Surface Mounted Inductor L-Shaped Terminal Formation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional surface mounted inductors face challenges in forming L-shaped external terminals without wasting conductive paste and incurring high production costs, and existing solutions either increase the overall size or require expensive equipment.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a surface mounted inductor with a coil embedded in a formed body containing metal magnetic powder and resin, where the resin is removed from terminal areas to expose the metal magnetic powder, allowing for easy plating and formation of thin, L-shaped external terminals connected to the coil leads without expensive equipment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the conductive paste is applied to the formed body by dipping to form external terminals, then the external terminals can be formed, but it is difficult to form the external terminal in an L-shape and a large amount of conductive paste goes to waste resulting in increased production cost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies conductive paste to specific positions on the formed body before the dipping process. This preliminary application of conductive paste to predetermined locations allows for precise formation of external terminals in desired patterns including L-shapes, while the subsequent dipping process only adds paste to areas that will become external terminals, significantly reducing waste of conductive paste
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates different surface properties at different locations on the formed body. By making specific portions conductive through preliminary paste application while keeping other portions non-conductive, the dipping process can selectively form external terminals only where needed, enabling complex shapes like L-shaped terminals and minimizing paste waste
2Ease of manufacture
If an external terminal is formed with a plate-shaped metal frame, then the external terminal can be formed, but the overall shape is increased by a thickness of the metal frame and an increased number of man-hours is required to form the external terminal
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical approach of attaching plate-shaped metal frames with a chemical deposition process. Conductive paste is applied to the formed body and then sintered to form thin external terminals directly on the formed body surface, eliminating the need for thick metal frames and reducing manual assembly operations
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the formation method of external terminals from mechanical assembly of thick metal frames to a thermal processing process where conductive paste is sintered at high temperature. This parameter change in the formation process enables the creation of much thinner external terminals while maintaining electrical conductivity and structural integrity
3Ease of manufacture
If forming the external terminals by sputtering is considered, then the external terminals can be formed, but expensive equipment is required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a consumable conductive paste material that is applied and then sintered to form the external terminals. This replaces expensive, complex sputtering equipment with a simple, low-cost thermal processing approach using inexpensive paste materials that are consumed in the process
Solution Approach 2:
The patent substitutes the expensive physical vapor deposition process (sputtering) with a simpler chemical and thermal process involving paste application and sintering. This replacement dramatically reduces equipment complexity and cost while achieving the same functional result of forming conductive external terminals
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
Enables the easy formation of low-profile external terminals with improved characteristics by reducing terminal thickness and increasing the size of the formed body, while minimizing waste and production costs.
Implementation Method 1
the metal magnetic powder and a plating layer forming the external terminals are joined to each other
Data Source
AI summary
A surface mounted inductor is equipped with a coil formed by winding a conductive wire, and a formed body in which the coil is sealed with a sealing material that mainly contains metal magnetic powder and a resin. The coil is embedded so that surfaces of lead-out ends are exposed on surfaces of the formed body. The resin at portions of surfaces of the formed body where external terminals are formed is removed, and the metal magnetic powder and a plating layer forming the external terminals are joined to each other, thereby connecting the external terminals and the lead-out ends of the coil.