper layer, a thin copper layer, and a release layer is combined with the flexible circuit substrate, providing stability through adhesive bonding and electroplating, and featuring through or blind holes for enhanced structural integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If the flexible circuit board is made thinner and lighter to achieve compact electronic products, then the weight and thickness are reduced, but the stability and resistance to bending/separation deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the flexible circuit board with a rigid carrier board to form an integrated assembly. The carrier board provides structural support and stability while the flexible circuit board maintains its thin and light characteristics. This merging allows the flexible circuit board to benefit from the carrier board's rigidity during shipping and handling, resolving the contradiction between lightness and stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a release layer as an intermediary between the flexible circuit board and the carrier board. This release layer allows the flexible circuit board to be easily separated from the carrier board after assembly, while providing structural support during the shipping and handling phases. The release layer mediates between the need for stability during transport and the need for flexibility during assembly and disassembly.
2Quantity of substance
If the line width of conductive paths is reduced to increase signal transmission capacity, then the number of signal transmission lines is increased, but the thickness of the flexible circuit board is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes the third dimension by bonding the flexible circuit board to a carrier board. This allows the conductive paths to be arranged in multiple layers and dimensions, increasing the number of signal transmission lines without proportionally increasing the thickness of the flexible circuit board itself. The carrier board provides additional space for routing and stacking conductors.
3Volume of moving object
If the flexible circuit board is made thinner to achieve light and compact design, then the thickness is reduced, but the ease of handling and resistance to damage during shipping deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the thin flexible circuit board with a thicker, more rigid carrier board to create a handleable assembly. The carrier board provides the structural integrity needed for easy handling and shipping, while the flexible circuit board maintains its thin profile for compact design. The combined structure is much easier to handle than the thin flexible circuit board alone.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary bonding of the flexible circuit board to the carrier board before shipping and handling operations. This preliminary action of combining the thin flexible circuit board with the rigid carrier board ensures that the assembly is ready for easy handling and transport without requiring additional support structures or packaging modifications.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The carrier board maintains the stability of the flexible circuit board during shipping and manufacturing processes, preventing bending and separation of conductive traces, and allows for preservation of the thin copper layer for subsequent use.
Implementation Method 1
The flexible circuit substrate is bonded to the carrier board by an adhesive layer
Implementation Method 2
An electroplating layer is formed on a top surface of the thick copper layer, a hole wall surface of the through hole, and a bottom surface of the bottom copper layer
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a structure of a flexible circuit board combined with a carrier board. The carrier board includes a thick copper layer, a thin copper layer, and a release layer formed between the thick copper layer and the thin copper layer. The flexible circuit substrate and the carrier board are bonded together by an adhesive layer. In a subsequent process, the release layer, together with the thick copper layer, is peeled from a top surface of the thin copper layer and the thin copper layer is preserved by being bonded by the adhesive layer to the flexible circuit substrate.