JP2014116286A - Production method of wiring material - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a wiring material in which an FPC is used in a branch part that branches from a stem of a ribbon cable, even if a connection part that connects the stem and the branch part is not disposed, strength of a branching part in which a conductor is branched can be maintained, and a production process can be simplified; and a production method of the same.SOLUTION: A wiring material 1 includes: a stem 21 in which two or more conductors 2 in which a cross-sectional shape has a prescribed thickness and a width of at least the prescribed thickness are parallel disposed in a width direction of the conductors 2 having a space; a branch part 22 in which the conductors 2 are bent in a width direction of the conductors 2 or in a direction that crossovers the width direction of the conductor 2, and branched from the stem 21; a first coat member 3 that coats the stem 21 so that an end part 20a of the stem 21 side of the conductor 2 may be exposed; and a second coat member 4 that coats the branch part 22 so that an end part 20b of the branch part 22 side of the conductor 2 may be exposed.

Description

  The present invention relates to a wiring material such as a flexible printed circuit (FPC) and a manufacturing method thereof.

  Internal wiring used for automobiles, large electronic devices, large mechatronics devices, etc. has conventionally been easy to secure sufficient wiring space due to the large size of the housing, so use a wire harness that bundles multiple cables. In response to complicated wiring. On the other hand, in small electronic devices and small mechatronic devices, it is necessary to minimize the wiring space in order to provide a plurality of functions in a small housing. Therefore, a small film wiring material such as a flexible printed circuit (FPC) is used for the internal wiring of such a small device.

  In recent years, even in automotive applications and large mechatronic devices, there is a demand for a device configuration that is the same size or smaller than the conventional size while enhancing functions. As a result, film wiring materials used for small electronic devices and mechatronics devices have come to be demanded as wiring in large devices.

  For example, a lithium ion secondary battery module mounted on an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle has a structure in which a plurality of single battery cells are arranged inside and electrode terminals of adjacent battery cells are connected by a connecting member such as a bus bar. ing. Lithium ion secondary batteries have a risk of heat generation when excessively charged, and when excessively discharged, charging and discharging functions are degraded due to dissolution of the electrode material. Therefore, a voltage with extremely high accuracy of about several tens of mV. Control is required. Therefore, each bus bar connected to each battery is connected to the control circuit and the protection circuit via a wiring material for monitoring the potential of each electrode.

  The voltage monitoring wiring member has a length of about 0.5 to 1 m due to the size of the secondary battery module. Further, this wiring material has a plurality of conductors because the wiring distance from the circuit board to each bus bar is different, and forms an arbitrary wiring pattern in which the conductors branch from the bundle of the plurality of conductors.

  In addition, there is a demand to reduce the area occupied by the wiring material while the number of battery cells increases and the number of wiring materials increases due to the demand for larger capacity and smaller size of the lithium ion secondary battery. Moreover, since this wiring material is required to have an arbitrary pattern of wiring, FPC or the like is used. By using a thin wiring material such as FPC, the area occupied by the wiring material can be reduced, and by forming the pattern shape in advance so as to match the position of each bus bar, incorrect wiring during battery module assembly is possible. And the positioning work between the wiring material for connection and the bus bar is simplified.

  In addition, for example, in a digital multi-function peripheral in which a copy, a scanner, and the like are integrated, in addition to wiring in the apparatus, wiring between a movable part such as a scanner reading mechanism and a control circuit is necessary. In such a wiring material, particularly in the case of A0 size (84.1 cm × 118.9 cm), the wiring length may exceed 1 m. Further, the wiring to the movable part side control circuit such as the scanner head or the ink jet head is constituted by a long straight part for providing a margin for the movable range and a branch part branching to the control circuit. For this reason, as a wiring material for such a digital multi-function peripheral, an FPC or the like capable of wiring in an arbitrary pattern is used like the above-described voltage monitoring wiring material.

  An FPC, which is an example of a wiring material, is manufactured by a process of forming a wiring pattern by photolithography on a film base material obtained by bonding a copper foil to a polyimide film as a covering member, and removing unnecessary portions of copper by an etching process. .

  Since FPC forms a conductor pattern by etching a copper foil, a waste of copper material is increased. Further, materials other than etching (photoresist, developer, cleaning solution, etc.) are required. In particular, in the case of wiring materials for voltage monitoring and digital multifunction devices, the wiring pattern is not as complex and dense as in an electronic circuit, and the simpler the structure is such that long conductors are branched, the more material Wasteful and cost increases.

  In addition, the conventional wiring material mainly forms a circuit of several centimeters square, but the wiring material for voltage monitoring and digital multifunction peripherals has a length of about 0.5 to 1 m or more. Therefore, the existing photolithography apparatus cannot cope. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the size of the photolithography apparatus, and the cost for manufacturing the wiring material further increases.

  The flat harness described in Patent Document 1 includes a ribbon cable as a first flat cable, and an FPC as a second flat cable connected to an intermediate position of the first flat cable via a connecting portion. A part of the conductor of the first flat cable and a part of the conductor of the second flat cable are electrically connected. According to this structure, the flat harness which does not have a large size FPC is obtained by using FPC only in the part branched from the 1st flat cable.

JP 2002-203431 A

  However, in the conventional wiring material, since the ribbon cable cannot form a branch wiring structure, FPC is used for the branch portion branched from the ribbon cable (trunk portion), but the strength of the connection portion between the ribbon cable and the FPC is weakened. There is a problem. In addition, there is a problem that the number of connection points between the ribbon cable and the FPC increases and the cost increases.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a wiring material that can maintain the strength of the branch portion and can simplify the manufacturing process, and a manufacturing method thereof.

  In order to achieve the above object, one embodiment of the present invention provides the following wiring material and manufacturing method thereof.

[1] A trunk portion in which a plurality of conductors having a cross-sectional shape having a predetermined thickness and a width equal to or greater than the predetermined thickness are arranged in parallel in the width direction with a gap therebetween,
A branch portion in which the conductor is bent and branched from the trunk portion in the width direction or in a direction intersecting the width direction;
A first covering member that covers the trunk so that an end of the conductor on the trunk side is exposed;
A second covering member that covers the branch portion so that an end portion on the branch portion side of the conductor is exposed;
Wiring material comprising.
[2] The second covering member covers the conductor 2 by overlapping a part of the trunk portion covered with the first covering member with the first covering member.
The wiring material according to [1].

[3] A trunk portion provided with a plurality of conductors having a cross-sectional shape having a predetermined thickness and a width equal to or greater than the predetermined thickness in a state of being arranged in parallel in the width direction is provided with the width of the conductor. Forming a branch by bending in a direction or a direction intersecting the direction of the width and branching;
A step of covering the trunk by overlapping a pair of first covering members so that an end of the conductor on the trunk side is exposed;
A step of covering the branch by overlapping a pair of second covering members so that the end of the conductor on the branch side is exposed;
including,
Manufacturing method of wiring material.
[4] The step of covering the branch portion with the pair of second covering members includes a part of the trunk covered with the first covering member overlapping the first covering member. Covering with a pair of second covering members;
The method for manufacturing a wiring material according to [3].

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, while being able to maintain the intensity | strength of the branch part which a conductor branches, a manufacturing process can be simplified.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a wiring material according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically showing a process of pulling out a conductor from the reel. FIG. 3 is a perspective view schematically showing a process of bending a conductor. FIG. 4 is a perspective view schematically showing a state where each conductor is branched. FIG. 5 is a perspective view schematically showing a process of covering the conductor with the first covering member. FIG. 6 is a perspective view schematically showing a process of covering a conductor with a second covering member. 7A and 7B show an outline of a bending apparatus, FIG. 7A is a perspective view of a fixed member, FIG. 7B is a perspective view of a movable member, and FIG. 7C is a perspective view showing a state in which the fixed member and the movable member are combined. FIG. 8A and 8B show an example of the operation of the bending apparatus, wherein FIG. 8A is a cross-sectional view showing a state before the conductor is bent, and FIG. 8B is a cross-sectional view showing a state after the conductor is bent.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, in each figure, about the component which has the substantially same function, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and the duplicate description is abbreviate | omitted.

[Summary of embodiment]
In the wiring material of the present embodiment, in the wiring material including a conductor and a covering member that covers the conductor, a plurality of conductors having a cross-sectional shape having a predetermined thickness and a width equal to or greater than the predetermined thickness are provided with an interval. A trunk portion arranged in parallel in the width direction, a branch portion in which the conductor is bent and branched from the trunk portion in the width direction or a direction intersecting the width direction, and an end portion of the conductor on the trunk portion side A first covering member that covers the trunk so as to be exposed, and a second covering member that covers the branch so that the end of the conductor on the branch side is exposed.

[Embodiment]
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, in each figure, about the component which has the substantially same function, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and the duplicate description is abbreviate | omitted.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a wiring material according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the wiring member 1, a plurality of (six in this embodiment) conductors 2 having a cross-sectional shape having a predetermined thickness and a width larger than the predetermined thickness are arranged in parallel in the width direction of the conductors 2 with a space therebetween. The trunk portion 21, the branch portion 22 branched from the trunk portion 21 in the width direction of the conductor 2, and the trunk portion 21 so as to expose the end portion 20a on the trunk portion 21 side of the conductor 2 are exposed. The covering member 3 and the second covering member 4 that covers the branch portion 22 so that the end portion 20b on the branch portion 22 side of the conductor 2 is exposed are provided.

  In addition, the wiring member 1 includes at least one end portion 20a in which a part of the trunk portion 21 is exposed from the first covering member 3, and an end portion 20b in which a portion of the trunk portion 21 is exposed from the second covering member 4. (In this embodiment, six conductors 2) have a branch portion 23 that branches the conductor 2 in the width direction of the conductor 2 or in the direction intersecting the width direction of the conductor 2.

(Conductor 2)
The trunk portion 21 is composed of a portion from one end portion 20 a of the conductor 2 to the branch portion 23. The branch portion 22 is configured by a portion from the branch portion 23 to the other end portion 20 b of the conductor 2. The branch part 22 branches from the trunk part 21 so as not to overlap the other branch part 22 and the trunk part 21 toward the outside of the trunk part 21.

  The branch portion 23 refers to a portion of the conductor 2 that is divided in a direction different from the center line 21 a of the trunk portion 21. For example, the branching portion 23 bends the conductor 2 in the width direction of the conductor 2, that is, the conductor 2 is bent at an angle of 90 degrees with respect to the center line 21a so that the end portions 20b are located at the same distance from the center line 21a of the trunk portion 21. . Note that the angle at which the conductor 2 is bent at the branch portion 23 is not limited to 90 degrees, and may be any direction that intersects the width direction of the conductor 2, for example, 45 degrees or 135 degrees of the conductor 2.

  As the material of the conductor 2, for example, oxygen-free copper, tough pitch copper, copper alloy, aluminum, nickel or the like is used. The conductor surface may be subjected to nickel plating, tin plating or the like. It is desirable that the conductor 2 has a rectangular cross-sectional shape from the viewpoints of reducing the conductor resistance and reducing the wiring dimensions of the wiring material 1. The conductor 2 may have a square cross-sectional shape or a cross-sectional shape in which the side surface, the upper surface, or the lower surface is arcuate.

(First and second covering members)
The first covering member 3 includes a pair of first covering members 3A and 3B, and the trunk portion 21 and the branch portion of the conductor 2 so that the end portion 20a is exposed at the pair of first covering members 3A and 3B. 22 is covered. The first covering member 3 covers the conductor 2 with a pair of covering members 3 </ b> A and 3 </ b> B, thereby fixing the trunk portion 21 in which accuracy such as parallelism of the conductor 2 is required in a state where the conductors 2 are arranged in parallel. And insulate.

  The second covering member 4 includes a pair of second covering members 4A and 4B, and covers the branch portion 22 so that the end portion 20b is exposed by the pair of second covering members 4A and 4B. Further, the second covering member 4 covers a part of the branch part 22 and the trunk part 21 covered with the first covering member 3 so as to overlap the first covering member 3. The second covering member 4 insulates and reinforces the branch portion 22 and the branch portion 23 by covering a part of the branch portion 22 and the trunk portion 21.

  The first and second covering members 3 and 4 are bonded to the conductor 2 or the first covering member 3 in contact with an adhesive (not shown) applied to the opposing surfaces. The first and second covering members 3 and 4 may cover the trunk portion 21 and the branch portion 22 by a method such as fusion.

  For the first and second covering members 3 and 4, for example, polyimide, polyamide, polyethylene terephthalate, which is an insulating member, or the like is used. As the adhesive, for example, an epoxy adhesive, a polyester adhesive, or the like is used. In addition, you may use the coating member and adhesive agent of a different material for the 1st and 2nd coating members 3 and 4. FIG.

(Method for manufacturing wiring material)
Next, an example of a method for manufacturing the wiring material 1 will be described. 2 to 6 are diagrams illustrating an example of a method of manufacturing a wiring material. FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically illustrating a process of pulling out a conductor from a reel. FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a process of bending the conductor. FIG. 4 is a perspective view schematically showing a state where each conductor is branched, FIG. 5 is a perspective view schematically showing a process of covering the conductor with the first covering member, and FIG. 6 is a conductor. It is a perspective view which shows typically the process of coat | covering with a 2nd coating | coated member.

  The method for manufacturing the wiring member 1 includes preparing a reel 5 having a plurality of grooves 5a in which a conductor 2 having a cross-sectional shape having a predetermined thickness and a width larger than the predetermined thickness is wound and accommodated. A step of supplying the trunk portion 21 arranged in parallel in the direction of the step, a step of bending the conductor 2 from the supplied trunk portion 21 by the bending device 6 and branching in the width direction of the conductor 2 to form the branch portion 22; A pair of rolls 71 for winding and storing the first covering members 3A and 3B is prepared, and the conductor 2 is attached by the first covering member 3 in which a part of the trunk portion 21 and the branch portion 22 of the conductor 2 is pulled out from the roll 71. A step of coating and a pair of rolls 72 for winding and storing the second covering members 4A and 4B are prepared, and a part of the trunk portion 21 covered with the branch portion 22 of the conductor 2 and the first covering member 3 is prepared. Covered by the second covering member 4 pulled out from the roll 72 And a step of.

(1) Step of supplying a conductor As shown in FIG. 2, the reel 5 around which the conductor 2 is wound is held by a holding member (not shown) and arranged in parallel with the width direction of the conductor 2.

  In order to manufacture the wiring member 1, first, as shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of conductors 2 are drawn from the reel 5 to a length necessary for bending the conductors 2. Note that the wiring material 1 in which different conductive materials are mixed may be manufactured by storing a plurality of different conductive materials in the reel 5 and pulling out the conductor 2 from the reel 5.

(2) Step of branching the conductor Next, as shown in FIG. 3, each conductor 2 is branched using a bending device 6 shown in FIG. FIG. 3 shows only a part of the bending device 6.

  7A and 7B show an outline of a bending apparatus, FIG. 7A is a perspective view of a fixed member, FIG. 7B is a perspective view of a movable member, and FIG. 7C is a perspective view showing a state in which the fixed member and the movable member are combined. FIG. 8A and 8B show the operation of the bending apparatus, in which FIG. 8A is a cross-sectional view showing a state before the conductor is bent, and FIG. 8B is a cross-sectional view showing a state after the conductor is bent. As shown in FIGS. 7A to 7C, the bending device 6 includes an arcuate surface 611a, a first protrusion 611 having a first flat surface 611b and a flat surface 611c following the arc-shaped surface 611a, A columnar fixing member 61 provided with a second protrusion 612 having a flat surface 612a that is provided with the same distance as the width of the conductor 2 and fixes the conductor 2 between the flat surface 611b; A columnar movable member 62 having a third protrusion 621 provided with a second flat surface 621a that moves along the arc-shaped surface 611a with the conductor 2 sandwiched between the arc-shaped surface 611a. . The fixed member 61 and the movable member 62 are installed on the same axis, and have contact surfaces 610 and 620 that come into contact with the fixed member 61 so that the movable member 62 can rotate. The fixing member 61 is supported by a support portion (not shown). The movable member 62 has a rotation shaft 62a, and rotates by a driving unit (not shown) or manual operation. FIG. 8 shows a bending apparatus that bends the conductor 2 in the clockwise direction.

  To bend the conductor 2, first, as shown in FIG. 7A, the first flat surface 611 b of the first protrusion 611 of the fixing member 51 is brought into contact with the side surface 2 a of the conductor 2, and the second protrusion The flat surface 612 a of the part 612 is brought into contact with the side surface 2 b of the conductor 2 to fix the conductor 2.

  Next, as shown in FIGS. 7C and 8A, the side surface 2b opposite to the side surface 2a of the conductor 2 with which the first flat surface 611b contacts is in contact with the second flat surface 621a. The contact surfaces 610 and 620 are brought into contact with each other by combining the fixed member 61 and the movable member 62.

  Next, from the state in which the second flat surface 621a is in contact with the side surface 2b of the conductor 2, the movable member 62 is rotated around the rotation shaft 62a, and as shown in FIG. In a state where the conductor 2 is sandwiched between the second flat surface 621a and the arc-shaped surface 611a, the surface 621a is moved along the arc-shaped surface 611a to bend the conductor 2 by 90 degrees, for example. That is, the conductor 2 is bent by pressing the conductor 2 against the arcuate surface 611a and the flat surface 611c while the second flat surface 621a moves.

  Each conductor 2 is bent at a desired angle by a bending device 6 and has a shape having a trunk portion 21 and a branch portion 22 as shown in FIG. Note that some of the conductors 2 may be kept straight without being bent. Further, the bending device 6 can easily change the angle at which the conductor 2 is bent by changing the shapes of the arcuate surface 611a and the flat surface 611c and the rotation angle of the movable member 62.

(3) Step of Covering Using First Covering Member As shown in FIG. 5, the pair of rolls 71 are not shown from above and below the conductor 2 so as to be parallel to the width direction of the trunk 21. It is held by the holding member.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the first covering members 3 </ b> A and 3 </ b> B are pulled out from the pair of rolls 71 while supplying the conductor 2 from the reel 5. Then, the trunk portion 21 and a part of the branch portion 22 are covered so that the end portion 20a of the conductor 2 is exposed by overlapping the pair of first covering members 3A and 3B.

(4) Step of covering using second covering member As shown in FIG. 6, the pair of rolls 72 are arranged on the upper side of the conductor 2 and parallel to the direction along the center line 21 a of the trunk portion 21. It is held by a holding member (not shown) from below.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 6, the second covering members 4 </ b> A and 4 </ b> B are pulled out from the pair of rolls 72 in a direction perpendicular to the center line 21 a of the trunk portion 21. Then, the branch portion 22 is covered so that the end portion 20b of the conductor 2 is exposed by overlapping the pair of second covering members 4A and 4B. Further, the second covering members 4 </ b> A and 4 </ b> B overlap the first covering member 3 so as to partially cover the branch portion 22 and the trunk portion 21.

(Effects of the first embodiment)
According to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(A) Since the conductor 2 is bent and branched, there is no connection portion between the trunk portion 21 and the branch portion 22, so that the strength of the branch portion 23 can be maintained. Moreover, since the process of connecting the trunk portion 21 and the branch portion 22 can be omitted, the manufacturing process of the wiring member 1 can be simplified.
(A) When both the trunk and the branch are covered with a pair of rectangular covering members, the portions where the pair of covering members overlap each other are removed, whereas the first and second covering members 4 are removed. Since the amount of the first and second covering members 4 and 5 can be reduced by dividing and covering the trunk portion 21 and the branch portion 22 with 5, the manufacturing cost of the wiring material 1 can be reduced. Can do.
(C) The branch portion 22 and the branch portion 23 can be reinforced by covering the branch portion 22 and the branch portion 23 covered with the first cover member 3 by the second covering member 4. .
(D) Since the conductor 2 is pulled out from the reel 5 and the conductor 2 is branched by the bending device 6 to manufacture the wiring material 1, the etching process can be omitted from the manufacturing process of the wiring material 1. Therefore, the manufacturing process of the wiring material 1 Can be simplified. Therefore, the manufacturing cost of the wiring material 1 can be reduced. Moreover, since the dimension of the wiring material 1 is not restricted by the size of the photolithography apparatus used in the wiring pattern forming step, the wiring material 1 having a desired length can be easily manufactured.
(E) Since the trunk portion 21 in which the parallelism of the conductor 2 is required is covered with the first covering member 3 in advance, the conductor 2 can be precisely coated, so that insulation failure or the like can be caused by a simple manufacturing process. Less wiring material 1 can be manufactured.

[Modification]
The embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications and implementations are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the second covering member 4 has been described as overlapping the first covering member 3 and covering a part of the trunk 21, but the second covering member 4 is the first covering member 4. Only the branch part 22 exposed from the first covering member 3 may be covered without overlapping with the covering member 3.

  In the above embodiment, the second covering member 4 is drawn out in the direction perpendicular to the center line 21a to cover the conductor 2. However, the second covering member 4 is extended in the direction along the center line 21a. The conductor 2 may be covered with the first covering member 3 partially drawn out.

  Further, the trunk portion 21 and the branch portion 22 may be covered by folding back the first and second covering members 3 and 4.

  Moreover, the 1st and 2nd coating | coated members 3 and 4 are good also as what coat | covers the trunk | drum 21 and the branch part 22 using not only the method of pulling out from a roll but cutting in strip shape beforehand.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the branch portions 22 are formed on both sides of the trunk portion 21, but the branch portions may be formed only on one side of the trunk portion.

  The manufacturing method of the above embodiment can add, delete, replace, and replace processes without changing the gist of the present invention. For example, after covering the conductor 2 with the second covering member 4, the branch portion 22 may be covered while the first covering member 3 is overlaid on the second covering member 4.

  The present invention is applicable to, for example, a voltage monitoring wiring material, a power transport line, a signal line, a mobile phone, a communication device, an information terminal device, a measuring device, a home appliance, and the like.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Wiring material 2 Conductor 2a, 2b Side surface 3, 3A, 3B 1st coating | coated member 4, 4A, 4B 2nd coating | coated member 5 Reel 5a Groove 6 Bending apparatus 20a, 20b End part 21 Trunk part 21a Center line 22 Branch part 23 Branch portion 61 Fixed member 62 Movable member 62a Rotating shaft 71, 72 Roll 610 Contact surface 611 First protrusion 611a Arc-shaped surface 611b First flat surface 611c Flat surface 612 Second protrusion 612a Flat surface 620 Contact surface 621 First 3 protrusions 621a Second flat surface

Claims (4)

A plurality of conductors having a cross-sectional shape having a predetermined thickness and a width equal to or greater than the predetermined thickness, and a trunk portion disposed in parallel in the width direction;
A branch portion in which the conductor is bent and branched from the trunk portion in the width direction or in a direction intersecting the width direction;
A first covering member that covers the trunk so that an end of the conductor on the trunk side is exposed;
A second covering member that covers the branch portion so that an end portion on the branch portion side of the conductor is exposed;
Wiring material comprising. The second covering member covers the branch part by overlapping a part of the trunk covered with the first covering member with the first covering member.
The wiring material according to claim 1. A trunk portion supplied with a plurality of conductors having a cross-sectional shape having a predetermined thickness and a width equal to or greater than the predetermined thickness arranged in parallel in the width direction is arranged in the width direction of the conductor or the width Forming a branch by bending and branching in a direction intersecting the direction of
Covering the trunk by overlapping the trunk with a pair of first covering members so that the trunk-side end of the conductor is exposed;
A step of covering the branch by overlapping a pair of second covering members so that the end of the conductor on the branch side is exposed;
including,
Manufacturing method of wiring material. The step of covering the branch portion with the pair of second covering members includes overlapping the first covering member with a part of the trunk portion covered with the first covering member. Covered with two covering members,
The manufacturing method of the wiring material of Claim 3.

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